Bulletin 23 (September 13 @ 16:30)

The Rally Round Rally

"Chick" is quite worn out from Rally Round TT deliberations. Right up until the closing time for feedback she was still processing your various iterations of shortest route on some of the Route Cards as you declared increasingly cunning solutions. It did matter in the end though with just four points separating the top 9 placings. I think it was perhaps the most closely fought round in TT history. With some novel Route Cards and tricky plotting this was a fitting end to a challenging year of table-topping.

Masters
Steve Barber has had a steadily improving year so it came as no surprise that he won the Rally Round 2008 - his first win since Rally Round 2003. Robert Owen's 2008 form has been exemplary too, being nudged to second place on elapsed time; and Peter Smith, in third place, scored his second podium of the series. Previous 2008 round winners Gavin Rogers and Iain Tullie came 4th and 7th.

Experts
The top two was a repeat of the Schoolfrenz result: Steve Turnbull taking honours but just pipping Nigel Parrish into second place by 16 minutes. Dee Rampling Lee shared the same score of 49/50 but was displaced on time to 3rd.

Novices
Chris Bean came good again with a perfect score and a hat trick of wins, but five competitors vied for runners-up with Mark Dunkerley eventually taking 2nd and Martin Dewey 3rd.

Robert Owen, Dee Rampling Lee and Mark Dunkerley are award winners for best placed competitors who had not previously been award winners this year.

The Basic Roamer Championships

A bumper year: 108 competitors and £1800 raised for charity. THANK YOU for your support.

It's not an easy life running a TTR Championship. I've known that for many years, and Gavin Rogers and "Chick" still bear the scars from this year. We do it because it challenges our own brains, provides good value entertainment for competitors, and most importantly raises money for charity. We strive to improve what we offer so your feedback via email or the TT forum would be most welcome. Your encouragement will mean that there will be future TT Championships to exercise your mind.

Overall and Masters
This year I welcome Iain Tullie as our new Champion. Until the last round the result could have gone three ways, but Iain's two wins during the year were just good enough to take Championship victory. Iain's win is especially commendable since he is a hyperactive competitor on the "real" rally scene. And great credit to Steve Barber (2nd) and Gavin Rogers (3rd) for keeping us guessing until the end.

Experts
A two navigator race with Nigel Parish and Steve Turnbull sharing the wins. Nigel Parish had the better start in the year to take 1st overall with Steve Turnbull's push at the end not being quite enough. Peter Harbord took 3rd.

Novices
Chris Bean from the USA started the year having never seen as OS map, but three wins gave him a perfect score which guaranteed his Novice Championship. The battle for second and third places went to the wire with Mark Dunkerley edging runner-up on the Rally Round and Richard Laking's consistency yielding 3rd.

World Rankings

The tables haven't been updated yet but a quick scan shows that David Bell will retain his number one ranking. David missed the last three events because of workload, but I had the pleasure of meeting him on the Tour Britannia a couple of weeks ago when he kindly organised a regularity section outside Swaffham for me.
Gavin Rogers keeps his ranking of second, and Iain Tullie's storming of the tables left him ranked third after his Rally Round result. Steve Barber will be close behind in fourth.

That's it. I hope the rest of 2008 is good for you and perhaps I'll touch base with you on the maps again in 2009.

Don't forget the feedback.

Cheers

"Crow"

13 September 2008

Bulletin 22 (August 27 @ 23:00)

Hi everyone!

Well, I hope you enjoyed the Rally Round TT Rally. Those of you competing right up to 22:00 today were obviously keen.

Did you like the new ideas - Helicopter & Sounds Like Fun? Please post your comments to the TT Forum.

You can now relax and take a well earned rest ... until next time.

This was my first experience of setting a TT challenge and so you had to overcome some of my faux-pas, but in general they didn't seem to hold you up.

I know Route Card 11 was really tough and some of you will be waiting to study the solution; and Route Card 5 was not a favourite, but being the Rally Round Rally I had to have one on the actual game board!

Very well done to those of you currently topping the results tables.

I'm working hard on writing detailed solutions and hope to have them published in the next few days. I'll email you when they are ready for you query and comment.

Thank you for taking part.

Cheers,

"Chick"

Bulletin 21 (July 22 @ 13:30)

The Schoolfrenz Rally results are now final.

