The past few weeks have been= somewhat difficult for me. I have been feeling pressure from both within= and without the SORC organization. As you will see in this newsletter,= there has been substantial progress in the documents that define both the= internal structure of the SORC and the organization of the events we intend= to sanction. Yet some of the comments we have received by both email and on= the forum have been very negative. I know that we will never please= everyone (no matter how hard we try) but I would ask you to consider= whether your objections are things that you consider absolute necessities= or just things that would be "nice" to have. Next, our= Information Coordinator resigned due to personal reasons. Finally, there= has been quite a lot of discussion on our forum about the purpose of the= SORC. Many just want us to be an organization that puts on events. I= believe that we need to have official legal standing to protect both our= members and our officers. I also feel that we gain a tremendous benefit= from becoming a nonprofit organization. At a minimum, the nonprofit status= lets members and fans alike know that our focus is not on making money,= just promoting our sport. Unfortunately, starting a nonprofit organization= is relatively complicated and things like bylaws and articles of= incorporation reflect that. I would rather keep things simple but sometimes= you just don=92t have a choice.

If you have not seen the change at www.robotwars.com, go there and read the news about the potential sale of the RobotWars trademark. This event= may have a profound effect on the future direction of the SORC.

GCR and Class Rules

The first official draft of the GCR and Class Rules= are at the SORC web site (www.sorc.org) in the SORC combat rules section. There are a number of things that we are considering:

1. Cluster robots
2. Hovercraft
3. Other potential fuels (alcohol, nitromethane)
4. Legged Robots
5. Membership Upgrades

Potential Bylaws

The first official draft of the SORC bylaws is also= at the SORC web site in the SORC organizational rules section. Yes, they= are lengthy and complicated. They are heavily based on standard bylaws for= nonprofit organizations. If you manage to struggle through them and find= any errors, I would appreciate an email.

Resignation of Information Coordinator

The following letter is from our information= coordinator:

The Information Coordinator will hold one of the most vital roles in= the first couple of years of the SORC=92s existence. The person who holds= that position is responsible for getting information to both the members= and to the media.

Incorporation / Nonprofit Status

I will mail out the letter to the Secretary of the= State of California reserving the business name "Society of Robotic= Combat" this week. When that letter is mailed, we will have 60 days to= sign and mail the articles of incorporation. This means that the election= of the board of directors should happen within this time period.

Here is a list of our tasks for the next year= or so. This is where you get to be involved. If you want to be part of a= team, let me know.

1. Budget

• I will be closing out my handling of the SORC funds and transferring= that to our elected financial coordinator. I will post a line-by-line= summary of our income and expenses on the web site for all SORC members to= view.

1. Official organization kickoff

• Once the organization is legal, we will send out applications for= official membership to all the people currently on the email= list.

1. Events

• Summer 1999
• East Coast
• West Coast
• Midwest?
• UK/Europe?
• Australia/New Zealand

• International Championship 1999 Fall/Winter

The SORC wants to sanction or be part of at least three events next year.= To make this happen, we need local teams of builders that will serve as the= interface between a promoter and the SORC. Of course, that means that we= first must find local promoters. The International Championship will be= promoted or co-promoted by the SORC and will be seeded based on the= regional event winners.

1. Construct Arena

Eventually, I would like the SORC to have a portable arena on both US= coasts. We could lease these to promoters both as a source of revenue and= to guarantee the safety of the spectators. They will be built out of custom= cast concrete blocks and wood. We can actually make the blocks ourselves at= substantial savings.

2. Create a Testing Laboratory (long term)

I would like to see an SORC laboratory created to provide information on= critical components. We would construct well calibrated units to test the= following types of components:

• Motors
• Batteries
• Pneumatic tanks, valves and cylinders
• RF transmitters and receivers
• SORC endorsed products
• SORC created products.

1. Assemble Electronic Reference Information

Each year I want to produce a CDROM with a large mass of information on= it. This would include pictures, instructions, circuits and merchandise= catalogs. If you want to contribute to this effort or are willing to allow= us to use something you have already done, please let us know. We will= always give credit to the authors.

That is about all for now.

Todd M.

SORC Chairman