JWC University Series · competition regulations
Eligibility & rules
The provisions that decide what this competition is, who may compete, what a Wing is, and what never changes for a student. Nothing in the format relaxes any safety limit inherited from the JWC Official Rules.
1 · Purpose and application
1.1
These regulations govern the JWC University Series: who may enter, how a Wing is formed, how qualification is contested, and the conditions under which students fly.
1.2
They apply to every registered Wing, every registered competitor and every Faculty Advisor from the moment of registration until the end of the qualification cycle.
1.3
Where these regulations are silent, the JWC Official Rules apply. Where the two conflict on any matter of safety, the stricter provision prevails — always.
2 · Definitions
2.1
Wing — a team of six registered students representing one institution, holding the six roles defined in §5.
2.2
Cycle — one qualification period, running from the opening of registration to the final round of the season it feeds.
2.3
Endorsed Wing — a Wing whose institution has formally endorsed its entry and appointed a Faculty Advisor. Independent Wing — a Wing entered by its students without institutional endorsement; equal in competition, distinct only in designation.
2.4
Qualifying Sortie — the flight in a league jet earned through the ladder, flown under a JWC Instructor Pilot as defined in §7.
2.5
T-weeks — deadlines counted back from the first competition day of the round concerned; T-6 means six weeks before.
2.6
JWC Combat — the league’s official simulation title. University Ladder mode is the only environment in which qualification points can be earned.
3 · Status of the competition
3.1
The JWC University Series is an educational and promotional programme operated by JWC Holdings. It is a competition in its own right and is not a qualification of any kind.
3.2
Participation in the JWC University Series, and any result achieved in it, confers no entitlement to a place in the JWC Propeller Series, to a JWC competition licence, or to any position with a JWC team.
3.3
JWC teams employ their own pilots and gamers and hire on their own terms. Nothing in these regulations obliges any team, or JWC Holdings, to offer any competitor a position in any series.
3.4
A Qualifying Sortie is not flight training and is not loggable flight time. The Pilot Candidate holds no control authority and requires no pilot licence.
4 · Eligibility
4.1
Every competitor must be an enrolled student of the institution they represent, verified at T-8 weeks and auditable at any time.
4.2
At least four of the six Wing members must be enrolled on an undergraduate programme. The Competition Committee may waive this where an institution offers no undergraduate provision.
4.3
A competitor may compete for only one institution in a season. Transferring institutions mid-season ends eligibility for that season.
4.4
Ineligible: any holder of a current JWC competition licence; anyone under contract to a JWC team as pilot, gamer or competition staff; employees of JWC Holdings, the IACSF, promoters or official partners; and immediate family of a JWC official with competition authority.
4.5
Falsifying enrolment, identity or age is a Category A offence.
5 · The Wing
5.1
A Wing comprises exactly six registered competitors holding the roles of Combat Officer, Wingman, Pilot Candidate, Flight Engineer, Content Lead and Wing Captain.
5.2
All six must be enrolled at the same institution. An Endorsed Wing additionally has a Faculty Advisor, who does not compete.
5.3
One competitor may hold two roles, except that the Pilot Candidate may not also be the Combat Officer.
5.4
Up to two roster changes per qualification cycle, up to T-6 weeks. After T-6 weeks, only for documented medical or academic reasons with Committee approval.
5.5
A Wing below six eligible members after T-6 weeks may compete with five, but forfeits the reserve substitution right and may not field a Pilot Candidate if that is the vacant role.
6 · Platform
6.1
All qualification is contested in JWC Combat, University Ladder mode. It is free to download and play, and supported on iOS, Android and in a supported desktop browser.
6.2
No paid item, subscription or hardware confers any competitive advantage in University Ladder mode.
7 · Safety
7.1
A JWC Instructor Pilot is pilot-in-command of each aircraft at all times. The Pilot Candidate holds no control authority at any point and requires no pilot licence.
7.2
Either Instructor Pilot may call "knock it off" at any moment, for any reason or none. Both aircraft comply immediately. The call is not appealable and carries no penalty.
7.3
Competition floor 1,500 ft AGL. Ceiling and lateral limits per the venue’s published competition block. No student-specific relaxation of any limit exists.
7.4
The Pilot Candidate may withdraw at any point up to the closing of the canopy, for any reason or none, without being asked why and without penalty.
7.5
No personal recording device is carried aboard. JWC supplies and controls all onboard capture and provides the footage to the Wing afterwards.
7.6
Class B raises the medical gate: a full physician declaration dated within 90 days, plus a G-tolerance familiarisation brief, cleared at Thursday check-in before any Wing is eligible to fly Sunday.
7.7
A Pilot Candidate who clears the Class A screening but not the Class B medical may be replaced by another eligible Wing member. The Wing does not lose its place.
These are the fan-facing extracts. The full University Series regulations and the JWC Official Rules govern in all cases.