Competition Newsletter
New Rule Book Mailed
The 1982–83 edition of the Official Model Aircraft Regulations (rule book) should be in the hands of all AMA members. The new rule book was sent to the printer in mid‑March and was scheduled to be mailed before the end of the month.
Because delivery time for Third Class mail may vary, some rule books may not be received for one or two weeks (or even longer). In most cases you should expect delivery by the end of April; if you have not received your rule book by the end of May it may be time to inquire. If you write AMA Headquarters about a missing copy, please address your letter:
- Attention: Mike Woodfolk, FF Contest Board
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FF Contest Board Ruling Affects P‑30 and All Indoor Records
Changes to the competition rules enacted in the recently completed revision cycle affected the status of National Records in all indoor events and the FF outdoor P‑30 event. The FF Contest Board has voted the following effective immediately:
- Zero out all existing P‑30 records.
- Zero out all existing Indoor Category I and Category III records.
- Make the new Category II records identical to the existing ("old") Category I records.
- Make the new Category IV records identical to the existing ("old") Category III records, except where an "old" Category II record is higher; in that case the "old" Category II record becomes the new Category IV record.
This ruling clears the backlog of record applications at AMA Headquarters and will allow the National Records listing to be updated. An updated National Records list is planned for publication next month.
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AMA Competition Rules: A New Cycle of Revisions Starts Now
Now that the 1982–83 rule book is published, a new round of rules proposals and revisions begins. To promote understanding of the official procedure for making and amending rules, the complete Contest Board Procedures (revised October 1981 and last published August 1980) are presented below, together with a simplified summary of the process.
Who Can Participate?
- All Open‑age AMA members are urged to take an active interest in the rule‑making process.
- Juniors and Seniors are not eligible to submit rules changes or cross‑proposals, although they may have an Open‑age member submit proposals on their behalf.
- A rules proposal must be submitted on the standard AMA Rules Change Proposal Form (photocopies are acceptable). The form requires signatures of three adult AMA members, one of whom must be a current AMA Contest Director.
Modelers live with the rules and are the best judges of needed changes. If you see a problem with an existing rule or want a new rule or event, submit a proposal.
Deadlines
- The rules revision operates on a two‑year cycle. The current cycle (for rules effective January 1, 1984) began January 1, 1982.
- THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING BASIC RULES‑CHANGE PROPOSALS IN THE CURRENT CYCLE IS SEPTEMBER 1, 1982 (postmark). Proposals must be postmarked by that date to be considered.
- Use the proposal form printed in this issue (photocopies acceptable). Additional forms may be requested from AMA Headquarters — please include a self‑addressed, stamped envelope.
In its simplest form, the rules‑change system works as follows:
- An AMA member files a proposal on the standard form with AMA Headquarters.
- Headquarters reviews and assigns a proposal number and distributes the proposal to the appropriate Contest Board Chairman(s).
- The Contest Board(s) analyze, discuss, and vote on proposals per the published schedule and procedures.
- Proposals passing required balloting and publication steps may be adopted into the rule book.
The complete Contest Board Procedures follow for full detail.
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Contest Board Procedures (As revised October 1981)
Forward
The purpose of these procedures is to assist Contest Board members in effectively monitoring and accomplishing rules revisions. Contest Board members must act to maintain high competitive standards and good sportsmanship. Each proposal should be carefully studied for ambiguities, unintended consequences, or conflicts with rules in other categories. Board members should seek wide input and consensus before final action.
Analysis of Proposals by Contest Boards
When reviewing proposals, consider:
- Manufacturing — Will current equipment be made obsolete?
- Protests — Will the change tend to eliminate or increase protests at meets?
- Model Processing Time — Will model processing time for competition increase or decrease?
- Designs — Will builders have more or less freedom of design?
- Contests — Will the effort required to conduct contests increase or decrease?
- Present Models — Will current models remain competitive, or will new construction be required?
- Effect on Competition — Will the net effect encourage or discourage participation?
Procedures
- Rules Review Schedule: A single two‑year schedule (Exhibit C) is used. New two‑year schedules commence with each even‑numbered calendar year.
- Proposal Preparation and Submittal: Any AMA member may submit a Rules Change Proposal by filing a completed RULES CHANGE PROPOSAL FORM (Exhibit A) with AMA Headquarters by the specified postmark deadline. Headquarters will review proposals for correct form, required signatures, and clarity; incomplete or improper proposals will be returned with explanations.
#### Types of Proposals
- BASIC RULES CHANGE PROPOSAL
- May be filed by any AMA member and affects one or more competition categories.
- CROSS PROPOSALS
- After a Basic Proposal passes the Contest Board Initial Vote and is published, any AMA member may submit a Cross Proposal to modify the Basic Proposal, provided it is postmarked by the specified deadline and submitted on the standard form. A Cross Proposal filed by a Contest Board member need not be endorsed by others.
