Sydney Trailwalker - Moving from Autumn to Spring 2004
Article passed on by Elizabeth Edmonds, Event CoordinatorFollowing the extremely wet weather conditions that were experienced prior to or during Oxfam Trailwalker Sydney 2002 and 2003, it was agreed to undertake a review of the best time of year in which to hold this outdoors endurance event. We are now pleased to advise you that, based on the outcomes of that review, a decision has been made to move the event from May to the end of August. This means that the fallback date will also move from June to mid-October.
The key factors driving the decision to move the event can be summarised as follows:
- August / September / October have less rainfall than May /June and are placed at the end of the Sydney 'dry season'. There is therefore less chance of having to cancel the event (both on the original scheduled date and on the fallback date).
- Moving the event offers between 1.5 hours (end of August) and 3 hours (mid October) more daylight. Temperature profiles for May and the end of August are almost identical, whilst a fallback event in October is likely to be considerably warmer than a similar event in June.
- Stakeholders can support a move from May to September and a number actively prefer it.
- From a safety perspective a number of key stakeholders would prefer the event moved due to more daylight and lower rainfalls in the September/ October period.
- From an environmental perspective, key landowners and the Oxfam Trailwaiker environmental consultants would prefer the event is moved as Spring offers much improved drying / recovery conditions.
We therefore propose moving the event to the last weekend in August each year with the fallback on the second weekend in October. These dates:
- Generally fits with the current schedule of key stakeholders
- Keep the fallback date within a reasonable timeframe (we need at least a month between dates to enable us to contact and replace all volunteers and reconfirm suppliers)
- Avoid the end of October by which point there is an increasing risk of bushfires, hot days and severe storms Avoid school holiday periods
- Avoid competing events that may reduce participant support
Accordingly, the nominated dates for Oxfam Trailwalker Sydney 2004 are:
Event date: Fri 27th, Sat 28th, Sun 29th August
Fallback: Fri 8th, Sat 9th, Sun 10th October
We can also confirm at this stage that the 2004 event will once again run from Hunters Hill to Manly via the Great North Walk and Harbour to Hawkesbury Trail. Some variations to the current trail may be adopted. These will be worked out over the next few months in conjunction with land managers and other stakeholders.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the stakeholders who spent many hours discussing the possibilities and permutations with us. We hope that the dates and route detailed above fit with your current schedules and look forward to working with you over the next 12 months as we build towards Oxfam Trailwalker Sydney 2004.
In the meantime, if you would like any further information or would like to feedback additional suggestions or comments on any of the information detailed above please do not hesitate to contact Kevin Doye on (02) 8204-3911 or myself on (02) 8204-3907.
With best regards
Elizabeth Edmonds
Event Coordinator
Oxfam Trailwalker, Sydney
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