Re: [Paddlewise] Eco Challenge - some answers

> From: "Robert J. Nagle" <nagle_at_tammy.harvard.edu>

> 
> Jackie asked about qualifications for the event.

Oh, wow!  I didn't realize the '96 and '97 Eco-Challenge winning team 
captain was on PaddleWise!  Thanks for your reply!  This takes a lot of 
second-guessing out of the who's, what's, and why's.  Nice to have you
here! :-)

> This organizer (Mark Burnett) tries harder than anyone else in the
> world to have suitably qualified teams involved.  By contrast, some of
> the more 'salt-of-the-earth' competitions (which are often more
> 'interesting' than the made-for-tv ones) require nothing - just expect
> that if you don't know what you're doing, you won't be foolish enough
> to start. 
> 
> After the debacle in the 1996 Eco-Challenge (British Columbia), when 4
> teams completed the entire course and another 10 a somewhat shortened
> version (out of 72 starters !!!), Eco-Challenge switched from "entry
> fee" to "invitation".  This allowed them to vet teams more carefully

That was pretty "enlightenting" info about the '96 event (more details
can be found on the moutainzone and echochallenge websites).   Some
comments from interviews of organizers were that they thought that
possibly they had made the course *too* difficult.  Sounds like 
unexpected bad weather played a big part as well as the lack of 
realistic expectation of participants' own skills or possible dangers 
(a seemingly all-to-common problem with sea kayakers that get into 
trouble - overestimate experience and underestimate the elements).

> NEVERTHELESS, once ACCEPTED, everyone was expected to learn what they
> didn't know.  Eco-Challenge issues a continuous barrage of
> requirements and warnings.  To go to the start line, you were expected
> to heed what was in these bulletins and prepare accordingly.  Since
> the missives began arriving almost a year before the event, there is
> PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITY to learn at least the fundamentals and NO EXCUSE
> for not doing so.

I got the impression that the team from Northern Ireland somehow
missed the cue on the level of difficulty for this trip (the team
with one of the members admitting to never having paddled a canoe
before this race and also carrying the portable radio and cheese 
cuttingboard in their mountainous backpacks).

I suppose their goal was more of publicity for their cause rather than
for serious effort in participation of the race.  But I also realize
that I'm watching tv so I'm not sure how accurate the report.  I believe
also, this was the team that had a team member that could not swim (to be
aired in tonight's episode).

> FURTHERMORE, there were tests before the race (and in some cases
> written certification required).  Generally these tests were performed
> by local outfitters, riggers, horseowners etc - the people who would
> ultimately be responsible for dealing with safety situations that
> arose.  And they tended to be picky (as rightly they should be).

I was wondering, though, how they missed that a participant could not 
swim and one participant had never paddled a canoe in his life.  Did 
they know this and just let it fly for the sake of publicity for their 
(the North Ireland team) cause?
 
> Clearly, no one will become an expert in every discipline in a year,
> if they start with little or no experience.  Nevertheless, this race
> organizer strikes a reasonable balance between vetting what people
> know and telling them what they ought to know.  Ultimately, it's an
> individual's decision (or a team's) as to whether they're fit to do
> something; all the organizer can do is highlight the difficulties.

Thanks for that clarification.  I heard on an earlier report that one
of the teams that participated in '97 (Killroy) was not accepted
into this year's race because the organizers believed them not to have 
enough experience.  For those interested, the 1998 Eco-Challenge is
to be held in Morocco in October.  Eco-Challenge teams must have a
mix of male/female participants.

> In last night's showing, you saw several teams elect not to "rap" over
> a waterfall in the dark and some proceeded.  Those who did then faced
> a whitewater swim in the dark - considerably more daunting than the
> "rap" under those circumstances.  But reasonable judgements were being
> made and there was plenty of support available for those who got into
> difficulty.

I also noted that there was a blackout called by the organizers for
the whitewater rafting (if teams did not reach the put-in for the
whitewater rafting in time to finish that portion before dark, then
they were required to wait until the following day).  However, the
canoeing portion was allowed to continue in the dark.  The water
appeared to be moving at a rather slow to medium rate... not dangerous.

I did like that, for the most part, the organizer wanted the teams to
make their own choices.  One team chose not to rapel and instead took
what they thought would be a shorter route over a hill which was
reported as dangerous due to the loose rocks and steep climb which
the participants did not expect.  Teams were allowed to choose whether
to rapel and swim the distance across the river to climb the other 
side.  

> Mark Burnett and the producers at Discovery spend more on safety
> precautions than most races have for their entire race budget.  The

This includes ropes set up to get the team members over the section
of a river which suddenly and unexepectedly became inhabited by
some saltwater crocs that decided to swim upstream 8-}  

I did notice that a lot of effort was made towards safety precautions.

> challenge I and others face as we try to help organizers host more
> races all around the world is to find means of matching skills to
> dangers appropriately.  Not everyone can hope to have the kind of
> money Discovery is willing to pay for safety coverage and yet our new
> Adventure Racing Association is keen to see more events staged *and*
> there is a hunger out there for more events for participants.
> 
> As you can imagine, I've watched with fervent interest the heated
> discussions on judgement, safety, risks and certification on this and
> other forums (wish you would allow me to say 'fora').  And I've
> learned much from both the reasoned voices and the shrill. 

I recommend this documentary.  It is well done and this is really
interesting stuff on many levels. 

And congratualtions, Robert!  (uh, the correct URL for Robert's page
is http://yuri.harvard.edu/~nagle/  I mistakenly added a www in there... 
sorry 8-}

btw, I would love to see any comments you might have about the Texas
Water Safari.  And good luck! :-)

Cheers,

Jackie
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