Jeff Rein of Covington, Wash., convincingly captured 2009's Northwest Control-Line Competitor of the Year Award.
The prestigious annual title recognizes the
flier who scored the most points in Northwest competition standings as compiled
by Flying Lines. Scoring points in Combat, speed and Stunt, Rein
piled up 126 points, 44 more than defending champion Bruce Hunt.
Jeff's performance in combat was dominating. He swept the three Combat events at the Northwest Regionals in May, won the Bladder Grabber triple-elimination fast combat tournament in August, and did not lose a single match in the four Chehalis Cup 80mph Combat contests. Photo at right, taken by runner-up Tony Huber, shows Jeff getting the traditional dousing at the Bladder Grabber, the nation's top-gun Combat contest.
The number of people scoring points in competition in 2009 was slightly below 2008, with 60 people or teams scoring, compared with 66 in 2008. Note that this is not the total number of competitors, only the number of people placing first through fourth place in sanctioned competition.
As usual, stunt had the greatest distrbution of people scoring points, with 39 people, down two from the the 41 in 2008. Combat came next with 14 people scoring points, up from 11 in 2008. Eleven scored points in Speed, down from 16 the previous year. Six scored poins in Navy Carrier, up one from 2008. Only four scored in Racing, down from six the previous year. One person scored points in Scale.
Again, these totals reflect only placement, not actual number of competitors. The presence of out-of-region fliers in a contest can result in no points, or fewer points, being scored toward Northwest standings.
The Competitor of the Year recognition has been given since 1980, the second year of Flying Lines newsletter publication. Here is the history, giving the top three finishers each year:
Competitor of the Year, 1980-2009
1980: 1, John Thompson 2, Bill Varner 3, Jim Cameron
1981: Dick Salter, Thompson, Dave Green
1982: Dick Salter, Thompson, Mike Hazel
1983: Green, Thompson, Glenn Salter
1984: Green, Dick Salter, Gary Byerly
1985: Green, John Hall, Mel Lyne
1986: Green, Mel Lyne, Dick Salter
1987: Dick Salter, Glenn Salter, Green
1988: Not available
1989-90: Flying Lines not published
1991: Joe Rice, Rich McConnell, Tom Strom
1992: Rice, Todd Ryan, Hall
1993: Ryan, Rice, McConnell
1994: Ryan, Chris Cox, Nitroholics Racing Team
1995: Ryan, Jeff Rein, Don McClave
1996: Ryan, Stephen Cox, Rick Meadows
1997: Ryan, Paul Gibeault, Stephen Cox
1998: Ryan, Lyne, Dan Rutherford
1999: Ryan, Shawn Parker, Mike Conner
2000: Ryan, Lyne, Scott Riese
2001: Chris Cox, Ryan, Lyne
2002: Jeff Rein, Bruce Hunt, Nils Norling
2003: Dan Rutherford, Keith Varley, Lyne
2004: Rutherford, Paul Walker, Chris Cox
2005: Pat Johnston, Riese, Hunt
2006: Johnston, Hunt, Walker
2007: Johnston, Walker, Rein
2008: Hunt, Walker, Johnston
2009: Rein, Hunt, Robert Smith
Anyone who would like a printout of the complete 2009 Competitor of the Year standings can get one by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the standings coordinator. The address is at the bottom of the column.
Current standings are on the NW Standings Page
Below are the final 2009 Competitor of the Year rankings, along with the categories in which points were scored.
* = also scored points as a team entry. After score is indicated category and team's points, which are not included in individual points.
