GEBA COMPETITION RULES 2005 

Summary:

• Season: November 16 of previous year to November 15 of current year
• Minimum of 5 competitors fly (not including hare)
• Minimum of 2 GEBA members fly
• Minimum of 50% of pilot entered in event fly
• Competing pilot’s responsibility to forward results to GEBA within 30 days.
• Scoring: within 200 ft.
• Scoring point equals 3000 minus drop distance in inches.
• Minimum of 400 points, but non- scoring pilot must notify GEBA that he flew.
• Touching anything connected to the ground before drop or unsportsmanslike conduct results in no score.
• Ranking: Sum of highest six scores.

1.0      Approval

1.1    All competitions should have approval by a member of the Competition Committee to ensure timely recording of scoring information.

1.2    Any task described in chapter 15 of the BFA Competition Rules that requires drop distance measurement may be used as is, or as modified by the balloon organizer and discussed at the briefing.

1.3   A valid task is one in which:

a)    A minimum of five competitors fly (not including hares).
b)    A minimum of two GEBA pilot members fly
c)    At least 50% of the pilots entered in the event fly

1.4    Targets and markers are at the discretion of the organizer, but all markers should be uniform. The pilot is responsible for obtaining his/her marker prior to the flights. No object, other than the official marker may be dropped from the balloon without the approval of the balloon organizer. For safety, the marker’s streamer should be unfurled prior to release.

1.5   In the absence of the GEBA scoring representative, the balloon organizer’s results will be official. However, it is the responsibility of the competing GEBA pilot to forward the scoring results to the GEBA Competition Committee within 30 days of the event.

2.0      Safety

2.1    A briefing is required which should include a discussion of weather, sunset time, red zones, competition rules, and other items at the discretion of the balloon organizer.

2.2   No goals or targets may be within 100 ft. of any major highway, within 500 ft. or across country power line or within a red zone.  A goal or target placed in those locations will invalidate the task.

2.3   If a hare is used, it should fly no more than 60 minutes, and must land a minimum of 15 minutes before official sunset.  Markers dropped after sunset should not be scored.

3.0      Penalties and Protests

3.1   Penalties – Pilots will receive a “no score” under the following circumstances:

a)    Failure to attend the required pilot briefing.
b)    Unsportsmanlike conduct or blatant disregard of FARs.
c)    Being the cause of a basket to envelope contact.
d)    Touching the ground or anything connected with the ground prior to dropping of the marker.
e)    Landing and blocking the target area so as to interfere with other competitors.

3.2   Protests – Any protests should first be directed to the balloon organizer for mediation.  Protests to the Competition Committee must be in writing and postmarked no later than five days after the competition.

4.0      Scoring

4.1    The GEBA scorer or event scorekeeper will determine the drop distance of each competing pilot, in inches, within 200 ft. of the goal only in the field occupied by the goal.  Landings are not to be considered drops.  A point score will then be obtained by subtracting the drop distance, in inches, from 3000.  All pilots who flew the task but scored less than 400 points are eligible to earn a minimum score of 400 points unless given a “no score” penalty. However, to receive the minimum score of 400 points the pilot must expressly notify the GEBA Competition Committee within 30 days of the event.

4.2   A pilot given a “no score” penalty will be treated for the purposes of scoring as having not flown the task.  However, this pilot will be counted in order to determine a valid task under paragraph 1.3.

4.3   Score sheets or other official results must be submitted to the Competition Committee chair in a timely manner.

4.4   Scores for events using BFA rules or other modifications will be recalculated using GEBA rules to account for any differences in formulas.

5.0      Ranking

The annual GEBA ranking will be determined by the sum of the highest six scores for each individual pilot.  If a pilot has less than six scores, the sum of all the scores for that pilot will be used.

Feb.6, 2005UKRg