Wildflower Triathlon - Communications Committee Page

Wildflower Triathlon 2008

Communications Committee Page

Welcome to the 2008 Wildflower Triathlon Communications Committee Home Page. The Cal Poly Amateur Radio Club has been providing communications for this event for over 15 years, and this year is going to be a great year!

Our overall goal for this year is to make Wildflower a family event (that we do some radio at). And when we say "family event," we really mean it. Bring the whole family along for food, friends, radios, and great weather: just a great weekend out by the lake!

Be sure to subscribe to the mailing list (if you haven't already done so) to stay on top of what's happening with this years event. You can also take a look at our forums deadicated to Wildflower 2008. Provided below are downloadable information packets. They have been redone for this year, so please read them! Acquaint yourself with Main Information document and in any positions that you may be interested. Some older information has been included in case you may find it useful as a reference. If you have any questions, please feel free to email our Staffing representative.

Timeline

Friday May 2, 2008: All of the volunteers should arrive on Friday afternoon/evening. The front gate is open 9am-9pm. Once you get near the front gate, a traffic person will come and ask you which group you are with. You are with Communications, NOT Cal Poly. You will then proceed through the gate, then head directly to the Visitors Center. If you don't know how to get there, ask for directions or look at the directions below.

If you have any questions at all, we will be moitoring the W6FM repeaters, 146.730- pl:127.3 and 444.550+ pl:141.3. Give us a shout and we will do our best to answer your questions or help you if you run in to a jam. You can easily hit the repeater from most places inside the park with an HT, and anywhere along the drive with a mobile rig. Please note that the 70cm repeater is a private repeater and we are only allowed to use it for race weekend.

Once you get to the Vistors Center, start setting up your tent on the lawn outside the fence. If you require electricity inside your tent, please bring an extension cord and let Phil KG6ZIU know; he will hook you up with power to the tent. Recreational Vehicles may park along the North side of the parking lot inside the fence; please bring an extension cord for power.

Dinner is not provided on Friday, so get some on the drive up or bring something. There is a kitchen with sink and microwave in the Visitors Center which you may use anytime during the weekend. The BBQ will also be availible starting Friday morning. There will be a meeting at 8pm for all volunteers, and you must attend. It will be held on the grass right front of the Visitors Center in the food area. We will go over positions, first aid, driving on the course, and answer any last minute questions you may have.
Saturday May 3, 2008: The event begins! Dispatch is on the air at 7am, but you don't have to get up unless you are volunteering early in the morning. Breakfast and lunch is not provided, so bring your own food. The swim course starts at 8am. If your position is outside the park, you want to be on the road by 8am. The front gate is closed from 8am to 2pm; however, if you are a rover or other official communications vehicle, you can get through the gate. If you are stationed on the Run course, you should be in position by 10:30am. Make sure to bring water, and drink lots of it!

The BBQ starts at 7pm. It continues until all the food has run out, and dessert begins later in the evening. There will be a post-event meeting right after dinner at around 8pm on the grass in front of the Visitors Center. Stay tuned to the repeater for the exact time. We will be talking about how the event went that day and answer any questions you may have.
Sunday May 4, 2008: Breakfast starts at 7am. If you signed up for breakfast, it usually consists of eggs, sausage, cheese and other materials to make Breakfast Burritos. Dispatch is on the air at 8am. Lunch sandwich fixings are provided. The Olympic Triathlon begins at 9am, starting with the swim course. Again, if you are postioned on the course outside the park, you must be in postion by 9am because the front gate closes then. It reopens around 3pm.

After the event, come back to the Visitors Center area and start taking down your tent. Once you have finished with packing all of your personal belongings, help other people with theirs. If you want to do something really noble, ask any sub-committee member if you could help them take down stuff. They can use all the help you can give, because most years the committee members are at the park until midnight on Sunday. Note: The front gate does not open until 3pm, so don't rush too much to get out of the park. There are always long lines, so help other people pack up!

Volunteers

Sign Ups
Signups for Wildflower 2008 are open. If you would like more information, please contact wfstaffing08@w6bhz.org.
The Gate List
Posted on 25 April 2008. This is the that the front gate will have. Your name and your guests' names MUST be on this list to enter the park. Please check before you leave for the event; if your name is not on the list, please contact a committee member somehow. When you enter the park, remember do not mention Cal Poly. Do not enter through the Volunteers section. You are with COMMUNICATIONS.

Food

This year the Communications Committee is providing food for all meals on Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on Sunday. The menu:

Saturday Breakfast:	Continental
Saturday Lunch:	Make your own sandwiches. Meat, peanut butter, jelly
Saturday Dinner:	Tri-tip, chicken, garlic bread, beans, grilled veggies
Sunday Breakfast:	Breakfast burritos
Sunday Lunch:	Sandwich fixings, leftovers

While we are providing the food free this year, we would appreciate a $25 donation per person for food for the entire weekend. Bring cash and put it in the jar. If you have any issues with the menu, contact the Communications committee. A kitchen with sink and microwave is availible inside the Visitors Center anytime during the weekend. The big BBQ pit will also be availible starting Friday afternoon.

