PLEASE READ THIS FULL STATEMENT:  Though COVID-19 restrictions vary based on county where events may be held, the group of Contest Directors has come together to provide a target schedule and unanimously agree with the approach to how these events will be hosted.

First, we will not run a District Championship season in 2021. Instead, we will have designated weekends for club events. Though we are optimistic that our host ponds or an alternate site will be available to host our dates, we have to appreciate that there may be a number of people who are not comfortable yet coming out and participating in a group activity as we continue to work through the pandemic. We also recognize that some protocols that need to be in place will take time to learn and adapt to which may slow the pace of the events. This approach in 2021 will give us the chance to feel out the various changes and be better prepared for a return to championship racing in 2022. It is important to pay attention to the event information as the format, fees, and requirements may be different from one location or event to the next. Also, because the state and county response to the pandemic is very fluid the status of an event could change on short notice.

Second, the change in protocols will be what you'd expect and become accustomed to based on various state, county, or other local requirements. There may also be requirements specific to the site. The common thread will be masks when you are not in your pit area provided you are pitting with people in your same household, temp checks when you show up each day, availability and use of hand sanitizer, appropriate distancing, and the signing of a COVID waiver before each event. Properly following these protocols is imperative to help give us the best chance of hosting events in the future by respecting the requirements of the host site as well as the health and safety of your fellow boaters and the general public.

Third, and this deserves its own call out, appropriate distancing between driver and pit person will be in place. NAMBA safety rules state that every driver must have a pit person during practice or racing who is aware of course conditions and NAMBA regulations. Nothing in the rules says that the pit person needs to be standing in the immediate space of the driver. Therefore, the creation of two-way communication between driver and pit person will be our focus as we work with the unique configurations of each site to appropriately distance drivers, pit persons, CD's, and judges.

In the past few years we've seen an increased use of radio sets in different Districts. The one most commonly used is the Eartec UltraLITE that is a paired primary/remote set of headsets. It would be expected that the driver owns the set and the pit person is provided the remote set, but this does get challenging for those who use different pit persons for different classes. Appropriate sanitizing protocols will need to be considered. Purchasing radios list this is not a small investment but may be an investment in future participation and safety. Not everybody may be in the position of being able to make such a purchase so this, for now, is not the only option. Both driver and pit person using ear buds and establishing a phone call may be a solution. It's an example of things we just have to try out and develop the expectation. What's important, though, is that both driver and pit person need to be able to hear the ambient noise, especially the CD or other calling dead boats so wearing two earbuds or full headphones may not be the right solution. This is a very, very important impact and it is imperative that each driver has a plan coming into an event for how they will communicate with their pit person which likely means you should know who your pit person(s) will be for each class you are running. This is a perfect example of things we'll have to experiment with in 2021.

With all that said, here's the list of event weekends for 2021 and the host club for that weekend:

• MARCH 6-7 (NORCAL RR | LAKE MINDEN) - CANCELLED

• MARCH 27-28 (RC MODELEERS | LAKE MINDEN)

• APRIL 17-18 (FAULTLINE RACE TEAM | LAKE MINDEN)

• MAY 15-16 (SEISMIC RACING | KAISER COVE)

• JUNE 12-13 (COCR RACING USA | KAISER COVE)

• JULY 17-18 (MODEL MARINERS | KAISER COVE)

• AUGUST 7-8 (SJ RIVER RACERS | SJRC)

• OCTOBER 16-17 (CENTRAL COAST | SEASIDE)

• NOVEMBER 13 (TOYS FOR TOTS | SJRC)