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SAC2010: News Update

Questions and Answers for SAC 25th March 2010

Written by The Race Director
Tuesday, 23 March 2010 06:01
1) What medicines should I have if I get an allergic reaction to plants? 1. Antihistamines, preferably non sedating: Clarityne, Telfast or Xyzal tablets 2. Topical steroid creams: Betnovate or Dermovate cream for faster relief. Not advisable for long time use but OK for short-term to relieve the itch and inflammation. Please consult your doctor before you buy any of these medicines or creams. 2) Can I take the 2pm bus instead of the 11am bus as I want to spend more time shopping in downtown Kota Kinabalu? No as we have limited seats and have allocated seats for the 11am bus to Tambunan strictly for teams arriving anytime on the 31st March or before who have had adequate time to unpack and set their bikes up for competition. Teams who are flying in on the 1st April will have far less time to prepare and need the extra 1-4 hours to get sorted out so we need people to be a little bit sensible about this. If you are however insistent on leaving later, we can arrange a separate mini bus to Tambunan at a cost of RM250 with a 6 seater van provided you book this at least 3 days before the 1st April. 3) Clip shoes or standard pedals? My personal opinion is it is possible to use clip shoes but you will need to make a firm decision based on your own personal assessement each night ahead of the next day's race once you are briefed and recieve your race instructions. There are river crossings certainly on day two and jungle hikes/runs throughout day 1 and 2 so if you don't favour swapping shoes around or carrying your clip shoes or running shoes in your pack because of added weight, it is something to consider with your team mate and to weigh the pro's and con's of choosing one, or the other or both. 4) For 3 men team, for team biathlon, would that be 2 bikes or 1 bike per 3 people? 1 year it was 2 bikes, last year it was 1 bike. How abt this year? 1 bike per team, irrespective if they are 2 or 3 person teams. 5) For 3 men team, if 1 person drops out, will the remaining 2 be ranked? Yes. 6) For team biathlon, there is no rule against leap frogging or towing right? All's good unless someone has the ability to sit 2 people on their Mt.Bike (a no-no!) or gets a lift from a support crew or hop's on a mini bus to get ahead of everyone. Towing is fine and I gather what you mean by leap frogging is cycling ahead, dropping the mt.bike and running on, leaving your team mate to catch up on foot, to grab the mt.bike and cycle on past you. If thats the case, then yes, thats perfectly fine and a sound tactic to use. 7) Is water provided before the start of the 1st day of the race? And is there a place to buy groceries etc. where we are staying (or en route to the race site on Thurs morning)? I would recommend you do your grocery shopping at the supermarket opposite Hotel Mega D'Aru before you get on the bus to Tambunan. You can cycle from TVRC to Tambunan township (10 minute cycle at a very casual pace) and there are 2 supermarkets open till 9pm as well as several chinese and muslim coffeeshops.There is a cafe at TVRC which serves decent chinese food and local dishes at reasonable prices and we have found 1 food outlet (with Astro tv no less!) at the back of the Tambunan township (last row of shops facing the wet market) thats worth a visit especially if you want western food. Tambunan, is a sleepy, farming town so don't expect high end shops, or products to be sold. It's town is far less vibrant than say Tanjung Aru, where Hotel Mega D'Aru is located, but still has the essentials of what you may be looking for, food/grocery shopping wise. 8) I have a support crew and need maps for them before the race. Sorry, but no maps will be passed out before the race. Maps are given out on a day by day basis during the official briefing each night. All support crews MUST be registered with the race organization as we are issuing ID tags to all competitors, sponsors, officials for security reasons. 9) What guarrantee's will you have support crews are not a hinderance to other competitors and not going to "assist" teams unlike teams who don't have support crews? Look, all teams have the option of bringing a support crew. Its an option that most preferred not to go with. If a team does have a support crew who are willing to give their time and put in the effort to support the team, then great. However, that doesn't mean there are no rules or restrictions as to what a support crew can or cannot do during a race. There are. And we will make these rules clear during the race briefing so everyone is crystal clear what is acceptable and what isn't.
Last Updated on Thursday, 25 March 2010 00:18

