What's a Rally?

Navigational (Time, Speed, Distance) Rallies

As the name suggests, in a Navigational Rally the objective is to navigate through a selected route using special instructions. This type of rally usually takes place on open public roads, at posted speed limits, unlike the high-speed European-style rallies in which competitors run on closed roads at top speed. The rally instructions, issued upon starting the rally, typically consist of anything from written instructions to diagrams to cryptic clues. During the course of a Navigational Rally, you stop at undisclosed check points where the time you took to get there from the previous check point is recorded. At the end of the rally, the number of minutes (and sometimes seconds) that you were early or late getting from one checkpoint to another are tallied for your final score. The team with the lowest score wins.

Rally routes are normally between 100 and 200 kilometers long but can be as long as 400 kilometers. The majority of roads traveled are paved secondary roads with limited use of gravel or dirt roads. Speeds are usually set at 90% of the posted speed limit, but can be lower if the instructions require it.

At the end of the rally, trophies or dash plaques are awarded to the top three experienced and novice crews. Depending on placement, most competitors also receive points that are accumulated for the current year, to be used towards annual club or regional championship trophies.

You don't need a special car to enter; most competitors use their own, every day road cars. But, in order to make the most of the rally, the car should have a fairly accurate, resetable odometer or trip meter, calibrated in kilometers. Also, a wrist watch or stop watch a calculator will come in handy. For obvious reasons, the driver and car must be properly licensed and insured; however, the navigator can be of any age and need not be licensed.