F3N Team Trials (redux)

[robgt]

Hi, The BMFA have decided that the Nats F3N event can not be used as the UK F3N Team Trials. All Team Trials events must be advertised in the BMFA News magazine. This one was not. First off, apologies to those affected by this turn of events, I'm left feeling a bit miffed, but there's nothing we can do. It was a series of unfortunate timings that brought us to this point. I wanted to assemble a UK Team for the European Championship F3N competition taking place next year in Germany - once I had heard it was (almost certainly) going ahead. It still is not 100% definite, but probably about 98% right now. The problem is down to publication lead times. The BMFA News magazine has copy deadlines, which if you miss them, you are too late. Sadly, we didn't even know about the possibility of the European Championship event until after the deadline for the BMFA News issue that would have been out before the Nats. So we had no chance. I did my best to let tons of people know about this event and what I hoped it would represent. Yes, I feel pretty stupid now, thanks Anyway, drawing that to a close, we now have another F3N competition taking place at the AHA's Gumley event alongside their F3C Team Trials event. So, the new, and fully official, Team Trials for UK F3N Team will take place on 2nd October 2011, at Gumley in Leicestershire. If you need any further information about this event, please just ask via PM or on the thread here. Cheers, Rob

[moyesboy]

Ahh, FAI team selection processes, bound by a load of BMFA rules that you never knew existed...
But finally probably a BMFA team that might have a lot of potential members that need to be wittled down for selection, unlike free flight or c/l team race or whatever.
I don't envy your task Robgt!

I can understand the requirement for all announcements to be in the newsletter as for most BMFA official team hopefuls the Royal mail is quite a modern innovation

[pchristy]

Hi Rob,

I'm a little surprised by this. IIRC, the BMFA Comp Sec (who is, incidentally, very sympathetic to helis) can appoint a team in her own right. Its not something she does as a matter of course, and she is very reluctant to do it unless the circumstances are exceptional. However, if, as you say, the event was only notified AFTER the BMFA News deadline, I would have thought that would have constituted "exceptional circumstances"!

The point everyone should bear in mind though - and what the BMFA is trying to achieve - is that team trials should be open to anyone who cares to enter - not just the chosen few in the know. It is quite possible (if unlikely!) that somewhere out in the middle of England's darkest moorland is a pilot good enough to blow the acknowledged experts out of the water, and that is why trials have to be openly advertised.

And I do seem to recall Dave Pacey reminding everyone at the last AGM about the necessity of advertising not only the trials, but the position of team manager as well.

Best of luck with the re-run!