A reporter learns about sports rocketry at the annual  International Rocket Week held near the town of Paisley, Scotland: We have liftoff: the rocket enthusiasts having a blast in Scotland  – The Guardian

Once a year, enthusiasts converge on a wet and windy moor in Scotland to launch homemade rockets that can reach heights of 15,000 feet. It’s quite a blast

===

Here is an article about the University of Southern California Rocket Propulsion Laboratory (USCRPL) and their attempt to launch a rocket above 100 kilometers: Aiming high: Students at USC attempt to launch rocket into space – latimes.com

Update Sept.22.13: Unfortunately, the flight did not succeed but the effort did succeed in advancing the knowledge of the students and the level of their program – USCRPL (USCRPL) on Twitter

• “After 2 years in the hanger, USCRPL’s #Traveler space shot launched out of Black Rock Desert NV on 9/21 at 1807 PDT….”
• “…4.5 secs into flight it experienced a catastrophic failure. Thanks to our fans & supporters, look out for #Traveler II! #SpaceOrNothing!”
• “@wikkit #Traveler did fail during flight. But just being able to launch & see it roar out of the tower was enough to satisfy us …for now!”
• “@wikkit the root cause was not a breach, but rather a over-pressurization. Some reusable hardware, but anythings reusable if you remake it!”