Congratulations to Iain Tullie, Steve Turnbull and Chris Bean as the class winners. Award winners (previous round winners are excluded) were Steve Barber, Steve Turnbull and Richard Lomax.

Route Cards "wins" went to Iain Tullie (8), Francis Tindall (2), Glynn Hayward (1) and Peter Robertson (1).

By most accounts this was a bit tougher than the previous rounds, but the scores were just right with one perfect score in the Experts and Novices, and not quite a maximum in the Masters.

With one round to go I calculate that only Iain Tullie or Gavin Rogers (if he recovers from organising the Schoolfrenz Rally) can now win the Masters Championship, though podium possibilities are many.
Nigel Parish is already Expert Champion in waiting, but it's a fight for the other top placings.
Chris Bean (USA) is already Novice Champion in waiting, and there's eight possibilities for runner-up.

Don't be deterred by the above or the summer distractions. The last round of the Championship - the Rally Round Rally - will be a bit special. I've seen Chick's route cards and there's loads of novel ideas which will keep your mind active. Start time is 22:00 on Wednesday July 30.

The World Rankings have also been updated. For those new to the Championship this year, if you do all four events you will appear in the rankings at the end of the season. Now wouldn't that look good on your CV.

If you want some real rallying instead, head over to the Cloverleaf Rallies - your entry or offer to marshal for September 6 would be most welcome.

Cheers

"Crow"

Bulletin 20 (July 3 @ 12:30)

The Schoolfrenz Rally has now finished.

I hope you enjoyed Gavin Rogers' contribution to the series. It's a major effort running a round of this Championship and he should be congratulated on the time he has devoted. He and I would welcome your feedback being aired on the TT Forum.

The provisional results look ideal with a single maximum in the Novices and Experts classes and a tight finish at the top of the Masters.

Via the Route Cards & Solutions page you can now view the model answers and each competitor's answers. The solution maps and Route Card solutions will be published next week. I'll let you know when these appear and then you'll have seven days to raise any queries.

Very provisional congratulations to the class winners: Iain Tullie, Steve Turnbull and Chris Bean.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support and enthusiasm.

"Crow"

Bulletin 19 (June 7 @ 21:00)

Route Cards 11 to 12 have been published.

"Crow"

Bulletin 18 (June 6 @ 01:40)

Route Cards 7 to 10 have been published.

"Crow"

Bulletin 17 (June 3 @ 01:30)

Just to remind you that the Schoolfrenz Rally starts at 22:00 tomorrow. Please note that only the first six Route Cards will be available when the rally opens, the remaining six will appear as soon as possible. However, you will be able to download maps for all 12 Route Cards.

Gavin Rogers will be in charge of this event so use the new Schoolfrenz Rally forum to raise any queries.

The latest World Rankings including the Panglossian results have been published.

Good Luck with Schoolfrenz. I'll be watching the fun.

"Crow"

Bulletin 16 (May 13 @ 01:50)

(This Bulletin is the same as the final Rally Commentary for the Panglossian Rally)

There was lots of fine-tuning of the model answers due to the convincing arguments and alternatives that many put

forward. Each class was closely fought with time taken having to decide many places.

Remarkably two Masters scored a jackpot, with Iain Tullie's blitzing of the Route Cards edging out the more considered approach from Robert Owen. The TTR World number 1 - Gavin Rogers - had to be content with third scoring a mere 99! On the way Iain scored five "stage" wins; Gavin three; Robert, Philip Robbins, Glynn Hayward and Steve Barber one each.
Gavin Rogers just heads the Masters' Championship from Iain Tullie, with Peter Smith in third.

In the Experts, Nigel Parish eventually emerged as winner for the second time running. Nigel's maximum score was equalled by Philip King and Peter Harbord, who took over one and four hours longer for their plotting. (Philip will be the prize winner as Nigel collected a map magnifier on the last event).
Nigel's two wins gives him a clear Championship lead, but half way through the season many are still in contention most prominently the other Panglossian Rally podiumees.

The Novices was even tighter with just one point separating the top 15 competitors. Julian Challis was quick enough on his best five answers to beat Mark Dunkerley and Jo White by 10 and 57 minutes respectively.
Chris Bean - the Nearest FarAway Place Rally winner - heads the Championship table, but there are five tied on points behind him.

The 'Crow' will now slide into the background as Gavin Rogers and "Chick" conjure up Route Cards for next two rounds. I've asked Gavin to make the Schoolfrenz Rally just a shade more difficult so that we don't have so many 100% scores. Keep your pencils and map magnifiers handy for June 4 when the next event begins.

