We Hope Your Team is Underway!

The preparations for Splash 2007 are underway at Splash Headquarters, and we hope that your team is also progressing. As noted in the banner above, the dates are June 13-17, 2007 at the wonderful site in Fayetteville, AR. Again, the University of Arkansas and the City of Fayetteville will be serving as our hosts.

Headquarter activities at this point include: securing sponsorships, answering your questions, keeping the webpage updated, and keeping lines of communication open between the University of Arkansas, Headquarters, and you! So don’t hesitate to contact us by email, phone, or post – and let us know you are there and working to meet and compete in 2007!

If you’re planning to enter in 2007, drop us a note now so we can get the ‘contacts’ between us firmly in place – and to get your team listed/linked on the webpage as preparing a boat for the 2007 Splash!

Our Headquarters Address and Contact Point is:
Dr. Jeffrey Morehouse
Mechanical Engineering Department
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
tel: 803-777-3017 fax: 803-777-0106
email: hq@solarsplash.com

The Webmaster is David Luneau and his address is:
webmaster@solarsplash.com

 

 

Dates Are Different This Year, But the Entry Fees Aren’t

You need to go to the website (www.solarsplash.com) to find the Entry Form for the competition. The fee has not changed, but the entry fee dates are a day earlier than last year. The ‘early fee’ is $400 if you get your entry form in by January 22nd, but the entry fee increases to $500 if you enter after that date. The cut-off date for entries is April 23rd. Again, getting the entry form to Headquarters is critical for meeting the dates, not when the check arrives! [However, sending the entry form in ‘promises’ that you will pay the fee -- and the fee is “non-refundable” after the entry form has been submitted!!]

 

 

Solar Splash Handbook: Chapter 1 – Getting Started and Other ‘Big Picture’ Items

A copy of Chapter 1 of the ‘Handbook’ is available under “The Handbook” menu item back on the homepage. This is an article that should be read and re-read by all teams – both rookie and returning.

 

 

2007 Rules and Rule Booklet

We will be publishing the 2007 Rules on the website sometime in October. Until then, use the 2006 rules as found in the 2006 Rule Booklet and as listed on the website. We do not anticipate any rule changes of major significance, but we have found some areas to increase safety and where we can clean up the wording, to make the meaning as clear as possible.

Two rule areas that are going to change are: 1) battery forced ventilation will no longer be required; and, 2) supplemental batteries will be allowed to power the motor controller. Further details on these and other items will be ‘highlighted’ when the 2007 Rules are posted on the website next month.

Although the Rules do appear on the website, the "Official Rules" are in the Rule Booklets we will send you later. The difference is that there may be diagrams or other graphics in the rules that may not appear on the website.

 

 

Technical Reports for Sale

We have reprints of the 2006 Technical Reports available for sale. The price for a set of the top 5 technical reports from last year is $35, which includes Priority Mailing anywhere in the U.S. If you want other specific school reports, they can be purchased at $8 each. Even if you feel you have your plans in place, the reports represent an invaluable source of format and content from past years. When you start outlining and writing your report, which is scored and points given, good examples may be very valuable.

Send a check made out to “ASME-Solar Splash” for the top 5 reports for $35 (or $8 for each other report) to the Splash Headquarters listed in the first article above.