SNHL Season 3 Rulebook

PeytonHopp

0. Boat Registration

The boat you register can be a real H1 Unlimited or a Fantasy Unlimited.
When registering boats, the amount of same U-#s shall be limited to 2. For instance, if the U-7 Graham Trucking and U-7 Valken Sports are registered, we will not accept any more boats with the U-# as U-7, no matter if your boat is a real boat or a fantasy boat. No more than 1 fantasy boat and no more than 1 real boat of the same number can be registered for a league, no matter the division you are racing in.
Only the defending national champion in Division 1 can use the number U-1.
If a driver chooses to run a fantasy boat that was painted by someone else, they must get the owner’s permission to run their boat.
Newly registered drivers are placed in SNHL Division 2. To move into Division 1, a driver must place in the top five in national high points at the end of the season in Division 2.
Division 1 is restricted to 24 drivers. At the end of the season, the bottom five in high points are “demoted” to Division 2.

1. Pre-Race

1.1 Qualifying

Each boat shall be allowed a maximum of four laps for Time Trials.
For Official SNHL League Events, the qualifying sessions shall commence One Hour before the start of the first heat race. Sessions are private with groups of up to six boats at once. These private sessions mean that other boats on the water are not visible to the individual drivers. Groups are determined by reverse order of high points.
If a boat flips, spins or rolls in qualifying, the driver may continue to complete the rest of their allotted laps. No extra laps will be given if a boat crashes.
Qualifying will be used in the event of a tiebreaker for the final heat. The boat with the fastest one lap time will advance over the slower qualified boat. IE: If two boats are tied after the heats and one is to make the final heat and one be relegated to the consolation, the faster qualified boat would advance. Points will be awarded to boats qualifying that would go toward the high point season total and apply toward the event total.
A qualifying lap will be disallowed if a boat misses or dislodges a buoy. If a boat drives outside the racecourse to get a “running start” for a lap time, then that lap will also be disallowed.
If a driver is late to their qualifying session, they may request to qualify after all the other groups have qualified if they notify a race commissioner beforehand. If a driver does not inform a commissioner that they will be late to an event, then the driver will not be drawn into any heats.

2. Race

2.1 Restarts

Restarts are only allowed if 50% or more of the drivers in a single heat get kicked off the server during a heat before the leader completes lap two. Should this happen, then the heat will be completely restarted. If this occurs after the leader has completed lap two, the heat will be deemed completed from what the standings were at the point before the server malfunction. For a final heat, the leader must complete 3 laps before the heat is considered finished.
Drivers who received one-lap penalties in the first running of a restarted heat will have their penalties rescinded, but they must start on the outside-most lane for the restart.
Drivers who crashed in the initial running of a heat may race in the restart and fight for lanes.

2.2 Milling (5-minute period)

The jockeying for position after the five-minute gun is called milling.
2.2.1: Safe Entry to Course- When leaving the pit area, you may enter the course anywhere so long as not to interfere with boats already on the course at speed.
It is the full responsibility of the driver entering the course to make a safe entrance. If a wreck occurs due to a driver entering the course poorly, depending on the severity, a 1 Lap penalty or Disqualification from the heat may be assessed.

2.2.2: Cutting the Course: Cutting the course is allowed anywhere and anytime during the mill except the turns. Once a boat passes the yellow entrance pin, it must complete the turn.

(a) Cutting the course is permitted if a boat does not impede the path of another driver.
(b) Once a boat has entered the infield, it no longer has right of way when re-entering the course. Therefore, it is the full responsibility of the driver cutting the course to make sure it is clear (i.e., there is proper overlap) before re-entry. To re-establish a lane, a boat must reenter the course and pass two straightaway buoys. Turn buoys (entrance pin to exit pin) do not count as straightaway buoys.
(c) Once a boat willingly enters the infield, the driver must complete the infield cut and must NOT loop back to the same straightway without first entering the opposite straightaway.

2.2.3- Late in Starting

2.2.3.1. No boat shall be allowed to leave the pits after the beginning of the one-minute warning period.

2.2.4: 1 Minute Buoy - All boats shall not pass the exit pin of Turn 1 (designated the 1 Minute Buoy) prior to the one-minute mark (1:00.00) on the clock.

(a) Boats passed the Score-up Buoy prior to the one-minute period shall be required to legally traverse the course and pass the 1 Minute Buoy to be a legal starter.
(b) Failure to pass the 1 Minute Buoy after the one-minute mark will result in a 1 lap penalty.
(c) If a boat jumps the 1-minute pin, they may go around and pass it again to rescind the penalty if they can do so safely.

2.2.5: Lane Commitment Buoy - The commitment buoy will be the yellow turn 2 entrance buoy.

