Yesterday (Thursday 4th May) the BDRA Committee were contacted by a number of members who were concerned that a track layout was being shared ahead of a British Qualifying Event (BQE) within the Velocidrone simulator and felt that this was against the BDRA ruleset.
On review of the current ruleset, and all previous rulesets back to 2016, there has never been a rule against the pre-publishing of tracks ahead of a BQE events – although it may have been a rule that the UK FPV community unofficially instigated and has voluntary adhered to until this point.
This was discussed at the EGM earlier this year, where the 2023 ruleset was reviewed, and it was agreed that track layouts could be pre-published as long as:
- There was equal opportunity for all Pilots attending to learn the track ahead of the event.
i.e. the track layout must not be solely shared within a particular simulator – but also as a video and a static ‘birds eye’ image that is easily accessible to all. - That the intention to share the track layout ahead of the event, and the format(s) it would be in, would be included in the event sign-up description.
- When published, that all participants should be emailed with links to the track layout materials, as well as posting on social media channels, so to ensure that the message reaches all competitors.
At this year’s AGM we will canvas the membership on these points above to decide whether this guidance should be committed to the ruleset for the 2023/24 season.
The BDRA have chosen to support this request from the membership and Race Organisers due to the following reasons:
- To improve safety at events – by Pilots already have a rough knowledge of the track before arrival.
- To integrate with international standards – as pre-publishing tracks within simulators for competitions is also now supported by FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale).
- To ensure that we are ‘moving with times’ and supporting the new tools available to the UK FPV community.
The BDRA would like to stress that there is no pressure on Race Organisers to pre-publish details of the track and if they wish to continue to keep this under wraps until the day of the event this is totally acceptable – and may indeed be favoured by some. By organisers stating their intentions as part of their sign-up descriptions Pilots can make their decision whether they wish to sign up, with or without the track information being shared.
If there are any further queries over the above communication then please do contact the BDRA Committee via info@bdra.uk or through our Contact Us page.