SEN 2614 - Heath and Safety at Lost Hills
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- Category: Archive 2019
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Table of Contents – SEN 2614
Heath and Safety at Lost Hills
1. Welcome to Lost Hills
2. It's not about the Bike
3. SEN Formatting Guidelines
4. Whoops – FF 2020 typo
Welcome to Lost Hills
There are several things you should be aware of if you have never visited the Lost Hills area and flying field.
A. Sunburn:
One of the problems with a desert climate such as Lost Hills is sunburn. This can occur quite easily, even when it is overcast or hazy. It is recommended that you apply sunscreen of at least 30 SPF before being exposed to the sun.
B. Water consumption:
In relation to the above water consumption is very important. Dehydration occurs when body fluid levels get low. An axiom is: if you wait until you feel thirsty to drink, dehydration has already started. This problem can affect one’s performance and is potentially dangerous. Be sure to stock up on plenty of water before each day.
C. Native Fauna:
There are several animals that can cause problems. Rattlesnakes are present and are poisonous. They blend into their surroundings and make a rattling sound to warn of their presence. They are very much afraid of humans and do not want anything to do with us, but if provoked they will strike. Do not reach into heavy grass or bushes without a clear view first. Do not lift items (rock, tires, and other debris) on the ground that can offer their concealment.
Scorpions have a poisonous sting and can be aggressive. Campers should shake out shoes before putting them on. There are several kids of spiders. Tarantulas are large, hairy spiders that are quite timid. October is their mating season so they are very active. They are not poisonous, but are very fragile and should not be picked up. Black Widow spiders are shiny black and are about the size of your finger tip. They are poisonous and their bite could be dangerous if left untreated. They like to hide in portable toilets. It is important that you look for webbing across the seat of the toilet to detect them. If you are bitten by any of these creatures try to remain calm, reduce your physical activity and seek immediate medical attention.
The Desert Kit Fox and Coyote are both members of the dog family. The fox will dig holes in the ground for their dens. You may hear the bark of a fox or the cry of the coyote at night.
It is best to leave all these creatures alone and not touch them. If you must observe them please do it from a distance.
D. Valley Fever
Valley Fever (Acute Coccidioidomycosis) is a medical condition that can occur in the South Western part of the USA. Most times it appears like a cold or flu. It is not a cold or flu but a fungal infections caused by bacteria in the soil. For most people this is not a serious condition. Mild cases of valley fever usually resolve on their own. In more severe cases, doctors can prescribe antifungal medications that can treat the underlying infection. If you feel these symptoms (fever, cough, chest pains, night sweats, fatigue) after visiting Lost Hills and need to see a doctor you MUST tell the doctor that you have visited this part of the USA and it might be Valley Fever. The reason is that Valley Fever is not known in other parts of the World (or even the USA) and the medicine such as an anti-biotic that would normally be prescribed for such a condition like this is NOT appropriate for Valley Fever and may even make it worse.
Here are some references to Valley Fever https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/features/valley-fever.html
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/valley-fever/symptoms-causes/syc-20378761
E. Watch where you drive
One last recommendation is that when retrieving on a motorcycle, golf cart, or bike, please keeps your focus in front of you. There several hazards on the field that can cause a bad fall and injure you. Some places have ruts or holes from cars being stuck during the rainy season. There are also pits where the land has been mined. You also should be aware of models laying flat in the grass ahead of you. They are often hard to see. Please keep the speed down and ride safely.
Charlie Jones, Contest Director
It's not about the Bike
This is the name of a book by Lance Armstrong about his life and sporting career.
While Lance Armstrong may not be considered to be a role model for the sportsman there are things we can learn from this and Lance’s history
Firstly many things go to contribute to sporting success- good equipment, innovation, preparation, focus, taking into account the conditions of the day.
When we read the Welcome To Lost Hills above, we see a key item about local conditions – make sure to you drink plenty of water. It is no good reaching the flyoff if you are too dehydrated to perform
Sporting Code . a positive thing we learn from Lance is t innovation in the form of using Triathlon handle bars that conform to his sporting code. But the other things we learn from the history is the need to conform fully to the Sporting Code. Ours too has rules about the use of performance enhancing drugs and alcohol . A lesson there from Lance.
Lastly just as “the Tour” has rules about the use of support automobiles, that may vary depending on the stage of the day. So do we. At Lost Hills chasing models off the roads and in or near the orchard with a car will lead to immediate disqualification and exclusion from the event.
SEN Formatting Guidelines
From aram schlosberg
Roger,
Does SEN have guides for publishing contest results?
A word document plus an excess work sheet?
Names on the right or the left?
Once you embed the results in a Word document, things are difficult to unwind.
The ACup should have a policy that results should be published on SEN and sent to Jim within two weeks. Otherwise …. Details of suggested penalty removed. !This would put the fire under the procrastinating CDs.
Best,
Aram
Editor’s reply
The results should always be in Excel. This gives maximum formatting options.
We do not have any requirement on how the excel spread sheet should be laid out. We suggest Names on left and scores on right sorted in ranking order. Place either extreme left or extreme right column
Any report in Word or plain text
Never put the results in the word or the report document
Whoops – FF 2020 typo
Roger,
There are errors in the MaxMen dates. Friday is the 14th F1B, F1C, F1P and Saturday is the 15th F1A, F1Q and the Mini events are on Sunday the 16th.
Hope this is helpful,
Faust
Fab Feb 2020
We have received numerous questions about the Fab Feb dates. As mentioned above all events are subject to official confirmation as they need sanctions from both the FAI and the various NACs. The World Cup dates are approved by the CIAM in November.
Preliminary information is:
* Online sign up for FAI events – timeframe to be announced, but after the World Champs.
* Friday sign up for the FAI events at Lost Hills Community Center on 7 Feb.
* Ike/Kiwi on 8-10 Feb with the F1ABCPQ World Cup on Saturday 8 Feb.
* The North American World Cup is on 12 Feb.
* The 2 F1E events are on Monday 10 (Kiwi)and Thurs 13 Feb. (Cal Cup- MaxMen)
* The Ladies Tea Party on Tues 11 Feb
* International Dinner and Dumplings partly "sponsored" by the Chinese Team in the evening on Tuesday 11 February with reserve date on Thursday 13 February
* The MaxMen International starting on Friday 14 with World Cup F1B, F1C & F1P and
* F1A and F1Q on Saturday 15.
* The MaxMen Mini Events on Sunday 16 February
* America's Cup Banquet will be on 14 or 15 Feb (Friday or Sat) depending on venue availability.
As usual the Ike will have a variety of AMA events on 8 and 9 February. We are working on those details
There will be the usual online entry for the FAI events for all contests will be available in due course.
The above schedule is subject to official confirmation and details such as starting times, reserve days, entry fee will appear in the official event announcements.
