Discharging electrostatic charge during hot card insertion

A system for dissipating electrostatic build-up from a circuit card to a chassis ground within an electronic system prior to connection of said circuit card with said electronic system, said circuit card having a card connector for connecting said circuit card into a backplane receptor within said electronic system, said system comprising:

• a circuit card having a surface upon which an electrostatic charge may collect, said surface including at least one conductive pad;
• a card guide for aligning said circuit card such that said circuit card connect with said backplane receptor when said circuit card is fully inserted into said card guide;
• and
• a conductive element within said card guide for coupling said at least one conductive pad to a chassis ground within said electronic system when said circuit card is partially inserted into said card guide, such that an electrostatic charge residing on said circuit card may dissipate in a controlled manner into said chassis ground prior to contact of said circuit card connector with said backplane receptor.