The BRCA and the national bodies.

What a national body does

National bodies are the members of the continental blocs. EFRA's membership, for example, is open to the national governing body of RC car racing in each European country (EFRA General Rules 2024, s.3.1). Wikipedia says IFMAR World Championship competitors must be members of a national body, naming ROAR, SARDA and the BRCA as examples; that point is unconfirmed against IFMAR's own General Rules, which were not found. Each national body's rules apply to its own racing only.

The BRCA (United Kingdom)

What it is

The BRCA, the British Radio Car Association, calls itself "the UK's governing body for RC car racing" on its 2026 membership page, covering circuit (on-road), off-road, oval, drifting, large scale and bike disciplines. It says its class rules may change each year. Its 2026 section rules were not read for this site, and its 2025 Members Handbook is listed on its site but the file was not reached, so BRCA class and safety rules are recorded only where a BRCA page states them.

Founding

No BRCA-published history was found. Wikipedia says the BRCA was founded in 1971 by Ted Longshaw and Keith Plested, is based in Stafford, is a member of EFRA and is affiliated to the Motor Sports Association. Wikipedia's Longshaw article says he formed the BRCA in 1971 and was its first president, and Red RC's obituary (8 September 2011) says he took part in the first organised race in the UK in 1971. Those accounts agree, but none is the BRCA's own.

Wikipedia also records that the BRCA hosted IFMAR World Championships in 1987, 1993, 1998 and 2020; that is unconfirmed. Wikipedia lists 13 BRCA sections, each with its own construction rules; they are on the classes.

Membership in 2026

Membership runs by calendar year. A club must be BRCA-affiliated for its events to fall under BRCA insurance, and the BRCA's 2026 club affiliation page says affiliation includes public liability insurance covering competitors and organisers, with the club as the legal entity. A search summary of the BRCA's sign-up page says adult membership comes with an adult licence for club and BRCA-sanctioned racing; that is unconfirmed. More on cover is on insurance.

The junior age line is stated two ways

The BRCA's membership page defines a junior as under 16, while its join page and its 2026 South West 10th off-road regionals page both use 16 and under (the regionals page adds that juniors still need BRCA membership). The sources do not explain the difference. Other bodies draw the line elsewhere, IFMAR at 15 and under for its youth final and EFRA at under 17 on 1 January; see youth and junior rules.

Conduct and safeguarding

The BRCA's "How can I race?" page points newcomers to a "Race With Respect" initiative on conduct and to a Safeguarding section in its Racer Hub. Its safeguarding page says it has a designated Safeguarding Officer and states a zero-tolerance policy on abuse or neglect; the 2024 policy document itself was not read. See safeguarding.

AARCMCC (Australia)

AARCMCC is Australia's national RC car body. Wikipedia's FEMCA member table lists it, founded 1979, as Australia's member of FEMCA, so it is a national body within the FEMCA bloc, not a bloc of its own. Its full name is spelled two ways: "Association of Australian Radio-Controlled Model Car Clubs" in an IFMAR report (known from a search summary) and "Association of Australia Radio Controlled Model Car Club" in Wikipedia's table. A search summary says AARCMCC sanctions Australian state and national titles and that a 2017 LiveRC report covers its 1/8 off-road titles; both points are unconfirmed. No current AARCMCC rule book or AARCMCC web page was found, so its membership, licence and class rules are not recorded here.

JMRCA (Japan)

JMRCA, the Japan Model Racing Car Association, is Japan's member of FEMCA. Its founding year is given two ways, both by Wikipedia: the FEMCA member table, and the infobox of Wikipedia's own JMRCA article, give 1974, while the text of that JMRCA article says February 1971. The article does not explain the difference. It also says JMRCA's first race was a Japan-America goodwill race held the month after its founding with a US Air Force model club in Tokyo, that its first championship was held in 1978 for 1:8 pan cars, and that its first electric championship followed a year later; those points are unconfirmed. No JMRCA rule book was read.

NZRCA and NZRCS (New Zealand)

New Zealand's national body appears in Wikipedia's FEMCA table as NZRCA. Its rules for oval racing are in the 2026 rule book of NZ RC Speedway (NZRCS), version 1.2 of July 2026:

• Drivers at NZRCS-sanctioned meetings must hold an NZ Radio Control Car Association (NZRCA) National Racing Licence (1.1 and 1.2).
• The rule book takes effect on 1 January each year after a remit process (1.7).
• For under-16 events, a competitor's age is taken on the day of the event, and NZRCS runs New Zealand Under-16 titles in its oval classes (1.5 and 1.8).
• Its classes are 1/10 electric oval: Superstocks, Stockcars and Streetstocks as contact classes, and Saloon Cars and Modifieds as non-contact classes.

Other national bodies

Wikipedia's FEMCA member table also lists national bodies for Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kuwait, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. In North America, ROAR itself sanctions racing in the United States and Canada; see ROAR. The national bodies of other European countries were not read beyond EFRA's own rules on membership; see EFRA.