APRS
APRS is mandatory this year for vehicles that will be driving on the course when the race is in progress. Check out our APRS page.

Calendar

Important dates for you to know (tentative, as of 21 Feb 08):

Saturday, April 5: Lake Visit. We will be bringing up the tower trailer to the lake and installing a repeater up at Radio Hill. Contact Bryan KF6ZEO to help out on the Wildflower Mailing List.
Friday, April 11: Last day to signup via the signup page.
Friday, April 11: Last day for the APRS Coordinator to check out your APRS equipment for those people driving on the course. Contact him on the Wildflower Mailing List.
Saturday, April 12: Lake Visit. We will be installing all of the antennas at the Visitors Center and all of the antennas on the Tower Trailer. We need your help to make this day successful! Many people will be driving up from SLO if you need a ride.
Friday, May 2: Wildfower Event. Arrive in the afternoon, mandatory meeting at 8pm. See you at the lake!
Saturday, May 3: Wildflower Event. Front Gate closed 8am to around 2pm.
Sunday, May 4: Wildflower Event. Front Gate closed 9am to around 2pm.

Staffing

Staffing Positions are posted. Check below to see where you are working. People labeled as Vol etc. are other volunteers that will be helping us out.

If you aren't listed, hoped to be assigned to another position, or have complaint, email the staffing sub-committee member.

Saturday Staffing Positions: (PDF version)
Upgrade your browser in order to see the Saturday staffing list! Or click on the <a href="wf2008_saturday_staffing.pdf">PDF version</a>

Sunday Staffing Positions: (PDF version)
Upgrade your browser in order to see the Sunday staffing list! Or check out the <a href="wf2008_sunday_staffing.pdf">PDF version</a>.

staffing

Information Packets

Updated for 2008
Your information packet should contain 4 documents for a total of 8 pages:

The Main Information document (4 pages)
The First Aid document (2 pages)
Your assignment document (1 page)
A map of the lake (1 page)

All of these documents are listed below. Print them out, read them, staple them together, and bring them to the lake when you come. There is a wealth of information inside. Most links are PDF's.

General
- Main Information
- 2008 Frequency Plan Updated 21 April 2008
- First Aid Information
- Usage of CALCORD
- 2007 Event Time Line
- Suggested Packing List

Individual Positions
- Beach Hill - Stationed at the top of beach hill; reports athlete positions, medical response (2 people)
- Bike Mile-45 - Stationed at Bike Mile 45, at the bottom of a big hill; medical response
- Bike/Run Turnaround - Stationed at the bicycle turnaround point on Interlake Road on Sunday (2 people)
- Chase 1 - Follows lead male cyclist on motorcycle (1 person)
- Chase 2 - Follows male cyclist pack on motorcycle (1 person)
- Chase 3 - Follows lead female cyclist on motorcycle (1 person)
- Chase 4 - Follows female cyclist pack on motorcycle (1 person)
- Dispatch - Works in our Dispatch center managing the flow of information
- Marine 21 - Follows lead swimmer, reports status, and helps with tired swimmers
- R4 - Positioned at R4 run aid stations; reports athlete positions, medical response (2 people)
- R5 - Positioned at R5 run aid stations; reports athlete positions, medical response (2 people)
- R6 - Positioned at R6 run aid stations; reports athlete positions, medical response (2 people)
- R7 - Positioned at R6 run aid stations; reports athlete positions, medical response (2 people)
- R8 In/R8 Out - Stationed at front gate; reports lead cyclists (2 people)
- Rover 11 - Out on the Long Course; helps deliver supplies, medical response (2 people)
- Rover 12 - Out on the Long Course; helps deliver supplies, medical response (2 people)
- Rover 13 - Out on the Long Course; helps deliver supplies, medical response (2 people)
- Rover 14 - Out on the Long Course; helps deliver supplies, medical response (2 people)
- Start-Finish - Positioned in the Start-Finish area; reports athlete positions
- Transitions - Stationed in Transitions area; reports athletes through Transitions (2 people)

Maps
- Directions to the lake:
  - From the south (Paso Robles/San Luis Obispo/Santa Maria/Los Angeles)
  - From the north (King City/Bay Area)
- Online Mapping Services:
  - Google Maps - Lake San Antonio
  - Mapquest - Lake San Antonio
- Poster Maps - Large Scale (do not print) with aid stations:
  - Long Course Bike - 11x17 map of the Long Course around the lake (9.8MB)
  - Saturday - 24x35 map of the Saturday in-park race routes (10.6MB)
  - Sunday - 24x35 map of the Sunday in-park race routes (10.6MB)
- Street Atlas Maps - with mile markers and aid stations:
  - Long Bike Course - Dispatch edition
  - Long Run Course
  - Mountain Bike
  - Olympic Bike - Dispatch edition
  - Olympic Run

Links
- Tri-Cal's Wildflower 2008 page

Old Links

http://www.w6bhz.org/wildflower/2008/index.html
Last updated 25 April 2008