- When Cross Proposals are filed, the Contest Board(s) will attempt to resolve differences and arrive at a single proposal for final action. This may be done by an Interim Vote in which Basic and Cross Proposals are ranked; the alternative with the lowest summed ranking is selected.
- If the Chairman questions whether a Cross Proposal is within the true intent of a Cross Proposal, he may subject it to an Interim Approval Vote of the Board.
- INTERPRETATIONS, SAFETY AND/OR EMERGENCY PROPOSALS
- For situations requiring immediate or expedited action, the President or his delegate, with concurrence of the appropriate CB Chairman (or CB Coordinator for General Rules), may take emergency action that may conflict with normal procedures. Emergency actions proceed by one of these methods:
(1) Immediate enforcement: The action and justification are published in the earliest possible Academy publication (CN or AMA News). Not less than four weeks and not more than six weeks after publication, the CB Chairman/Coordinator will ballot the Contest Board(s) with a 10‑day turnaround to obtain concurrence or denial. If a 2/3 majority of respondents from each involved CB concur, the ruling is final. At least 50% of possible voters must reply for validity; if final results are contrary to the previous ruling different reply rules apply as specified in the full procedures.
(2) Interpretations (and optionally Safety/Emergency proposals): The President/delegate forwards the request to the appropriate CB Chairman/Coordinator, who immediately forwards a brief, the request, and available opinions to all CB members with a 10‑day ballot. That ballot offers three handling methods: A. Immediate enforcement, requiring a follow‑up ballot after publication. B. No immediate action; publish for input and proceed with final vote later. C. Deny immediate action and return the proposal; originator must resubmit in the normal cycle if further consideration is desired.
- Each CB member ranks the three methods (1 best, 3 worst). The Chairman/Coordinator sums rankings and selects the method with the lowest total score.
- All Interpretation/Safety/Emergency requests must use the standard proposal form (or facsimile) and include pertinent information. Requests with significant safety or contest conduct impact require the normal endorsement requirements and full addresses of signers.
#### Provisional and Supplementary Rules
- Acceptance of new rules or emergency revisions by the Contest Board may result in immediate provisional acceptance and implementation until membership ratifies or rejects the change.
- Provisional rules may be published for comment prior to final ratification.
- Provisional or supplemental rules may be assigned when an event lacks widespread support and testing is desired before official adoption. Such rules may be continued year to year and modified until official adoption or rejection.
- Supplemental rules may be adopted to provide national standards for activities essentially local in nature but popular in several areas.
- Provisional and supplemental rules are not intended for inclusion in the National Model Airplane Championships; no records will be recognized for provisional or supplemental events.
FAI Rules
- FAI (CIAM) rules automatically become part of AMA rules once passed by CIAM. Normally no AMA Contest Board action is required.
- The AMA President and appropriate CB Chairman/Coordinator may set AMA effective dates where earlier application benefits AMA team selection or activities.
- FAI rule change proposals from the U.S. and U.S. voting participation follow AMA President and Executive Council policy.
Proposal Numbering
- Proposal numbers consist of four basic sections:
- Category for which the proposal is filed (e.g., RC, CL, FF, SC, GEN)
- Year in which the proposal is to become effective
- Proposal number for the category (assigned by AMA Headquarters in order of receipt)
- Designation for a Cross Proposal when required
- Optional: If a proposal has component parts to vote on separately, a lower‑case letter or number may be added.
Example:
- RC 76 1a Aa
- CL 76 1a b c
- FF 76 1c
- SC 76 1c
- GEN 76 1c
Proposal Consideration
- Single Category: Proposals received by the Contest Board Chairman are reviewed for acceptability. Proposals previously denied may be resubmitted.
- Proposals affecting multiple categories (General Rules): Headquarters sends the proposal to the Contest Board Coordinator, who determines acceptability.
Proposal Distribution
- If the Contest Board Chairman/Coordinator deems the proposal properly filed, he forwards it to AMA Headquarters for reproduction and distribution to members of the appropriate board(s).
Contest Board Voting
#### Single Contest Board
- Initial Vote: An affirmative simple majority of those responding is required for acceptance on the Initial Vote. A tie is considered a passing vote.
- Final Vote: Adoption on the Final Vote requires an affirmative 2/3 majority of those voting (nearest whole number rule applies; e.g., 7 of 11, 6 of 9, etc.).
- Where two or more parallel proposals are considered, the voting and tabulation method follows the Interim Vote procedures for elimination or integration of Cross Proposals.
#### Multiple Contest Boards
- Initial Vote: A simple majority of responding votes from each involved Contest Board is required for passage.
- Final Vote: A 2/3 majority of responding votes from each involved Contest Board is required for passage (nearest whole number rule applies).
- A General rules proposal shall pass the Initial Vote if it receives a simple majority of the responding votes of the total of the Boards.
