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Click here to
download a PDF version of the Regulations
Version 3 - April 27, 2012
1. Maps
The route
for each Route Card must be plotted on the supplied maps. These
will usually be based upon Internet Ordnance Survey's 1:50000
scale or Street View maps. You will be able to download a PDF
map of the the plotting area for printing on an A4 sheet of
paper.
Other map sources such as paper maps or Google maps may be
consulted but the solution for the Route Cards must be based
upon those supplied.
2. Map Solutions
When you have plotted the route
solution you will be required to mark this on a web browser
version of the map - see
Practice Marking a Route. You
will be able to save your solution and revisit to make changes
as many times as you wish. When you are happy with the result
you can submit your solution for marking.
The marking will take place automatically and you will receive
immediate notification of your penalties. Your marked route
should follow the line of the road as accurately as possible and
be within the tolerances specified.
3. Route Cards
Each event will contain 12 Route Cards
of varying difficulty. The easier Route Cards will use common
road rally navigation - tulips, herringbones, spot heights, map
references, grid squares etc - to define the required route. The
harder Route Cards will use cryptic puzzles. Broadly there will
be four "Novice Level" Route Cards; four "Expert Level" and four
"Master Level".
Each Route Card will start and finish at a Time Control (TC1 to
TC2) and along the route there will be undisclosed. Passage
Checks (PC) to be visited. Penalties will be applied for not
visiting TC2 (TC1 will automatically be set for you) or PCs
correctly.
"Time" penalties may be applied for taking a longer route than
necessary or incorrectly visiting a Timing Point (TP).
To correctly visit a Passage Check it must passed through (or
close enough to) with the correct direction of approach and
departure, and be visited in the correct order (e.g. if the
correct order of PCs is PC1, PC2, PC3, PC4, PC5 but they are
visited in the order PC1, PC2, PC4, PC3, PC5, two would receive
penalties i.e. PC4 - not visited fourth - and PC3 - not visited
third.
Competitors should attempt all Route Cards. However, the two
highest total penalties for each Route Card will be discarded in
calculating a competitor's overall penalties.
Route Cards are standalone i.e. the route on a Route Card will
not necessarily link to the previous or next.
The Route Cards must be answered in numerical order (although
certain Route Cards flagged as Redo may be revisited as many
times as you want) and at any time between the opening and
closing times of the competition.
4. Penalties
Not attempting a Route Card and the maximum penalty on a Route
Card - 100 marks.
For each PC incorrectly visited (missed, incorrect approach or
departure) - 5 marks
For incorrectly visiting the final TC (missed, incorrect
approach) - 30 marks
Time Penalties:
By default no Route Cards are "timed".
"Time penalties" will be applied by comparing the distance of your
route with the distance of the ideal route.
When a Route Card is designated as "Timed to the Minute", for every whole
minute you are "early/late" at TC2 you will be penalised
1 mark.
When a Route Card is designated as "Timed to the Second", for every whole
second you are "early/late" at TC2 you will be penalised
1/60 mark.
When a Route Card is designated as "Regularity", you will be
asked to mark a TP on your route. For every second you are
"early/late" at the ideal TP you will be penalised 1/60 mark.
TC2 Example:
It assumed that you will abide by UK road rally rules and
"drive" at an average speed of 30 mph. So, for example, if the
route on a Route Card (between TC1 and TC2) is, say,
10 miles, you would "take" 20 minutes.
Like timing to the nearest preceding minute on a road rally you
are allowed to arrive at a control within the following minute
e.g. in this example, up to 20 minutes 59 seconds and still be
penalty free.
How does this apply on a Table-Top Rally?
Suppose you made a mistake with your marked route
solution (perhaps you went round an unnecessary loop) and the
distance you travelled was 11.15 miles. At 30 mph your journey
would
take 22 minutes 18 seconds. If you were being timed to the
second you would be 2 minutes 18 seconds late and would be
penalised 2:18 marks (expressing the penalties conveniently as mins:secs).
If you were being timed to the minute you would be 2 minutes
late (rounded down to the preceding minute) and would be
penalised 2 marks.
Note that when you are timed to the minute, you are
effectively allowed a tolerance of 0.5 mile difference from the
master route before being penalised. This allows your plotted
route to be slightly different from the master route without
penalty.
Regularity Example:
You will be asked to calculate the location of a TP. The
distance from your TP to the ideal TP will be converted to a
time penalty based upon a 30 mph average.
Final positions will be decided on decreasing overall penalties.
Ties on total penalties will be decided by the "furthest
cleanest" principle.
5. Classes
Competitors will be divided into separate experience classes: Masters,
Experts and Novices; and there will class awards in each event
and the overall Championship.
Masters:
Any competitor that has competed on previous Internet Table-Top
Rallies as a Master.
Any competitor that has competed on previous Internet Table-Top
Rallies as an Expert and has won their class on an event or has
finished in the top three places of the Experts Championship.
