Nope. Novice permits are issued after your first successful event. After you have completed two or three more you will be issued a full HillClimb license.
What is it
Legendary American writer Ernest Hemingway is often quoted by racers, “There are only three real sports – auto racing, bull fighting and mountain climbing – the rest are just games.” SCCA® HillClimbs take two of those – auto racing and mountain climbing – and put them together for an extreme sport worthy of the motorsports world.
HillClimb is when a section of road on a mountain is blocked off from commuter traffic and drivers take turns seeing who can complete the course the fastest. Unlike a purpose-built racetrack, which may have multiple levels of barriers; or an autocross course where rubber cones are usually the biggest risk – a HillClimb course is lined with trees and rocks. Getting to the top unscathed is a mix of bravery and discretion, and the most successful are crowned “King of the Hill.”
Overview
HillClimb boasts some of the oldest motorsports events in the world. Originating in the late 19th century with the advent of the automobile, early motorists began by testing vehicle power on steep winding roads. These eventually evolved from simple trials of endurance, to high speed races requiring immense precision.
SCCA typically hosts about 10 HillClimb events each year with the majority of them part of the Pennsylvania HillClimb Association, with additional events located in Michigan, North Carolina, Kentucky and Arizona.
So why push your limits driving up a mountain road as fast as you can? Simply put, as famous mountaineer George Mallory said when asked about climbing Mount Everest in 1923, “Because it’s there.”
Some events allow novice drivers, and some do not, so if you’re planning on competing in a HillClimb, you will want to look at the rules to make sure you’re ready.
Driver Requirements
- Weekend or Full Membership of the SCCA.
- Valid government-issued driver’s license.
- Be able to handle the physical and mental demands of competition for the length of a session for each session of the event.
- A Time Trials License from the SCCA/recognized sanctioning body or a road racing license from a recognized sanctioning body.
Driver Fitness Guidelines
SCCA HillClimb Drivers should be able to participate in competition in a car at high speeds for extended periods of time. This form is a guide and tool for you to determine if you are medically qualified to participate in a HillClimb event. Failure to be able to deal with the stresses of automobile competition may jeopardize the driver or others while attending a competitive event.
Drivers entering an SCCA HillClimb event should be able to handle the physical and mental demands below for the length of a session for each session of an event.
The functional suggested requirements of a driver in a competition automobile are:
- Ability to rapidly operate acceleration, braking, and steering mechanisms/systems.
- Vision: distant vision correctable to 20/40 each eye, ability to distinguish basic colors, and peripheral vision to 70 degrees in the horizontal median for each eye.
- Should have minimal chance of sudden incapacitation from any disease process.
- Ability for rapid mental activity, problem solving, and decision-making.
- Ability to maintain an aerobic level heart rate for more than 20 minutes.
The environment the driver may operate in is:
- Temperature extremes from 0 degrees (F) to 120 degrees (F) for long periods of time.
- Smoke, fumes, vapor, caustic chemicals, and dust.
- Loud noise and vibration.
- Increased potential for exposure to fire.
License Details
HillClimb Novice License: The HillClimb Novice License is for those drivers who are eligible but have little or no experience in driving at speed in HillClimbs, Time Trials or wheel-to-wheel competition.
HillClimb Driver License: The HillClimb Driver License is for those who have completed three or more HillClimbs with a satisfactory rating or have accepted alternate experience.
Alternate Accepted Licenses:
- SCCA Time Trials Intermediate, Advanced, Pro Licenses.
- SCCA Road Racing Novice and Full Road Racing License.
- Any license listed in the SCCA General Competition Rules, Section 2.8.B.
- Canadian ACN-FIA Licenses.
- Other sanctioning body Time Trials Licenses (drivers should be placed in groups with the closest passing rules to their issuing sanctioning body or club).
Minors 17 and Under
All drivers 17 years old or younger must meet the requirements above and contact Event Officials before the event and get approval from the Event Lead.
In addition. the following items are required for participation by a minor:
- Completed Annual Parental Consent, Release and Waiver of Liability, Assumption of Risk and Indemnity Agreement. (Note: forms vary by state and witnessing method.)
- Completed Minor’s Assumption of Risk Acknowledgment. (Note: forms vary by state and witnessing method.)
- A valid driver’s license which does not require a passenger in the vehicle, issued by state, province, territory or country.
- When applying for a Time Trials License, the minor must apply directly to SCCA Member Services.
the news
SCCA regions partner with other national and regional organizations and associations to host and sponsor HillClimb events — usually about 10 per year in pockets across the country through three main series and associations.
Unlike Time Trials and Autocross, the added risk of the course environment dictates the necessity of added safety gear. Competition cars will need roll bars or cages, window nets or arm restraints, racing seats and harnesses, and potentially fire suppression systems.
Drivers will need helmets, as well as approved flame retardant racing suits and clothing (gloves, socks, face coverings and shoes.)
