media information

National Championship Air Races

media coverage of the National Championship Air Races & Air Show

The Reno Air Racing Association invites qualified media representatives to cover the World's fastest motor sport!

Guidelines for the acquisition for press credentials for the National Championship Air Races and Air Show are simple, but rigorous. A core mission of the Reno Air Racing Association [RARA], to preserve the sport of air racing in Reno, entails developing good working relationships with members of the press who effectively convey through the public media, the many positive aspects of the event.

Therefore, RARA encourages members of the aviation and motor sports press, as well as the general media, who have specific assignments or plans to publish content about the National Championship Air Races, to apply for credentials.

Applicants who have received credentials in the past and provided a copy of their coverage to the Reno Air Racing Association significantly increase their chances of receiving credentials for this year by showing the published or broadcast results of their prior coverage.

Those who are applying for the first time should clearly indicate concrete plans for getting their work published or broadcast.

No credentials are issued on-site at the event. Credentials must be applied for on-line, and the following documentation must be submitted to the Reno Air Racing Association Media Coordinator in order for your application to be considered:

• Cover letter requesting credentials. If you are on the staff of an existing publication or media outlet, please use letterhead and indicate your position or title within the organization and the telephone number of a person whom we may contact to verify same. If you have not covered the Reno Air Races before, please indicate where and when your media will be published or broadcast.
• If you have covered the Air Races before, include copies of your published or broadcast work that directly resulted from your prior coverage. Examples from last year are by far the most important.
• If your application is accepted, please note that you will be required to sign a media agreement and release prior to receiving your credentials.The media agreement stipulates that, among other things:
• You agree to restrictions set forth by the Reno Air Racing Association regarding the use of the media you obtain,
• You understand the dangerous nature of air racing and you hold harmless the Reno Air Racing Association from any liability connected with your access to non-public areas of the event site, and
• You agree that the Reno Air Racing Association may use, on a non-exclusive basis, media you obtain.

apply on-line

Submission of an on-line application is the only way to be considered for media credentials for the 2008 National Championship Air Races & Air Show.

Please note that in your on-line application, you must provide contact information for the media entity you will be representing, and submit an official letter of assignment from the same media entity. If you have covered the Air Races before, you need to submit a copy of your prior coverage.

Applications for media credentials for 2008 are not yet being accepted.

parking and check-in procedures

Please refer to the site map at the bottom of this page. Parking for credentialed media is located South of Alpha Avenue and West of Mt. Anderson [lot L3 on the site map]. Media representatives who have received approval by email for media credentials may check in at the Media Check-In Trailer [labeled H7 on the site map] just inside the West Ramp Vehicle gate [labeled G3 on the site map].

You may check in beginning Monday 8 September at 6:30 AM. The Media Center check-in trailer will be open daily until 4:00 PM. You must check in each day at the Media Check-In Trailer to receive your credentials for that day.

Absolutely no credentials will be issued on-site. If you have not been notified that your application for media credentials was accepted prior to check-in, you will not receive credentials for this year's event.

Media Operations Center

All other media operations shall be based from the northwest corner of the Sport Class Aircraft Hangar [labeled A1 on the site map], close to the new location of the Shuttle Staging Area [labeled H8 on the site map]. We hope that these new locations will make your access to the ramp and media shuttles easier and quicker - see the layout below.

The media shuttle Staging Area [H8 on the site map] is located between the Sport Class hangar [the former ERA Aviation hangar] and the T-hangars at the West End of the field. This location is directly adjacent to the Media Center, much closer to the ramp and pits than the previous location. Shuttle buses depart from the Staging Area and provide transportation to the East and West Pylons. It generally takes about 15 minutes to reach the East Pylons from the Staging Area, and about 5 minutes to reach the West Pylons. However, actual enroute time may be affected by flight operations.

press access during Race Week

Members of the working press who have been accredited by the Reno Air Racing Association office are provided the following facilities and support:

• Access to all General Admission and Pit areas,
• Access to press trailer with power and telephone connections, tables and chairs,
• Press kit with information about the event, participants, community, and sponsors,
• Complimentary lunch and beverages from Wednesday through Sunday of Race Week.
• Access to specific areas on the race course [race course layouts for each class are available from the respective "Racing Aircraft" pages]:
  • at the East end of the field:
  • Pylon Inner 2 for Biplane and Formula One Class races
  • Pylon Outer 2 for Unlimited, T-6, and Sport Class races
  • at the West end of the field:
  • Pylon Inner 5 for Biplane and Formula One Class races
  • Pylon 4 for the T-6 Class Race
  • Pylon 8 of the Unlimited and Sport Class races
  from Wednesday through Sunday of Race Week, with transportation provided via air-conditioned motor coaches,

Last-minute changes to the airshow schedule are always possible due to weather, safety, and flight operational considerations, so please check the published schedules distributed at the Press Center at the beginning of each day for the latest bus timetable.

While at the pylons, please promptly follow the instructions of your Pylon Bus crew. They are there to help you and to ensure that the buses are able to move in coordination with flight operations - the timelines are extremely tight. Therefore, please be ready to board the buses at the scheduled departure times, and most importantly, be prompt in getting back on the buses at the conclusion of the last race before the buses return to the staging area. It's possible that delaying the departure of a bus may mean that the bus cannot be cleared across the flight line and therefore, you cannot reach your pylon for a particular race - or that your return to the staging area is delayed significantly.

We will do the best we can to adhere to the schedule - however, please be aware that safety considerations come first, and that flight operations have priority over the bus schedule.

site map

The site map [last updated on 14 Aug 2007] shows the best way to reach automobile parking, and indicates the locations of on-site facilities, grandstands, vendor areas, and aircraft.

There are two versions available - a low-resolution version viewable in your Web browser, and a high-resolution version suitable for color printing.

To view or print these site maps, you'll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Printable Map [2.7 Mbytes] Download Acrobat Reader

printable version [WARNING: large file ≈2.7 Mbytes] For a high-resolution color version of the map in Adobe Acrobat [PDF] format [2.7 Mbytes] suitable for printing, click here or on the icon at upper left. Your Web browser may already have the Acrobat Reader built in - if so, clicking on the link at right will automatically launch the site map in a new browser window. If not, you can save the PDF file to your local hard drive and view it using the Reader. To save the file to your local disk, right-click on the link above or the PDF icon at upper left and choose "Save Target As . . ." or "Save Link As . . .". If you do not already have the Reader, you can download it by clicking here or on the icon or link at lower left. For best results, it is recommended that you use a high-quality color unit to print the high-resolution version of the site map. Web version [224 Kbytes] To view the site map on the Web in a new browser window, click here or on the small version of the image at right.

Click on the image above to view the Web version of the site map in a new browser window.

Reno weather

September weather in Reno can be quite variable, with temperatures climbing into the 90s, or descending into the 30s. In fair weather, the sun is quite intense, and there is no shade or shelter at the pylons. Pylon conditions are primitive - other than an irregular cleared area surrounding the pylons themselves, the area is unimproved sagebrush desert. Portable toilets are available.

Our primary concern is safety. Because the media shuttles must cross active flight areas during a very busy flight operations cycle, schedules do not always permit shuttles to return to the Media Staging Area after each race. Please study the shuttle schedules, plan your activities carefully, and be prepared for long periods at the pylons by bringing plenty of drinking water and strong sunscreen, and wearing sensible clothing and footwear.

current Reno area weather

From NOAA's National Weather Service.