2024 Nats Schedule and Format

[killerd]

I look forward to hosting this years AMA National Pylon Competition. 2024 will be a single matrix format as it was determined by the AMA and Pylon Rules Committee that any other format must be outlined in the rules before we can alter the format in the future. Here is the schedule for the week of pylon July 6th-12th, weather permitting as always.

I would also like to announce that ALL of the current "CD's/Race Host's worked together and agreed on a lane sticker system going forward that will be the same for all races in the country starting immediately. Lanes 1-4, Low Green, Low Red, High Green, High Red. This is a small win for callers who struggle to figure out in 2 milliseconds what lane is ahead, who cut, and where in the country you are racing.

7/6/24 -Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm EF1/424/426 Processing
7/7/24 -Sunday 9:00am-5:00:pm 424 Competition & Fly-offs, Trophy's
7/7/24 Sunday 1:00pm-5:00om EF1 Processing
7/7/24 Sunday 6:00pm-8:00pm Banquet @ AMA Headquarters
7/8/24- Monday 9:00am-6:00pm EF1 Competition & Fly-offs, Trophy's
7/8/24- Monday 2:00pm-6:00pm 426/422 Processing
7/9/24 -Tuesday 9:00am-6:00pm 426 Competition
7/10/24 Wednesday 9:00am-2:00pm 426 Competition & Fly-offs, Trophy'
7/10/24 Wednesday 2:00pm-6:00pm 422 Processing
7/11/24 Thursday 9:00am-6:00pm 422 Competition
7/12/24 Friday 9:00am-2:00pm 422 Competition & Fly-offs, Trophy's

Competition/rounds will be determined by entries starting with a minimum of 6. Use the chart below for a guide;

0-29 entries - 6 rounds
30-39 ----------7 "
40-49 ----------8 "
50-59 ----------9 "
60 -69----------10 "
etc....

If the final round is odd, race horse start will apply in the last round. Lets see how many we can get for each class!!

Special Note:NMPRA Membership Required for Nationals Competition! (It’s worth noting the AMA Nationals was funded and organized many years ago by the AMA. I don’t know how many years it’s been since the NMPRA began to organize, plan, and fund your Nationals).

Sincerely

Douglas Killebrew
NMPRA President
dk10c@att.net

[rocket]

NMPRA membership should be required for all Pylon competitions.

[G.Freeman Jr.]

2 days of EF1? Why?

[killerd]

Ok so after the schedule was posted, there was several things brought to my attention that was perhaps an oversight to the goal of getting more people to the field and focusing more on 424 as an event by adding it with EF1. (We should all be helping groom a newer pilot, especially those who are at their first NATS)

1. Those who only fly EF1 as a filler to warm up for 426/422 have to travel earlier and fly for an extra day adding to cost increase and exhaustion.

2. Those assisting or competing in both 424/EF1 have to double their efforts and/or deal with back to back heats for both classes and still deal with their own planes and attempt to do well and have fun.

Trust me I know about the Muncie weather and exhaustion and calling for others which is the reason I personally have only taken on a couple classes in the past, a lesson I learned with Warbird a few years back.

I was expecting more comments and objections to the original post and this is your National Competition so I encourage opinions with the following in mind, so I’m asking a question so we can make any changes now instead of a month before the contest.

Would you rather have 424 all by itself on Sunday and EF1 separated out Monday, weather permitting of course. I was hoping to start a day early with that in mind, but not at the cost of adding more stress and expense to a majority of pilots making the effort to come to the event, so please weigh in so we can address these concerns and move on with planning. Please don’t turn this thread into an argument and if you don’t care, don’t post anything.

[kane]

Doug,

My preference would be for 424 and EF-1 NOT to be combined. I would like to see 424 run to completion and then start EF-1 and run it to completion. In my opinion this is better for workers, pilots and callers. I don't feel it is a necessary burden to add to the events.

DK

[Glang371]

Doug,

Even though I'm a newer pilot and considered a rookie, I still help with calling and other stuff.
Every event I'veraced in, up until last years NATS, had always been 2-3-1-1 with EF-1 and 424. By the end of each weekend, I was exhausted (physically and mentally) not to mention my physical aches from back surgery. I really felt bad for those who were helping multiple pilots or those who were helping kids as well as others.
When I attended the NATS last year, having the events scheduled for one specific day was actually enjoyable. Yes, I was still tired and sore, but I was nowhere near as mentally exhausted as I normally would be.
I am fully in favor of completing one class a day for the EF1 and 424.

Glenn

[Sparky]

Doug,
I'm with the other posters, one day one class of racing. There is a host of reasons to KISS. I am certain I would not have performed as well last year if the proposed format had been used.
BTW summer time Weather events have typically cleared in an hour or two. I only remember one day being a washout.
Sparky
Team Prowler

[chris398mx]

I agree with the others posting here. I prefer each event has its own day. Thanks,

Chris Martin

[tipatter]

Combining classes may make sense in a compressed weekend format.
I would prefer to have one day one class.

[T.Doe]

Doe's would prefer 1 day of each, 8 rounds weather permitting

Thank you for all your hard work Doug

[Dr.Doolittle]

Hi Mr. President,

Thanks for all of your hard work. Remember, it's impossible to keep everyone happy therefore you should just focus on the Canadians!!!

I am in favour on one day per class. This makes it easier for the competitors and also for the course workers (fewer planes to deal with per day therefore fewer errors).

Hope to see many of you at the Basin.

Roy Andrassy (Dr. Doolittle)

[G.Freeman Jr.]

Agree with 1 class per day. Thank you for opening this up for discussion.

Gary Jr.

[killerd]

Well, it's only been a day but since 100% of the comments are in support of the 1 event per day, I think we should modify the schedule and move on to golf carts.
I thank all of you for speaking up and expressing the cons so we could make the correction and move forward.

[SuperJay]

Thanks for all your hard work and dedication Doug. With that said being new with my return to pylon racing I found it difficult to swap between classes. I too would be in favor of one day one class. Thanks

[killerd]

The Nat’s is just over a month away and I would like to remind everyone to get signed up if you haven’t already. Hopefully, this will also get the schedule back on the first page.
If you haven’t done so yet, make sure your NMPRA membership is up to date as it’s required this year to participate. We are working behind the scenes to create a better reward for the yearly points champion and reinstate some of the benefits the membership lost over the last few years. Within the next week, we will have a list of those who are signed up along with teams and a few highlights of this years NATS.

Doug K