Competition Rules and Regulations

  • Vehicle Design Rules
  • Safety Inspection
  • Event Rules
  • Engineering Design Award
Vehicle Design Rules

A vehicles competing in the ECTC must follow the Electrathon America Vehicle Design Rules (www.electrathonamerica.org) with the following changes.


  1. Ignore the “batteries” section (11) of the rules and use the following information: 12 volt, 55 Ah (maximum) car batteries. There is no restriction on the brand of battery.
  2. The cars must have a steel or aluminum roll bar.
  3. There will be no weight limits on the car or the driver.
  4. There will be no limit on the size of solar panels (if you choose to use them), as long as they do not extend beyond the outer limits of your car.

When you are designing and building your vehicles, please keep the following in mind.

  1. The course will include curves with radii as small as xx meters. Be sure to check that your car can make it around these turns.
  2. All welding must be closely monitored by a qualified teacher or by a licensed welder from industry. A suggestion is to test sample welds of the student who is to be welding the car frame before the actual car is manufactured. While this is to be a student manufactured project, it is acceptable for the students to tack weld the frame and have a qualified teacher or licensed welder finish the welding in critical areas. Safety is far more important than forcing the students to complete everything. Everyone involved must use good judgment.
  3. The team’s teacher/advisor must sign the Construction Responsibility Waiver (found in the "Competition Rules and Regulations" file) and present it at the on-site event registration.

Request for "Competition Rules and Regulations"

Email: peter.teertstra@uwaterloo.ca
Safety Rules

Safety is of utmost importance during the event. Any cars or drivers deemed to be unsafe will not be allowed to participate in the race. All judges’ decisions are final.

Safety inspections will be conducted in two parts. A stationary inspection will verify that the car has been constructed according to the Vehicle Design Rules and that the driver has the required safety equipment. When the vehicle has passed the stationary inspection, a dynamic inspection will verify that the car is able to maneuver and stop safely. If a car fails any part of the stationary or dynamic inspections, that car will not be allowed to compete. All rulings by the judges are final and teams must accept the ruling. If a car is repaired, a second safety inspection may be granted if time permits. The race will not be delayed for this process.

Stationary Inspection
  1. The vehicle must have a minimum of three road wheels. All wheels must be in contact with the ground at all times. Vehicle must be inherently stable at rest and in operation.
  2. The frame must be fabricated in such a way to protect the driver in a collision. The design and fabrication must be structurally sound.
  3. Mirrors are required on both sides of the vehicle to permit the driver a clear view behind.
  4. A five-point safety harness is properly mounted.
  5. All wiring must be visible for inspection for the entire length of the wiring runs. All wiring must be insulated and neatly secured and terminated. Wiring must be sized to have sufficient capacity.
  6. Batteries are 12v, 55 Ah max. They must be secured in a closed compartment. No switches, fuses, circuit breakers or other devices may be located in the battery compartment.
  7. There must be an Emergency Power Off switch on the vehicle, accessible to the driver and emergency workers outside the car.
  8. Brakes must be fitted on two wheels of the same axle. Each of the brakes on the two wheels must have a separate actuation cable. If both cables are to be actuated by a single lever then both cables are to be mounted to a common lever. The vehicle must not roll if pushed when the brakes are applied.
  9. Cotter pins or safety wire must be used to secure all wheel axle nuts.
  10. The vehicle must have a steel (or aluminum) roll bar mounted to the frame in such a manner as to prevent collapsing or breaking. The bar must be at least two inches above the top of the tallest driver's helmet when seated in race position. The roll bar must be braced either forward or rearward to the frame of the vehicle. It must provide protection for the driver’s head throughout the full range of possible movement.
  11. The driver must wear a helmet that is DOT or approved for motorcycle, snowmobile or auto racing use.
  12. The driver must be able to exit the vehicle in less than 20 seconds without assistance.

Please note that this not a complete set of rules to be followed and additional inspection items may be applied as necessary. Please refer to the Electrathon America Vehicle Design Rules and the changes listed in Section 2.0 when designing and building your vehicle.


Dynamic Inspection

After completing the stationary inspection, teams will be asked to show that their vehicle is able to accelerate, maintain a minimum track speed, turn in both directions and stop safely. The team’s driver will drive the vehicle through a short course and a judge will verify that it meets the following requirements.

  1. Able to accelerate from a standing stop to a minimum track speed.
  2. Able to maneuver through series of turns.
  3. Able to stop safely in a reasonable distance.

Once the vehicle has passed the dynamic inspection, it is free to compete in either the 12 volt or 24 volt races.


Request for "Competition Rules and Regulations"

Email: peterteertstra@uwaterloo.ca
Event Schedule

The 12 volt class race will be 1 hour in duration and the 24 volt class race will be 80 minutes in duration. Each race will end when the time is complete or when none of the cars are able to continue. Depending on the number of cars, there may also be qualifying and preliminary heats before the main event.


