The Basic Roamer Company
Internet Table-Top Rally Championship 2017-2018
Introduction

Information: Introduction | Entry List | Regulations | Bulletins | Standings | MND

Rallies: Marking a Route | Q&A | The Nearest FarAway Place | Panglossian | Schoolfrenz | Thalamorph

Hi,

Welcome to the 2017-2018 Internet Table-Top Rally Championship. A Championship that has grown since its launch in 2003 via increasing popularity in 2004/5, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012 to what we hope will be best ever event series in 2017-2018.

Major changes were made in 2012. Prior to then you verified your route solution by answering a set of Route Check questions. This was never the most popular method of confirming you had taken the correct route since it was all too easy to miscount, for example, the number of churches you had passed.
That's well in the past; you now mark your route directly on a map displayed in your web browser. Your route will be compared with the master solution which has undisclosed checks at strategic points - miss a check and you'll be penalised, just like a real rally.

Establishing the framework for this innovative marking of your solutions has required many hours of programming, but I hope you will agree that this will make your table-top rallying significantly more enjoyable.

The Championship starts on November 1, 2017, but there is a Practice Route Card available now. This should give you plenty of time to experiment and become comfortable with this style of competition.

Registration and practising is free, but if you want to enter the Championship the fee is £25 (minimum). Remember, all the proceeds go to the Motor Neurone Disease Association, so even if you can't find the time to take part please consider entering anyway knowing you will be contributing to a worthwhile charity.

Read on for more details about the Championship and I look forward to testing your navigation skills during 2017/2018.

Best Regards

"Crow"
September 25, 2017

PS
Due to the technical complexities of making the software work on various web browsers you should have no trouble if you use Edge, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera or Chrome. If you run a different browser and encounter problems please report this in the Comments box when you submit the Practice Route Card for marking.


Remembering Chris Towers
Chris Towers
On July 26 Chris Towers sadly passed away. He was my best friend for over 40 years and business partner for 25 years. I miss him terribly.

I first met Chris on the 1974 Breckland Road Rally that I ran for West Essex Car Club. Within weeks we became friends, rally co-organisers and in 1979 business partners.

Chris was a regular competitor on table-top rallies and ran some of the events in the various championships.

He was an outstanding navigator. In his latter years he was an active participant on International regularity events with considerable success. His circle of friends was extensive, gathered from his interests in business, golf, rallying and historic cars. I would be a lesser person today if I'd never met him.

Less than a year ago he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. I was shocked with its evilness and lack of cure. Research is geared towards managing symptoms and prolonging quality of life. ALL proceeds from your entry fees for the Championship will be donated to the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

He leaves behind his dedicated wife, Linda, and lovely daughters, Emma and Louise.



Internet Table-Top Rally Championships 2017-2018

comprising the

Master Navigators Championship
Expert Navigators Championship
Novice Navigators Championship

with four qualifying events:

  Rally Provisional Dates
1 The Nearest FarAway Place Rally November 1-21, 2017
2 Panglossian Rally December 1-21, 2017
3 Schoolfrenz Rally January 1-21, 2018
4 Thalamorph Rally February 1-21, 2018

All events start and finish at 22:00 hours.

ROUTE CARDS. On each event there will be 12 Route Cards of varying difficulty from straightforward navigation (the kind you might expect on a UK road rally) to navigation of a thought-provoking and cryptic nature. There will be four set at "Novice Level"; four at "Expert Level" and four at "Master Level". All competitors should attempt as many Route Cards as possible.

RESULTS. The 10 (rounds 1 and 2) or 11 (rounds 3 and 4) Route Card answers with the least penalties will count towards your overall score i.e. if you have attempted all 12 Route Cards your worst two/one score(s) will be dropped.
The Championship positions will be decided on the best three placings from the four events. Ties will be resolved by the ranked best placing from any event e.g. A's finishes of 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th ties with B's 2nd, 4th, 9th and 12th - 15 position points from the best 3 events - but B wins the tie because a 2nd beats a 3rd.

DURATION. You will have 3 weeks to submit your solutions. The 12 Route Cards must be attempted and submitted in numerical order starting with the "easiest" and finishing with the "hardest".

NO MAPS TO BUY! The route solutions need to be plotted on (usually) extracts of 1:50000 scale Ordnance Survey maps which are available on-screen and also supplied as PDF downloads.

NO ROUTE CHECKS! You prove where you went by marking your route on a map displayed in your web browser. Unlike older events you will not have to answer route checks. Your route will be compared with the master route, and you will incur penalties for not correctly visiting undisclosed time controls and passage controls.

CLASSES. There are three experience classes: Masters, Experts and Novices - see the definitions on the Entry Form.

REGISTRATION is free via the Entry Form and will allow you access to a Practice Route Card (see below) to try out the map marking procedures for proving you have followed the correct route.

ENTRY LIST. To see who has already registered here's the current Entry List.

The ENTRY FEE for the full Championship of four events is £25 (minimum).
All entry fees will be donated to the Motor Neurone Disease Association. (Charity #294354)
Note: In 2012 we had 228 entries and donated £3277.00 to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

PRACTICE ROUTE CARD. Once you have registered read the Marking a Route page. This is a guided tour of how you would proceed on an event in answering the Route Cards. When you are comfortable with what you have to do LOGIN.

REGULATIONS. Acquaint yourself with the Regulations for the Championship.

BULLETINS. Important updates to the Championship and events will be notified in Bulletins. Please check these prior to starting any Route Card.

AWARDS. You are doing this mostly for fun and helping a charity. However, token awards will be presented to the top three finishers in each class on each event.

TTR FORUMS. If you have any questions about the Championship or individual events please post them to the appropriate TTR discussion forums. If you used this in the last season your username and password will be unchanged. If you need to register please enter a username of Firstname.Surname e.g. John.Smith, other variants will be rejected.

Finishers in all classes on all events will qualify for World Ranking points.

See what happened in the 2012 Championship.