Organisation, ground clearance specifications

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Organisation
Ground Clearance Specifications

Why should organisers specify a minimum ground clearance?

1) Your course has an obstacle that requires a minimum ground clearance.

Even then, you do not have to specify a minimum. You can merely give your opinion in construction advice e.g. The organisers recommend a 50 mm ground clearance to clear the cattle stop.

If you don't specify a minimum ground clearance, you don't have to scrutineer it.

Some constructors may find ways of clearing your obstacle safely with much less ground clearance than you had imagined.

Kaiti Hill

2) If you have some other reasons, please email the webmaster and they will be published here.

3) ....

4) ....

Why should organisers not specify a minimum ground clearance?

Stability
The taller a trolley is, the higher is its centre of gravity and the more likely it is to roll.

Scrutineering difficulties
If you specify a minimum ground clearance the scrutineers may have a distasteful task ahead of them. Failing a trolley is not a pleasant experience for the scrutineer or the competitor and most scrutineers will bend the rules to let a trolley pass this spec. which negates the point in having it.

Could you really tell these kids they can't race today?

The organisers of this derby didn't scrutineer for ground clearance even though they had specified a 50 mm minimum. It is just as well. These were not the only trolleys in danger of failing on that rule.

If you do not intend to scrutineer for ground clearance it is unfair to specify it.

Why? Who is it unfair on?

It is unfair on those who went to the trouble of building or altering a trolley to meet the specification.
You may be denying the builders of in spec. trolleys of their rightful places on the winner's podium. Don't think it goes unnoticed.

It is unfair on those who had an existing trolley that was out of spec. and who decided not to race, rather than rebuild or alter. The worst case is when they come as spectators and see out of spec. trolleys racing and it is too late to race home, grab the trolley and enter.

How do you scrutineer ground clearance?
Looking at the above trolleys it could be argued that it is only the steering that may be below 50 mm, but if that is safe on the course then why is there a need for the 50 mm spec.?

Have you made that exclusion in your rules?

In other trolleys it may be 'only the brake' or 'only a bolt' etc. and soon you have so many exclusions the spec. has disappeared.

You could scrutineer it by choosing a flat area, placing an object of slightly less (to be fair) than the spec. on a chalk mark and and rolling the trolley over it. If the object doesn't move they pass, if it moves they fail.

Note that many trolleys have suspension and/or flex in the chassis, so the trolley should be fully laden with the driver and all his kit.

Cheating
Some trolleys have adjustable suspension and many drivers add weight as the day progresses. This may put them out of spec. after scrutineering so if you have this spec. you really should be re-scrutineering all trolleys before they race, or winning trolleys after they have raced.

If this all sounds like too much trouble ........... it is. You really need a very good reason to include a ground clearance specification.

Too many specifications interfere with innovation and discourages entries.

Comments and additions for this page are welcome