(Rules marked with + have been changed somewhat from the standard Championship rules).
The most important rule to keep in mind is that the real point of this race is for everyone to have fun. Friendly competition is encouraged, but don't let the value of the prizes entice you into forgetting the "friendly" part. The judges can and will banish anyone who falls into this trap.
+1.00 Sculptures must be people powered! No pulling, pushing, paddling or other propulsive method is allowed except by Official Pit Crew (one per pilot) and Pilots. Stored energy is allowed for non-propulsive purposes only. It is legal to get assist from water, wind, sun, gravity and friendly extraterrestrials if they are introduced to the judges prior to the race. If your Sculpture breaks down, you may recruit any number of people from your pit crew and the spectators to help you push/pull it to the finish line, if you want to still qualify as finishing the race. Motorized or other powered towing/carrying is not allowed unless you have officially dropped out of the race (except as noted in rule 3.1415926).
+lb Each Sculpture must measure no more than 8 feet wide and be no higher than 12 feet while on the road or highway. There is at least one obstacle that sets an absolute requirement on this height restriction - see the route for details.
1.03C Your Sculpture must not be inherently dangerous to yourself or to anyone else in the world. Projectiles, such as arrows, anchors, and grappling hooks fall into this category and are disallowed.
+1d You will receive no Official Sculpture License Number Plates, just make sure your Sculpture is easily identifiable by the judges and officials. The name of your Sculpture should also be visible for the benefit of spectators, TV crews, and your own vanity.
2.00 All special terrain equipment must be on board your Sculpture at all times when travelling the course. This includes flotation equipment, special tires, and so on.
+2.01a All Sculptures must have the required equipment (listed below) on board at all times when travelling the course. This equipment includes:
+2B or not 2B Capt Roberts' Rules of High Order: You may not start the race until you have passed the Official Safety Inspection. Sculptures will be tested for stopping and steering ability, as well as emergency exits, at check-in on Saturday. There will be another check just prior to your departure time to confirm that you are carrying the following safety equipment (which must be on board at all times):
+2C or not 2C Mom's High Anxiety Rule: Make sure you can get out of your Sculpture in an emergency. Each pilot must have a quick exit path. All Sculptures must pass a technical safety inspection which will be conducted by race officials immediately prior to entering the Willamette River. Life jackets will be worn while on the water.
2d All law enforcement orders must be followed.
3.00 Pit Crews may consist of humans only. One Official Pit Crew person is allowed for each Official Pilot.
+3.1 All Sculptures must follow the rules of the road; i.e. stop signs and traffic signals, including posted speed signs, except as designated differently by traffic controllers along the race course. A vehicle code violation resulting in a citation issued by an official law enforcement agency also carries at least a one hour penalty. A vehicle code violation observed by a race official gets an additional 15 minute penalty, even if not ticketed.
+3.1415926 Drift Law: If you drift past the river exit point and cannot return under your own power, you will be towed back to the exit point. A one hour penalty will be imposed.
+3.2 Roll in/out rule: Sculptures must be propelled unassisted into, through, and out of the river by the pilots (on board throughout the process) in order to avoid a one hour penalty. Pilots are responsible to avoid this penalty by ensuring that race officials observe their entry and exit at the designated boat ramps. Upon exit, all wheels must clear the water to qualify. This one hour penalty will be imposed independently of the penalty proscribed in rule 3.1415926 - in other words, if you get towed and don't get into or out of the water unassisted you will have a two hour penalty. The penalty is applied in two 30 minute pieces: 30 minutes for not rolling in and 30 minutes for not rolling out - if you are successful at one, you avoid that 30 minute penalty.
+4.0 Honk and pass law: Those honked upon must yield right-of-way to faster moving Sculptures wishing to pass; it is not nice to hog the road. Failure to yield to a faster Sculpture will result in a 2 hour penalty.
4a During timed competition, no relief pilots will be allowed unless specifically authorized by the race officials. Pilots and Rumble Seat Passengers, if any, must stay with their Sculpture and are not allowed to ride on pit crew vehicles while the Sculpture is travelling the course.
4b Bubba's Boo-Boo rule: No drafting of motor vehicles on land or water! Three hour penalty.
4d Pit crews will not follow directly behind Sculptures in motor vehicles.
4f Harassment of race officials can result in a one hour penalty, or banishment. Disgrace is liberally awarded in all such cases.
+4x Pilots, pit crews, and officials will not involve themselves in incidents of kicking, biting, scratching, or fisticuffs. Anyone engaging in such outrageous activities will be banished.