As ever, many thanks for your support and comments on what has become the most well supported Table-Top Rallying Championship to-date.

BTW, take a fresh look at the Regulations. I've tidied up a few rules to overcome some of the ambiguities that occurred in the first two rounds.

"Crow"

Bulletin 15 (May 1 @ 16:30)

Go to Route Cards & Solutions to see the solutions, answers and marking.

If you have any queries send them to ttr@CROWtable-top-rallying.org.uk (remove CROW before using the email address) no later than 16:30 on May 8. Thereafter the results of the Panglossian Rally will become final.

Use the same address to give me feedback for future events.

Provisionally ...

Congratulations to Ian Tullie, who proved that every Route card was "doable" with an outstanding list of 10's, but there were worthy performances close behind.

The Experts class was even closer with seven perfect scores tie-decided by time. Well done to Mark Aspinwall who pipped the round 1 winner - Nigel Parish - by 24 minutes.  Steve Turnbull by 14 minutes.

And there were 12 Novices with perfect scores with Julian Challis taking an 8 minute advantage over Richard Lomax.

I deliberately tried to make this round a little easier and it shows. Do you prefer it that way so that the winners are decided on time, or should I toughen up the plotting and Route Checks?

Thanks to everyone for contributing to a fascinating event.

"Crow"

Bulletin 14 (April 30 @ 22:05)

Undoubtedly the most competitive round ever for an Internet TTR. Fantastic response rate and lots of top scores.

I've started posting solutions and maps, but this will take a while to complete. When it's done I'll advise everyone and then you'll have seven days to check/query your marks.

Catch you later.

"Crow"

Bulletin 13 (April 26 @ 11:00)

Just four days of plotting left before the Panglossian Rally ends.
Answers have to be entered by next Wednesday at 22:00.

I can't recall such closely fought contests on an event before; and such high scores. Well done everyone for your skill and enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, Gavin Rogers has finished competing on the Panglossian Rally and is now turning his attention to organising the Schoolfrenz Rally - round 3 of the Championship - which will start on July 2.

If you are also a "real" rally person, let me steer you to http://cloverleaf.wecc.co.uk where regulations have just been published and on-line entries are open for the Cloverleaf Rally on September 6. I know that some of you will be competing and marshalling so you are invited to get your entries in quickly. This event also raises money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

"Crow"

Bulletin 12 (April 4 @ 16:00)

OK ... Route Cards 9 to 12 now published.

Enjoy.

"Crow"

Bulletin 11 (April 1 @ 11:30)

No, this is not an April Fool's joke.

Life has been a bit hectic at the Crow's Nest with many family and rally commitments intruding on TTR preparation time. The upshot is that when the Panglossian Rally opens on April 2 at 22:00, maybe only 6 of the Route Cards will be available. The balance will be uploaded sometime during the following week and a bulletin will advise when they are ready.

Apologies for the delay; it should just mean that you will be restricted in your choice of initial Route Cards to tackle.

Bear with me, normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

"Crow"

Bulletin 10 (March 25 @ 01:00)

Apologies for the delay in debriefing from The Nearest FarAway Place rally, but a big 0 birthday celebration in Lapland took over before I had time to wrap up Round 1.

The results suggest the difficulty for the top in each class was about right: just a point dropped by the best Master and Expert, and a maximum score for one Novice. This will never be consolation for those at the lower end of the scoring, but I hope that a detailed study of the solutions will produce many "Oh, that's how you do it" revelations, and they will return with new enthusiasm on round 2.

Many congratulations to the clear overall and Master winner - Gavin Rogers - who has shown that his world number 1 ranking is still justified. Well done to Nigel Parish, the best Expert and special praise to the first Novice - Chris Bean - a competitor from the USA who fought with UK maps and navigation for the first time. The class winner prizes will be despatched soonest.

Round 2 - The Panglossian Rally - will be published on April 2 at 22:00. Much the same as round 1, and as always I will strive to remove alternatives and reduce counting in the Route Checks. Watch for further bulletins nearer the time.

"Crow"

Bulletin 9 (February 26 @ 15:00)

Logins and answer submissions will close at 22:00 tomorrow. I'll aim to publish the Route Card solutions on Sunday and then you'll have five days to raise any problems before the results become final.

