Subject: CSM 2003
From: J-F Gagnon, VE2TBH
Canadian Ski Marathon 2003 - Call for radio volunteers! February 7 to February 9, 2003
It's this time again, the hills are calling! Think you have a good setup for emergency communications? Think you are ready for minus 20 degrees C? How about volunteering to support the CSM 2003 radio communications.
"SAFETY1, This is net control VE3RC, Relaying message that injured skier has been delivered to Hawkesbury Hospital." Some of you in the Montréal - Ottawa corridor might have heard these tactical call signs and messages on 2 metres in early February last year. Over 40 Hams from the Ottawa-Montreal area participated as volunteers in this annual event which takes close to 2000 cross-country skiers from Lachute, Qué to Gatineau near Ottawa, or at least part of the way. The marathon is always a success, thanks in part to our communication services, organized mainly by the Ottawa Amateur Radio Club (OARC) and the Ottawa Valley Mobile Radio Club (OVMRC). This exciting event requires the operation of a controlled network from Friday noon to Sunday evening to handle calls for administration, trail and food management, safety, first aid and military interface.
As in the past, amateurs where posted at checkpoints, with administration officers and at key locations to relay messages in a controlled way. The information passed along was quite varied:
The key aspect is definitively the safety of all participants. There is usually little time for chatting and all operators put in a tremendous effort in keeping this network as professional as possible, even at times were the communication was less than perfect.
The controlled net will be on a repeater installed for the purpose of the marathon and is complemented by direct contacts inside the trail sections (so unless you are a sky patrol, you absolutely need 2 mobile radios and antennas). Operators have to expect to set up their equipment at road crossings and other strange locations, including possibly beams, masts, amplifiers and sometimes serious battery systems to provide communications in situations much like field day, but at sub-zero temperatures.
To find out about the marathon, check the full CSM web page is athttp://www.csm-mcs.com/. By the way, they will not answer any radio questions. They are too busy with skiers. Read on.
The CSM radio operators site is again http://cpu1894.adsl.bellglobal.com/csm and is setup by Richard Hagemeyer, VE3UNW, who is the Director of Radio Operations for the marathon. Please review the information on the website and email Richard at richard@cpu1894.adsl.bellglobal.com with any corrections. There is a comprehensive guide on the page of what you need for the event.
On that page, the first link is to the contact database. Please review your record and make corrections yourself. Some fields have rules such as the province is only two characters. Please think of what "rule" may apply if you get an error when you modify your record.
The interested volunteers should fill in the volunteer info page on their own and check the page regularly for their assignment. Still not sure what to expect? For one, I strongly recommend that you go as a 2 partner team, and weather commanding, warm clothes. Richard will try to make teams up if you are alone. If you need to chat about what this is all about and to check that your equipment is sufficient, you can contact me directly, I've done this for 7 or 8 years now, and also skied in the marathon once as a participant. Please note that I will not be at the WIARC meeting before the marathon, so contact me via e-mail early enough at ve2tbh@rac.ca .
CSM has some additional requirements this year so feel free to encourage others to volunteer.
Thanks and 73.
Jean-François, VE2TBH
Created: Monday, January 13, 2003
Web Page by: Vernon Erle Ikeda
© 2003 - Vernon Erle Ikeda