Series
Founded in 1959 and incorporated in 1963, the Pennsylvania Hillclimb Association was formed to standardize rules across the region’s historic hillclimb events, several of which predate the association itself. Today PHA is a coalition of seven SCCA regions — Susquehanna, Philadelphia, NEPA, Blue Mountain, South Jersey, Steel Cities and the WDCR Western Maryland Chapter — alongside the independent Weatherly and Giants Despair Hillclimb Associations, together organizing hillclimb and track events throughout the Northeast. All PHA events are SCCA-sanctioned, requiring competitors to hold SCCA membership and an appropriate license, and the group maintains six named courses: Duryea/Pagoda, Giants Despair, Jefferson Circuit, Polish Mountain, Shenandoah and Weatherly.
The PHA Championship Series has grown beyond traditional hillclimbs to include track sprints and time attacks, giving members multiple formats to compete for season points. Safety standards are strict for hillclimb-classed cars, including roll bar or cage requirements and 5- or 6-point harnesses, reflecting the discipline’s history as a proving ground for both driver and machine on closed public roads. With more than 60 years of continuous operation, PHA positions itself as a close-knit, beginner-friendly community that blends elements of autocross, rally and road racing — an identity reinforced by an active Hall of Fame, historical archive and regular newsletter.
Events
There are no current PA HillClimb events on the schedule.
Check back soon for next season’s events!
Formed around 2021 through the combined efforts of the Blue Ridge, Central Carolinas and Eastern Tennessee SCCA regions, the Appalachian HillClimb Series brought hillclimb competition back to the Southeast after the founding regions banded together to host their first event, a sold-out hillclimb at Pine Mountain Resort Park in Pineville, Kentucky. The series has since grown steadily, drawing sponsorship support from Summit Racing as presenting sponsor, along with Backroads of Appalachia and Grassroots Motorsports Magazine, and received a grant from the SCCA Foundation to support its development.
Competition is built on existing SCCA Solo®, Time Trials and Road Racing rulesets, adapted into ten hillclimb classes designed to group cars of similar performance or design intent. The current schedule spans Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee, with venues including Pine Mountain Resort Park (KY), Flag Rock Recreation Area (VA), Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest (NC), Shamrock Mountain (KY) and Brushy Mountain (TN). The series has positioned itself as a grassroots entry point into hillclimbing for both new and experienced competitors, with an emphasis on personal-best chasing over class records.
Events
There are no current Appalachian HillClimb events on the schedule.
Check back soon for next season’s events!
Sanctioned by SCCA’s Detroit Region, the Empire Hill Climb takes place on Wilco Road in Empire, Michigan, a short walk from the shores of Lake Michigan. The original event ran from 1964 to 1980, attracting period cars such as Austin-Healeys, Jaguar E-Types, AMC Gremlins, Triumphs, Corvettes, Porsches and even the occasional Ferrari, before going dormant for roughly 34 years. Local organizers revived the event, and it has run continuously since, working in coordination with Detroit Region SCCA and following SCCA hillclimb rules.
The course covers roughly 0.6 to 0.75 miles with six to eight turns up Storm Hill, and competitors get a minimum of six timed runs across five classes — three displacement-based classes split between naturally aspirated and forced-induction engines, plus Vintage and Exhibition classes for cars competing outside points contention. The event typically draws around 50 entries spanning vintage cars, modified cars, rally cars, sports cars and open-wheel cars, with a Parc Exposé held in downtown Empire so spectators can view the cars up close before they run the hill — a format organizers describe as offering some of the best sightlines in hillclimb racing.
Events
There are no current Empire HillClimb events on the schedule.
Check back soon for next season’s events!
FAQs
Do I need a license?
Can a novice compete?
Generally, yes. Most Hillclimbs have a robust novice orientation program to help you learn the procedures and etiquette of the sport as well as tips for that specific hill. Drivers who take part in this program will earn their novice permit through the process, so no license is required to register.
What safety equipment do I need that I wouldn't need for a track event?
At minimum, a roll bar, racing harness, a proper motorsport seat and an approved fire suppression device- typically a bottle is fine. Drivers must wear an approved flame-retardant racing suit, gloves and shoes in addition to a helmet. Some series require head and neck restraints as well. These are minimums, intended to help people get started in the sport, most serious Hillclimbers opt for the additional protection of a full cage.
How is it different from Time Attack or TrackSprint?
All three are Time Trials formats, but while the other two happen on tracks, with normal track safety elements in place, HillClimb runs on a closed paved road. This means the margin for error is smaller, which is why the vehicle safety requirements are higher for hills than events on tracks.
What is HillClimb?
HillClimb is Time Trials competition on a closed paved road instead of a purpose-built track — one car at a time racing the clock up a section of mountain road, with the fastest time crowned “King (or Queen) of the Hill.” It’s one of the oldest forms of motorsport in the world, with some events dating back more than a century.
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