"Crow"

Bulletin 8 (February 17 @ 23:15)

I had a detailed examination of the answers and comments today, and I must emphasise ACCURACY.

Accuracy in understanding the meaning of the Route Check Legend and the syntax required for the answers.

For example, if the question is letters I just want lowercase letters only - no capitals and no punctuation characters. If the letters a, b, c and d break the line of the road I want an answer a,b,c,d not abcd or ab   c   d or a-b-c-d or a.b.c.d.

Some mistakes derive from misunderstanding and others from careless typing - neither of which my strict computer can be tolerant of. Luckily there is a human keeping an eye on things so where your intention was clear but your format was wrong, the animate marker has overridden the inanimate one.

I am being super generous since this is the first round, but will be less so on round two.

"Crow"

Bulletin 7 (February 8 @ 21:15)

We now have 98 paid entries which together with donations means that over £1,700 has now been raised for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Many thanks for supporting the Championship and our charity.

Ten days into Round 1 and over 300 sets of answers have been received. Thank goodness for automatic marking and the fact that my BT Broadband connection has at last realised its full and stable potential.

You've probably noticed that some of the scores have been fluctuating. This is quite normal as I adjust the valid set of answers to reflect your queries and comments. Sometimes you find a shorter or equally valid route; sometimes your interpretation of the Route card is acceptably different to mine. Generally scores drift upwards because I am generous with the marking.

There is no obvious winner yet in any of the classes and that should keep you trying a bit harder. There are some useful Masters who seem to be holding back before they join the party.

If you are reading this and haven't paid your entry fee yet - shame on you. You haven't told me you want to withdraw from the entry list so GIMME THE MONEY.

Will someone make me a reasonable offer for the TopGear magazines? (See Bulletin 6)

Keep going.

"Crow"

Bulletin 6 - Final Instructions (January 27 @ 03:00)

Thanks again for such an overwhelming response to the Challenge. 165 entries the last time I looked.

£500 has been passed to the Multiple Sclerosis Society and another £500 should be on it's way soon. I'm most grateful particularly to those who added an extra donation to their entry fee.

I'll be closing the Practice Rally early on Monday to prepare the website for Round 1, so if you still have some Route Cards to tackle please do so by Sunday.

The first event in the Championship will be published next Wednesday around 10.00pm. All 12 Route cards will be immediately available and then it's up you how you make your selection and schedule your time. Answers must be submitted by 22:00 on February 27.

Sadly, 100 of the registrants will be unable to access the Route Cards i.e. those that have not paid. Unpaid entries will have their Login disabled until I receive their entry fee.

If you have no intention of competing in the Championship please let me know so that I can remove you from the entry list and stop my computer chasing you for money.

Please note that Route Checks in the Championship will be the cryptic form shown in the Regulations. So, for example, if a Route Check asks - SH3 - I want the third spot height on your route. Always make sure you understand the question before you answer e.g. RD = Red Diamonds NOT Red Dots. Be particularly careful with questions like Letters, letters and LETTERS which are different. ONLY enter what is asked for your answer. If the third spot height on your route is 126, and I ask for SH3, enter just 126 NOT SH126. If you want to qualify your answer or have alternatives, please use the comments box.

Also note that once you have entered your answers, the solution and map will NOT be available until the closing date. The correct marking will also take a while to settle down as some of you find additional or alternative valid answers.

Make sure you read the revised instructions on the Route Card Status page before you start any Route Cards.

If you need adjudication on something, ask a question on the TTR Forum, but read the forum rules first. If you haven't registered for the forum yet make sure your username is of the form firstname.surame e.g. Ray.Crowther - others will not be activated. You don't have to register to just read the forum.

Good luck, enjoy, and I hope we will still be talking at the end of February ;-)

"Crow"

PS
I have been offered a complete set of 173 TopGear magazines. The donor would like the proceeds to go our charity fund and reckons they would fetch over £100 on eBay. First pledge to me (ttrCROW@CROWtable-top-rallying.org.uk - remove both CROWs before using) for £100 will secure them for you. Ideally they should be collected in Croydon or I'll arrange some cheap way of getting them to you.

Bulletin 5 (January 14 @ 23:15)

I've added a third Route Card on the Practice Rally. This is the one that was handed out at the HRCR Open Day at Gaydon (see Bulletin 4). Nobody got this right, but a busy exhibition wasn't the right place for quiet plotting and counting! One Route Check scoring 5 points for Experts/Novices and 10 points for Masters.