Important Announcement for Team Captains-21st February 2010

Written by The Race Director
Sunday, 21 March 2010 12:33
We have a little less than 2 weeks to go before the Start of the 11th SAC. Here are some important updates for team captains and competitors in this year's race: Spreadsheet: A spreadsheet will be sent out to all team captains tommorow in relation to bookings and payments made/due, requests for lifejackets, hotels, homestay as well as arrival/departure information for teams who have requested airport pick up's. You are responsible for contacting us to inform us if there is an error or mistake or if you need to submit important information to us within the next few days. We cannot wait till the last minute to adjust our schedule or plans if you do not inform us within a reasonable period of time if you spot an error or need a change made. It is important team captains are pro-active on this. Departure times from Mega D'Aru to Tambunan: All teams arriving before the 1st April 2010 will be boarding the 11am bus from Hotel Mega D'Aru for Tambunan. Those arriving on the 1st April 2010 itself will be given time to get their gear sorted upon arrival to board the 2pm bus for Tambunan. It is important you unpack your Mt.Bike immediately upon arrival at Hotel Mega D'Aru and prepare it for COMPETITION and for use during the race. You must ensure you Mt.Bike is loaded on to one of 3 logistics trucks at the Mega D'Aru before 2pm as you will not have access to your Mt.Bikes until late on during the race on day one. If you are driving yourselfs or have your own support crew (and haven't paid the logistics fee for the race), then you are free to head over to Tambunan anytime provided you attend the race mandatory equipment check before 5pm. Remember, we will not be checking gear after 5pm and registration will be closed accordingly to prepare for the 6pm official race briefing. Support Crews: Teams with their own support crews are responsible in ensuring they are ready to depart for the transition point to drop off their team's mountain bikes as we will NOT be responsible in ensuring your mt.bikes are in position ahead of time and you are also responsible in ensuring you have the right type of vehicle to get to the location. You may follow the designated team leader who is heading to the transition point where the Mountain Bikes will be kept but the team leader is NOT responsible for you other than to allow you to follow behind him to the location. The team leader at no time, will restrict himself to assisting with vehicle breakdowns, tyre punctures or waiting for you if you are late. A set departure time will be announced during the race briefing and it is down to your support crew to ensure they are there ON TIME and ready to go. Adequate Protection: We have found on our travels on the race course certain sections that may involve cutting through brush and plants that MAY have some allergic reaction to individuals with sensitive skin. We encourage you to ensure you do wear long sleeve shirts and pants if you are confident of a reaction or suspect you may have reaction to plants or thorns. Full finger gloves are recommended but not mandatory whilst adequate protection for your neck from the sun is also highly recommended. Homestay: We have been conducting inspections of the homestay village homes today and have either passed or failed some homes who did not meet our standards and requirements. We will conduct a second round of inspections next sunday and be also vetting homes who we think are not only comfortable, clean, practical and also suitable but also meet our standards and expections. Entering sensitive area's in the base camp: Entry will be denied to individuals who do not have SAC ID Tags to enter the food hall, race briefing center, drinking water depot and mountain bike storage room. Individuals may remove their bikes from the mt.bike storage rooms provided they have their race bib on or have their ID Tags with their race numbers on them. Entry will be denied to anyone who does not have their ID tags to avoid any disagreements or repeats of issues in the past where friends, family and or uninvited guests were allowed access to the food hall and essentially helped themselves to food meant for competitors and did not get permission or paid for the meals. Itinerary for 1st April 2010: 10:00am loading begins for Mountain Bikes and baggage into trucks and vans. Teams are responsible in ensuring their Mt.Bikes are ready for competition, have their designated bike numbers attached and are loaded on the designated trucks before leaving on the 11am Bus. 11:00am, Bus 1 departs with designated teams for Tambunan. Baggage truck will NOT be leaving till 2pm so ensure you have your mandatory kit with you when you board the bus for the venue. 14:00 Bus 2 departs with designiated teams, volunteers and medical personnel for Tambunan. Baggage truck will follow behind Bus 2 including trucks with all Mt.Bikes. Teams are responsible in ensuring their Mt.Bikes are ready for competition have their designated bike numbers attached and are loaded on the designated trucks before leaving on the 14:00 Bus. Upon arrival at Tambunan Village Resort (TVRC): 2:00pm-5:00pm 1.Prepare your mandatory kit for inspection, ensure you have your signed copies of the rules and regulation forms, mandatory kit list and proceed to the registration desk to settle any outstanding monies due to the SAC. Collect your ID Tags. 2.Procced to the mandatory kit check desk and get he neccessary approvals done. 3.Proceed to the Kit desk and collect your Salomon race bibs, Salomon race cap, free copy of Cycling Asia magazine, race numbers which must be attached to your race bib at ALL times during competition. 4.Check in at the homestay desk if you have requested homestay. Free and easy till 6:00pm Official Race Briefing. Teams who are in the homestay program will have dinner at the homes with their host families. All other teams may frequent the cafe at the venue at their own cost. Pre-race breakfast: Breakfast will be available from 12:00am-2:00am at the open hall for competitors with ID tags. Pre-race head count: All teams MUST be at the START location no less than 20 minutes before the 3:00am START for a head count. Lunch: Available at the FINISH of day one from 12:00-15:00 for all competitors with ID Tags. Water: Teams may proceed and collect a reasonable number of 1.5 litre water bottles for consumption for themselves and their team mate each day at reasonable hours before/after the race. We will have officials at the store to attend to you but if you find the store room locked, proceed to the Mt.Bike storage room located above the water store room to get an official to open the water storage room for you. Location of the Mt.Bike and water storage rooms are directly across the river from the STARTING venue. Insurance: All teams are requested to ensure they have medical insurance and to ensure they PHOTOCOPY x 2 sets of your passports AND medical insurance BEFORE they leave for the race venue to submit to the race directors during registration so we are able to ensure you get medical support immediately in the event you require evacuation to a specialist center or government hospital. 1 copy of the medical insurance and passports will be kept at the medical center at the basecamp and another set kept with the race directors.
Last Updated on Sunday, 21 March 2010 12:35

