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The 2011 Beach Blast competition had quite a few spectators and one
TV station. But tasks were scattered all over the place and it wasn't
very viewer-friendly. With input from other pilots, especially Pavel Brezina (who
wound up winning the thing), we came up with some ways to improve the
experience for all, while at the same time, encouraging pilots to excel at the
basics.
The competition committee seems
to be in favor of it as does the competition director of the next event
(Endless Foot Drag) where we're going to try this format. If you can launch and land
consistently well, you'll have a chance.
The primary change is how the tasks are run. Launch and fly only ONE
task then do a power-off spot landing. Pilots launch one right after the
other initially so there is always one waiting to start to keep things
moving but pilots don't wind up circling in different places. That
caused confusion. Each launch and landing is scored but with a few twists. On
launch, you can score a few extra points by kicking a stick during the
run or just after liftoff.
The landing is a power-off spot landing where the motor must
be off for only 7 seconds. Make your first contact on the bullseye for
maximum points, then run towards and kick a cone 30 feet upwind of
the target for a few extra points. Landing within a 15 foot ring (PPG3
size) gets some points and within a 40 feet ring (PPG2 size) still gets
some points. Even if you miss the rings, run your wing to the upwind
cone and kick it for a few points. Just kick it before the wing touches down. This new scored
landing is done at the end of every task.
So each run scores a takeoff and landing, meaning that consistent
launchers and landers will have a chance regardless of wing size. Right
now, the tasks mostly favor small wings and, even moreso, reflex wings.
These are still probably an advantage but a bit less so.
Another benefit of this style is that there's no issue remembering
what's done in what order. There will always be a launch, one or two
tasks, and a landing. Simpler and more discriminating since there are so
many more scored tasks. The detail changes are below.
Here is the
New Scoring Software (subject to change). Glen Boyd will be looking
over to clean it up and check for errors. If you're interested in gaming
the tasks, this is a good way to do it. It's setup to allow two complete
sessions and will count the pilots best session (NOT his best task).
There will be up to three launches on any given session. You'll be busy.
Here are the
judges score sheets. These are what judges use to write down the
information as pilots fly. Filling out pilots on sheet 1 will populate
all the other scoresheets. These are filled out just after registration
closes, then a random number list is generated by the scorekeeper or
director and that becomes the pilot's numbers. The list is sorted but
the pilot number column.
Here are the
modified rules with the modified launch and "Quick Spot" landing
task. An additional changes clarifies how the kiting war is scored.
There was confusion on this during the last competition.
Proposed Competition Changes
2011 May 10 by Jeff Goin
After talking with a
number of competitors, judges, spectators and media, here are some
suggested competition improvements that will be more fun, easier to
judge, more visually interesting, and more discriminating (less luck).
Hopefully we can try
this format out at our next competition, the Endless Foot Drag on if you
guys are ok with it. Here are the proposed changes:
Takeoff Modification
On takeoff, we have a
cone (or 2' tall flexible sticks). The launching pilot gets an extra
points for kicking the cone (or stick) during takeoff. He can be
airborne but cannot circle around to get it. The kick must be either
while running or within 5 seconds of liftoff. A successful kick gets an
additional 20 points on the launch.
The purpose of this
modification is to reward those with better launch control while being
easy to judge.
MicroSpot Landing
Field Elements:
-
Frisbee sized
target OR a cone.
-
Two rings, #1 at a
15' radius and #2 at a 40' radius which corresponds to the PPG2 and
PPG3 skill levels. All target elements must remain the same
throughout the competition.
-
There is an
upwind cone, located generally upwind of the target at a
distance of 30 feet.
Task Description
Pilot shuts off his
motor just before landing and touches down on or near as possible to the
bullseye then runs or swoops through, kicking the upwind cone
before his wing touches the ground. His
motor must be off for at least 7 seconds before touchdown.
As with other spot
landings, the bullseye must be hit with the pilot's feet to count. The
pilot must remain standing, the cage must not touch the ground for more
than 1 second, and cannot be damaged as a result of the landing.
Scoring
100 points for hitting
the center.
50 points for getting
within circle #1,
25 points for getting
within circle #2,
25 points for kicking
the upwind cone.
The purpose of this
task is to reward pilot skill but be easy enough to keep the pilot close
to the target, be easy to judge (there's no measuring), reward kiting
skill (pilot may kite through the cone), and get the pilot off the field
quickly since he can keep running his wing to the launch area if he
wants.
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