Novices:
Any competitor who has never competed on a postal or internet
Table-Top Rally.
Experts:
All other competitors not covered by Masters or Novices above.
6. Route Card Plotting
Unless otherwise stated each
Route Card should be plotted using only the given information
and in the order given, implied or necessary to solve the Route
Card. The shortest route consistent with this information
should be plotted between each Route Card's Start TC and Finish
TC,
unless otherwise stated.
If the abbreviation LWR (Long Way
Round) is used as an instruction, the longest route should be
taken between the previous instruction and the following
instruction.
Where a particular map feature is used solely on the Route
Card, e.g. spot heights, then all other similar features must
be avoided.
Features which are to be avoided will be enclosed in brackets
(like this).
The following PDF files provide OS
legends, symbols and abbreviations which may be referenced on
Route Cards.
1:50000 Legend
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1:25000 Legend
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Abbreviations
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Additional 1:25000 Symbols
7. Single Use of Roads
No junction (including
crossroads) or section of road may be used more than once.
8. Permitted Roads
The route only uses
Roads as
defined on the map legend as
 . Paths, and roads under construction,
are to be ignored unless otherwise stated.
(aka PROW) are to be ignored unless otherwise stated.
9. Coloured Roads
White coloured roads (defined as
Other road, drive or track on the OS legend) including green
sections through woods and those that follow the course of
Public Rights of Way (PROW) may be used on any Route Card
except where the section specifies Coloured Roads Only (CRO).
Paths and PROWs may not be used unless specifically
mentioned.
Coloured roads are defined as Blue (Motorway - M), Green
(Primary Route - P), Red (A), Orange/Brown (B) or Yellow (C).
10. Dual Carriageways
A dual-carriageway as defined
on the map legend, is to be regarded as two separate roads and
cannot be used in the wrong direction (Note to foreign
entrants: we drive on the left hand side of the road in the
UK). Entry to, or exit from dual carriageways, where the line
of the road is unbroken is not permitted. U-turns through gaps
in the central reservation are permitted.
11. Roundabouts
Roundabouts are to be treated as you
would normally (in the UK) i.e. travel clockwise. Roundabouts
are defined as any circular or elliptical island in the centre
of the road.
12. No Through Roads (NTR)
All roads leading off the
edge of the map or defined plotting area are no through roads
(NTR). They should be ignored in the navigation unless specifically instructed to the
contrary. However, Route Cards may start
or finish on a NTR.
All roads passing through buildings shall be regarded as no
through roads. All roads that are broken by lettering or
bridges (but appearing the other side) should be treated as
continuous. All gates, should be ignored, i.e. assumed to be
open.
Roads that lead into overprinted areas on
published maps (like the name of the event, Route Card or
Ordnance Survey notices - typically top left or bottom left)
should also be treated as NTRs.
If a Route Card implies that various points on the map
are to be avoided, these don't "break" the road and make it a NTR.
13. Parallel Roads
Roads running parallel with no
broken connecting line shall be deemed to not connect.
14. Spot Heights
Spot heights are defined as being
part of the route only when the actual spot (or circle) is on
the road. In particular note that some Cycle Network symbols on
more recent maps will have hidden an original spot and these
will not be referenced in the navigation. Those on the central
reservation of dual-carriageways are classified as being
off-road. Triangulation Pillars are only used when specifically
stated.
15. Bridges/Railways/Fords
Where reference is made to
bridges, they only count where at least one side of the bridge
symbol is actually shown. Bear in mind that over a cutting or
embankment, the bridge symbol often delimits the extent of the
cutting or embankment. Footbridges count as bridges. A viaduct
is defined as a bridge with two bridge symbols.
Where reference is made to fords, they only count where the
word 'Ford' is present.
16. Map Segments
When the Route Card is presented as a set of map segments to be
found and plotted between, you must use all roads shown on each
map segment, unless a road shown is a NTR.
17. Crossroads
A junction is determined as a crossroads or staggered crossroads
when a continuation of any road culminating at the crossroads
would intersect with a road on the opposite side.
18. Compass Bearings
All compass bearings are based
on grid North unless otherwise stated.
19. Abbreviations
As well as the legend on the map
these
abbreviations (and others for you to discover) may be used
on the Route Cards.
20. World Ranking Points
World ranking points will be allocated based upon an overall
classification.
21. Arbitration
The organisers reserve the right to
appoint an arbiter should there be any dispute over a section. or
cancel or amend any section should the need arise.
22. Queries
Specific queries concerning the
routes/Route Cards cannot be answered, but general enquiries
will be answered via the appropriate TTR Forum.
Do not expect instant answers since the organisers have lives
outside of running table-top rallies.
23. Rule Changes
Any material changes to these rules
after first publication, will be annotated here, shown in a
webpage Bulletin and reported in
the TTR Forum.
24. Individual Effort
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.
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