The Water Rocket Achievement World Record Association (WRA2) is the first and only worldwide governing body formed to promote the sport/hobby of water rocketry through regular competitions for outstanding achievements and world records. It was formed in 2003 shortly after the water rocket world record was claimed by the AntiGravity Research Company in July of that year.
Prior to the formation of the WRA2, there was no oversight for water rocket world altitude records and this led to confusion and disputes over record claims. The WRA2 was formed to establish a set of rules to fill this void. The lack of any common rules and organized competition was often cited as the main cause for these recurring disputes, but no individual or group took the initiative to establish either of these missing elements. AntiGravity Research then made their record flight, and began using their world record altitude in a publicity campaign to advertise and promote their water rocket based educational toys. Their advertisements appeared as links in GoogleAds and in the form of a humorous documentary style video circulating around the internet.
These advertisements attracted the attention of three groups of rocketry hobbyists who had become disenchanted by the top-heavy political organizations governing and high cost of the pyro rocketry sport. When the teams discovered that water rocket world records were completely unregulated and constantly in dispute, they seized the opportunity to form a streamlined and efficient governing body for the sport, unburdened by the tedious political quagmires that plague other sports. In September of 2003 they formed an association known as the Water Rocket Achievement World Record Association.
Over the following months, the Water Rocket Achievement World Record Association drafted a set of very strict rules with the following goals in mind:
• Establish complete fairness to each competitor
• Eliminate human error from record measurements
• Provide a simple submission process for record claims
• Remove opportunities to cheat
• Eliminate politics and confusion created by too many classes
• Promote the sport of water rocketry
With the association in place and the rules established, the Water Rocket Achievement World Record Association commenced their first sanctioned competition in November 2003. Less than one year later, the team from U.S. Water Rockets set a new world record, following the rules of the Water Rocket Achievement World Record Association.
In the months that have followed, designers and teams began announcing their intentions to break the new record following the Water Rocket Achievement World Record Association class A rules. New teams started coming onboard and the association has seen significant growth since inception.
The Water Rocket Achievement World Record Association has achieved a very wide acceptance in the water rocket community, with over 850 competing teams in 64 different countries.
The Water Rocket Achievement World Record Association hosts several water rocketry contests.
* The Water Rocket Single Stage World Record.
* The Water Rocket Multiple Stage World Record.
* The Water Rocket Flight Duration World Record.
* The Water Rocket Unreinforced Bottle World Record.
* The Water Rocket Reinforced Bottle World Record.
* The Water Rocket Car Speed and Distance Competitions.
In January 2007 the WRA2 introduced the Water Rocket Forum. The forum was introduced as a place where the water rocket community could unite in a common setting to promote the sport of water rocketry. In the 6 years that followed the forum membership has grown to over 3,300 members and over 18,000 posts. It is now the one stop source of all water rocket information for everyone.