Fairnilee 20/21 August Campsite??

[Geebs]

Whilst the event was good, there were certain concerns about the campsite facilities on offer for people that had travelled 100's of miles to be there and camp on site, there were insufficent toilets and no clean drinking water as advertised for the event in the yearbook.

Whilst being charged £3.00 per person per night for advertised facilities is acceptable (if they are supplied) why were the people attending not allowed some discount when the facilities were not supplied? even after the feelings of all the campers concerned were brought to the organisers attention. The campers had to go out and buy bottled water to drink and wash in, but no compensation was made for this.

Hardly a way to encourage people to visit Scotland and take part in the few events in this region.

[Dave Royle]

1. Did you put your entry in in advance?

2. What about all the others that didn't enter in advance?

3. I thought fresh water was available at the farm? That might be my imagination as we had enough.

4. We enjoyed the race very much

[Geebs]

1. Did you put your entry in in advance?

2. What about all the others that didn't enter in advance?

3. I thought fresh water was available at the farm? That might be my imagination as we had enough.

4. We enjoyed the race very much

Hi Dave

1. Yes we put our entries in 4 weeks before the event and we were some of the 17 that entered before.

2. As it was a div 2,3,4 you always get late entries for div 3/4 as there is no penalty unlike the other higher div's, this event was always popular as it attracted paddlers heading to Tully for the training camp.

3. The farm fresh water was a dark brown, sorry but that is not acceptable.

4. The race was fine no problems there.

Notice you have not commented on the toilets?

This was not the first time we have been to Fairnilee as the facilities have always been good in the past and we were all looking forward to the same high standard, perhaps this is where we have been let down, I feel that this event will not be as well supported next year especially if Tully is not running the weekend after which will be a shame for both events.

[TOG]

As a longstanding competitor at the few events in this region, and others, I'm a little disturbed by some of the comments posted about the most recent Fairnilee event.
Criticism has been levelled at the organisation of certain aspects of the event, though I'm heartened to see that correspondents enjoyed the racing itself. For my own part, I was most unhappy that younger, fitter, lighter people paddling better equipment were generally quicker than me. Much of this is to do with lack of water and I plan to take this up with the organisers of the event......

Despite the fact that the event was very well supported - 7/8 competitors in 2C1, which sadly is usually inquorate - only 17 entries were received on time. By Saturday 50+ entries were being dealt with and final Div 2 results alone account for 26 K1M, 13 K1W and 7C1. Even allowing for multiple entries, this implies a considerable number of entries arriving late from paddlers who should know better. The whole point of entering on time is to allow the organisers to organise, based on the level of entries received. This is exactly what they did.

While it's perfectly true that late fees aren't charged to Div 3/4 competitors, this isn't a get-out clause: in my experience many club 3/4 paddlers, especially juniors, are accompanied/taken to events by higher ranked paddlers/coaches who have experience of events over the years and are aware of the vagaries of the situation. Again, they ought to be assisting organisers by getting entries in on time - it's called teaching good habits - without reference to whether or not penalties will be imposed. The organiser's discretion has always seemed to me reasonable in the sense that it encourages a few last-minute entries where perhaps minds/arrangements have not been made up until late in the day, rather than a blanket it's-ok-not-to-bother-entering-on-time-cos-it's-only-lower-divs.

I witnessed the efforts the organisers had to make on Saturday to try and provide toilets for the unexpected, un-entered numbers. This involved the unheralded re-emergence of the famous Fairnilee Toilet Tent and a lot of amount of dashing around in a car picking up chemicals. I do think it rather unfair to lay blame at the door of the organising club: whilst appreciating the annoyance /frustration felt by those who'd entered in time, I think we really have to look towards the large numbers of people who didn't.

Lastly, not everyone who attends Fairnilee in August is heading towards Grandtully the following weekend. Fairnilee is an event in its own right, not just a stopover; it ought to be celebrated as such.

[z306]

i loved the racing

i loved the river

i liked the way the organisers managed with all the late entries

what i didnt like was the water beening brown and there only been 2 toilets

[Ruairaidh Riddell]

Hi, i was VERY annoyed to read some of the comments on this board as i was a little more involved than anyone else that is puttoing up comments!!

1. The number of entries was only about 17 (as people have been saying) on the friday night, this ment that there was sufficient toilets with just the one in control for the amount of competitors, However, when realised that this was not going to mannage there was toilet tents put up and as far as i can recon there were attempts to get more portable toilets on the friday night (not successfull).
This just highlights that if you are going to compete (no matter what devision you are in) you should get your entries in on time!!!!

2. There was fresh water available at the farm, however about two days before the event the supply piping was changed and after this the water tends to get kind of dirty for a few days, however this is the same feed that supplies the farm house!!

3. There could be NOTHING done by the club about the water level. The reason it was a low is because there had been no water for a few days, however the forecast DID say that there should be more rain before the weekend, unfortunatly it did not happen!!! The water level was the same for everyone though so it was just another challenge in the competition.

I hope everyone who has posted good OR bad comments reads, understands and accepts this!!!

Ruairaidh

[TOG]

Ruairaidh - I was joking about the water level, honest. :laugh:

[beeble]

It would amaze me if the organising club even ran another event if this is the level of thanks they get.

[Spectator]

We went to Fairnilee for the first. We had a fantastic time, our kids enjoyed it and we would definately go again!
There may have been late entries, but the racing got going and was very enjoyable.
See you there next year.

[Geebs]

Whilst the event was good, there were certain concerns about the campsite facilities on offer.

