NARCON The NAR's National Convention (NARCON) is usually held during the late winter. The three-day event includes technical presentations, guest speakers, and a Saturday night banquet, and is often held at a historic destination such as
Cape Canaveral or the
Museum of Flight.
National Sport Launch The National Sport Launch (NSL) is a large, non-competitive ("sport") launch, normally held over
Memorial Day weekend. NSL attracts hundreds of participants of all ages, who fly rockets of all sizes and motor classes. Certification teams are usually available for rocketeers wishing to attempt high-power certification.
NARAM The
National Association of Rocketry Annual Meet (NARAM) is the NAR's annual model rocketry championship. NARAM is normally held during late July or early August at a site large enough for simultaneous competition, sport, and high-power rocket flights. The first NARAM was held in 1959, two years after the NAR was formed. Historically, NARAM was rooted in competition and determining national champions. Today, NARAM may include an FAI Spacemodeling Team flyoff (meant to select a team of competitors who represent the US at a world level competition); a sport flying range featuring model and high-power rockets, an auction to support scholarship and education funds,
research and development presentations, and a closing banquet where performance awards are given out. The competition component at NARAM is now the culmination of a preseason of flying under the National Rocketry Competition (NRC)- a new competition format that is simpler, less expensive, and designed to allow young members easier access to the joys of competition.
The America Rocketry Challenge NAR co-sponsors
The America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) with the
Aerospace Industries Association. TARC is a national rocketry competition for students in 7th through 12th grades that culminates in a National Finals contest for the top 100 teams each May. While the specific challenge for TARC varies from year to year, the event always involves flying one or more raw eggs to a specified altitude and a specified flight duration, without damaging the egg.
Competition Prior to July 1, 2017, NAR sections (local groups of members) across the country would hold contests known as “meets” over the course of a “contest year” which runs July 1 to June 30 and includes a NARAM held shortly thereafter. There were four levels of meets- Section, Local, Open, and Regional. Each had different requirements on the minimum number of competitors and the geographic distribution of those competitors. Competitors attending these contests did so in the interest of earning “points” which they would accumulate during the course of the contest year which ended on June 30. Once the contest year ended, NARAM would be held and those competitors who could attend, would carry their accumulated point over to NARAM where they could earn more points. At an awards banquet that concluded NARAM, those competitors with the most points in each of four competition divisions, would receive awards for event performance (such as parachute duration) and National Champions (those with the greatest point totals) would be crowned. On July 1, 2017, after nearly 3 years of development, and in response to a steadily falling number of members involved in competition, a new US Model Rocket sporting Code (USMRSC) was implemented. The new Sporting Code described an entirely new competition format- the National Rocketry Competition or NRC. The intent of the NRC being to make contest rocketry more approachable, less expensive, and allow young members easier access to competition. The previous points structure was removed. Rules were created that allow members to fly competition as frequently as they want, wherever they can, with as few as just two members. NARAM 60 in 2018 was the culmination of the first year of competition under the NRC. Any NAR member may participate in sanctioned competition. Most competition events fall into one of three categories: • Altitude events - Modelers compete to achieve either the maximum altitude or an altitude specified by the contest director. • Duration events - Modelers compete to achieve either the maximum flight duration or a duration specified by the contest director. • Craftsmanship events - Modelers build and fly accurate replicas of actual or planned full-size rockets. The National Association of Rocketry has hosted the FAI World Championships for Spacemodels in the United States three times. • 1980: Lakehurst, New Jersey • 1992: Melbourne, Florida • 2023: Austin, Texas ==Publications==