Dutch Gliding Cup NZC

1 General Rules

1.1 Purpose of the NZC

To promote cross-country gliding and foster the next generation of competition glider pilots in the Netherlands.
To determine the Dutch Cross-Country Gliding Champion.

1.2 Organizer

The organizer is the Gliding Division of the KNVvL in collaboration with the Competition and Selection Committee (CWS).

1.3 Date and Location of the Championship

The NZC takes place during the scoring period from October 1st to September 30th.
Only flights made during this scoring period will be counted.
The NZC is held in a decentralized format.

1.4 Participants and Clubs

Participants can be glider pilots who are full members of a KNVvL-affiliated club and/or members of the KNVvL Gliding Division.
Participants may register their flights for up to two participating clubs in one scoring period.
Participants are considered juniors if their 25th birthday occurs within the calendar years of the competition or if they are younger.
Clubs are included in the club ranking if they are registered as a gliding club with the KNVvL.

1.5 Rules

The responsibility for complying with legal and official regulations, as well as other rules and recommendations applicable to gliding, lies with the participants.
The uniform daylight period, as published in the AIP (Gen 2.7.1), is binding.
The FAI Sporting Code Section 3 applies to the organization and execution of the scoring flights unless different provisions are included in these NZC rules.
The distance calculation is based on the WGS84 ellipsoid (Vincenty's formula).
Only flights with a physical takeoff point or departure point for free flights within the Netherlands will be included in the ranking.
Registrations for scoring flights must be submitted via WeGlide.org.

1.6 Registration for the Championship

The first ranking application submitted by a participant counts as registration for the championship.
By submitting this, the participant acknowledges the NZC rules with the exclusion of legal remedies.
The application for a ranking implies the collection, processing, and use of the participant’s personal data for the evaluation and publication of the flight data.
Information about data protection is available on WeGlide.org, which is also used for submitting flights and is applicable to the NZC.

1.7 Violations

Persons attempting to gain an advantage in the ranking by providing false information or using dishonest methods may be disqualified for the current NZC year.
In cases of intentional violations of the rules in these regulations, a 5-year ban will be imposed, and the name of the person/club will be published.
For repeat offenses, the ban will be 10 years.
The organizer reserves the right to take further measures in such cases.

1.8 Objections

Objections to scores must be addressed to the competition leader appointed by the organizer no later than 48 hours after the flight has been scored.
The competition leader can be reached at the email address: nzc.zweefvliegen@knvvl.nl.
A decision on an objection will be made no later than 10 days after the end of the scoring period.

1.9 Prize Ceremony

The announcement and publication of the NZC winners for the respective scoring period, as well as the prize ceremony, will take place at the next Dutch Gliding Day, the next Dutch Gliding Championship, or a specially organized event.

2 Scoring

Participants may submit as many flights as they wish for scoring.
Each flight must be uniquely assigned to a participating club.
A flight will be judged in the class assigned to the aircraft type flown according to the current DMSt index list.
All aircraft with an index up to and including 106 may also be classified in the club class.
Club class aircraft may be flown with variable ballast in accordance with the flight manual.
If participants have registered flights in different aircraft classes, they will be judged in each of these classes or classifications.
Flights in two-seaters are also included in the junior and women’s rankings (2.2.1, 2.2.1.1, 2.2.1.2) if the co-pilot is also a junior or woman, or if the two-seater is flown as a single-seater.
The two-seater flight flown as a single-seater must be confirmed as such when submitting the flight.
All flights are classified with the aircraft's index according to the current DMSt index list.

2.1 Distance Classification

Distances are classified in the following classes:

• Open Class
• 18m Class
• 15m Class
• Standard Class
• Club Class
• Two-seater Class

2.2 NZC Rankings

2.2.1 Overall Ranking

The three highest-scoring flights from participants in the individual rankings according to 2.1 are included in an overall ranking.
The winner is the participant with the highest score from three flights in this ranking.

2.2.1.1 Junior Ranking

The ranked junior flights are also summarized in the junior ranking.
The winner is the junior participant with the highest score from three flights in the ranking according to 2.2.1.

