BMPRA Constitution

BMPRA Constitution

1. Name:

The Association shall be called the “British Miniature Pylon Racing Association" (henceforth the BMPRA) and is a Specialist Body of the “British Miniature Flying Association” (henceforth the BMFA).

2. Aims:

The BMPRA shall:

1) encourage the construction of radio controlled, model pylon-racing aircraft especially for the purpose of competition;

2) promote and oversee the safe flying of radio-controlled, model pylon-racing aircraft in the UK;

3) use its delegated responsibility from the BMFA to run, on behalf of the BMFA, national pylon racing events in the UK;

4) coordinate different disciplines of pylon racing via delegation to individual sub-groups; [Currently the sub-groups are: a) FAI Pylon Race Association for F3D (and F5D?), b) Sport 40 Association for Sport 40 and Quickie 500, and c) Club 2000 Association.]

5) without question, sanction both the FAI F3D Delegate and F3D Team Manager nominated by the FAI Pylon Race Association. [Perhaps F5D Team Manager also needs including in above ?]

3. BMPRA Membership:

There shall be one single grade of membership.

Membership of the Association shall run from the 1st January to the 31st December in any single calendar year.

Any member wishing to resign shall inform the Secretary of the BMPRA committee giving a minimum of 28 days notice.

Each member of the BMPRA shall also be a current, full member of the BMFA and hold valid insurance under the BMFA insurance scheme.

4. BMPRA Subscriptions:

Subscriptions shall be paid annually by all members and be included in the annual membership fee of the sub-group. Members of more than one sub-group will only be charged the BMPRA membership fee by their nominated group. Payment to the BMPRA Treasurer will be direct from the sub-group Treasurer and preferably as a block payment.

Subscriptions shall fall due after each Annual General Meeting.

The level of subscriptions will be determined by participants of the Annual General Meeting from time to time.

5. BMPRA Committee:

Each BMPRA sub group is responsible for providing up to 2* members of their own choosing from within their sub-group as members of the BMPRA Committee.

* For the F3D Pylon Race Association this could be 3 members if the F3D delegate is not on the FAI Pylon Race Association Committee [see 7.5 below].

These names shall be lodged with the Secretary of the BMPRA Committee in writing, at least 28 days before the AGM. From these, the participants at the BMPRA AGM shall elect the positions of Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relations Officer, ………….etc. for the forthcoming year.

This committee shall conduct the business of the Association and determine BMPRA policy from time to time.

6. Limitation of Members:

The BMPRA Committee shall be empowered to set a limit on the number of members at any time.

7. Role of Officers of the BMPRA.

1) The Chairperson shall:

· be responsible for the day-to-day running of the BMPRA;

· preside at all meetings and keep order;

· give a casting vote if required.

2) The Secretary shall:

· negotiate with appropriate authorities on behalf of the BMPRA;

· convene General Meetings and Committee Meetings;

· record the proceedings of meetings.

3) The Treasurer shall:

· be responsible for and accountable for the management of the BMPRA funds.

· collect all monies due to the BMPRA and to pay the BMPRA debts.

· produce an audited account of the BMPRA finances at each Annual General Meeting or at the request of the Committee.

4) The Public Relations Officer shall:

· Promote the interests of the BMPRA.

· be the spokesperson of the BMPRA

5) The FAI F3D Delegate (as nominated by the FAI Pylon Race Association and who may or not be a member of the FAI F3D sub-committee) shall:

· communicate with the PTC and BMFA with regard to rule changes and general topics regarding the F3D class on behalf of the FAI Pylon Race Association.

8. Meetings:

The Committee shall meet as required at the discretion of the Chairman, or at the request of 3 or more Committee members.

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held on a date nearing the end of the Calendar year. (Generally (by precedence) this has been on the Sunday of the weekend immediately following that of the BMFA AGM). The time, place, and date for this meeting together with the Agenda and any accompanying proposals shall be communicated a minimum of 21 days before the meeting by email (or exceptionally in writing by prior arrangement) to all current members who have previously lodged their details with the Secretary.

The formal business conducted at the AGM shall be limited to:-

1) Apologies for absence.

2) Confirm provisional minutes from last meeting.

3) Matters Arising from the previous minutes.

