General Racing Rules

17 MAVERICK MAYBE TALLYHO (35)

General Racing Rules-

  1. The Falconer is the person slipping the Falcon.
  2. The Owner is the registered Owner of the Falcon at the start of the race.
  3. The Breeder is the person or stud that hatched the Falcon.
  4. It is the Owner of the Falcon who must be a Member of an BFRA club, not the Falconer or the Breeder.
  5. Any existing or new group of Falconers can apply for BFRA club membership without invalidating its existing Falconry club name or structure.
  6. Each entry on the race card must include: the Falcon’s name, ring or microchip number, species (including hybrids), gender, age, the Falconer’s name, the Owner’s name and the Breeder’s name. For Hunt races, the Pilot’s name must also be included.
  7. The BFRA club Organisers shall be entitled to charge an entry fee at their absolute discretion.
  8. The venue must comply with any local Air Safety regulations, health and safety requirements and the Organisers must provide any relevant insurances for participants and spectators.
  9. Neither BFRA nor the Organisers shall be responsible for any injury to any Falcon, howsoever caused.
  10. Participants are responsible for any damage or injury they cause to persons, animals or property.
  11. It is up to the organising BFRA Club to ensure that no illegal drugs or substances are being used in the preparation of the Falcons. This is a form of cheating.
  12. In the event that the Organisers of an BFRA Club event knowingly cheat or allow cheating to happen, all their entries for all their events for that entire season shall be disqualified.
  13. In the event that a participant of an BFRA Club event cheats or allows cheating to happen, all the participant’s entries for all their events for that season shall be disqualified.
  14. In the event of a disqualification for cheating being repeated within three years, the repeat offender or organisation will be banned from BFRA competitions for a period of three years.
  15. In order for a National Final Race to be seen to be organised properly according to BFRA Rules, two Board Members shall attend each entire event in an official capacity representing the BFRA. They must sign off each event before the results are accepted by the BFRA. This rule does not apply to National Qualifier events.
  16. Falcon classes can be multiple age or species classes, or they can be divided by age, species or weight groupings, or by class of Owner, depending on demand.
  17. If a class is based on a weight category, the Falcon shall be weighed by the Organisers on the day of the race before the race starts, with the weight including the hood, jesses and any permanent back packs, tail mounts or bells, but excluding any radio tags, swivels or leashes.
  18. The Falcon must carry a non-removable official registered ring or microchip identifying it as the individual described in its legal papers.
  19. The Owners’ Racing Colours displayed on hoods or the uniforms of participants must be registered with BFRA to ensure that they are unique.
  20. The Order of Flying will be declared one hour before the start of the competition drawn from a hat by the Timekeeper.
  21. If the weather changes during the course of the competition, no allowance will be made to any competitor except that the Timekeeper may decide to temporarily halt the competition or cancel it altogether because conditions are unsafe, for example low fog, high winds or heavy rain.
  22. For the race to be valid internationally, the wind strength at two metres must not exceed Force 5 ie 38km/hr, 24 miles/hour or 10.7 m/s and the temperature must not exceed 280
  23. The winner is the Falcon with the lowest time score.
  24. Race results will be published on the BFRA website.
  25. It is up to the event Organisers at the local and national levels to provide prizes or to attract sponsors for prizes at their events.