17 April 2010

The first Rally DeLand was a success! We had 14 teams depart from and return to Dreggor's park in DeLand with no casualties :). The top placing teams were:

1st: Starship Torino, driving a Ford Torino

2nd:  Living Large, driving a Nissan Figaro

3rd:  Caviar & Ketchup, driving a (contemporary) Mini

Judges Choice award: A & D, driving a Sunbeam Alpine

We'd also like to give honorable mentions to team Breum (Audi TT) for keeping us on our toes and team Travel Dudes (Mercedes 450SL) for most impressive picnic spread.

Pictures of some of the competitors staging through the start box follow, as does some of the documents we produced (for anyone contemplating doing this).

 

 

Here is some info for anyone crazy enough to organize one of these.

First, get yourself some liability insurance so you can sleep at night. We had an excellent experience obtaining car club liability insurance from Hagerty at a very reasonable rate. See their web site for more info. 

We set this up as a "gimmick rally" with a time, speed, distance component to the scoring. The safety and procedure briefing is here. Participants received two sets of route instructions. The first set took them from the start to the one staffed check point. The second set took them from the checkpoint back to the finish. They were also asked to keep track of all "tree streets" on a separate page that they received at the start. The start/finish was Dreggor's Park (230 North Stone Street, DeLand, FL 32720 in case someone wants to map it or drive it). For further information contact Bill Ball at wball@stetson.edu.

Below is the original web page we used to advertise the event:

 RALLY DELAND
April 17, 2010

Participation is by invitation only
The rally will start and finish in DeLand

This is a fun, non-speed event, so any car is suitable to participate. Awards will be given for a combination of completing the course in the scheduled time (conforming to posted speed limits) and solving puzzles along the way. The event will be held rain or shine and the rally will be followed by a bring-your-own picnic. Each entry will consist of a (street-legal) car with licensed driver and a navigator at minimum. The entry fee is $20 per car to cover event insurance, facility rental, prizes, etc. Rally participation will be limited to twenty vehicles.

Contacts: Bill Ball and Deborah Branton.  Sponsored by the Old Spanish Sugarmill    FAQ What is the schedule for the event? 10:00-10:30am            Scrutineering 10:30-10:45am            Drivers & navigators meeting 10:45am                      Final trips to the potty 11:00am                      Road rally begins approximately 2:00pm Awards and picnic Where is this going to be and how do I sign up? Because our insurance does not allow spectators, the location of the rally will be provided to invited participants only. If you have received an invitation from one of us, just e-mail us back. What kind of car should I have? Anything that is street legal in Florida (boy, that doesn't take much). This is not a performance event. It doesn't matter how fast you can go. Bring your most fun and interesting ride. What will the rally course be like? The rally will be run on public roads (mostly side streets) in the DeLand area. Speeds will generally be less than 45mph. We will not be using the interstate, private roads, or gated (or gatored) communities.  What should participants bring for the rally? A valid driver's license must be presented for the driver and a cell phone is required for each navigator in order to submit texts to the rally judges during the event. Also it would be prudent to arrive with a full tank of gas and an empty bladder.  Should I bring a GPS? No. It wont help you.  How many people should be in my car? How many friends do you want to lose? Every car is required to have a driver and a navigator. Extra passengers are your problem.  Is there a minimum age  for rally participants? Although the event is designed for adults, only the driver of the vehicle must possess a valid driver's license. What should I expect for the picnic part? Moochers. Bring all of the food, drink, and supplies for the people in your party. The location will have covered picnic tables and restrooms. Alcohol is not allowed at this location. The rally will start and finish at the same point and headquarters will be monitored so you can leave your picnic stuff with us while you are out on the course, or keep it with you. Will there be valuable prizes? Value is such a relative concept. We will award recognition for 1st through 3rd place, and, best of all, a judge's choice award (for most creative approach to the whole thing).

If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there. ~ Lewis Carroll     Contemplate the Rally DeLand quiz: Will this be your competition?     Will co-organizer Deborah Branton give away Michael's car to the winner?     Does co-organizer Bill Ball know what he is doing?     All will be revealed on April 17!