4) Receive reports from Officers: Chairman; Secretary; Treasurer (including the passing of accounts) and Public Relations Officer; Competition Secretary/Results Officer, FAI F3D Delegate ………………etc.

5) any items of business included by the Committee onto the Agenda and included in the advanced notice convening the meeting.

6) motions which have been proposed by any BMPRA member and which have been lodged in writing with the Secretary at least 28 days before the AGM and as such have been included into the Agenda and the advanced notice convening the meeting.

7) Election of Officers for the forthcoming year;

8) AOB - for informal business only. [ N.B. There shall be no item of AOB for formal business].

11. Extraordinary General Meeting:

An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) may be called by the Committee or a quorum of 12? current members. The business to be transacted must be stated in the notice sent to members and discussion at the meeting confined solely to such business. All members shall receive notice of an EGM at least 14 days prior to the meeting taking place. A resolution will be passed at an AGM or EGM on a majority vote of BMPRA members present at that meeting.

N.B. It is believed that the correct procedure should be that the Election of Officers should take place after Item 4, rather than at Item 7), and that the outgoing officers relinquish their roles at this point. Thus the newly elected officers conduct the remainder of the business of the AGM – as they will be the officers in charge to uphold any decisions made in the remaining agenda items. However, recent history shows that this has not happened – hence the order shown in this document is the “current” procedure.
FAI Pylon Race Association Constitution

1. Name:

The Association shall be called the “FAI Pylon Race Association” and is a sub-group of the “British Miniature Pylon Racing Association" (henceforth the BMPRA) itself a Specialist Body of the “British Model Flying Association” (henceforth the BMFA).

2. Aims:

The FAI Pylon Race Association shall: Co-ordinate the discipline of F3D pylon racing at national level in accordance with:-

(a) Model specification rules as per the current FAI class F3D manual.

(b) Safety rules as per guidelines from the BMFA and FAI F3D section manual.

3. FAI Pylon Race Association Membership:

There shall be one single grade of membership.

Membership of the Association shall run from the 1st January to the 31st December in any single calendar year.

Any member wishing to resign shall inform the Secretary of the BMPRA committee giving a minimum of 28 days notice.

Each member of the FAI Association shall de facto be a full member of the BMFA and hold valid insurance under the BMFA insurance scheme.

4. FAI Pylon Race Association Subscriptions:

Subscriptions shall be paid annually by all members and include a fee for membership of the BMPRA.

Subscriptions shall fall due after each Annual General Meeting (AGM).

The Treasurer will include on the AGM agenda a proposal for the membership fee.

The level of subscriptions will be determined by participants at the AGM.

5. FAI Pylon Race Association Committee:

The FAI Pylon Race Association Committee shall comprise: Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, BMFA FAI-F3D Delegate, BMFA F3D Team Manager, BMFA FAI F3D Jury member list,……………….??

The participants at the FAI Association AGM shall elect the positions of Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, , BMFA FAI-F3D Delegate, BMFA F3D Team Manager, BMFA FAI F3D Jury member list ???…….etc. for the forthcoming year*.

[*Suggestion - Consider 2 year appointments, with election of ½ the members every alternate year, to provide continuity.]

The Team Manager position will be for a 2 year period to coincide with F3D World Championships, Team Trials will be conducted during the year after election.

[The proposals for FAI F3D Jury member list are to be sent to the BMFA Power Tech Committee (PTC) who will then submit them to the BMFA for ratification at the January Full Council meeting. Closing date for inclusion on the relevant PTC agenda is published in BMFA documents (early Dec ?)]

This committee shall conduct the business of the FAI Pylon Race Association and determine FAI Pylon Race Association policy from time to time.

The FAI Pylon Race Association is responsible for providing up to 2* members of their own choosing from within their sub-group as members the BMPRA Committee.

* For the FAI Pylon Race Association this could be 3 members if the F3D delegate is not elected to the FAI Pylon Race Association Committee.

These names shall be lodged with the Secretary of the BMPRA Committee in writing, at least 28 days before the AGM.

7. Role of Officers of the FAI Association.

1) The Chairperson shall:

· be responsible for the day-to-day running of the FAI Association;

· preside at all meetings and keep order;

· have the casting vote if required.