Just to put the record straight, no one is saying that they did not enjoy the competition and the organisers did a fantastic job in dealing with the late entries and putting on a superb and challenging course which is a credit to all the team and they should be commended on this.

The problem was basically outside their control with the facilities due to not getting enough pre-event entries and my own club is guilty of this as it had a stack of entries and did not put them in till the day, (something that I do not agree with) that is why we send our own entries in plenty of time.

The problem with the water was down to the individual if they wanted to risk it, the toilet facilities had to be decided on the number of entries prior event and as we all should know porta loos do not come cheap. However due to these problems the full camping fee was demanded and had ther been some movement as a good will gesture I think people may have been a little happier.

Perhaps a lesson can be learnt by all, that it aids the organisers to make decisions if entries are received on time and then these problems would have been minimalised and we can all help support the event's in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

[Pingu]

Don't talk to me about late entries.

I've just realised that last week I sent my entry off for the Stafford & Stone race at HPP on 19 September 2004!!

I took last year's Year Book out of my case by mistake and sent my entry off to the wrong organiser, quoted the wrong date and sent a cheque for last year's entry fee!!

:O

I may not bother going now because I know I'm going to finish 54th out of 60!!

[Annoyed guest]

Geebs stop complaining about everything. Just because your trying to be akward and think your right all the time.

I think if you wanted somewhere nice to stay you shoudnt have camped. why not go to a hotel if you want really good facilities. They where good enough for me and i enjoyed the weekend loads.

[TOG]

Interesting how much movement in position there's been in the course of this thread - however, the major theme is still that entries, at whatever level, should be in on time. Apart from the straightforward courtesy aspect - yes, everyone loves an organising club - practicalities dictate that the people putting the whole show together for a weekend really have to be allowed to plan properly; every competitor or their representative has a responsibility to assist in that process and while hindsight is often an affordable luxury, thinking upfront is more useful - and dare I say it - cheaper.

Off-putting, increased late entry fees, across the board, anyone? Discuss.... :p

[Seedy Paddler]

Can't hold Selkirk CC responsible for the water level - much higher authority behind that (subject to your individual beliefs). Query should not just be about entries, allied to this problem was the large number of support crew brought up by those on tour - it should be courtesy to let the organiser know what you are planning ! Yes they will base on entries but if they are made aware that the 2 entries will bring 6 campers it allows time to book and arrange facilities.

The implication is that by not reducing the fee from the advertised £3/person/night Selkirk are unfairly profiteering. Yet Selkirk had already committed to paying for the field on the basis of < 17 entries (from my memory on past events that would just about break even if all who entered camped onsite). Perhaps in future Selkirk should abandon the field - there are 4 local campsites listed on visitscotland with pitches ranging from £3.50 - £10/night. Unfortunately you would all have to travel back&forth between campsite and slalom, however you would get the level of facilities deemed (by some) as minimum requirements.

It is always interesting to see the protaganists for improved facilities, lower fees and flexible entries are often the ones who do not run events. In many years of organising and assisting in organising events (from local to international standard), the one thing I have rarely seen is a commercial success. Rather like the Olympics we do it for the pride or because if we didn't the sport would collapse. I recall a calculation undertaken many years ago on the banks of the Royal Dee where we came up with a note that if all the club members taking time off work to assist setting up the course donated the equivalent of 1 hours salary and remained at work the Club would see a 500% increase in net profits without any risk.

Slaloms occur because a few are willing to provide lots of effort and accept risk factors that do not make eny form of economic sense. They should therefore be supported in their efforts rather than castigated. Had the organiser been advised that even half the numbers who turned up were coming facilities could have been improved.

As for the costs, yes the organiser could have discounted the camp fees, however would those chasing the discount this year be willing to contribute to the losses incurred in other years - Fairnilee has in the past been flooded out - entries should be returned so who pays for fields, materials etc. often agreed well in advance of the date and due irrespective of the actual weekend events..

The focus should be on the basic common courtesy to let your hosts know what you plan, if you can find a slalom off a remote back-road in the Scottish Borders then you can find a method of contacting the organiser and advising in advance!

[FatBoy]

I was at Fairnilee and heard some of the grumbling going on.

The "drinking" water was unfortunate - I suspect it was clean enough to drink and 20 years ago tap water was regularly that colour where I grew up, but with cheap bottled water these days I and I suspect everyone else didn't take that risk. It was probably cleaner than many of the apparently clear mountain streams I drink out of regularly!

The toilets were a problem. I felt a bit annoyed that all the people who entered late made somebody who entered 4 weeks before queue! Not sure what can be done though without a massive change in culture as with only 17 pre-entries it wouldn't have been much of an event.

However what is a problem is that no results for the race have appeared on this website. I don't expect NP to chase - he's too kind at hosting all this in the first place. I also know I could've put an SAE in, but the problem is in advance I don't know if I need to do this or not - some slaloms are excellent at getting the results up fast. Aside from my own personal not knowing (it's a long drive from Fairnilee to wait for final results), it also puts the web rankings all out of synch. For example the young lad at #1 in div 2 is promoted. In this technical day and age it takes nothing to send a file or two across the internet compared to the rest of organising a slalom. It doens't make the sport look good - what if first time Div 4's wanted to see how they did - maybe they wouldn't bother coming back.

While we are talking of culture change of entries let's have some culture change with the internet. Let's have a requirement for organising clubs to send results, and let's have some online entries. It wouldn't take much for BCU to organise this for all ranking slaloms making it easier for lazy people to enter.