Now to look at the basics. You need two main pieces of documentation in order to compete. A current membership card for a CAMS affiliated club and a CAMS licence at the applicable level.
Finding a CAMS affiliated club is nice and easy. Have a look at the CAMS website
(here) for a nearby. Just a word of caution, CAMS have recently introduced the 'Enthusiast Club' which allows the Club to run non-competition events, but doesn't allow the club, nor its members, to compete in any other events. So you need to be a member of a Competition Club.
Then you need a licence. Clubs will often have 'Come and Try' Days where you can come along and purchase a single event licence (either a Level 1 or a Level 2SE depending on the organisers). These allow you to compete in a single event, but if you intend to set the world on fire in your first event then be aware the Level 1 doesn't entitle you to feature in the results.
The main two licences used are the Level 2 - either Speed (S) or Non-Speed (NS). Direct from the General Requirements CAMS Manual
(Link):
Holders of Level 2S licences will be entitled to enter the following events:
• regularity trials up to National Championship
• single- and multi-car speed events up to International level
• some touring road events – refer “Rally/Road” section in the CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, Touring Road Event Regulations
• and all events available to Level 2NS licence holders.
Holders of Level 2NS licences will be entitled to enter the following events:
• observed section trials
• touring road events which contain no closed road sections and no speed sub-events
• touring assemblies (in which the competitor and at least one crew member shall hold a minimum of a Level 2NS Licence)
• introductory rallies as approved by the relevant State Manager of CAMS
• motorkhana and khanacross events up to International level
• drifting events.
Further definition of these events can be found in the CAMS Manual under the titles of 'Speed' and 'Auto Test' respectively.
So how do you get one of these licences. Well I'm glad you asked. Firstly you need to fill in a form - signed by a Club representative - pay the fee, then send it off to CAMS. As easy as that. You can do what a lot of people do and leave it all to the morning of the event and put more work on the already busy shoulders of the event organiser. Or you could win friends and influence people at an early stage and do the paperwork early.
First is the Club membership. Often Clubs will have a site that you can download a membership form from. Fill that in and forward to the Club with your payment well before the event so at least that box is ticked. If it is a last minute thing, you can still at least get the form and fill it in, but submit it on the morning of the event. Clubs will have a membership officer you can talk to and will let you know the best way to handle it.
Then there's the licence. Unfortunately this cant really be submitted before the event, but at least you can download and complete the form beforehand. Forms are the same for L2S and L2NS and can be downloaded from CAMS
here. Fill in the appropriate parts and sign. Although you can pay the Club cash on the day, it's so much easier to just fill in your credit card details and leave it at that. At the moment the fees are $103 for a Speed Licence and $57 for a Non-Speed. These are subject to change so check Appendix R at the bottom of this page of the Manual
(link)
Submit the form to the event organiser on the day and they will sign off on it. Make sure they tear the bottom off the appropriate page of the form and give it to you. This is your temporary 30 day licence that allows you to compete in other events while you're waiting for your licence to be sent to you. A bit of a tip. When filling out the licence form, date it as if it was completed on the day of the event. That way you won't be short changing yourself on your 30 day permit. If you're really efficient and fill the form out three weeks before the event and date it accordingly, then by the time the event comes around you only have one more week left on your permit and you may have to sit out further events until your proper licence arrives.
That's it I think for the Level 2 licences. There are others there such as Rally and Race, but they are a bit more complicated requiring online modules to be completed and Observed Licence Tests (OLT) or a Provisional Period. If you're wanting to go that far, then I suggest you read the applicable parts of the manual.
Matt