2.2.1.2 Women’s Ranking

The ranked flights of female participants are summarized in the women’s ranking.
The winner is the female participant with the highest score from three flights in the ranking according to 2.2.1.

2.3 Team Ranking

Three participants from a participating club form a team with their highest-scoring cross-country flight from the ranking according to 2.2.1.
Only the best team per club is selected.
The team winner is the participating club with the highest team score.

3 Flight Registration and Evaluation

Flight registration is only possible with IGC-approved GNSS flight recorders or DAEC-approved position recorders.
The flight declaration must be made in the flight recorder that is also used to evaluate the flight.
Tasks can be declared online via WeGlide.org or through a GNSS flight recorder.
For GNSS flight recorders, the last valid task (C-record in the flight recorder) before the actual flight is used.
If there is an online declaration, the declaration in the GNSS flight recorder or position recorder is invalid.
The online declaration is only valid if it is made before takeoff, and no other online declaration is made after takeoff until the flight is submitted.
The IGC file must have a valid signature (G-record), meaning it can be validated using standardized procedures.
The responsibility for proper certification lies with the participant. A flight is only scored if the flight from the departure point to the finish point was made without motorized assistance and an uninterrupted altitude record and proper documentation of the flight path from takeoff to landing can be verified.
If motorized assistance was used between the start and reaching the finish point, the flight will only be evaluated up to the last coordinate that can be proven to have been reached without motorized assistance.
The interval between two recording points must not exceed four seconds. In the event of technical problems, interruptions of up to 180 seconds are tolerated.
Flights must be submitted via WeGlide.org no later than noon 12:00 PM local time within two days of the flight.

4 Flight Scoring and Procedures

In the NZC, points can be earned for distance classes. The minimum score to be included in this ranking is 50 distance points.

4.1 Distance Class

Routes can be scored from a departure point via up to three turn points (up to four turn points for quadrilateral flights and up to twelve turn points for multiple round trips) to a finish point. The altitude difference between the lowest possible departure point and the highest possible finish point must not exceed 1000 meters.

4.1.1 Declared Flights

In the case of a declared flight, all turn points of the flight (departure, turn, and finish points) must be clearly defined in the specified order by entering their geographic coordinates into the flight recorder or via online declaration before takeoff.
For closed flights, the departure and finish points must be identical.
A flight with different tasks in different flight or position recorders is not permitted and will be classified as an intentional violation of the NZC rules. The turn points must be flown in the declared order.

4.1.2 Free Flights

For undeclared, so-called “free” flights, only recorded coordinates of the flight route are counted as departure, turn, and finish points.
Free flights are considered closed if the departure and finish points are no more than 1 kilometer apart.
Free flights are only possible over a maximum of three turn points.

4.1.3 Documentation of Departure, Finish, and Turn Points

Turn points are considered reached if it is proven that the 90° sector or the circle around the turn point with a radius of 500 meters was entered.
The 90° sector has an unlimited radius and height.
The circle has an unlimited height.
The start is valid if the start line is crossed in the direction of the first turn point.
The start line has a maximum radius of 5 km.
The finish is valid when entering a circle with a radius of 3 kilometers around the finish point.

4.1.4 Scoring

The number of points for scoring flights is calculated from the scoring distance in kilometers (km), plus the sum of the possible bonuses on the scoring distance, divided by the index/100 of the corresponding aircraft.

4.1.5 Bonus Points

• Triangle Flight: An extra bonus of 40% is awarded for a declared triangle flight if the total distance of the two longest legs is no more than 2/3 of the total flight distance.
• Quadrilateral Flight: An extra bonus of 40% is awarded if the turn points form a quadrilateral.
• Out-and-Return Flights: An extra bonus of 30% is awarded.
• Goal Flights: An extra bonus of 30% is awarded.
• Multiple Round Trips: An extra bonus of 20% is awarded for a multiple round trip with at least two, and at most three rounds.

5 Additional Rules for Motorized Gliders

Flights in motorized gliders are scored provided the flight recorder used for documentation meets the requirements of the Sporting Code Section 3.

6 Error Codes

Flights are checked for compliance with the rules using error codes stored in WeGlide.org.

7 Links

FAQs and further explanations with examples are available via the links in these regulations.

Version 27-09-2024