The below report was forwarded to Sherman and Pascal on 9 March, but I do not see it on the website anywhere yet, so I thought I should post it here. Draft rally procedure changes in mark-up mode with deleted text marked through and new text underlined were made as pdf's, and I will follow up with Pascal about where they might be posted.
JCNA Rally Committee Report
15 total rallies were sanctioned and 12 scored in 2008. 17 and 15 were scored in 2007 and 2008, respectively. 13 rallies held and 9 total rallies were scored in 2006.
One sanctioned Monte Carlo rally was held by South Florida in 2008, the first one in several years.
For proposed rally program manual changes, four changes proposed by members or the committee constitute more than editorial changes to re-word, clarify, or eliminate redundancies. It is proposed that those four issues be discussed and voted individually, and the remaining editorial changes be voted on as a single package after the four are voted on.
The four issues being proposed for voting at the AGM are:
1. Teams involving one member a novice and the other an expert ÔÇô It is proposed that the novice could not receive points toward a novice JCNA Rally Championship when competing on a team with an expert.
2. Addressing penalties for entrants crossing controls in the wrong direction ÔÇô It is proposed that teams pre-declare what, if any, penalties will be assessed, and a 50 second penalty is suggested.
3. Clarifications of Special Event membership requirements for non-JCNA members of JCNA members indicating that drivers and navigators are required to register as Special Event members.
4. Changing the ÔÇÿSTRAIGHT AHEAD RULEÔÇÖ to a ÔÇÿFOLLOW THE MAIN ROADÔÇÖ rule, as no one has used the old rule as written.
Only one rally had any Novices registered, while last year, 5 rallies had one or more novice scores entered.
Respectfully submitted,
Brian Blackwell
Submitted by bblackwell@jcna.com on Wed, 03/18/2009 - 21:57
Should also post the text of what was sent to Sherman for handing out with the AGM delegate package.
JAGUAR CLUBS OF NORTH AMERICA, INC.
2009 AGM RALLY PROGRAM MANUAL REVISION PROPOSALS
1. Entering a Check Point from the wrong direction
There is no mention of a requirement to enter a checkpoint from the proper direction or a penalty for not doing so but we had an instance in 2008 where a team overshot a turn for a checkpoint and turned around but entered the checkpoint from the wrong direction. (Note: 4.1 says the teams must "travel ...over a route...through each Checkpoint in the proper direction" but does not provide for a penalty for failing to do so.)
My recommendation is to specify a penalty for this in the Required General Instructions in Sections 3.2 and 4.2.
"3.2.nn (Add) "If a team enters a checkpoint from the wrong direction (i.e. they do not cross the IN line before entering the check point area) they will be penalized ____ points(_____seconds)".
"4.2.nn (Add) "If a team enters a checkpoint from the wrong direction (i.e. they do not cross the IN line before entering the check point area) they will be penalized ____ points(_____seconds)".
Committee felt that subject should be addressed, but that each club should follow their own preference. Adding more specifications to JCNA Rally Program makes the program more complicated unnecessarily.
Add new paragraphs: 3.2.19 (TSD) and 4.2.17 (MC) which will say:
Address how entering a passage or open checkpoint from the wrong direction, including whether re-crossing in the proper direction is required, and what penalty shall be assessed, if any. A minimum penalty of 50 seconds is recommended.
2. Teams of Mixed Classes between Novice and Expert
When the change from teams receiving points to awarding points individually to Drivers and Navigators, there was no guidance provided regarding how to address teams where one member was a Novice and the other is an Expert. The below words are proposed to be added to the manual:
7.1.6 (Add) "If one member of a team is a Novice but the other is not, the team may not compete in the Novice class."
8.3.3 (Add) Add the wording from 7.1.6 to the end of 8.3.3
3. Convert the ÔÇ£STRAIGHT AHEADÔÇØ Rule to a ÔÇ£FOLLOW THE MAIN ROADÔÇØ Rule
A rule that pre-dated the 2004 reorganization of the Rally Program Manual was the Straight Ahead rule, which said  you automatically select the road that offers the most straight ahead direction of travel possible. The situation described is rarely encountered and the wording often modified in the General Instructions, but as paved driveways and side streets often go off straight from curves, this made all rallymasters clarify these requirements or add additional route instructions. This would eliminate that requirement.
3.2.15 MAIN ROAD RULE IS IN EFFECT: If a route instruction places you on a road without name or number, and you encounter another road for which no route instruction is given, you should select the route that is the obvious continuation of the road on which you are traveling through a curve or an intersection. This may be determined by:
ÔÇó Pavement surface continuity
ÔÇó White or yellow, solid or dashed, center stripe
ÔÇó Traffic control signs ÔÇô i.e., curve warning, left or right turn arrows
ÔÇó Stop or Yield signs for intersecting traffic
ÔÇó Multiple lanes in the curved direction of travel.
4. Clairfy the Special Event Member requirements
When Special Event member requirements were added to non-JCNA member participants in a rally put on by a JCNA affiliated club, whether those requirements applied to both the driver and navigator was not specified. This will correct that omission.
Addition to 7.1.5:
All drivers or navigators who are non-members must comply with JCNA Special Event member fee and documentation requirements. Non-members will not be scored in the JCNA Rally Championship program.
5. Various Editorial changes, clarifications, and deletions
Over forty various minor changes, clarifications, or deletions of redundant information were proposed to be incorporated in this yearÔÇÖs edition of the Rally Program Manual