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Meine erste Rallye | My First Rally
What is a rally?
A Rally is a national camp, held once every term where SSAGO groups around the UK meet up to join in activities, have adventures and make new friends from across the country.
How to book onto Oktoberfest Rally?
To attend Oktoberfest Rally, you will need to complete the booking process at rally.ssago.org. Here, you will be able to book on to activities for Saturday morning and afternoon. You will also book your accommodation, and enter your food choices and any dietary requirements. To assist in our logistics, we will ask you information about how and when you are arriving and leaving camp. You will also need to read and accept the SSAGO policies and enter your emergency contact and medical details to complete your booking. Some activities will book out quickly so if there is something you really want to do then it is advised you book on as soon as possible.
Packing for Oktoberfest Rally
A kit list can be found here
Before packing for rally, please check the weather forecast and consider if you may need to bring additional warm clothing or extra layers. It can get cold in late November and the site ground may be uneven and muddy, as such recommend packing your kit in a backpack or duffle bag, rather than a suitcase. Whilst on camp, it's important to keep your kit dry via. a plastic bag or dry bag.
Travelling to Oktoberfest Rally
Most clubs arrange transport together, such as travelling by minibus, car share or taking public transport as a group. Check with your local club, or others in your area to see if they want to travel together! Oktoberfest Rally will also be running shuttle busses to and from Barnt Green train station on Friday evening and Sunday afternoon.
Friday -
Arrival:
You can arrive on site from 5pm and up to the early hours of the morning. When you arrive onto site please follow the signs directing you to registration where you will be able to check in. Be sure to tell rally staff if any of the emergency or medical information has changed since you booked onto the event. At registration you will get a lanyard with your name, details of your events for the weekend and emergency contact details for the weekend. You will also recieve any merchandise you have ordered.
Setting up camp:
It's normally best to pitch your tent up after registration and if it isn’t obvious - ask the staff at registration where you are to pitch your tent. It is best to get this up sooner rather than later in the evening! Once your tent is pitched take a few minutes to set your bed up as it’s easier now then after you’ve been to the campfire.
Dinner:
At 7pm, Dinner will be served in the main hall until late. This is something warm but not a large meal so it is wise to have something a little more substantial before arriving. You will need to bring your own crockery and cutlery and it's wise to leave this near the top of your bag in case you eat before pitching your tent. If you don't have dedicated camp eating equipment, a Tupperware box, lid and regular cutlery can be sufficent for meals on camp.
Friday Evening Activities:
Quiz - A typical pub-style quiz held in the main hall, group up with your club or with new friends!
Campfire - Please check on the site map where the campfire is located. Usually, around the campfire you can expect lots of singing, shouting and talking, it’s quite a relaxed atmosphere so you can come and go as you please. Please be aware that the watershed is at 11pm and after that time you may hear songs of a more mature nature.
Saturday -
Wakeup and breakfast:
Breakfast is served from 7:30am, and a member of Oktoberfest staff will give a wakeup call to the camping field at this point. You should also set your own alarms. Once you’ve eaten, there will be a washing up bowl placed nearby for you to wash your crockery.
After breakfast, you will be able to pick up your packed lunch for the day, your lunched will be labelled for you and other items ready to collect. You should also get ready for your activities for the day, packing your lunch and anything else you need in a day bag.
Opening Ceremony:
After breakfast, everyone will gather in a central location for the opening ceremony. Please check the programme or announcements for this location (likely to be in the Upper Paddock). The opening ceremony will welcome you to the rally and give out any announcements that the rally team or national exec have.
At the opening ceremony, you should pay attention to any information about travelling into Birmingham, such as what coach to get if you are doing a specific activity. You might be taken off-site immediately after the opening ceremony (depending on your activity) and not return until dinnertime. The rally staff will inform you of this but it is worth checking with a member of staff before the end of the opening ceremony if you are unsure. Ensure you have everything you would like to take with you off-site for the day at the Opening Ceremony.
Saturday Morning Activities:
Unless you are on an all day activity, it is highly likely that you will be heading into Birmingham for a wide game or a morning off. For the wide game, you will be placed in groups with people from other clubs, and go around the city as a group going to specific locations and/or completing tasks for points. This is a great chance to meet new people from across the country.
Lunch:
At lunch, SSAGO will gather in a central location to eat lunch as a group. At the end of lunch, you will be organised into groups based on your afternoon activities.
Saturday Afternoon Activities:
When booking onto Oktoberfest Rally, you will have picked your Saturday afternoon activity. You may get to this by walking or minibus/coach. After this activity, we will meet back up and travel back to site. Details of what you require for your afternoon activity will be given to you prior to rally, if you are concerned be sure to contact the rally staff beforehand.
Dinner:
Dinner will be served shortly after you arrive back to site after your afternoon activities.
Saturday Evening Activities:
The highlight of Saturday evening is the Ceilidh. With music and a caller, the Ceilidh is similar to a barn dance and a chance to show off your dancing skills. There's no pressure to join in and it's a chance to have a good time after a long day of activities. It will take place in the Sports Hall on site. Don’t worry about making a fool of yourself when dancing, everyone will be.
Campfire:
Similar to Friday night, there will also be a campfire on Saturday afternoon.
Sunday -
As similar to Saturday, the wakeup and breakfast will be the same.
Sunday Morning Activities:
On Sunday, there will be some Bavarian themed activities to drop in and out of as you pack up your kit.
Closing Ceremony:
The closing ceremony will take part late Sunday afternoon and will be a chance for rally committee to wrap up the event and to give thank you's to those who made the event possible.
There will also be awards given out and forfeits for those clubs who had mascots stolen from them. For more information about mascot stealing, check out this fact sheet. Any other announcements will be made, either by the rally staff or SSAGO executive.
After this it is time to pack up and leave site. If you are catching a train, be sure to see the rally staff on the Sunday morning to find out what time bus you will need to be on to get to the train station on time. You may need to take some time out of morning activities to pack your tent etc. if you need to leave before or soon after the closing ceremony.
Lunch:
Lunch on Sunday will be a make-your-own, own sandwich affair, with any extra leftovers from the weekend.
Departures:
Minibus shuttles to Barnt Green will be running from after the closing ceremony until the afternoon for anyone who is travelling by public transport, otherwise you can leave whenever you are ready. If you need an earlier minibus shuttle, please let a member of staff know and we can arrange an earlier shuttle.
More information:
If you still need some information as to what to expect on a rally, feel free to contact the rally organisers, the SSAGO executive or someone who has been to a rally before.
More information on all rallies can be found on Factsheet 23 under Resources on the SSAGO website.
If you experience any issues in the booking process, please contact webmaster@ssago.org.