9.3.c Strategy & Tactics - What are some good events to try when first getting into competition?
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This article is from the Model Rockets FAQ, by Wolfram von Kiparski with numerous contributions by others.
9.3.c Strategy & Tactics - What are some good events to try when first getting into competition?
From Dan Wolf
...I am amazed at the number of people who attend a NARAM as their
FIRST contest and expect to have any kind of chance of placing. NARAM
is, after all, the National Championships. It would be like an
expansion team in football winning the Super Bowl or at least making
the playoffs. It isn't going to happen and unless the person has done
some other kind of preparation, it shouldn't. That's one of the
reasons there are NAR sanctioned contests held all over the country
within a reasonable drive of most people. Novices should start out
competing at the local, open and then regional meet levels. Chances
are if they do, two things will happen. First, they will win
something. The meets are smaller and the competition not nearly as
tough as at NARAM. Second, they will learn a lot about competition
strategy, what works, what doesn't, etc. I attended probably about a
dozen contests before I attended a NARAM. I recall years ago asking
people at contests if they were going to go to NARAM and hearing, "No,
I'm not ready yet." We all knew that we had to pay our dues before
working ourselves up to the majors.
Today, more and more, people don't want to toil away at the local,
open and regional levels to work themselves up into NARAM quality
competitors. For many, NARAM IS there introduction to competition. I
think the idea of a novice division, at least at NARAM, thus has some
merit, if that's what it takes to bring NARAMs back to the 300
competitor attendance level.
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