Helicopter Trial Event

[smartkid222]

that doesn't make any sense to have official rules and the trial event if its only for NY state SO!!
shouldn't it be for all states?

specificly to NY state:

* Denotes a New York State Trial Event. Click on the event name for the official rules. Also be sure to check the Rules Clarifications page for corrections and/or changes to the official rules.

** Denotes a New York State Pilot Event. Any student from a school may enter this event; they do not have to be one of the 15 team members. The event will not count towards the team's overall score, but it will be scored and medals will be awarded.

so in NY state is called a pilot event and i'm pretty sure they are useing the rules they printed. or at least thats what is says above.

for the national science olypiad:
it's called a trial event and it will be run at nats evidently. only the normal 23 events are printed in the manual as official rules. i'm not sure but i assume they use the same rules as on the website (http://soinc.org/trial_events) which are also identical to the NY rules.... sorry if i caused any confusion.

[jander14indoor]

Folks, we are really getting into the arcana of how SO rules are developed. As GetItWright said, an event called Helicopter Duration is a national trial event this year. Trial events tend to be real fluid on the rules because they are still being developed. The whole point of the Pilot, Trial, Official event process is to work out the problems in event concepts over a period of time in the heat of real competition, but not in competition that affects the final results.

Some some guy proposes an event, writes up some rules. Might just trial it locally and unofficially to find worst problems. If the committees like the event, they'll make it a pilot, publish the most recent rules on the national site, and encourage more tournaments to try it. As it is probably full of problems, you can expect lots of changes and tweaks as folks try to run a contest with the rules. Once at least one state competition tries it, the committees MIGHT make it a trial event and encourage multiple states to try it. Again, publishing a set of rules on the web, possibly several iterations. Typically they are still a little rough, and event supervisors may choose to try variations. Key here for supervisors is to make sure competitors at their competition know AHEAD of time what rules will be used at that event. That's all NY State is doing, saying what rules they'll use this year at the NY state tournament. Eventually, bugs are worked out, rules finalized, the committee really likes it, and decides to make it an official event. Once it gets published that's when you can (and should) get picky about consistent use of official rules.

Remember, this is a trial event. Awards given, but in most states, no points towards team standing. So don't sweat the precise rules, except those at your event.

As to the published rules on the web, those are indeed the ones we used last year in MI, OH, and IN. Some problems were found and changes recommended that haven't made it to the web yet. Heck, given the review process I don't know that all will. National SO typically doesn't lock down the trial event rules till very late.

So, what do you do to practice. Frankly don't sweat the rules unless you KNOW what will be used at your tournament, and NY has clearly indicated the rules they are using. If you don't have a final set of rules, use the ones available. Make up your own, don't sweat the specifics like dimensions. Start building helicopters now and learning the principles. You may not have a copter that fits the rules, but I guarantee if you learn to make your non-standard copter fly well, you are miles ahead of the competition that waits till the rules are locked down.

So, lets get back to design recommendations and building techniques.

Questions anyone?

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

[smartkid222]

As to the published rules on the web, those are indeed the ones we used last year in MI, OH, and IN. Some problems were found and changes recommended that haven't made it to the web yet. Heck, given the review process I don't know that all will. National SO typically doesn't lock down the trial event rules till very late.

Questions anyone?

did the suggestions have to do with dimentions or changes in the weight limit of rubber/plane or was it something else?
are there any problems that we should expect or prepare for?

[fleet130]

Trial/pilot event rules are not published by the national organization. Instead, they publish suggested rules on their website (http://soinc.org/) Be aware that changes to these suggested rules can happen at any time throughout the year.

Regional, state, and even the national tournament are free to change those suggested rules as they see fit. That is why you MUST contact the organizers of EACH tournament you will be competing in for the rules they will be using. If they direct you to the rules on the national website, be sure to watch for changes and ask your tournament organizers for instructions if they happen.

Any changes suggested from last year's tournaments are irrelevant since there is no way of knowing what might have been adopted. The only thing to do is wait until the new rules are published.

[49ers]

thank you for the clarification on the event everyone

[JBoyd-NY]

Just want to clarify the New York situation:

1. In New York, Trial Events are counted towards a team's points in the State competition. This is an attempt to get all teams to try the event, so that the suggestions that are passed on to the National committees are based on a large number of teams participating. New York State competitions are very competitive, and teams that have a shot at Nationals might not participate in a trial event at the State Competition if it had no effect on a team's qualifying for the National Competition (think about it - if your team had a shot for Nationals in a close competition, would you want two of your team members spending study and/or building time on an event that didn't count, or would you rather they spend that time getting better at the events that determined if you made it to Nationals?). By making the Trial Event results equal to the Official Event results, we assure that the teams that are the best in the state all compete in those events.

2. This year, a number of students and coaches expressed an interest in the Helicopter Duration event. Since we already had two trial events for both divisions, we decided that the Helicopter event could be held at the Regional competitions and would be held at the State Competition, medals will be awarded, but the results will not count towards the final team standings, and any two people from a school may compete - they don't have to be from the 15 "official" team members (alternates can compete). To distinguish between this event that doesn't count in team standings and the trial events that do count in team standings, Helicopter was labeled as a Pilot Event rather than a Trial Event.

3. The rules on the New York State web site are the rules listed at soinc.org. Should there be changes in the rules on the soinc.org site, the New York State Board of Directors will consider those changes. If they decide to implement any of those changes, they will be posted on the Rules Clarifications page.