E V E N T S I N I T I AT I V E
Water, water everywhere… so long as you carry it In an initiative aimed at reducing the workload for Bush-O organisers whilst maintaining the safety of competitors, Bayside Kangaroos club in Victoria is asking orienteers to carry their own water. In many other endurance activities it is common practice for competitors to carry water with them in backpacks or bottles. Competitors can then rehydrate whenever they need to do so rather than having to wait until they reach a water drop. Bayside Kangaroos’ Bush-O Coordinator, Greg Tamblyn, has released the following document.
Greg Tamblyn carries his own water in the Oxfam Trailwalker
Water Supplied at Bush Events Much of Victoria is still facing a serious drought and many country towns are still facing serious water restrictions. Bayside Kangaroos is concerned about the future supply of water to the bush events that we organise. Therefore at future events we will continue to encourage you to be responsible for your own water supply at and during events. As organisers our current policy is to supply water at any bush event as follows: • At the finish 20+ Litres •A t selected control sites in the bush, possibly 5 sites x (10 to 20 litres) •B oth of these require lots of plastic cups which can only be used once • I f we have hired toilets, they must be charged with 20 to 30 litres each In the past, we could fill some water containers at the nearest country town or campground. Now it is much harder to do this because there are doubts about the water quality from readily available taps in some country towns, so we must carry all the water from Melbourne.
Bayside Kangaroos propose to: •E ncourage you to be self-sufficient with your water requirements at an event. Some options are to either wear a ‘camelback’ or carry a bottle of water (or electrolytes) during your foot-0 run. Doing this will allow you to drink anytime on your course not just at a control with a water container. Obviously this is to your advantage. •W e will supply a limited amount of water out in the bush. These drops will be on major tracks or obvious features or at a common control depending on the course setting. Our aim is to reduce the cartage and wastage of water. This will change further as more of you begin to carry your own water supply. •T his proposal will apply to all Bayside Kangaroos’ bush events except Championships where the current procedures will continue. 26 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2008
Which way to the water?
