The Ultimate LEGO Vehicle Contest
THE RULES

INTRODUCTION
In this contest, participants build non-motorized LEGO vehicles to compete in several events that test the aesthetics, speed, quality of construction, power, and durability of their creations. Based on the combined scores from all of these events, an overall winner is given the title of Ultimate LEGO Vehicle.

BUILDING PERIOD
The contest begins with a designated 2-hour period during which all contestants build their vehicles from the host's LEGO collection.

These are the building rules:

• All vehicles must have a minifig (standard LEGO person) who is designated as the vehicle's driver. (Additional minifigs are permitted, so long as the driver minifig has been designated.)
• The vehicle must be constructed so that the driver has a credible "line of sight" (a driver must be able to see where they are going.)
• Vehicle dimensions are restricted to 24 studs in length. The vehicle's width is restricted by the width of the track, which in our case is about 13 studs. There is no height restriction save for the ceiling.

The following types of LEGO elements are not allowed:

• Motors (electric and battery power is prohibited).
• Rubber bands (in effect after 2000 contest).
• String, cloth or plastic sheets (unless their use is purely decorative).

THE EVENTS
Each vehicle will received a score based on their performance in following five events. The scores are then combined to determine an overall final ranking.

1) AESTHETICS
At the end of the building period, all vehicles are placed on a display table with a tag labelling its name and creator. Scoring sheets then are given to each participant, who then rates each vehicle on a scale of 0 to 4 using the following scale:

• 0 = butt ugly
• 1 = not very impressive
• 2 = decent-looking
• 3 = very nice
• 4 = truly a thing of beauty

The allotting of points is done in a "secret ballot" style on pieces of paper. When everyone has finished writing, the points given to each vehicle are added up and divided by the number of participants to determine each vehicle's aesthetic value. A vehicle's score in each of the other four events is multiplied by its aesthetic value.

2) SPEED
A sloped track is set up so that two vehicles can race against each other at the same time "pinewood derby style". That is to say, two vehicles are lined up at a starting line at the elevated end of the track, and then simultaneously released to roll down track powered only by the pull of gravity.

The winner of each race progresses to the next round until an overall winner is determined for the event. Losing cars may then be pitted against each other to determine an overall ranking of contestants from second place to last place.

Points are awarded as follows:

Vehicles are randomly paired off to race each other in each round.

The track ends in a finish line. The first vehicle to cross the finish line wins the race. If neither vehicle makes it to the finish line, the one that came closest to finishing is the winner. In the event of a tie, the same two vehicles race again until a winner can be determined.

An impartial contestant simultaneously releases the cars at the start of the race.

Any damage that occurs to vehicles between races in this event may be repaired, so long as no extra LEGO parts are added to the vehicle, and all reasonable effort is made to assemble the vehicle as it appeared when the competition began.

3) DISTANCE
A less steep sloped track is used for this event, and each vehicle races only once. As in the previous event, vehicles start at the elevated end of the track. The vehicle is released, allowing only the force of gravity to power its progress, and it travels as far as possible before friction brings it to a halt. Then a marker is used to mark wherever vehicle's driver ended up when the vehicle came to a halt.

After all vehicles have gone, the rank order is determined based on the distance each vehicle's driver traveled from the starting line. Points are awarded using the same scheme as the SPEED contest.

Any damage that occurs to vehicles during this event may be repaired before moving on to the next event, so long as no extra LEGO parts are added to the vehicle, and all reasonable effort is made to assemble the vehicle as it appeared when the competition began.

4) AERODYNAMICS (THE SKI JUMP)
A steeply sloped track is used for this event, along with a steep ramp at the bottom of the track designed to launch the vehicles into the air. As in the previous event, a vehicle starts at the elevated end of the track. The vehicle is released, allowing only the force of gravity to power its progress. (It is highly recommended that some sort of large soft material, such as a blanket, be placed after the ramp to reduce the damage to the vehicles that make successful jumps.)

Vehicles are judged in this event based on where they land. Distances should be marked from the rear of the vehicle. If a vehicle breaks apart, the section where the driver is attached should be used to mark the distance, and if the driver is thrown from the vehicle, use the driver itself to mark the distance. Points are awarded using the same scheme as the SPEED contest. All vehicles whose drivers fail to make to it past the end of the ramp automatically tie for last place in this event.

Any damage that occurs to vehicles during this event may be fixed before going on to the final event, so long as no extra LEGO parts are added to the vehicle, and all reasonable effort is made to assemble the vehicle as it appeared when the competition began.

5) STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY
A flat track is used for this event. Like the Speed event, contestants are paired off against each other at random, and only the winner of each match-up passes on to the next round until a final winner is determined.

For each match-up, contestants line their vehicles up at opposite ends of the track. After a three-count, each competitor uses one hand to launch their vehicle at the other competitor's vehicle, aiming to maximize the damage inflicted.

A vehicle is eliminated from this event when either of the following occur:

• The driver is thrown from the vehicle.
• The driver is cut in half or decapitated.

Each match-up must result in one contestant being eliminated and the other passing on to the next round. Therefore, a match-up may require multiple "throws" before a winner and loser are determined.

Throughout this event, no damage to any vehicle may be repaired at any point, whether between throws in the same match-up, or between rounds. Pieces may not be reattached once they have fallen off, and loose pieces may not be made more secure, including the driver. Whenever a vehicle breaks into pieces, the section which still has the driver attached, and at least one wheel, will be considered what remains of the vehicle. The track should be cleared of debris after each throw.

In the rare event that both vehicles are eliminated on the very same throw, an emergency rebuilding period will be allowed in which both contestants have 15 seconds to reconstruct their vehicles however they see fit from the broken off pieces of their original vehicle, then the same two vehicles will be thrown against each other again.

The last surviving vehicle is the winner of the event. Since by the time a winner of this event is determined, all other vehicles have been destroyed, it is not an option to pit the losing vehicles against each other, as in the Speed Contest, to determine a rank order. Instead, points are awarded on the following scale:

THE ULTIMATE LEGO VEHICLE CONTEST WINNER
Each vehicle's scores from the latter four events are multiplied by its aesthetic value to determine its overall score. Once each vehicle's overall score has been determined, a rank order for all the vehicles in the contest can be determined, and awards are given to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place competitors.

- The End -