10:45 am

All 12 volt competition cars in pit area for instructions to drivers

11:00 am

12 volt endurance race

12:00 pm

Post-race inspection for top-3 cars from 12 volt race

12:30 pm

All 24 volt competition cars in pit area for instructions to drivers

12:45 pm

24 volt endurance race

Track Rules

As you prepare for the race, please remember that this is an ENDURANCE COMPETITION and not a RACE; drive to last an hour, not to try and take the lead in a dangerous passing attempt.

Track rules must be adhered to at all times, as follows.

  1. The pit area will be a secured area accessible only to a maximum of six students and one teacher per car during the race. N0 parents or spectators will be allowed in the pit area during the race. Transportation vehicles and trailers will be parked in a different location than the pit area. Teams must plan how they will move e-cars and tools to the pit area prior to the race. Cars will be required to be in the pit area 15 minutes prior to and after the race for inspection (only the top three teams will be inspected after the race). Radio contact from outside the pit area will be allowed.
  2. The pit and paddock area is a no power zone. All cars must stop completely at the pit entrance gate and be pushed by the pit crew. When the car is moving in the no power zone, at least one person must have a hand touching the car at all times
  3. Drivers must obey all flag instructions of the marshals as follows:
    o  Green - GO!
    o  RED - STOP! Wait for Marshal to wave Green Flag
    o  Black - Report to pits on the current lap for penalty or repairs.
  4. Slower cars must hold their line. Do not weave or block. If it is safe to do so, point to the side that the faster car should pass.
  5. It is the responsibility of the faster cars to pass in a safe manner. Do not attempt the pass unless you are sure it is safe. There will always be another spot to get past.
  6. If your car breaks down on the track, remain in your car and wave your arms to get the marshals attention. The marshal will make the decision on whether to get you back to the pits or to pull your car from the race.
  7. NO ONE is to venture on to the track to rescue a broken down car. The track workers will push the car to the pits when it is safe to do so.
  8. Cars in the 24 volt race that need to go the pits for repair will disqualified and not be allowed to continue racing, other than for minor repairs that do not require tools at the discretion of the judges. Cars in the 12 volt race will be allowed to make repairs and continue racing.

Mandatory Pit Stop

Each team must make two pit stops during the first 60 minutes of the race (both 12 volt and 24 volt classes) to change the driver of the car, as follows.


  1. The same driver may get back in the car but they must completely exit the car and place both feet on the ground before re-entering the car.
  2. Each team must complete one full lap on the track before beginning another driver change.
  3. Teams are allowed to change the driver if they have stopped in the pit area to repair a mechanical problem.
  4. The pit area is a no power zone. All cars must stop completely at the pit entrance gate and be pushed by the pit crew. When the car is moving in the no power zone, at least one person must have a hand touching the car at all times.

Scoring

The finishing order for each race will be determined based on the number of laps that each car completed during the scheduled time. Scoring will be performed as follows.


  1. Each car will have an assigned scoring judge that will track their progress using the Race Scoring Sheet shown in the Appendix. Each time the car crosses the finish line the scorer will check the box for the number of completed laps.
  2. as they cross the finish line. The order in which the cars cross the finish line after the checkered flag will be recorded and will be used to assess the amount of final lap that was completed when time elapsed, as follows:
    • First car to cross = 0.9 lap
    • Second car to cross = 0.8 lap
    • Third car to cross = 0.7 lap, etc. up to ninth car to cross
    • All cars in position 10 and above = 0 lap
  3. The total number of laps will be calculated based on the total from the Race Scoring Sheet from 1) and the finish position lap portion from 2)
  4. Awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for both the 12 volt and 24 volt races are presented to the schools with teams having the most total laps, as follows:
    • 1st place will be awarded to the school with the team that completed the most laps according to the Race Scoring Sheet results
    • 2nd place will be awarded the next, different school with the team that completed the next highest number of laps.
    • 3rd place will be awarded the next, different school with the team that completed the next highest number of laps.

Request for "Competition Rules and Regulations"

Email: peterteertstra@uwaterloo.ca

The Engineering Design Award will be presented to the school that demonstrates the best overall design innovation, use of engineering calculations, and design for ease of assembly, maintenance, ergonomics and safety in their competition vehicles.

During the time between registration and the first race, approximately 8:30 – 10:30, schools will present to judges for the Engineering Design Award, as follows.


  1. The presentation will be held at the Student Design Centre location provided to your team at the on-site registration. You do not need to move your vehicle to a different location or set up your display / make your presentation in a different area.
  2. Two different judges will visit your team at two different times during this time. Each will identify themselves as a judge for the Engineering Design Award and ask you to “talk about your team and your car(s).” They may also ask some follow-up questions.
  3. This is not a formal presentation. Instead you should use this time to show the judges how your design is innovative, easy to assemble and repair, safe, and has good ergonomic features. The rubric used to assess your presentation is in the "Competition Rules and Regulations" Appendix.
  4. Your presentation should be about 10 minutes. You may set up and use other display materials if you wish, such as posters, laptop, parts and components, etc.
  5. Judges will also assess the quality of the presentation – the oral delivery as well as the display and supporting materials – according to the rubric in the "Competition Rules and Regulations" Appendix.

    6. Request for "Competition Rules and Regulations"

    Email: peterteertstra@uwaterloo.ca