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from the FSR-class Belchatow 1999 European Championships The 4th European Championship in FSR V and H categories was held in Poland's Belchatow from August 1-7, 1999. Offshore classes were also officially presented for the first time. The competition took place in the recreational area at the Belchatow electric power plant. Organizers prepared the water racetrack quite well, and all the competitors appreciated the generously designed starting mole with stands. The area lacked neither the needed infrastructure nor the particularly nice Hotel Wodnik. Models were also presented and taken over here without any significant problems. A total of 62 junior and 196 senior models from a total of 14 countries were registered in all. After Saturday's evening commencement, attended by official participants, LOK representatives, sponsors and power plant management, competitions were in full swing beginning as soon as Sunday morning. The heats were held according to the time plan. The water area was entirely placid, allowing for good times to be achieved. Only a water-skiing boat caused commotion by causing unexpected waves for the competitors on several occasions. Competitors in the Hydro category had the most problems. Organizers and head judges alike tried to talk the driver into changing the skiing course. The problem was resolved by organizers finally buying the boat's operating time for the day of finals. Due to wind, there was only one day (Friday afternoon) when the waves in the Offshore category bordered on regularity. The second F1 V 15 heat had to be interrupted and then cancelled due to irregular water and rescheduled for the following morning. The competitions' technical provisions by the LOK organizer worked quite well. Counting the laps with the "Made in Poland" program was also problem-free. The organizer had enough personnel and the entire team under the direction of Mgr. Melion gave the routine impression that they were not organizing the competition for the first time. The judges definitely contributed to the championship's smooth running. Such team work among judges as demonstrated by this team under the direction of Mr. Schaft is all too infrequently seen at championships. Even though there were sometimes differing opinions on how to assess the situation, the problem was always discussed by the team of judges and the decision was announced for the most part by the starting-line supervisor. The judges' work was also measured by the fact that the jury did not have to officially discuss any protest. The organizer prepared a supplemental program for the free day-either a tour of the Belchatow power plant including the mine, or a trip to Czenstochowé. The section's session was also held in a businesslike and tranquil manner. Thanks to the hotel's technical equipment, organizers also facilitated the presentation of the NAVIGA Internet pages. Perhaps the only serious problem faced by the championship (aside from the mentioned boat) was the frequent mutual disturbance that disqualified (pointlessly in my opinion) some competitors. I personally think that the so-called secret frequencies or crystals do not have a future since it causes the loss of necessary self-control. Not even an undisciplined competitor would exchange the allotted crystal for one already placed in his heat. Perhaps also worth consideration would be to include a minimal frequency distance into the FSR group rules (already successfully implemented in group M) of at least one channel. If this rule were valid, several competitor would not have had to end prematurely here even if some crystals were tolerated (a scanner showed that a crystal interfered into neighboring frequencies). Saturday's finals races, including verification of the winners' engine volumes, took place smoothly. The evenings concluding ceremony, at which the final standings were announced, topped off the successful European championships. On behalf of NAVIGA, I would like to thank the LOK organizers, headed by Mrg. Rozmus, for well organizing the championship socially and in sporting terms. Vratislav Svorcik |