Packing and Preparation Guide

Hi everyone. Here is a link to the latest version of the Packing and Preparation Guide. For those of you who have supported recent rallies, you will find only minor changes. For those of you who are new to these events, though, this guide is a good starting point for getting your kit ready. It contains a set of checklists and descriptions for things that each operator should obtain and/or prepare for the rally.

All operators should keep in mind that we will be operating from isolated and somewhat remote locations. So, each operator needs to be essentially self-sufficient for the day. Please review this guide carefully to be sure that you will have what you need for a successful time at the event.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_HXhg8wRa9iNEbKso3iCHJ9eG_Yeg7G_/view?usp=sharing

If you have questions, please contact me: <my callsign> (at) Gmail.com

73,

Garry, VE6GDS

Registration Now Available!

The Rallywest website administrator has informed me that the Kananaskis Rally volunteer registration webpage is now available. Here is the information you'll need to sign up as a radio operator for this event.

If you follow this url it will take you to the main RallyWest page:

https://www.rallywest.com/

From there click on "Events" in the upper left of the page and you will be taken to a set of images for upcoming Rallywest events. Click on the picture for the Kananaskis Rally to get to the rally information page. Here is a shortcut:

http://www.cscc.ab.ca/kananaskis/

Scroll down to the "Volunteer Information" section and look for the blue "Signup Here" button near the end of that section of text. (Be sure you are using the button to sign up as a volunteer and not a race participant - unless you want to be driving down Powderface Trail at 100Km/h!)  
https://www.rallywest.com/signup/volunteer/KananaskisRally .   
Each time you click on that button it gives you a unique tag, so I can't give you a shortcut here.  If you bookmark the link you get after this point, with that unique tag, you'll be able to go back to your registration record and make updates later.

If you are considering coming to volunteer as a radio operator, then please complete this signup page. If you're not sure you can make it, then indicate in the comments that you're "tentative" for now. If I have no registration information for you, then it's difficult to assign a role or to contact you if there are urgent changes. It's also important to have emergency contact information, should something happen. When indicating the radio equipment that you plan to bring to the rally, try to be as generic as possible. It's much easier to deal with "50 watt mobile radio with APRS and a quarter wave magnetic mount antenna" than a bunch of make/model numbers with which I may not be familiar. Finally, please double check that the email address and phone number(s) you enter on the registration form are correct. Messages that bounce back at me are not getting to you!

To accommodate feedback I have received, I will try to keep the number of mass emails to a minimum. I will generally post material here in the CARA General Forum where everyone can find it at their own pleasure. I'll try to reserve emails primarily for critical updates. That means it's up to you to check here regularly so that you have the latest information. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

I hope you'll be joining us for a great time in Kananaskis!

 73,

Garry, VE6GDS

VE6GDS (at) Gmail.com

Thanks, Peter. I'll get this figured out as soon as possible and get a confirmation to you one way or the other.

Update

I attended a planning meeting for the rally on Tuesday evening. Here is what I know at this time.

1) We're still on for Sunday, 28 October in the Powderface region of Kananaskis Country.

2) Rallysafe won't be in use for this event, so radio operators will be critical to the safety of the stages.

3) The plan is to run the Demonstration Loop stages in the morning and Powderface Trail stages in the afternoon, just like last year.

3) The South end of the course is to be extended by a few kilometers from last year's route so that it ends near the Prairie Creek Trail. Consequently, we'll likely need a few more radio operators to staff blocker locations on the Powderface Trail stages.

I will continue to update this forum topic as more information comes available. For new operators I'll post the preparation guide soon so that you can get an idea of what you need to do to be ready for rally day.

73,

Garry, VE6GDS