1. Jeff Rein -- Combat, Speed, Stunt -- 126
2. Bruce Hunt -- Stunt -- 82
3. Robert Smith -- Combat -- 75
4. Howard Rush-- Stunt -- 73
5. Don McKay -- Combat, Speed -- 72
6. Paul Walker -- Stunt -- 58.5
7. Dane Covey -- Stunt -- 47
Ken Burdick -- Combat, Speed, Stunt -- 47 *Speed team: 2
9. Steve Helmick -- Stunt -- 45
10. John Thompson -- Combat, Stunt -- 41 *Racing team: 2
11. Buzz Wilson -- Combat, Speed -- 35
Greg Hart -- Stunt -- 35
13. Keith Varley -- Stunt -- 32
Mike Haverly -- Stunt -- 32
15. Dan Rutherford -- Stunt -- 30.5
16. Alan Resinger -- Stunt -- 29.5
17. Scott Riese -- Stunt -- 28.5
18. Mark Scarborough -- Stunt -- 27
19. Bob Smiley -- Stunt -- 25
20. Mel Lyne -- Combat -- 22
21. Mike Conner -- Navy Carrier, Stunt -- 21
Dick Salter -- Combat, Speed -- 21 * Racing Team: 2
Pete Peterson -- Stunt -- 21
24. Jack Pitcher -- Stunt -- 19.5
25. Mike Potter -- Navy Carrier, Scale -- 18
26. Richard Entwhistle -- Stunt -- 16
27. Don McClave -- Stunt -- 14
28. Tony Huber -- Combat -- 12
29. Mike Hazel -- Combat, Speed, Stunt -- 11 *Racing team: 2 *Speed
Team: 2
30. Pete Ferguson -- Stunt -- 10
31. Robert Ladd -- Stunt -- 9
Floyd Carter -- Stunt --9
Loren Howard -- Speed -- 9
34. Mark Hansen -- Combat -- 8
Rich Salter -- Navy Carrier, Speed -- 8 *Racing Team: 2
36. John Leidle -- Stunt -- 7
Rick Cochrun -- Stunt -- 7
38. John Witt -- Stunt -- 6
Chris Cox -- Stunt -- 6
40. Gene Pape -- Combat -- 5
Pat Johnston -- Stunt -- 5
42. Guy Laine -- Speed -- 4
Bob Parker -- Navy Carrier -- 4
Ted Gritzmacher -- Speed -- 4
45. Geoff Christianson -- Stunt -- 3
Jim Green -- Combat -- 3
Dave Gardner -- Stunt -- 3
48. Louie-Louie Team -- Speed -- 2
S&S Racing Team -- Racing -- 2
Nitroholics Racing Team -- Racing -- 2
Walt Russell -- Navy Carrier -- 2
Jack Mullinix -- Stunt -- 2
Randy Powell -- Stunt -- 2
54. Lee Uberbcher -- Stunt -- 1.5
55. Mike Denlis -- Stunt -- 1
Doug Oertli -- Stunt -- 1
Russell Shaffer -- Stunt -- 1
Bruce Duncan -- Racing -- 1
Bill Darkow -- Navy Carrier -- 1
Joe Yau -- Stunt -- 1
Flying Lines keeps track of standings in all AMA rulebook and Northwest official events, in all Northwest sanctioned contests.
Your FL editors do their best to keep up with the results, but contest directors can help keep the standings up to date by making sure to send the results to FL immediately after the contest. If you spot errors, please let us know.
Results must include the placing in each event through fourth place and the report also must list the number of contestants in the event, in order for the point standings to be counted accurately.
Please include in your report the hometown of the contestants. Only Northwest residents are counted in the standings (AMA Dist. XI and British Columbia). The score of each contestant also should be listed for general reporting purposes and for checking against the Northwest records.
If you flew in a contest that doesn't appear to be counted, contact the contest director or FL.
Special notes: Precision aerobatics expert fliers' scores are multiplied by a factor of 1.5. When an individual is allowed more than one entry in a single event, only the highest-placing score shall be counted.
Send contest results, corrections and other correspondence regarding Northwest Competition Standings to John Thompson, standings coordinator. For a printed copy of complete standings for any event, or for a copy of the rules for any Northwest event, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Flying Lines, 2456 Quince St., Eugene, OR 97404.
This page was upated Dec. 4, 2018