- Failure to receive the required majorities results in the proposal being denied for that rules‑making cycle.
#### Multiple Choice Votes on Final Ballot
- When necessary, and as deemed required by the CB Chairman/Coordinator, the method of voting and tabulation for multiple choice votes will follow the Interim Vote procedures.
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CB Procedures (Continued)
Members and Publication
- A copy of vote tabulations will be sent to Executive Council members so they may be advised of the voting records of their CB appointees.
- Publication of vote tabulations (and comments, space permitting) in an official AMA publication will follow the Schedule for Processing Rules Changes (Exhibit C).
Proposal Editing
- The Chairman (or CB Coordinator for combined boards) may edit proposal wording prior to rule book publication to increase clarity or minimize conflicts and ambiguities, provided the intent of the proposal is not altered.
- Editing that could be construed as altering intent is subject to approval by the appropriate CB Chairman. If a CB Member or the original proposer believes intent was altered, an appeal may be made to the AMA President, who will review statements and rule whether intent was changed. The President's decision is final.
- Headquarters shall make necessary revisions to already adopted rules that are directly affected by approved proposals.
Proposal or Cross Proposal Withdrawal
- The originator may request withdrawal of a proposal by filing a request with the CB Chairman/Coordinator. The withdrawal request must include the signatures of the original endorsers.
- Withdrawal is not accepted if the proposal has already passed the Initial Vote. Postmark dates on the Initial Ballot and the withdrawal request determine timeliness.
- If withdrawal is requested after the Initial Vote, the originator may offer a Cross Proposal to correct the original or submit a signed statement opposing the original proposal. All three endorsers are encouraged to sign such a statement.
- The same rules apply to Cross Proposals (Interim Vote in lieu of Initial Vote). Neither Basic nor Cross Proposals can be withdrawn after publication.
Publication Requirement
- Proposals that pass the Initial Vote must be published prior to further voting to allow membership comment. Publication may be in the Competition Newsletter or AMA News.
- Publication of Cross Proposals is required at the earliest opportunity after receipt.
Advisory Committees to the Contest Board(s)
- Advisory Committees and their Chairmen may be appointed by the Contest Board Chairman/Coordinator to assist the Board(s). They operate generally in accordance with Contest Board Procedures.
- Existing special interest groups should be utilized when selecting Advisory Committee members.
- Final recommendations of such committees may include Rules Change Proposals; if submitted per normal procedures, these will be considered to have passed the Initial Vote and will be processed.
- Advisory Committee tenure is determined by the appointing authority.
Revisions to Contest Board Procedures
- Revisions to these procedures require a 2/3 majority approval (nearest whole number) of the total of: Executive Council members, Contest Board Chairmen, and the CB Coordinator, based on the number eligible to vote.
- Prior to Executive Council voting, the Chairman and Coordinator shall distribute the proposed Procedures and revisions to all Contest Board members for review and comment.
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Exhibit A
RULES CHANGE PROPOSAL FORM
PROPOSAL NO. _______________________ (to be inserted by HQ) POSTMARK DATE: ____________________ (to be inserted by HQ)
Send to: AMA Headquarters. A copy will be forwarded to the appropriate Contest Board Chairman. (Attach extra sheets if necessary.)
Rule Category: (Circle one)
- General
- Free Flight
- Control Line
- Radio Control
- Scale
Type of Proposal: (Circle one)
- Basic Proposal
- Cross Proposal (Identification No. of relevant Basic Proposal: _______________)
- Brief summary of the proposed change:
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________
- Exact wording proposed for the rule book (list paragraph numbers where applicable; Example: Change "(quote present rule book wording)" to: "(exact wording desired)"):
- Logic behind proposal change, including alleged shortcomings of present rules:
- Signatures of three adult AMA members required (at least one must be a current AMA Contest Director).
Note: The Contest Board chairman may, at any time prior to submitting a proposal to the Contest Board for Final Vote, edit proposal wording to increase clarity and avoid ambiguity, provided the proposal intent is not changed.
(1) Proposer: _______________________________________ AMA No. ______ Member Cat. _____ Date ___________ Street Address ______________________________________________________________________ City ____________________________________________ State ______________ Zip ____________
(2) Endorsement: ___________________________________ AMA No. ______ Member Cat. _____ Date ___________
(3) Endorsement: ___________________________________ AMA No. ______ Member Cat. _____ Date ___________
Notes:
- A Basic Proposal is one for which no other proposal is known to be in process to accomplish essentially the same purpose.
- A Cross Proposal is an alternate method of accomplishing essentially the same purpose as some other proposal which has been tentatively accepted by the Contest Board.
ACADEMY OF MODEL AERONAUTICS 815 Fifteenth St., N.W., Washington, DC 20005
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(End of reformatted Competition Newsletter)
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
