Race Hosts
Host Your Own Air Race!
So, you want to host a Cross Country Air Race? You’re in the right place!
While there’s plenty of work to be done in organizing, promoting, and facilitating your own air race, we’ve provided numerous materials and resources to help you bring your own unique spin to the thrill of air racing.
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Race Hosts
Hosting an Air Race
We prefer new race hosts to have attended a race and have had a chance to experience the environment, talk to another host, and see first-hand how the events are run. Experience matters!
Additionally, you should read and become familiar with the SARL Rules and Regulations.
With that under your belt, it’s time to consider finances, awards, and additional activities. For recommendations and guidance, be sure to check out our FAQ section or contact us anytime!
SARL Rules& Regulations
The Sport Air Racing League has always been big on fun and small on hassle. If you are new to the Cross Country Air Racing sport, the document below will help you understand what we do, how we do it, and why.
Host A Race With Us
Learn more about organizing and facilitating your own air race with SARL!
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Check out the latest news and updates, photos from past events, and more!
Have Questions?
Contact us anytime to learn more about SARL or for additional assistance!
Racing Brief
The racing brief sets the tone for the race – if you run a professional brief, your participants are likely to respond in kind. Below are just a few tips as to how to facilitate a briefing and content you’ll want to be sure to cover:
- Be courteous and demand full attention – every bit of information you are about to provide is critical for their safety and successful completion of the race.
- Have a large-format version of the course on either a dry-erase board or foamboard that can be marked up easily. Ensure that it is as large as possible, ignoring scale if you must. Be sure to make take-off, starting points, turns, and finish prominent.
- Annotate landmarks along the route, as well as nearby airports that may be used as directional markers or in the case of an emergency.
- Demarcate radio frequency zones, especially if the race uses more than one frequency. Try to use no more than two frequencies so that they can be flip-flopped easily.
- Complete your brief in order, starting with your ground handlers, taxi instructions, and start procedure. From there, help them understand launch intervals, how to find the start line, as well as an overview of the overall course.
- Consider the SARL standard of “the less radio traffic, the better.” Racers may call inbound to each turn, utilizing greater caution and communication around airports.
- Passing should be done on the outside of a turn – with any other passes keeping the aircraft being passed in sight at all times. How absolute this rule is, is up to you, the Race Directory.
- Declare a Race Frequency that will also serve as the emergency frequency, using 121.5 when local help may be unavailable.
Race Software & Timing
Technology has drastically changed how we track racers along the course. Currently, we use ForeFlight to keep up with racer positions and progress, utilizing Time.is and plane spotters at the start and finish locations for accurate timing.
The Course
Several factors should be taken into consideration when choosing and laying out your course:
Distance
For faster aircraft, we typically recommend a longer course that ranges from 120-200 miles, with courses ranging between 60-100 miles for slower planes. The primary goal is to have everyone finish in under 90 minutes, preventing the need for refueling while reducing the impact of potential weather.
The exception to his are “destination races,” where participants begin at one airport and race to an event or resort at a more distant location.
Airspace
The best race course, of course, out in the sticks with no one and nothing presenting a hazard to aircraft. Class G airspace is optimal, and you can expect to be required to have a waiver when operating around busier airspace.
Terrain
You can make your course as challenging as the terrain allows. The central US offers a lot of flat terrain, while western states can offer more interesting routes. Safety is paramount, however, and the reality is that engines can and do fail. Make sure that no part of the course is over “hostile” terrain and that your racers always have a way out.
Turn Points
Airports are easy to find, easy to program into a GPS, but introduce a safety issue in dealing with non-race traffic. This requires the turn to be made above the traffic pattern, which means climbing, which means slowing down for many.
Natural landmarks are usually out in the sticks and might include a lake, hilltop, or other prominent land feature. Since they are not man-made, we can blow over them at race altitudes – so long as we can find them. Having a specific turn point at a landmark can be a problem too, using something like a lake as a turn point (where, exactly, do we turn?).
Towers, crossroads, towns, and other man-made structures have varying degrees of suitability as a turn point. At a minimum, there is the 500′ separation demanded by the FARs. Worst-case is the 1,000′ AGL minimum above a town.
Race Stickers & Goodies
While participants mostly race for the glory and points in the SARL piggy bank, you can choose to commemorate your racer’s achievements throughout the year with stickers, dash plates, and other items.
Underwood Design offers a variety of services, with all proceeds from aviation projects going to benefit DreamFlight Charities, Inc. – an aviation-non profit that looks to encourage and enable the next generation of aviators.
Frequently Asked Questions
Instead of wishing there were races near you, host your own race! It is a goal of the Sport Air Racing League to help pilots establish new races and run them successfully. You will find that hosting a race is fun and rewarding.
Once you decide to host a race, you will be assigned a mentor to help you organize and run your race. Your mentor will help you lay out your race course, decide on prizes, hold your safety briefing, arrange food and housing for your racers, and time your race. Your mentor is your best resource as a rookie host.
That depends on you. Some hosts provide meals while others ask racers to purchase their own. Some hosts have prizes made before the race while others wait to mail trophies to avoid overspending. As a new host, your mentor will help you set a budget and find economical ways to run your first race.
Most race hosts seek out sponsors to cover the cost of races. Good sources are FBOs, flight schools, nearby restaurants, local aviation groups, and local airplane maintenance businesses. You’ll be surprised how interested they are in helping fund a race! Sponsors can be rewarded with patches on shirts, signs at the race or other forms of recognition.
This is where your enthusiasm is your greatest asset! Let them know about our impeccable safety record. Share with them that our races focus on safety first, having fun, and introducing both aviators and the local public to their airport. Your mentor and other race hosts can help you but having a good relationship with the people running your local airport is key.
Most hosts rely on the local EAA chapter, spouses and friends. You can run a race successfully with just a handful of volunteers: 3-4 ground crew, and 3 timers. It’s helpful to have someone available to welcome and register racers as well.
You can use online resources to hold a logo design contest (LogoMyWay or DesignCrowd are two examples). A local t-shirt design business can also help you with a design and provide shirts for your race. Ask friends or even ask a high school art class for help.
Contact the Sport Air Racing League any time!