Further to the update from a week ago, all our permits are now in place and I am finalizing our COVID-19 Management Plan with the South Australian Department of Health. With no defined hotspots anywhere in Australia announced today, the likelihood of borders opening up is looking very good.

We now have 85 entries, which is a big improvement on where we were a week ago, but still well below the absolute minimum of 120 we are aiming for to decide if we are still to have an event. This is not just random number, without enough entries we cannot afford to run the event due to the standing costs like leasing of the lake, paying the traditional monitors and paying our medical and fire crews plus all the other consumables like toilet paper, water, and fuel to run the generators and club vehicles, etc.

The other big issue is the number of volunteers required to run the event at the moment of the 766 jobs we have identified we still have 317 of those jobs vacant. We need people in the most critical of areas; Start Line, Timing and Pre-Stage. For example, we can run Tracks 1 and 2 Monday morning, but there are not enough volunteers to run in the afternoon and nearly every other day is similar to this.

I know entrants have until the 14th February to decide if you are going to enter or roll-over your 2020 entry, but the longer entrants delay doing so makes it all the harder for me to keep saying to people that we are going to have an event in 2021 (and there are lots of people asking).

The DLRA Qld pre Speedweek meeting will be held at Tom Rabolds Bullet Superchargers workshop at Ant Rd Yatala Qld on 17/1/2021. Starts 11:00am sharp with a BBQ sausage lunch and finish about 2:30pm.
Car pre race inspections welcome, please shoot Chris Hanlon a message on Facebook before hand if you need an inspection.

As I write this we are just over 2 months out from Speed Week 2021. Up until the end of 2020 things were starting to look pretty good, and then we got the outbreaks in NSW and VIC. We have been getting calls asking if Speed Week will still go ahead. And the standard answer is we are still planning to run an event until someone tells us we can't. It remains a day to day proposition and is totally out of our hands.

With that in mind, here's a review of where we are today.

I'm using the figures from the 2020 entry list as so far many entrants are sitting on their hands rolling over and confirming their entry for 2021.

For 2020 we had 237 entries, 14 of those were from overseas, so unfortunately we won't see them again this year, except for Eva who already has her streamliner back in Australia.

South Australia has blocked NSW from entering, so that is 56 entrants who at the present time cannot come. However there is still time for the block to be removed should numbers improve in NSW.

Queensland is still open to South Australia, however for them to travel the normal route through NSW under the current restrictions means they cannot stop in NSW, which is virtually impossible.* There are two alternative routes one of which takes them on the Birdsville Track and adds an additional 1000 km to an already long 2000 km journey. Or to head even further north, which adds an additional 3000 km. This is something that I don't think many of the 38 Queensland entrants would contemplate.

Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia are all currently open to South Australia, so we potentially have 129 entrants who can come to Speed Week.

To make Speed Week financially viable, we would need all of those entrants to compete. And we need these entrants to confirm their entries as soon as they can. If you are delaying sending in your entry because of the new medical examination requirement please consider just submitting your entry now, you can lodge your medical at a later date, so long as we have it before Speed Week starts.

The other complexity in all of this is the enforcement of quarantine on returning residents. This is an issue not only for entrants, but officials as well and will have a direct and dire consequence on Speed Week if re-introduced in any of the States.

We can't even begin to predict where the situation will be in a month's time or two months' time, all we can do is keep working with what we have now.

Looking forward, we realise that things may change and certainly may get worse before they get better, so we will delay any decision for as long as we can if it means ensuring that the event goes ahead.

Thank you for your time, support and consideration.

Be safe and healthy.

* update from when I wrote this, Victorians can be permitted to travel through NSW to get home with a minimum of stops and contact.

Please read this and feel free to pass it on to others.
Our strategy is to run Speed Week with as many COVID-19 safe guards in place as practicable using the regulations as prescribed now, because if we did get some one infected at Speed Week we would have to be able to respond in a responsible manner.

