RALLY – IT’S NOT JUST THE CARS, IT’S THE INSTRUCTIONS!
Rally will have three events on the calendar this year; the Spring Rally, Rally Academy, and the Fall Rally. The Spring Rally will be May 5, Rally Academy will be June 30, and the Fall Rally will be September 22. More on the latter two events in coming issues.
Focusing on the Spring Rally, we have defined the primary route loop. The Rally will start in Kent, go through Sharon, Cornwall, and Warren. The route will include some really beautiful, scenic roads that are perfect for Rally and we hope to bring an interesting and challenging (but not too hard) event.
The starting and ending locations for the Spring Rally on May 5, 2019 are as follows:
Starting Location:
Kent Coffee & Chocolate Company 45 North Main Street
Kent, CT 06757
(860) 927-1445
Finishing Location:
Fife 'n Drum Restaurant 53 North Main Street Kent, CT 06757
(860) 927-3509
For those of you who have not traveled to Kent before, it is a fairly small town and parking is not abundant. Fortunately this will not be an issue as these two great establishments are located right next to each other and will allow for ample parking for the event.
New this year we will have online registration for Rally. We are using the same registration site as CVR Autocross. MotorSportReg.com will be used for signing up for the Spring Rally. Registration is open at the following link: http://msreg.com/CVRSpringRally. This web address is also available on the CVR PCA website and within the Rally page. Sign up and secure your spot as space is limited!
RALLY ACADEMY
The Rally Academy will take place in Central Connecticut and the duration is aimed to be shorter as compared with a full Rally. Rally Academy is scheduled for June 30, 2019.
Please keep in mind that this is a format designed for true beginners. We define beginners as members that have never participated in a Rally or only participated in one Rally. The format will include a brief discussion before a mini Rally where participants will have rules explained, gimmicks revealed and end with a Q&A. You will be provided with the normal route instructions, but this time there is a column next to them explaining what you should do at each turn and why. We will meet at an ending location where you can ask questions and compare notes with your fellow Rally novices.
We will also be using the online registration format covered above for signing up for the Rally Academy. Stay tuned as we will let you know once registration opens for Rally Academy. As this is a new format, we will be limiting the group size in order to ensure everyone walks away with the confidence to sign up for the Fall Rally and put their newly honed skills to the test.
Rally 101
It’s the instructions … that’s the problem.
Quick recap for those unfamiliar with Rally; the goal of a Rally is to find the route designed by the Rallymasters given a set of instrnctions. The Rallymasters put gimmicks into the instructions to try to throw off participants. Points are awarded for correctly following the course and the team with the highest points at the end of the Rally wins.
This time we will be discussing TIEBREAKERS. With so many Rally teams it is inevitable that there will be tie scores from time to time. The way we handle this is with a TIEBREAKER. At the beginning of the Rally the Rallymasters will designate items that you can count along the way for use as a TIEBREAKER if needed. In the event of a tie, the team with the TIEBREAKER count closest to the actual number ( as determined by the Rallymasters) will win.
Examples of the types of items that have been counted in the past as TIEBREAKERS are chevron signs, tobacco barns, and yellow fire hydrants to name a few. Occasionally the TIEBREAKER will be counting the occmrence of an event. In the past we have counted the number of bridges traversed, town line changes, or times driven on a particular road. TIEBREAKERS will be very unique to the particular route so they usually are different between each Rally.
Experienced Rally teams have an easier time multi-tasking as they are already accustomed to the rules of Rally. For the novice Rallyists, you may consider not worrying about the TIEBREAKER for your first couple Rallies. We encourage you to keep count even if you know you missed a few because every once in a while we have a rookie Rally team in contention for a podium in one of their first events. TIEBREAKERS carry no value other than in the event of a tie. Most of the time they are not needed at all!
For those interested in giving Rally a try for the first time, we encourage you to come out and join us. We had many first timers come to the last Rally and are happy to report they all survived. Our primary goal is to ensure everyone has a good time, no matter their skill level. Rally, as with all CVR activities, is fueled by volunteers and we welcome anyone interested in helping out. This can be something as simple as staffing a checkpoint or something more involved like assisting in the overall Rally development. Please reach out to us either in person or via email at: Rally@CVRPCA.org.
Christine and Tim Beckwith Rally Co-Chairs Rally@cvrpca.org