2) The Secretary shall:

· negotiate with BMPRA on behalf of the FAI F3D Race Association;

· be the spokesperson of the FAI F3D Race Association;

· convene General Meetings and Committee Meetings;

· record the proceedings of meetings and distribute provisional minutes to all members.

3) The Treasurer shall:

· be responsible and accountable for the management of the FAI Pylon Race Association funds.

· collect all monies due to the FAI Pylon Race Association and to pay the FAI Pylon Race Association debts.

· produce an audited account of the FAI Pylon Race Association finances at each Annual General Meeting or at the request of the Committee.

· Include an FAI Pylon Race Association AGM agenda item for renewal of membership fees.

4) The FAI F3D Delegate shall:

· Communicate with the FAI F3D sub-committee chairperson the feelings of the FAI Pylon Race Association members with regard to rule changes and general topics regarding the class.

· Inform the FAI Pylon Race Association committee of any pending rule changes proposed at FAI meetings.

· Draft any proposals for submission to the FAI F3D sub-committee. (via the PTC and BMFA Council meeting before the deadline for submission of proposals to the FAI).

5) The Team Manager shall:

· Comply with the requirements of the BMFA as included in the publication titled Team Managers Duties.

· Ensure that Team Trials are run fairly and in accordance with the class rules. Provide updated results information after each qualifying meeting to all entrants.

· Select the Team Members by the method described by the FAI Pylon Race Association Local Rules (see 10 below).

· Complete all Team Member Proposal forms to be put to PTC and BMFA Council for ratification before the deadline imposed by the BMFA.

· Communicate with the BMFA and the WC organizers to enable information to be provided for all Team Members at an early stage.

· To ensure compliance with the FAI class rules carry out Processing of models to be used at WC. Provide any documentation required by the WC contest organization regarding identification of models.

8. Meetings:

The Committee shall meet as required at the discretion of the Chairman, or at the request of 3 or more FAI Pylon Race Association members.

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held on a date nearing the end of the Calendar year. (Generally (by precedence) this has been on the Sunday of the weekend immediately following that of the BMFA AGM) and immediately preceding the AGM of the BMPRA. The time, place, and date for this meeting together with the Agenda and any accompanying proposals shall be communicated a minimum of 21 days before the meeting by email (or exceptionally in writing by prior arrangement) to all current members who have previously lodged their details with the Secretary.

The formal business conducted at the AGM shall be limited to:-

1) Apologies for absence

2) Confirm provisional minutes from last meeting.

3) Matters Arising from the previous minutes.

4) Receive reports from Officers: Chairman; Secretary; Treasurer (including the passing of accounts and new proposals for membership fees), Public Relations Officer, FAI Delegate, Team Manager;

5) discuss any items of business included by the Committee onto the Agenda and included in the advanced notice convening the meeting;

6) discuss motions which have been proposed by any FAI Pylon Race Association member and which have been lodged in writing with the Secretary at least 28 days before the AGM and as such have been included into the Agenda and the advanced notice convening the meeting;

7) the election of officers for the forthcoming year;

8) AOB [N.B.There shall be no item of AOB for formal business].

An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) may be called by the Committee or a quorum of 6? current members. The business to be transacted must be stated in the notice sent to members and discussion at the meeting confined solely to such business. All members shall receive notice of an EGM at least 14 days prior to the meeting taking place. A resolution may be passed at an AGM or EGM on a majority vote of FAI Association members present at that meeting.

9. Rules governing British National FAI-F3D Race meetings

In general the technical and safety rules, model and engine specifications etc., governing FAI-F3D competition will, where appropriate, follow those laid down in the current FAI world competition rules laid down for the World Championships. However, for logistic and local safety reasons, scoring for National events etc., appropriate Local Rules may be substituted. Local Rules will normally be decided by a vote at the FAI Pylon Race Association AGM but exceptionally in the case of safety, may be instituted at short notice by the CD.

10 a) Local Rules (Housekeeping)

1) All competitors must confirm their entry for each meeting with the Competition Secretary at least 14 days prior to the meeting. Registration shall include competitors’ vehicle details plus the name of any accompanying passengers to conform with airfield entry and security requirements.