As part of our COVID-19 Management Plan we will be required to provide contract tracing information for all Speed Week participants.
This information will be captured via the entry forms, online payments, the volunteer register and manually at lake entry. You may end up getting asked to provide your details more than once, please bear with us, better to get it twice than not at all. We ask for your patience when queuing at lake entry, especially in the first few days as the collection of contact tracing information will be a manual process as we have no access to mobile coverage or internet to run a QR type system. (The use of 2 lanes, one for entrants and officials and the other for spectators will be strictly enforced at Speed Week 2021)

Here are a couple of ways you can help.
1. Book your tickets online - https://www.dlra.org.au/online-booking.htm
2. Use our online COVID-19 Contact Tracing Record - https://www.dlra.org.au/covid19-contact-tracing.htm
3. Download a contact tracing form, fill it out and bring it with you to Lake Entry - https://www.dlra.org.au/docs/contact-tracing-record-form.pdf

At this time in South Australia it is not mandatory for face masks in the general community, but it is recommended to wear a mask when out in public if you are unable to physically distance. So bring some masks and any other personal protective equipment you wish. We will be providing hand wash and sanitiser in high traffic areas, but please bring your own as well.
Children under 12 years of age do not need to wear a mask.
Masks or face coverings should NOT be worn by children under the age of 2 or anyone who has trouble breathing.
Please be respectful to others as reasons for not wearing a mask are not always obvious.

The best ways to protect yourself and others against COVID-19 continue to be:
* Getting tested if you have any symptoms, no matter how mild.
* Practising physical distancing (keep 1.5 metres between yourself and others wherever and whenever possible).
* Washing (or sanitising) your hands regularly.
* Wiping down frequently touched surfaces.
* Covering coughs and sneezes in a tissue or elbow.
* Staying home and avoiding others when sick.

Now that entries are open and we have a few coming in, we'd like to make the following observations.

• You must submit a completed 2021 Entry Form (do not just write "the same as last year")

• You must complete the Hazardous Chemical Register. (unless it's an uncommon fuel type, you dont have to supply the Safety Data Sheets) (do not just write "the same as last year")

• You must answer all questions the Medical Declaration or supply the Medical Examination form signed by a Medical Practioner.

• You must sign or agree to all disclaimers.

• Make sure you fill out the COVID-19 Contact Tracing record. If you don't you are just going to be held up even longer at Lake Entry or Registration

• Membership annual subscriptions are now due and payable for the 2021 year. Entries are not accepted unless you are financial. There is no roll-over for subscriptions.

• In-completed forms will NOT accepted or processed and will be returned to you.

Your assistance in this is appreciated.

COVID-19

All participants entering the the lake must sign in on the CONTACT TRACING RECORD and provide the date and time that they attended Speed Week as well as their name, phone number, and email address. This information will be used for the purposes of contract tracing only and will not be shared or sold to a third party. If you cannot or choose not to provide your details and sign the agreement, access to the event will respectfully be refused.

August General Meeting Canceled
Due to Stage 4 Pandemic Restrictions

May General Meeting Canceled
The DLRA General Meeting which was planned for the 17th May 2020 has been canceled.
With a State of Emergency still in force in Victoria and no announcement to be made by the State Government until the 11/05/2020. It was decided at the committee meeting last week to cancel the meeting as it was considered very unlikely that the regulations would be relaxed to enable a meeting of around 40 people indoors.
If there are any members who were looking to raise an item at the General Meeting or have something discussed, feel free to contact me and we will do our best to get it heard or addressed. drylakesracersau@hotmail.com

The next General Meeting is planned for the 16th of August, hopefully by then we will be in a much more favourable position.

At the April DLRA Committee meeting it was decided that under the current circumstances and with the losses incurred by having to cancel 2 events in 2020, that the DLRA could not afford to proceed with the a World Speed Trials Australia event for 2021 unless a very significant sponsor was to come on board.
The dates for Speed Week 2021 were confirmed.