Helicopter Trial Event

[49ers]

so there aren't any rules yet?

[blue cobra]

These are the rules right now, http://www.newyorkscioly.org/SOPages/HE ... TION10.pdf but they could change a lot because these are not the official rules for 2010. Those rules will come out in September.

[smartkid222]

those ARE the official rules. there are NO changes to be made except through the NYS rules clarificaton page.

let me just remind you that this is a pilot even for NY, not a national event.

[GitItWright]

those ARE the official rules. there are NO changes to be made except through the NYS rules clarificaton page.

let me just remind you that this is a pilot even for NY, not a national event.

We may confuse people with symantics and absolutes here. Helicopter has been accepted by the national SO organization to be raised in status from a Pilot event to a Trial. What's the difference? A Pilot event is one that is a new idea for SO that is published on the National website for states to consider for test competitions. A Trial event is one that has had its status raised from Pilot event through a stuctured process. Typically this process expects the event to be run in competitions and ultimately be scheduled in 2 state competitions and eventually scheduled in the national competition.

Last year, Helicopter was in three state competitions. This year it is sceduled in three possibly four state competitions (MI,OH,IN,IL) and at Nationals in IL. It has cleared the necessary requirements to be considered as a Trial event and, at the end of the 2010 season, will be eligible for acceptance as a National Competition Event.

Each state can determine how they approach trial events and how they identify these events. The bottomline is that at Nationals, Helicopter will be a National Trial Event whose next step is to become a National Competition Event.

Finally, no rules are officially finalized for competition until the rulebooks are published. This includes Trial events that have been scheduled for state and national competition. For the most part when rules are presented by their respective committees, the expectation is that there will be no changes. But... there have been changes applied in the past based on suggestions that arise from the Coaches Clinics in AZ.

Good Luck.

[49ers]

those ARE the official rules. there are NO changes to be made except through the NYS rules clarificaton page.

let me just remind you that this is a pilot even for NY, not a national event.

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?

[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