2) The FAI Pylon RaceAssociation shall determine at the AGM, the entry fee to be payable by each flying competitor at each race meeting.

Suggestion - Add proviso for increase in fee if required to ensure meetings are not held at a financial loss, any increase to be agreed by the Committee.

3) Vehicles may be parked in the Pits area whilst flying is taking place.

10 b) Local Rules (Flying)

1) No flying shall take place before 10.00hrs (Cottesmore airfield).

4) Models must be flown only on the following frequencies

o 35MHz:- 71, 73, 75, 77

o 2.4GHz:- any.

3) No model shall land between Pylons 2 and 3 whilst the heat is in progress, but can be landed within the course at the end of a heat only after the starter has declared the runway to be clear.

4) Flying a model out of the designated safe flying area as defined by the CD during the pilots’ briefing will result in a heat disqualification for the first infringement (with 200 points being awarded) and a disqualification from the event for a second infringement (including 200 points awarded for each scheduled round}.

If a model loses any component or crashes during flight, a search must be made by all attendees to recover all debris. It is a strict safety rule of the flying site that all FOD must to be recovered.

10 c) Local Rules (Scoring, Championship and 200 League Positions.)

1) Only competitors who are members of the FAI Pylon Race Association are eligible to receive points towards the Championship or 200 League.

2) For a round to count, all competitors must have had the opportunity to record a time for that round (regardless of the result).

3) The result of a meeting, is calculated from the number of rounds flown, in accordance with FAI rules as follows: -

a. 1-3 rounds flown – all rounds to count

b. 4-8 rounds flown – 1 round dropped

c. 9-11 rounds flown – 2 rounds dropped

d. 12 rounds flown – 3 rounds dropped.

4) At any meeting where one complete round has not been run (i.e. all competitors do not have at least 1 time), then the result cannot be declared as a score. This meeting will be deemed to have been cancelled and will then not form any part of the calculation of the Championship or 200 League results.

5) Where a result has been declared at four meetings or more during the racing season, the lowest meeting score of each competitor will be dropped when calculating the final Championship and 200 League positions. Where a result has been declared at less than four meetings during a racing season, all the meeting scores of each competitor will be counted when calculating the final Championship and 200 League positions.

10 d) Local Rules (WC Team selection process 2008/9)

[The process of selecting the team of three pilots and callers to represent Great Britain in the 2009 FAI F3D World Championships was agreed at the 2007 AGM and is the same as that which was applied during the 2006 race season for the 2007 World Championships.]

1) Any candidate shall first have paid the Team Trial Entry Fee prior the first race that he/she wishes to be considered in their selection process. (The fee for 2008/9 is £40). Any races completed before payment of the entry fee will not be eligible for inclusion for that candidate.

2) The flying criteria are based upon the combined results of any two, consecutive, single race day meetings entered by the candidate at which at which a minimum of 5, or 6 rounds are completed. (Race meetings at which 4 or less rounds are flown will be ignored as far as the Team selection procedure is concerned.)

3) The single-day race meetings (e.g. April, May, June, July, September and October will count as a single meeting. The BMFA Nationals meeting will count as two consecutive race meetings, provided 10 or more heats are completed. Should nine or less heats be completed the meeting shall count as a single-day race meeting only. In this event the result will be formed from a maximum of the first 6 heats (or minimum of 5). Should fewer than 5 heats be flown, the meeting will not count towards the Team selection procedure.

4) The average time of the heats used to produce the two results (see 8 above) for the two consecutive, qualifying, race meetings must be equal to or below a minimum qualifying time of 68 seconds.

5) Team places shall offered in order, beginning with the fastest aggregate time and ending with the slowest, to those who have obtained the minimum qualifying time until all three places have been accepted.

N.B. As in the BMPRA Constitution, it is believed that the correct procedure should be that the Election of Officers should take place after Item 4, rather than at Item 7), and that the outgoing officers relinquish their roles at this point. Thus the newly elected officers conduct the remainder of the business of the AGM – as they will be the officers in charge to uphold any decisions made in the remaining agenda items. However, recent history shows that this has not happened – hence the order shown in this document is the “current” procedure.

Geb Jones

Secretary FAI Pylon Race Association

April 2008 – Draft 2