Q1. Why is the rally called Five Diamonds?
A1. Not a subtle clue about the route, just nostalgia from the organiser. Many many years ago it was name of his ten-pin bowling team.

Q2. In regulation No. 10 reference is made to the best 10 route cards in the case of a tie. Surely, though, only the first 10 route cards received are valid (see No.5) so 10 best of 12 doesn't feature. Am I missing something here?
A2. This has been clarified by removing the word "best" in regulation 10.

Q3. Presumably the route cards may be submitted out of order? True or false?
A3. True

Q4. (From one of our overseas entries) Route Card 2 puzzles me. Do I need to figure something out (beyond simple map reading) to understand the map references listed? Or are these listed in a straight forward manner that I just don't understand? I am familiar with grid reference numbers and how to read a map. Plus, the notations in the map margin show that the UK and US methods are the same -- but 0120099300 doesn't appear on our map if read in the standard manner. So what gives? Am I missing part of the puzzle or am I just plain ignorant?
A4. Can't say too much except that sometimes the title of the route card will give a significant clue.

Q5. Ah, I've sussed Route Card 2 now, but I can't get the second map reference to fit!
A5. Sorry, directions transposed. MR2 should be 0062599600SE and MR3 should be S0060000075ENE.

Q6. I'm from the U.S. I'm obviously out of my league, because I don't understand what TC1A @ 3 miles from Maryport means. What is TC1A? I can't seem to find anything on the map, and to look for Maryport (the starting point) seems too time consuming. I'm confused. This is way different from the map rallies I'm used to. Any help would be appreciated.
A61. TC1A (Time Control 1A, like a control on a proper rally) is the starting point of Route Card 1, and the route card finishes at TC1B. When there is a precise statement like "3 miles from Maryport" it often refers to some text on the map somewhere. Maryport is not actually on the map, so there might be a reference to it at edge of the map. If there is, then the starting point is at the very beginning of a road. Look at the SW corner of the map.
A62. Here's a tip which it may be worth passing on, particularly to the overseas competitors, in response to one of the recent messages - a UK map website, such as http://www.streetmap.co.uk is a useful tool, as it allows you to search for a place name such as Maryport, and then displays the OS map. (Thanks to John Elkin for that)

Q7. Can you confirm when the deadline is for Five Diamonds? Your "Final Instructions" email says that competitor comments will be available "after the answer deadline date of May 20, 2003 at 20:00", but according to the regulations the deadline is May 4, 2003 at 20:00.
A7. Too many 20's on my part! Yes, the deadline is per the regulations, the 4th.

Q8. Where it is necessary to determine how many times a road has crossed a grid line, do both sides of the road have to cross it, or is straddling the line regarded as two crossings? (Where the line depicting one side of the road has crossed it but the other has not.)
A8. Hmm ... Depends. I think I know which route card you are referring to (RC1 - Question 9, maybe?), but it may not matter. If there is any doubt about the correct answer I will always be generous and, within reason, will allow alternative answers.

Q9. Help I am having a confidence crisis! This is my first ITTC and I am struggling. Completed 3 Route Cards and seemed to have made a right mess of RC1 (2 points). I have had another a look it and think I know where I went wrong. I was perhaps a little bit too hasty with this Route Card. Slightly better on RC6 (6 points) and RC10 (7 points). Still I have spent hours trying to work out Route Cards 2 and 4. I thought at first Grid Shift was was something to do with converting GPS coordinates but seem to have hit a wall. I also thought I understood Route Card 4 but just cannot make it work. Consequently I'm just not sure which RC to tackle next as they all seem rather puzzling. I will probably have to treat this as a practice event and hopefully learn from the answers when they are published. By the way I don't want to be critical but it does seem difficult for a novice to get decent scores on this type of event. It would probably be too difficult to arrange, but for first time competitors it would be helpful if some additional hints or clues were available. It's a bit depressing only to be able to answer (badly) a few Route Cards!
Still, it has been frustratingly enjoyable so far, but unless I can get my head round a few more Route Cards and set aside a few days, I fear retirement is imminent!
A9. Hey, don't give up now. Retirements are not allowed. Sure, experience helps, but if you get stuck on a route card, leave it for a few days and go back to it. Study the map legend and the rules, particularly the abbreviations and something will click. You'll kick yourself when you see the solutions. As mentioned above there is often a clue in the title. That's certainly the case with RC2 and RC4. Why not try RC10? Patience and a magnifying glass will get you through that one.
I take your point about novices, but it's difficult to classify them. For example, does someone who's been road rallying for 20 years qualify as a novice if this is the first TT that they've done? And with an event lasting a month, I am fearful that the novice tips might leak to the experts. Anyone else have some thoughts on this?

Q10. If you are travelling on a purple road that crosses a pink road (4 way intersection), and you stay upon the purple road, have you travelled on the pink road?
A10. Yes, that's correct. Although for an OS map, you should be dealing with colours of Blue, Green, Red, Orange/Brown, Yellow and White!

Q11. (Extract from an e-mail question) Originally thought that junction at 155534 was YYYW but on closer examination it was actually YYYY and therefore did not include this in my total.
A11. It's not a junction at 155534! Two of the roads are NTR (No through roads), so they don't exist as far as the TT rules are concerned.

Q12. The regulations say that no through roads should be ignored.  Does this mean that, say, where three yellow roads meet at a junction, that junction should not be counted as a YYY for route check purposes if one of the roads is a NTR?  Similarly, where a route check question asks for the number of crossroads, if one or more of the arms of a four-arm junction is a NTR, does that junction count?
A12. Yes, that's correct. Completely ignore NTRs when counting junction types.