118 entries now and lots of cash for the charity. If you haven't paid by the start of the first Championship event (January 30th) your Login will be disabled. The Championship is excellent value so I hope you will confirm your entry and help the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

"Crow"

(PS Could 204 - Barry Mc Carte get in touch? Supplied email address is bouncing)

Bulletin 4 (January 8 @ 17:30)

As I write this the 105th entry has just landed in my mail box, which is now potentially a record for the fifth running of an Internet Championship. You can make the potential, an actual, by sending me your entry fee cheque. Many of you have already done so and I now have £430 in the charity pot. As soon we reach £500 this sum will be forwarded to the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Thanks.

From now on, when you submit your Route Card answers for the Internet Championship, you will be sent a confirmation  email (to the address you supplied on registration) which will show the answers you have recorded.

You could win a free entry to the Championship by attending the HRCR Open Day at Gaydon this Saturday. If you are interested in historic motoring then this will be a great day for you with plenty of exhibits and events to visit. I'll be there promoting West Essex Car Club's HRCR Championship events - the Cloverleaf Historic Rally and Millbrook Stages Rally - as well as the Tour Britannia Regularity and, of course, the Internet Table-Top Rally Championship. Come to the West Essex Car Club stand and pick up the test Route Card - the fastest all correct answer during the day will win a free Internet TTR Championship entry.

If you want some further practice before the Championship starts, take a look at the previous years' Route Cards. Even if you don't have the appropriate map you will be able to examine the kind of Rote Card puzzles you can expect. Get there via the Site Map.

See you on Saturday?

"Crow"

Bulletin 3 (January 5 @ 01:30)

Keep those entries coming - surely we will now pass the significant figure of 100.

Three competitors have resigned because clearly the pressure was too much for them, but thanks to Dummy Master, Dummy Expert and Dummy Novice for getting the competition started.

A few have contacted me about printing maps. Printing on everyone's PC will be different so I have no magic wand to solve problems. However, I will make life easier in the Championship by publishing the printed versions in PDF format which will obviate the need to load and print graphics files.

I've added a new tabulation to the "Results" page which shows everyone's start and finish times by Route Card. This highlighted an interesting fact, so I have to remind you of Rule 31 which says:

The competition is open to individuals and their individual effort. Group or joint entries will not be accepted. Enlisting the assistance of another person or competitor to help solve the Route Cards is not permitted and may lead to a competitor's exclusion from the results.

There's one competitor who appears to have missed this important rule, but I trust he/she will not be tempted again.

Happy Weekend.

"Crow"

Bulletin 2 (December 31 @ 22:30)

Thanks for so many more provisional entries already. Please help the Multiple Sclerosis Society by sending your entry fee cheque as soon as possible like Martin Moore, who added £30 from a disbanded football team fund.

As long as you promise not to show the answers to your fellow competitors, when you next login you will be able to view the map solutions of the Route Cards you have finished. However, this will not be the case on the Championship rounds - you will have to wait until the event has finished.

Happy New Year.

"Crow"

(PS Could 180 - John Brown get in touch? Supplied email address is bouncing)

Bulletin 1 (December 24 @ 22:45)

First, thanks for so many provisional entries already. I'm guessing this competition was an attractive way of unwinding before the drama of tomorrow. I hope you will send in your entry fee and compete in the Championship.

Some early tips from looking at your early answers:

1) Only enter the exact answer required in the form. If the answer required is Y/N, just put Y or N not something like Y (the red one) because my dumb computer will mark it wrong.

2) Talking of Y/N answers. I mean just Y or N, although on this practice round I've accepted all combinations like Y y YES Yes and yes.

3) Grid/Kilometre Square answers must 4 digits only and Eastings before Northings. On Route Card 1 Crabb's Farm is in square 8411 NOT 84,11 or 11,84 or 1184.

4) I'm very precise in my questions. Crabb's is not the same as Crabbs.

5) Take a look at Regulation 21. A spot height in the middle of a dual-carriageway cannot be visited.

6) If you are a Master, the part 2 questions only apply to the part 2 route, not the whole route.

7) Again for Masters, you can't enter part 1 answers and then come back to add part 2 answers. The answers have to entered in one go.

Enjoy Christmas, come back soon.

"Crow"