With some major changes to the upcoming 2018 Regional Series, it is important to review some of the modifications to the Regions and Ruleset. These improvements to the 2018 Regional Series will make the upcoming drone racing season even better than the 2017 Season.
The current number of regions will be restructured. The U.S. will now consist of six major Regions:
The 2018 Regional Series will also use a new Regional Qualification system. At the beginning of the 2018 Series pilots that are interested in competing will have to declare a Region that they will be participating in. All of the pilot’s qualifying attempts must take place in this Region. A pilot does not have to live in the Region they choose to compete in, but they must compete in the Region they choose for the entire season. Pilots are not limited in the amount of Regional Qualifiers they can compete in within their Region.
The 2018 Regional Series will have 6 Regional Finals, one for each Region. These Regional Finals will be run by MultiGP and called by Joe Scully, taking the burden and stress off of the chapter organizers. The Regional Finals will all be scheduled out by taking the Region’s climates into consideration. Regions with warmer climates will have their Finals earlier in the Season. Northern Regions will have their Finals later in the Season. The top 100 pilots from each of the Regional Standings Lists will be invited to the Regional Finals. With a maximum of 100 pilots for each Final, the events will be larger and more exciting for all involved. The Regional Finals will also be multi-day events, to give enough time to hold the competition both fairly and efficiently.
There will be a maximum of 151 pilots invited to the National Championship. These 151 spots are determined via 5 qualification methods:
The previous year’s champion will be invited to defend their title. This invitation allows the Champion to participate in the National Championship without attending any regional qualifier or final. Automatically advances to Fast 57 round.
The top 6 pilots from each regional final will be invited to participate in the National Championship. They will automatically advance to Fast 57 round.
Ranks 7-12 from each regional final will be invited to participate in the National Championship. These 36 pilots will compete with the List and Wildcard pilots for 20 advancing slots.
All the regional final participants ranked 12-100 at their respective regional final will be placed on The List. The top 72 pilots on The List will be invited to participate in the National Championship where they will compete with the Contenders and Wildcards in an on-site, best 2 of 3 rounds, race. The top 20 from this race will advance to the Fast 57 round.
6 wildcard qualification slots for the Championship will be assigned to 6 sanctioned races throughout the year. These 6 slots will race with the pilots from The List and Contenders in an on-site, best 2 of 3 rounds race for the 20 advancing slots.
Chapters in a Region are only allowed to run one Regional Qualifier. the running of a Regional Qualifier by a race chapter is voluntary. This will give more chapters the ability to hold Regional Qualifier if they choose. Pilots are not limited in the amount of Regional Qualifiers they can compete in within their Region. We encourage every chapter to hold a Regional Qualifier, thus ensuring pilots in their Region have every opportunity to qualify.
Chapters choosing to run a Regional Qualifier must use the specified Regional Qualifier Track. This will be a pre-designed track that all Regional Qualifiers will take place on. This track will be set up by the individual chapters according to the Regional Qualifier Track Setup Sheet and verified via the Track Worksheet. Pilots competing in Regional Qualifiers will then have their standings entered into the Regional Standings List.
Every participant in a regional qualifier will be added to the Regional Standings List for that Region. The top 100 pilots from each Regional Standings List will advance to the Regional Final. The Regional Standings are seeded by the best 3/5 rounds. The more Regional Qualifiers that a pilot competes in, the more chances they have of advancing in the Regional Standings List. This will encourage pilots to explore their region, and connect with other chapters.
The official regional finals track design can be found here:
High Resolution Diagram Files in Feet (.zip) 2018-Regional-Final-Track-Feet
High Resolution Diagram Files in Meters (.zip) 2018-Regional-Final-Track-Meters
National Championship ProgressionThe 2018 National Championship will begin with the pilots who make up The List, competing in a best 2 of 3 rounds, race. The top 20 from this race will advance to the Fast 57 round, joining the Defending Champion and the Finalists. The Fast 57 participate in a 3 round qualification race to determine the Final 16 that advance to double elimination brackets. The Final 16 then compete in the double elimination brackets until the new National Champion is determined.
151 entrants total → Fast 57
Defending Champion → automatically advanced (1) → Fast 57
Finalists → automatically advanced (36) → Fast 57
Contenders + The List + Wildcards → 3 round race, best 2/3 rounds: Top (20) advance → Fast 57
Fast 57 → Final 16
The Fast 57 participate in a 3 round qualification on site to determine top 16 that advance to double elimination brackets. Ranked in order of best single round.
Final 16 → Champion
Double elimination brackets are held until a new champion is crowned. First to X laps.
2018 is certain to be a pivotal year for drone sports and MultiGP is looking forward continuing its tradition of providing the best events for its more than 22,000 pilots.