Q13. When looking for the shortest/longest route, what determines length, distance travelled or the number of grid squares travelled? If the answer is grid squares, do you count a square more than once if travelled through multiple times? Again, if the answer is grid squares, and you enter and leave a square on certain roads, but there are multiple routes available in between those roads and within that one grid square, how do you determine which is the shortest or the longest -- does one default to distance, is there a precedence of road based on road type, or some other rule?
A13. Ignore number of grid squares, it's strictly the distance along roads.

Q14. On route check questions that ask OWY for example, is their any relevance to the order the colours are in? Do you only include junctions where you are approaching on the O and leaving on the Y ? or would include junctions where you approached on the W and leave on the O and so on ?
A14. No relevance to order. OWY would include OWY, OYW, WYO, WOY, YOW, YWO.

Q15. On Route Card 12 I think that there is a 0 (zero) missing between the 19th number (12) and the 20th (9). Would you agree?
A15. Yes. Route Cards web page (but not PDF file) has been corrected.

Q16. Just to confirm the definition of a 'bridge over' and a 'bridge under'. I assume that a 'bridge over' is a bridge which crosses over the rally route, i.e. the route passes under the bridge, and a 'bridge under' is one over which the route passes.  Is this correct?
A16. Yes. SORRY, CORRECTION - NO, THE REVERSE. A 'bridge under' means the rally route goes under the bridge.

Q17. I've had a specific question from a competitor which I can only answer in general terms since many competitors have already submitted answers to the affected route card.
A17. The route cards have been designed to be stand alone, i.e. you should be able to plot any of them independently without needing to solve neighbouring ones first. 
If you get a route clash, the first course of action is to check that you haven't made any mistakes. If you still have a problem, it might be that you have found a valid, but conflicting, solution that the organisers have overlooked. You have three ways of dealing with this (in order of priority). 
1) If one of the conflicting route cards has some flexibility in the solution which overcomes the conflict, deploy it. 
2) If it is obvious where a problem exists, make allowance for the mistake if it removes the conflict. 
3) Plot the route cards as though there was no conflict, i.e. ignore any overlap. 
In all three cases answer the route check questions as stated. Due allowance will be made for alternative answers when marking.

Q18. Why has my score changed on Route Card 1?
A18. There are two now acceptable solutions. You have been given the highest score from the two sets.

Q19. I have plotted the start of section 9 and section 10. Having done section 10, the route goes ** to the first picture, but this means you cannot get from TC9B (wherever it is) to TC10A without either using the first bit of section 10 route or going through TC9A again. Has the location of either TC9A or TC10A been given wrong or is there something odd about the section 10 route to the first picture which I haven't discovered?
A19. I can't respond specifically since many competitors have already submitted answers to Route Card 10. Best I can do is refer you to the response to Question 17 above.

Q.20. BR - bridges used.  If the route goes under a bridge then you do not use it. Is that correct, or is it being pedantic?
A.20. You DO "use" it if you go under it.

Q21. This is my first table top and I have a question (I'm sure there will be more). If the answer refers to a yyy junction does this include a YYY junction where the yellow road you are on passes a yellow road to the right or the left without actually changing direction. ie NE1500 4955SW or just a junction were you change direction.
A21. Both. Just passing through a YYY junction from any direction counts.

Q22.  Just as I thought I made a right DB of RC12. Having been unable to solve any more Route Cards I took a flyer at it and tried to guess the route! I was hoping to get lucky and pick up 2 or 3 correct answers. Anyway all I managed to do was to set a record low score! Perhaps a blank would have been better? What do competitors normally do if they have answered, say 7 Route Cards in an informed manner, but are struggling to solve any more Route Cards? As there is no penalty for wrong answers it seems worth trying to guess at the possible route and to try and answer the RCs in the hope of picking up a few more correct answers. The only downside is the embarrassment from some very low scores! Perhaps the solution is to put one's guesses in just before the deadline. I would be interested to hear any advice you may have on this.
A22. Guess and suffer the embarassment. But don't guess too early. Hang in there until just before the deadline; you may have (like me on past events) sudden divine inspiration at the last minute while crouching in the little room thinking about life!

Q23. Reg number 12.  By "event", I assume you mean the whole rally, i.e. all 12 Cards, including all links between the cards ?  So not only can one Card's route not cross another, but there must be a possible link between say TCnB and TCn+1A which doesn't cross any Card's route (or any other link section).  Correct ?
A23. Correct.

Q24. In Q10/A10, surely it must depend on whether or not you're on the major road ?  E.g. an Orange crossing a Yellow, you would not have "travelled" on the Yellow, whereas a Yellow crossing an Orange, you would have"travelled" on the Orange.  Correct ?
A24. Correct. "Crossing" is the key word. Normally a higher class road would not "cross" the colour of a lower class road.

Q25. Could you clarify the position of crossing a grid line? Must the whole (width) of the road cross the line or just any part of it i.e. if the right hand line of the road crosses does this constitute the road crossing the line, and does the same rule apply to ETL's, T's etc
A25. See Q/A8. Same rule applies to ETL's, T's etc.

Q26. If the clues to the route use a particular feature to define where to go, do all like features have to be avoided when determining the shortest distance between the defined, ie listed, clues. I am specifically looking at Card (censored) where spot heights are used to define the route but others appear on the shortest route, making it necessary to take detours (and therefore different answers to the questions) in order to avoid them.
A26. Sorry, at this late stage I'll have to leave it to your own interpretation of regulation 11.

Q27. I have a small query about the inclusion of telephone boxes.  The "Legend for Route Check Questions" states that "T- Number of telephone boxes immediately adjacent to the route. How close to the route is "immediately adjacent"?
A27. Can't quote the Route Card mentioned on this question without giving away too much. It is a good point and there is no exact answer other than that I will allow alternative answers and will be generous in marking for anything "iffy". Add comments with your answers to qualify your interpretation.