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+6.00 Armand's Arm and Leg law: Ace status in not awarded in this race, however we do issue a Leo award to all teams that succeed in having all Sculpture pilots ride the Sculpture at all times over the entire course. Therefore at no time should your Sculpture be pushed, pulled, winched, or otherwise propelled along the course by pilots or pit crew, or both, except in designated "Legal Push" areas. Your Sculpture may be moved sideways or backwards either by pilots or pit crew, or both, to gain supposedly better conditions, but the Sculpture can not be moved from the course. (Rumble seat passengers, if any, must stay seated during these ridiculous maneuvers.) Breaking this rule will result in a 2 hour penalty (except in the mud bog, where the penalty is 30 minutes - see rule 9.BYORAPT) and this penalty may be applied independently of the penalty for rule 3.2.
+6.02b The Garlic Pope ruling: No gadgets, such as skis, snow-shoes, boards, etc., attached to your feet will be allowed as part of your Sculpture.
+7.00 The Case of '79/'84: All Sculptures must stay on the course at all times. A first violation will result in a 7 hour penalty and a series of dirty looks and disgrace. A second violation may result in banishment.
7-1/2 The Agony of Defeat Law: The No Towing Rule. A Sculpture must negotiate the course without assistance by any motorized vehicle. Receiving a tow suggests engineering improvements are required. Back to the old drawing boards; you are out of the race and better luck next year (Exceptions: see rule 3.1415926.)
+8 or Drank: The consumption of alcoholic beverages or use of controlled substances by any pilot or pit crew while still on the course (from start to finish line) shall result in instant banishment. Pilots should realize that consumption of alcohol during the race is not nice, is unsightly in the eyes of spectators who look up to Kinetic Sculpture Race People with awe and wonderment, and is also against the law pertaining to all road negotiating vehicles. Violation of this rule shall cause extreme measures to be taken by strict race officials on all alleged violators. The same is true for finding any alcoholic beverages on or in any Sculpture ... or pilot. Pilots must bear in mind that banishment for violation of this rule is a betrayal of Kinetic Honor.
9 In case of rain, the race shall be run in the rain.
9.BYORAPT Pit crew may move large obstructions from the vehicle path, but they are not allowed to "push" the mud out of the way of the wheels. This will be considered a pushing violation.
10.00 It is mandatory that all sculpture pilots, pit crew, officials, law enforcers, communicators, sponsors, volunteers, merchants, and even innocent bystanders put great effort into having great fun, for it is such craziness as this that keeps us all sane! If you insist on being a grumpy racer and not having fun, you may declare "diplomatic immunity" (since you are surely from another planet) and not be cited by overly excited offficials for that infraction, but we reserve the right to adjudicate any such declaration.
The clock for the road race starts when you leave the finish line and stops when you arrive at the starting line (er, uh, wait, it's the other way around). Anyway - with the exception of designated bottlenecks, all time counts. Time spent waiting for traffic clearance, traffic signals, and such is the luck of the draw and you take what you get - but don't take chances, a few minutes is not worth getting hurt.
If you complete the road race in less than one hour, you may elect to go around the course again, average your times, and subtract 6.28 minutes (2 pieces of pi) from the result.
There is a maximum of 10 minutes allowed for the sand trap - anyone going over this will be given 10 minutes as their time, a rousing cheer for making a good effort, plus a 30 minute penalty push. If you are almost through the sand we will give you the option of finishing and taking the extra minute or two, or using the 10-minute cut-off. Anyone sitting in the sand trap for 10 minutes as an easy out will be given a 10-hour penalty.
The clock for the mud/river/road race starts when you begin the mud run and stops when you are ready to enter the river. There is a maximum of 10 minutes allowed for the mud - anyone going over this will be given 10 minutes as their time, a rousing cheer for making a good effort, plus a 30-minute penalty push. If you are almost through the mud we will give you the option of finishing and taking the extra minute or two, or using the 10-minute cut-off. Anyone sitting in the mud for 10 minutes as an easy out will be given a 10-hour penalty. The clock starts again when you enter the river and stops when you reach the finish line at lower campus (river exit and changeover is on the clock).
At designated bottlenecks, your arrival and departure times will be noted (it is your responsibility to make sure the time keepers are aware of your arrival and departure). The time it takes to get your turn to depart will not be counted in your race time.
A rumble seat passenger must be at least 12 years old, weigh at least 95 pounds and is not allowed to assist in the progress of the sculpture in any way. Further, they must be seated on the sculpture any time it is moving on the course. They may harass and/or encourage the pilots but must refrain from using any really bad, ugly words. It is your responsibility to make sure the time keepers know about these passengers.
There are 3 basic categories of judging:
Da Vinci Days would like to thank the following for their help in making the Fifth Corvallis Kinetic Sculpture Race possible: