Volunteer to help at the Reno Rally (Dec 2-4, 2005)

[Nick Koan]

Bump!

Anyone else interested? Now is the time to show up.

go to www.renorally.com and click on the volunteers link.

[A1337STI]

Yep I plan on going

[Nick Koan]

Originally Posted by A1337STI

Yep I plan on going

Did you fill out the Volunteer form?

[A1337STI]

yes the one on renorally.com

[JonnydaJibba]

I will be wearing signifigantly more layers this year.

[A1337STI]

How cold was last year's rally? are you going to dress as if you were going snowboarding basically ? or don't quite go to that extreme ?

will be fun to see you out there !

[Nick Koan]

Last year I was wearing jeans w/ thermals, and my snowboarding jacket.

[JonnydaJibba]

It was very brisk and a tad breezy. So I'd suggest preparing for the coldest it can be just in case, then shed layers as needed.

[A1337STI]

good thinking. I'll dress just below what i would for snowboarding and shed layers as needed. I'll avoid trimming back on the beard too just in case

[Kevin M]

You'll want to dress warmer than for snowboarding, because you aren't going to be moving around and generating heat nearly as much.

[cody]

Sombody say snowboarding?

[A1337STI]

snowboarding !

Yes you do a lot more moving around while snowboarding, and that keeps you Much warmer then standing still. I'm still guessing with wind chills it should be a good 20-30 F Warmer down at the rally then say riding up chair 10 at Kirkwood. snowboarding on a day that's NASTY I generally only wear long johns, snow pants, a long sleeve shirt, my ski jacket shell, helmet + neck warmer. and even then i generally end up over heating.

I'll just bring excessive clothes and if I'm suprized that its as cold or colder then snowboarding i'll be ready. and if i'm right that snowboarding is colder, i'll have a pile of extra clothes next to me .

[Nick Koan]

Weak! Only 1 stage out of the planned 8 stages ended up running

At least we this year I got on a finish control team, which meant I got to drive down the stage. In fact, I got just about as much stage time as the competitors

It was still kind of fun being out there, but man was the organization just plain screwed up this year.

[MattR]

Outstanding, What the hell was the reason this time?

[zpeed]

What happen? why only 1? I guess that the end of Rally here

[Nick Koan]

Originally Posted by MattR

Outstanding, What the hell was the reason this time?

Well, first off, Hackett screwed up the permits and forgot parts that were specifically mentioned (like bringing back boards) so we started like 3 hours late. They ran the first stage, which I was at at the end of, and sent the cars on transit to stage two (which was only a 1/2 mile away). Well, the second stage wasn't clear and the cars just sat there for a while.

So, as the sun was going down, the decision was made to run stage 6 which was just stage one in reverse (and then 1 and 6 again, just back and forth on the one stage I was working). So we hurried to get setup for a start and sent the first car through around 5:30, and then we got word that first few cars though ended up finding civilian cars going the opposite direction of the competition. From there, the stage had to be stopped and everyone was asked to just run the stage as transit. When all the cars got to the end of the stage, they just ended up canceling the rest of the event because it was getting cold fast. We left somewhere between 6 and 7, and it was about 19 degrees out there, according to the clock we had with a temperature sensor.

What's worse about the permit snafu, is that we were delayed due to the exact same reasons as last year. The control captains didn't have a copy of the permit (Hacket did, be he wasn't at the start of the rally) and the EMTs didn't have back boards. They said they didn't know they were necessary but the BLM ranger said it was spelled out explicitly in the permit. So, whoever dealt with the permits (probably Hackett again) forgot to mention it to the EMTs. The EMTs had to split up and one went to Gerlach and one to Nixon to try and find a backboard. Finally found one after 2+ hours or so, and that's what caused us to start 3 hours late.

Even though last year went relatively smooth, you could see that this event was happening despite Dave Hackett's poor coordination. This year, though, it was a different story when his laziness ended up biting everyone in the ass. After last year, I told myself I wouldn't work an event with him ever again, but I figured the rally stood a good chance of working again this year, despite Hackett.

I felt bad for the competitors most of all. We were at least dressed for the conditions, whereas they had to sit in rapidly dropping conditions too, but in fire suits and they couldn't really sit in their cars and burn fuel in idle to run the heaters. And they paid money too, which I don't think can be refunded, to run one stage. Hell, I ran that one stage too, close to my limit (which is no where near their's), but I didn't pay a dime.

All in all, we had some good times still just kind of hanging out, but it just sucks that only one stage was really run.

[MattR]

Dave Hackett is a lot of talk with little or no results. He's been trying to get ANY kind of rallying going in this area for two decades with little to no success. He's also the guy Scott and I talked to about helping to get a rallycross program off the ground, you can guess how that went.

Anyway, I feel bad for all the workers and teams who went to all the trouble to get here to waste away their day. what a joke.

[MattR]

Oh, on the bright side, Hackett is now running/ part of the training school at Reno Fernley so we can all look forward to similar planning and organization.

[Nick Koan]

Yeah, I'm not impressed with that guy at all. Between this year and last, I think I've had my fill. I'd still volunteer again, cause I had fun just bullshitting with other people while we were standing around, but I'd be very surprised if we had a smooth event next year (if at all).

[rubberbiscuitt]

Originally Posted by nKoan

...and the EMTs didn't have back boards...

my favorite part was the car ramp and duct tape solution.

[zpeed]

Originally Posted by MattR

Oh, on the bright side, Hackett is now running/ part of the training school at Reno Fernley so we can all look forward to similar planning and organization.

Oh shoot... I was plan on doing that next year at RFR.

[Nick Koan]

One response I found over at specialstage.com

This rally will go down in history as one of the greatest clust.....ks of all time. The start was delayed FOUR hours because the EMT support crew didn't have a backboard. After some time, and discussion with the BLM, Dr Clark kindly donated the use of Gandalf's dog ramp as a backboard, a roll of duct tape as head/neck restraint, and the promise to stop and assist at any scene if necessary. At that time, the rally proceeded.

As a crew member this time, I followed the radio discussions, and with all the crew members, tried to keep up with the ever-changing situation of which stages were cancelled due to road conditions, or civilian traffic on the stages.

Crews were set up at Gerlach, about 15 miles from the car unloading area at Empire Farms Road. After a long wait in freezing conditions, we were told to pack up, hook up again to our trailers, replace the fuel cans in the fuel truck, and return to Empire Farms Road, where our cars would return instead, after running just the one stage.

I must thank Jon Rood and some other crew members for helping me load up, and ensuring I was fully mobile in the Suburban before they all drove off. your help was very greatly appreciated by Dr Clark as well!

The general mood of the crews, drivers and co-drivers was one of frustration and anger. The entry fee, notes, fuel, accommodation and other costs made this a $1000+ day! To have a rally cancelled for basic lack of planning for safety issues is absolutely unbelievable. Crews heard that apparently the roads hadn't been closed to traffic, and that the EMT crew did not have the list of equipment requirements from Rally America.

This rally has the potential to be wonderful. The support crews were terrific, the roads are great, and the area has a scenic beauty that is just incredible. Hopefully these issues will be addressed very quickly, because I suspect that very few rallyists will ever return to this event in its' present form.

Marie Boyd,
Co-driver/crew,
Car 39.

[A1337STI]

Wow that sucks. Well I would have been there, but the company i work for sent me out of town on a rather surprise business trip to Atlanta, GA. (Now they want me to move to Atlanta, GA i need to decide with in 3 weeks of them asking me ... (WTF)) *back on topic*

Its very unfortunate that the rally was ran like that.

and on a side note a rallyX program up here would rule ...

[Bob Danger]

I'm really glad I didn't volunteer this year.

[tysonK]

Originally Posted by Bob Danger

I'm really glad I didn't volunteer this year.

I thought you were suppose to bring the backboards this year!!1!wtf!