Awana Grand Prix Vague Rules get more Vague

[chromegsx]

So what's your interpretation here? What would you do? For several years the only rule regarding the wheel modifications stated "Wheels must retain their original width and diameter" to which I was enlighted to a few years ago on test day. It was hidden under the "Building your car" section along with other "suggestions" or "rules"... I'm not sure which. Last year I had the resources to take material out of an awana wheel to make it lighter but still meet the rule as above. This year they've taken that rule(still hidden among suggestion on building your car) and all the others and made it even more vague, believe it or not. Now it states "You can sand the bumps and the little sticky-out-things from the wheels, but they have to stay the size and the shape they were when you got them."

Now I'm not sure what the definition of "size and shape" is. Maybe they think someone would make them into octagons or something. /images/boards/smilies/crazy.gif Rule enforcement in the past has amounted to sticking the car inside a box to make sure overall dimensions are not violated and that the wheels and ground clearance meet the track clearance requirements. and of course scaled to 5.0oz as well. That's it.

In addition to that I've always drilled axle holes as the previous rules stated you did not have to use the slots and that you could create a wheel base of any length. now it states..."Put the wheels on the axels and then tap them into the slots on the wooden block. You can use glue to keep the axels in place."

*sigh*

 

[xjarcher]

Hmm, I'm in charge of the West Michigan GP. Our team wouldn't put out anything that looked this suspect. I'm sorry you have a group that don't understand what mold ejector pins are. /images/boards/smilies/smile.gif
Awana wheels vary in width and diameter slightly. It sounds like they don't want you to create micro light wheels but you have to make sure they are round. I would true up the wheel and leave it at that. No sense in getting carried away and then being DQ'd.

I would talk to your club director and find out where the rules came from and ask about doing your own wheelbase. It sounds like they are just making a suggestion of how to install them (very poorly). At that point go build it!
If you are using good technique and stock parts with minimal mods you can wipe out the competition. On a typical (30ft) Freedom or Best if you can run in the 2.5x range you should win easily. The fastest official car I've seen is a 2.541. I have a prototype with a few secrets from here that's a lot faster.
If you want a copy of our regional rules send me a PM with an email address. Might help your region out a bit.

Can you send me a copy of said rules? I'd love to know where they came from too.

 

[zigzag]

"Sticky out things" - that needs to be added to some rules hall of fame list - classic. I think I would true the stock wheels and leave it at that. The quote about the slots doesn't appear to be a rule so much as building instructions - so don't know if I would follow that one - but as suggested would probably ask for clarification.

Good luck removing the sticky out things.

 

[LightninBoy]

So what's your interpretation here? What would you do? For several years the only rule regarding the wheel modifications stated "Wheels must retain their original width and diameter" to which I was enlighted to a few years ago on test day. It was hidden under the "Building your car" section along with other "suggestions" or "rules"... I'm not sure which. Last year I had the resources to take material out of an awana wheel to make it lighter but still meet the rule as above. This year they've taken that rule(still hidden among suggestion on building your car) and all the others and made it even more vague, believe it or not. Now it states "You can sand the bumps and the little sticky-out-things from the wheels, but they have to stay the size and the shape they were when you got them."

Now I'm not sure what the definition of "size and shape" is. Maybe they think someone would make them into octagons or something. /images/boards/smilies/crazy.gif Rule enforcement in the past has amounted to sticking the car inside a box to make sure overall dimensions are not violated and that the wheels and ground clearance meet the track clearance requirements. and of course scaled to 5.0oz as well. That's it.

In addition to that I've always drilled axle holes as the previous rules stated you did not have to use the slots and that you could create a wheel base of any length. now it states..."Put the wheels on the axels and then tap them into the slots on the wooden block. You can use glue to keep the axels in place."

*sigh*

Without a copy of the rules its hard to really give any advice. It sounds like there is a toxic mixture of building tips, suggestions, and rules all rolled together.

For others who influence/write rules ... note this is the danger of adding suggestions to rules or anything that is phrased as what you "can" do versus what you can't do. Rules must be clearly distinguished from tips and building suggestions, otherwise the tips will be interpreted as rules that must be followed.

 

[xjarcher]

Just got a copy today. Those are the rules that are in the kit. I will be sending a letter to Awana HQ and tell them that they need to do a lot better job. I'm embarrassed and will be removing them and putting our regional rules in the kits. I'll see if I can't scan them for everyone's amusement.

 

[chromegsx]

xj...thanks for looking into this. I believe it is a generic rule set given in all kits as you suspect.

Sorry for being absent on the forum lately...my access to this forum is getting filtered out by generic "personal sites" filter. So I have very limited time to spend on here when I'm at home.

Anyway race came and went with out a hitch, except for the accusation to my son by another racer that he was cheating, for which he did not know if he was, so he could not enjoy his win as well as he should have until we got home and he explained to us why he was not more excited. Not unexpected...I'm sure people are talking now that we've won 4 years in a row. Same inspections and expectations...which are minimal.

I will try to post a pic of car and a small story in pictures section.

 

[xjarcher]

I understand. Yep it's the generic set Awana produced. Absolutely embarrassing as they sound like they were written by a first grader. I teach 3rd graders to read and they would say those rules sound dumb. I intend to offer to write a reasonable set for Awana that makes sense and is not vague.

Congrats to your son! Been there done that. I don't race in our club race as I want to let some kids and new folks win. I test my car the night before and if it's fast enough I'll race at Regionals. If a car passes inspection fellow racers can't complain much. I built an experimental car last season that beat the current track record by .21 sec. and if I can duplicate that formula again I'll have some sideways glances. The regional race is in 2 weeks. I'll let you know.