Most everything that involves the amateur radio team for Sea Otter Classic back country support this year is the same as the past few years (at least so far). This year it will be April 18-21, 2024.

Help from amateur radio operators has been a vital resource for communication in the Fort Ord National Monument back country. Thank you to those of you who have volunteered in the past.

The Sea Otter Classic attracts thousands of athletes and spectators and is now regarded as the world’s premiere cycling festival. The areas where we assist have little or no cellular or repeater coverage. It is an excellent opportunity for demonstration and practice of emergency communications and help build readiness for a real disaster.

This year help will be needed for the following times:

Thursday 4/18 – Back Country Support – Morning through Afternoon

Friday 4/19 – Back Country Support – Early Morning to Afternoon

Saturday 4/20 – Back Country Support – Early Morning to Afternoon

Sunday 4/21 – Back Country Support – Early Morning to Afternoon

Camping is available directly from the event (https://www.seaotterclassic.com/camping/) or we have the option of camping for no charge in the Laguna Seca paddock. If you’re interested in camping in the paddock, please email me directly.

Ham radio operators will be primarily working radios including ham radios and/or commercial/public safety radios (i.e. You may be asked to coordinate on a public safety frequency to guide in an ambulance while the medic provides care). We’ll always try to pair experienced hams with new hams as needed. First aid and course marshal support will be provided by National Ski Patrol as in the past.

Volunteers must be 16 years old or older and not have physical challenges that would keep them from performing their duties independently.

Volunteers receive a volunteer T-Shirt, a pass to the Sea Otter Classic Festival (a $100 value), and a lunch. There may be some other surprise items for the volunteers.

Please note that the times and details are subject to change, but we will keep you updated if you volunteer. Please keep in mind that end times are estimates. In most cases the event will end earlier, but if we have a significant incident, demobilization may go much later and especially in the back country, exit routes are closed to vehicle traffic during the event.

Please go to https://sea-otter-classic.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=79545, in the password field, enter the word “Radio” (without quotes) do not enter anything else on the page and click on “Submit”. The page will update with the Amateur Radio shifts. Click on the check box to click on if you’re available and interested in that volunteer activity. All the events are for the backcountry at Fort Ord. For “Group – Organization Name” please select “San Benito Amateur Radio Association”. You can fill out your information. Under “Is anyone volunteering with you” please enter “None”. We need a separate submission for each volunteer. Sign the disclaimer by clicking the check box and entering your name and submit. You’ll receive an email from Jeff Lindenthal to confirm your registration.  This process needs to be done for each volunteer.

If this is your first time volunteering for this event or there has been a change in your home location, vehicle, or food choices, please fill out the form at https://tinyurl.com/soc2024

Like many ham radio groups, we use groups.io for our email system. If you’re volunteering this year, please go to https://sbcara.groups.io/g/soc and sign up for our email system so you can get updates. If it complains that you need to be a member of the parent group, you can ignore that. I’ll take care of that behind the scenes. The nice thing about this is that this year, you can see emails, even those before your sign up, and don’t have to store them on your own email system.

If you can’t volunteer this year and want to stay connected, please go to https://sbcara.groups.io/g/soc-interest and sign up to receive email for future events.

2024/01/14 – Preliminary Version – Most documents are from 2023
2024/03/01 – Updated Volunteer List
2024/03/03 – Updated Volunteer List
2024/03/07 – Updated Volunteer List
2024/03/09 – Updated Volunteer List
2024/03/10 – Adding Map Data – In Progress

2024/03/13 – Updated Volunteer List
2024/03/24 – Web page updates
2024/04/07 – Updated volunteer requirements, volunteer list & Ops Guide Updated”
2024/04/08 – IAP & Frequency Plan Updated
2024/04/09 – IAP Updated / Corrected
2024/04/13 – Updated Volunteer List

2024/04/14 – Added Deployment Travel Artery Map
2024/04/15 – Updated Volunteer List
2024/04/16 – Added YouTube link for Zoom meetings below

Volunteer List

Documents

Amateur Radio Operations Guide

Deployment Travel Artery Map

Red lines are only for Thursday’s Enduro – the other routes for all four days.

Incident/Event Action Plan

FREQUENCY PLAN

IMPORTANT! Ending times are estimates only. Events may run longer. If there is an incident, we will need to stay on duty for that event until we are clear of incidents we’re involved with.

Thu Apr 18 – Enduro

7:00am-8:30am – Stage 1 (Downhill) Inspect & Practice
7:00am-8:30am – Stage 2 (Dual Slalom) Inspect & Practice
9:00am-3:00pm – MTB Gravity – Enduro Race (Stages 1-4)

Fri Apr 19 – Fuego XL –
Life Time Grand Prix

9:00am-3:00pm – Life Time Grand Prix
9:00am-3:00pm – Elite Men
9:05am-3:00pm – Elite Women
9:12am-3:00pm – Singlespeed Men & Women
9:15am-3:00pm – 15-16/17-18/19-29/30-39 Men
9:20am-3:00pm – 40-49 Men
9:25am-3:00pm – 50-59 Men – 50-59 Men
9:30am-3:00pm – 60-69/70+ Men
9:30am-3:00pm – Para Male/Para Female/Non-Binary
9:35am-3:00pm – 15-16/17-18/19-29/30-39 Women

Sat Apr 20 – Gravel Race

7:45am-3:00pm – Elite Women
7:45am-3:00pm – Elite Men
7:55am-3:00pm – 15-16/17-18/19-29/30-39 Men
8:00am-3:00pm – 40-49 Men
8:05am-3:00pm – 50-59 Men
8:10am-3:00pm – 60-69/70+ Men
8:10am-3:00pm – Para Male/Para Female/Non-Binary
8:15am-3:00pm – 15-16/17-18/19-29/30-39 Women
8:20am-3:00pm – 40-49/50-59/60-69/70+ Women

Sun Apr 21 – Fuego XC & Short; Robles Tour; Family Tour

8:00am-11:00am – MTB ENDURANCE- Fuego XC
8:00am-11:00am – XC Elite Men
8:02am-11:00am – XC Elite Women
8:05am-11:00am – XC SS/JV/Varsity/19-29/30-39 Women
8:10am-11:00am – 40-49/50-59/60-69/70+Women
8:15am-11:00am – Girls 7th Grade / Girls 8th Grade
8:15am-11:00am – Para Female

8:30am-1:30pm – Robles Tour
8:35am-11:00am – Family Off-Road Tour

10:30am-1:30pm – XC–SS/Tandem/JV/Varsity Men
10:40am-1:30pm – XC–19-29 Men
10:50am-1:30pm – XC–30-39 Men
11:00am-1:30pm – XC–40-49 Men
11:10am-1:30pm – XC–50-59 Men
11:15am-1:30pm – XC–60-69/70+ Men
11:15am-1:30pm – XC–Non-Binary
11:25am-1:30pm – XC–Boys 7th Grade/8th Grade
11:25am-1:30pm – XC–Para Male

Thursday April 18

Enduro: Stage 3 & Stage 4

Friday April 19

Fuego XL

Saturday April 20

Gravel Race

Sunday April 22

Fuego XC

Robles Tour

Latest & Greatest MTB Tech from Sea Otter

Downhill Track for 2022

Otter Comms Team at Past Events