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 Friday 26th May through Sunday 28th May 2017.

The draft itinerary and maps from the organisors reveals there will be 4 physical stages on the Saturday and 3 physical stages on the Sunday with each stage being run twice.

Saturday is shaping up as follows.....

SS1 / SS6 will be Colverwells which is a small piece of Kowen Forest located between the Railway line and the Molonglo River accessed from the Kings Hwy near Weetalabah. This stage is approx 6.5 KM's of competitive distance and will have a Start, SOS A & Stop. Guestimate meet time is expected to be around 0630 and a potential finish time around 1630.

SS2 / SS7 will be Hibernian Reverse which is located off the Kings Hwy near where the now closed section of the old kings Hwy at "Sparrows". This stage is approx 22 KM's of competitive distance and will have a Start, SOS A, SOS B, SOS C, SOS D & Stop. Guestimate meet time is expected to be around 0700 and a potential finish time around 1700.

SS3 / SS8 will be Womboin Reverse which is the old "River Road" and "Womboin" stages combined into one and run in the reverse direction to previous years. This stage is approx 25 KM's of competitive distance and will have a Start, SOS A, SOS B, SOS C, SOS D & Stop. Guestimate meet time is expected to be around 0730 and a potential finish time around 1715.

SS4 / SS5 will be Homestead which is a very short stage at the "jump" in Kowen Forest. This stage is approx 2.6 KM's of competitive distance and will have a Start & Stop only. Each competitor will go through twice before heading off to Service prior to running the 3 longer stages again later in the day. Guestimate meet time is expected to be around 0900 and a potential finish time around 1430.

We will need 17 Field stations for the Saturday and around 6 or 7 people in HQ across the day also.

Sunday is basically the same as last year as follows.....

SS9 / SS12 will be Hyles Block which is located near Uriarra Village This stage is approx 10.3 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 1545.

SS10 / SS13 will be East West which is located in the Uriarra part of the Brindabellas. This stage is approx 19.5 KM's of competitive distance and will have a Start, SOS A, SOS B, & Stop. Guestimate meet time is expected to be around 0615 and a potential finish time around 1630.

SS11 / SS14 will be Cottage 5 Ways which starts out near the Tidbinbilla Tracking Station and weaves it's way back to Paddys River road near Cotter. This stage is approx 30.5 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 0715 and a potential finish time around 1730.

We will need 14 Field stations for the Saturday and around 6 or 7 people in HQ across the day also.

We have had some early indications from people as to their availability, however now we need to firm up people's availability and restrictions so as to be able to organise a roster.

Would you please email to wicen@crarc.ampr.org the following information....

National Capital Rally 2017 WICEN Availability...... Your Name & Callsign : If you are available for Saturday 27th May Y/N If Y, are there any time restrictions on you ? Y/N (and if Y, please state what they are) If you are available for Sunday 28th May 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 also head over to the National Capital Rally website and register as a volunteer and ensure you put WICEN in the "Previous Experience" block (regardless of whether you have done rallies before or not), and also in the "Preferred Role" box. Go to : http://nationalcapitalrally.com.au/register-as-a-volunteer/

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