(a) Exceptions - At Detroit, the lane commitment buoy will be the last orange straight away buoy prior to the yellow entrance turn marker buoy. At Havasu, the lane commitment buoy will be the last orange buoy before the entrance pin of turn three.
(b) Once the lane commitment buoy is passed, each driver must maintain their lane all the way through the start/finish line. After the start/finish line is crossed, all normal overlap rules are in effect.
(c) If a boat ahead of you occupies the lane you are in, you must move to the outside of that boat.
(d) In cases where a lead boat takes an outer lane, if an inside lane is available you may take it.
(e) Any overly aggressive attempt at stealing a lane, as determined by the official, will be penalized with a 1 lap penalty.

2.3 Race Format

2.3.1- All races except the GOLD CUP and WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP shall be standardized and consist of:
(a) Three Qualification heats.
(b) One Provisional heat (optional)
(c) One Final Heat.

2.3.2- All Qualification heats shall be determined by a blind draw.

2.3.3- Provisional Heat (Optional) - Boats not seeded to the final shall be eligible to run in the provisional heat.

(a) Provisional heat shall be three (3) Laps.
(b) No points are awarded for the Provisional Heat.
(c) The winner of the Provisional Heat shall start as the provisional starter in the Final Heat.
(d) The Provisional boat shall not interfere with the five or six front row Final qualifiers during their maneuvering for Lane 1.
(e) Any boat qualifying for the Final Heat via the Provisional Heat unless allowed to move up shall follow the Final Heat Qualified boats past the commitment buoys after the one-minute period has begun.
(f) The Provisional boat shall start five (5) seconds after zero zero (:00.00) on the starting clock, unless a different time has been designated by the Chief Referee.
(g) The Provisional boat may occupy any open lane at the start.
(h) The Provisional boat start shall be independent of any other boat who may be late on the start.
(i) The Provisional boat shall be penalized for jumping the gun (JG) if it crosses the start/finish line prior to its mandated start delay time per item (f.) above.
(j) The Provisional boat may move up to the front row if a front row-qualifying boat fails to make the 1:00 mark. The official for the heat must announce that the trailer boat can fight for lanes if this occurs.

2.3.4. Final Heat - The Final heat field shall consist of those boats accumulating the highest point totals from the Time Trial Period and qualification heats, plus the winner of the provisional heat as the provisional starter if a provisional heat has been run and completed.

(a) Final heat shall be five (5) Laps.
(b) Time trial order shall be used to break any ties on points for determining eligibility for the Final Heat.
(c) The number of boats competing in the Final Heat shall be announced by the commissioners prior to the race.
(d) There will be a driver rollcall prior to the provisional and final heats. If a driver in the provisional heat does not answer the call, then they cannot run the provisional and the first boat out of the provisional race on points will be allowed to run in their place.
(e)If a driver does not answer the call for the final prior to the provisional heat being run, then the highest boat in points not in the final gets to move into the final heat in their place.

3. Racing Rules

3.1 Illegal Start-

Any boat that crosses the starting line with less than 15 seconds remaining until the start of the race shall be declared an illegal starter and shall receive a 1-lap penalty.

3.2 Striking, Missing or Passing Buoys

A boat that strikes and thereby dislodges a buoy at any time shall be penalized a lap.
A dislodged buoy ceases to be a marker and may be disregarded.
When an offending boat forces an unoffending boat into a buoy that is struck and thereby becomes dislodged then the offending boat shall receive a lap penalty.
Driving inside the orange or yellow inside course markers after the five-minute clock has ended will result in a 1 lap penalty. Driving outside a white outer course marker at any point during a heat will result in a 1 lap penalty.

3.3 Side by Side Racing

Competing boats shall maintain a safe lane for each other. 1 lane consists of sufficient room for the inside boat to complete the corner without being impeded by the roostertail of the outside boat. Any boat that fails to maintain 1 lane is said to encroach on the other boat's path, and may be subject to a 1 lap penalty or if repeat offenses occur a DSQ can be assessed. A safe interval or “overlap” is considered one roostertail which varies depending on the speed of the boats.
Direct contact between boats will result in an encroachment penalty if the contact impairs another driver.

3.4 Bearing in and Bearing out

The lead boat has the right to set the arc through the turns. Upon entering the turn the lead boat can Bear in (drift to the inside) or Bear out (drift to the outside). The same is applied when exiting the turn, the boat ahead can Bear in or Bear out. However, the lead boat MUST leave lanes for any boats to the inside or outside of them or a 1 lap penalty will be assessed. Also, if this bearing in/out is found to be excessive, for instance drifting over more than 3 lanes, a 1 lap penalty will be assessed.

