Hello everyone,

This email is going out to people on the ACT WICEN MEMBERS and VK1-NEWS email lists and so some people may get it twice.

This is the formal request for assistance for this years National Capital Rally which is being conducted Saturday 11th May 2019. It is a single day event only this year at the request of the competitors who have to Travel. This will have various competition classes but no APRC this year.

The draft itinerary and maps from the organisers reveals there will be 4 physical stages on the Saturday with each stage being run twice.

Saturday is similar the same as last year for 3 of the stages, but a short stage at Hyles Block has been added.

Details I have at present are....

SS1 / SS5 will be Hyles Block which is a small piece of Forest located between Brindabella Road and the Molonglo River accessed from Brindabella Road in the Cotter to Uriarra section of the road - almost directly opposite the Uriarra Village entrance roads. This stage is approx 10.4 KM's of competitive distance and will have a Start, SOS A & Stop. Guestimate meet time is expected to be around 0600 and a potential finish time around 1500.

SS2 / SS6 will be Sherwood which starts out on a side road from Blue Range Road and runs through the forest finishing off at the intersection of Blue Range Road and Old Mill Road This stage is approx 27 KM's of competitive distance and will have a Start, SOS A, SOS B, SOS C, SOS D, SOS E & Stop. Guestimate meet time is expected to be around 0545 and a potential finish time around 1600.

SS3 / SS7 will be Cottage 5 Ways which is located in the Pearces West / Tidbinbilla part of the Brindabellas. This stage is approx 16.4 KM's of competitive distance and will have a Start, SOS A, SOS B, SOS C & Stop. Guestimate meet time is expected to be around 0630 and a potential finish time around 1630.

SS4 / SS8 will be Tidbinbilla which starts out near the Tidbinbilla Tracking Station and weaves it's way back to Paddys River road near Cotter. This stage is approx 18.2 KM's of competitive distance and will have a Start, SOS A, SOS B, SOS C & Stop. Guestimate meet time is expected to be around 0715 and a potential finish time around 1730.

We will need 20 Field stations for the Saturday and around 5 or 6 people in HQ across the day also. HQ is at the Abode Hotel in Woden this year with the 'service park' in the open air carpark opposite the Abode Hotel and near the Hellenic Club in Woden.

We need to firm up people's availability and restrictions so as to be able to organise a roster. Volunteers will also need to REGISTER AS A VOLUNTEER on the NatCap Rally website once that is up and running, please get in early at http://netiernationalcapitalrally.com.au/home/volunteers/ so you can be listed to get a T-shirt etc. Assuming the volunteers registration form is similar to previous years, please note that you are a WICEN Radio Operator in the "Comments and Previous Experience" section of the registration page (regardless of whether you have done rallies before or not), and select "Administration" in the "Area's interested in working" section.

I am also looking for people to look after the booking out, and returning back in of the fleet of radio's used by the officials. The officials use a set of Commercial UHF frequencies and have a set of ICOM Mobile and Handheld radio's, along with other radio's borrowed from WICEN and elsewhere. The tracking of these radio's has been very problematic over the years and so I'd like to get some people from a radio background to handle the issueing and receipt of these items instead of it being left to "anybody who is around" at HQ. It is not very onerous and would suit somebody who has time to spare during the week leading up to the Rally (Tues 7th - Sat 11th May Inclusive) and don't mind sitting around with not much to do.

As this is only 5 weeks away, I don't have the time at present to set up a Google Docs form and so If you can assist then please email to wicen@crarc.ampr.org the following information....

National Capital Rally 2019 WICEN Availability...... Your Name & Callsign : If you are available for Saturday 11th May 2019 Y/N If Y, are there any time restrictions on you ? Y/N (and if Y, please state what they are) Do you have any vehicle restrictions that would restrict you being able to traverse dirt roads in the forest Y/N Do you have VHF radio (2 metres) capable of 10 watts or more with a suitable antenna Y/N Do you have UHF radio (70 cm) capable of 10 watts or more with a suitable antenna Y/N Can you operate said radio's away from your vehicle Y/N Your Mobile Phone Number for contact. Please list any preferences of what you would like to do.

Please let us know even if you cannot assist as that way we can make notes that you are not available and we (hopefully) won't make further contact.

Cheers All,

Phil Longworth VK1PL Deputy State Coordinator, WICEN ACT Communications Manager, Netier National Capital Rally 2019