Sabah Adventure Challenge Compulsory Medical Kit

Written by The Race Director

Thursday, 04 March 2010 23:23

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Compulsory Medical Kit List for Sabah Adventure Challenge 2010

(per team to be carried at all times)

Doses of pain/fever medication (Ibuprofen/Tylenol)

Salt re-hydration packets

Betadine, iodine or alcohol swabs

Moleskin 3 ½” x 3 ½” (8.9cm x 8.9cm) or similar

5’ x 2” wide roll gauze roll (12.7cm x 5.1cm)

Or similar

4” x 4” gauze pads (10.2cm x 10.2cm)

5 Yards duct tape (457.2cm) or similar

3" ACE Bandages (7.6cm)

Pair of latex exam gloves

Antidiarrheal pills

Safety pins

Tweezers

Betadine or similar antiseptic cream, powder or solution

*Betadine or similar antiseptic cream, power or solution added to compulsory medical kit

4/3/2010

Attention Team Captains-Flight Details and Hotel Mega D'Aru Bookings

Written by The Race Director

Wednesday, 03 March 2010 21:55

Dear team captains,

As we are sorting out airport transfers and also rooms needed at Mega D Aru hotel, we have come across a number of double bookings as well as emails from teams asking us to make bookings on their behalf. We also have flight details for 50% of teams but the vast majority of teams have either given us their arrival flight details but not their departure times, OR provided flight details for only 1 member of the team but not the other who may be coming on a separate flight.

We do really need to get this sorted sooner rather than later and to avoid mistakes and problems so your co-operation is highly appreciated.

Please ensure you reply to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and attention your email to Miss Cindy Lous when sending back your answers to the questions below:

1. Team Name:

2.Have you made your own separate bookings for Mega D Aru directly? YES OR NO

3.Have you made payment to the SAC for Mega D Aru accomodation? YES OR NO
*if you are an early bird team, just state YES.

4.What dates have you requested for Mega D Aru accomodation?
(please state dates)

5.If you have NOT paid for Mega D Aru accomodation but would like us to help you make a booking and are prepared to make payment directly to the hotel upon check in, please state your required dates below and type of rooms please:

4.FLIGHT DETAILS:

Arrival:

Departure:

*if there are different arrival or departure times for both members of the team, please ensure you state it clearly above including the name of the individual

Please find attached the basic medical kit all teams need to be carrying for the duration of the race. This basic medical kit must be shown during mandatory kit checks on the 1st April 2010. We understand it may be difficult to purchase exact/specific measurements of items listed so as long as you are able to provide for yourselfs similar lenghts/sizes/brands, thats acceptable.

I apologize if the number of emails like this have been coming to you of late but we have a task on our hands sorting through changes teams are making without informing us, double bookings being made.

We appreciate your patience and co-operation as we do want to ensure Cindy's job is made easier and she doesn't have issues to deal with on the day teams start arriving.

Please, once again do check the news and updates section every few days to keep up to date as I have made some important announcements over the last week or so.

Best wishes and many thanks.