3.5 Changing Lanes

On the straightaway, the passing boat must move at least one roostertail length ahead before altering its course to the buoy line. At that time, the boat being passed loses all rights until it re-establishes an overlap and shall, if necessary, slacken speed to avoid risks of collision. During the milling period, this means that the boat that was passed or ‘leapfrogged’ must safely move to an outside lane. If multiple boats get leapfrogged at once, then the outside most boat that was passed is the first to re-establish itself in an outside lane.
Should the passing boat not have established the one roostertail interval before reaching the entrance buoy to a turn, an overlap shall not exist.
Overlap rules cease to apply when boats are so slow that they lose all visible roostertail.

3.6 Blowovers

If a driver blows over, flips, barrel-rolls, or otherwise crashes the boat during a heat, they are not allowed to continue racing in said heat. It does not matter whether the boat lands upside-down or right-side-up. If a driver crashes during a heat, they must hit the ESC key and “Leave” the heat. This will result in a “DNF” or “DNS” and no points will be awarded. The race official may allow a driver to continue in the heat if a crash is deemed minor (i.e., a flat spin or hook without rolling over).

3.7 Rookies

If a driver has not competed in a previous HydroSim League Event, they will be given a Rookie Status. What this rookie status means is that during the race, the rookie drivers must stay in the outside lanes for their first two heats. After completion of two heats, if a majority of the commissioners believe that the Rookie has learned well enough to stick his nose in and race with everyone, they will be moved out of the rookie status. If the vote does not pass, they must run a full additional event as a rookie before moving out of rookie status.

4. Control Aids and Cheating

4.1 Control aids

4.1.1: A hydroplane must get its control inputs directly from the driver's input device (racing wheel and pedals, game controller, or keyboard/mouse.)
4.1.5: Penalties: 1st instance will result in loss of qualification points or disqualification from a heat race. 2nd instance will result in disqualification from the heat and event, and a kick from the server. Any instance in a subsequent event will result in a ban from the server.

4.2 Cheating

4.2.1: Any form of cheating will not be tolerated. If caught cheating, punishment can range from DSQ from the race to banishment. Punishment severity will be at the discretion of all league commissioners.
Only league commissioners are permitted to use the in-game server admin abilities during official league races. Commissioners may grant permission for some one to use them for an event. Anyone who uses server admin power without permission may be disqualified from an event. Repeat offenses will result in points being subtracted from the driver’s high point total, and potential banishment from the league.

5. Points

Points are awarded for both qualifying and all non-consolation heats (including the final).

5.1 Qualifying

As stated earlier, points are given to the fastest qualifiers. These points apply toward the day's total and for the league's high point title. They are awarded as follows:

Pos Points

100
80
70
60
50
40
7 to Last. 30
DNQ. 0

5.2 Heats

All heats and finals will award points as follows:

Pos Points

400
300
225
169
127
95
71
DNS/DNF/DSQ 0

In the event of a tie in qualifying, both drivers will receive the maximum points for that position (ex, a tie for 2nd in qualifying means both drivers get 80 points, the next boat gets 60 points in 4th). In the event of a tie during a race, the average of the two positions is taken. For example, if two boats tie for first, then both boats will receive 350 points (400 + 300, divided by 2 = 350).

6. Incidents

6.1 Penalties

*The 1st instance of a lane violation or encroachment as described above will normally result in a 1 lap penalty. A violation observed to be particularly egregious or causes another boat to crash will result in immediate disqualification from the heat, at the discretion of the official for the heat. The boat who was crashed shall receive fourth place (169) points for the heat.

The 2nd instance of lane violation or encroachment will result in disqualification from the heat.

6.2 Discord Rules

All drivers who are about to enter the course for a heat must enter the channel titled “On the Water”. All other drivers who are not participating in a heat may not enter the channel titled “On the Water” unless they are spotting for another driver. An official must be present in the “On the Water” channel before the start of a heat. If you need to leave your computer, please enter the channel titled “AFK”. The Race Director will check to see if anyone is in this channel prior to beginning a heat. Officials and commissioners discuss penalties and other issues in the “Official’s Tower” channel. The “Announcer’s Booth” channel is used by streamers and casters during races.

7. Finality of Results

Heat results are final once the next heat starts.
Final heat results are final once all possible penalties are reviewed.
If a driver contests a penalty call, then they can request a straw poll for other drivers to vote on. A straw poll will be granted at the discretion of the heat official. A poll must reach a majority to reach a conclusive result. Options on a poll are “Yes”, “No”, and “Inconclusive”.
If the majority vote on a poll is inconclusive, then the call reverts to the heat official’s original call.
If a poll is a tie between “Yes” and “No”, then the race commissioners vote and break the tie.
A maximum of five minutes is allowed in order to review penalties in heats. The final heat allows unlimited time to review to penalties.

The game comes with a good selection of boats. More paint schemes available for download can be found here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DIOr89tJfDemsREYHmlu6wHNi_Ua7C4M