And Now The News......

Every year, the Levy Trophy is awarded to the fastest scout completing the route. This year, due to an error in entry form completion, the trophy was incorrectly awarded to a non-scout entrant. As soon as the committee realised that this was the case, we contacted the person we believed to be the rightful winner of the aforementioned trophy. However, the resulting conversation both shocked and worried us….

Upon contacting the ‘winning’ entrant, it was brought to our attention that, although the contact details, name and medical history we had been supplied with were correct for the name of the entered person, the actual person who completed the event was not the same one. The original entrant had decided not to enter the event and, in a total breach of rules, had given their place to a friend. The committee is horrified at this behaviour for the following reasons:

• The new entrant was forced to lie and use the original entrant’s name and signature for the duration of the event.
  
• Had there been a medical incident, all of the medical details were incorrect and could have resulted in potentially life-threatening treatment errors being made through no fault of the medical staff involved. The Emergency department staff would have accessed patient records for the given name, as was registered on the entry form, which is what the committee would send with the patient as proof of identity. Therefore, his medical history, allergies and any pre-existing conditions would have been wrong. As it was, the new entrant received first aid and registered himself there under the original entrant’s name!
  
• Had there been a need to contact the new entrant’s emergency contact, we would have been unable to, as the details we had were for the original entrant. This would have caused obvious unnecessary distress to both the original entrant’s family and the new one’s.
  
• In the event that there is a major incident involving outside agencies (medical staff, fell rescue etc…) the committee is responsible for the entrant’s well being and could, worst case scenario, have to stand in court and give evidence if necessary about the incident. If this were to have happened, the information the committee would have take to court would have been incorrect. Also, the ‘entrants’ would potentially both have had to give evidence as well and explain their actions.
  

Whilst we appreciate that many of the above points are based on ‘what if’ scenarios, we are incredibly grateful that they did not occur for everyone’s safety. Unfortunately, because of the time taken to ascertain what happened, the results list had already gone to print stating an incorrect winner of the Levy trophy. The committee would like to apologise to the actual winner David Bell who is, as a result of these 2 people’s extremely disappointing actions, not recognised in print for his achievement.

Above all what we find most worrying is that the original entrant did not appreciate the above points and seemed to find the whole scenario slightly amusing. We, the committee, do not. Therefore, may we take this opportunity to stress that the transferring of places / substitution of entrants / is not, never has been, and never will be, acceptable for the safety of everyone involved in the event. Please let it also be noted that the committee has decided to disqualify the number corresponding to the original entrant and thus the replacement entrant. The 2011 committee will consider how to prevent this happening in the future, which may result in entrants having to provide identification on registration at the start which will be most frustrating for all concerned, especially entrants who would never consider transferring their place…

We trust that anyone reading this will realise the potential seriousness of their actions and support us in dealing with it.

May we take this opportunity to thank all other entrants for abiding by the rules and for helping make the 48th event a successful one. We look forward to seeing you (and any friends/family you can convince to come along!) for the 49th event on 14th/15th May 2011…

The Fellsman Committee.

The trophy winners and full results for the 48th Fellsman have now been posted on the Results page under the 2010 link. Of course, you could just click here. We have triple checked the results and as far as the event paperwork is concerned the finish times listed are correct.

More news and updates to the site to follow as soon as we've caught up on our sleep a bit…

I've had a number of emails asking when the results are going to be available. The final checks to verify all the finish times has now taken place and all being well the results will be posted on the Results page tomorrow evening. Those who entered the event will recieve a hard copy of the results together with their tally and their certificates in a couple of weeks time (we have to get the results printed up which will take a few days).

The Fellsman Committee would like to thank everyone who helped to make this years event one to remember, be it as a volunteer or a competitor. Without you this event couldn't happen. Thank you.

More news and views coming soon…

Hi all. Well, less than 24 hours before Wharfdale Upper School at Threshfield becomes home to the 48th Fellsman. Just a couple of items to draw your attention to:

• As of yesterday everyone on the pre-event waiting list had been allocated a place and we now already have a small number of places available on the day. If you are interested in getting a place please read the news item Instructions for Competitors on the Day below. Please note that the full entry fee of £32 will apply to those entering on the day.
  

• Unfortunately we cannot take any more bookings for transport as all the buses (and a couple of minibuses) are full. The buses will be leaving at 05:45, 06:15, 06:45 and 07:15 on the dot. I know the idea of getting on the 07:15 bus is attractive but we can't get 230 of you on a single bus, so please can all those who have booked transport but are not sleeping at Threshfield aim to be at the school by 06:10. Please be aware that if you are NOT getting your kit checked on the Friday night you will need to be on one of the first two buses to give yourself sufficient time to get your kit checked on arrival at Ingleton and your rucksacks/packs repacked to your satisfaction.
  

• Speaking of kit checks - you know the random ones everyone says we don't ever have… or that are only ever at one location… you have been warned!!!
  

• There are number of you still emailing the site for information. Hopefully there shouldn't be too many outstanding queries now - I seem to have been emailing non-stop for the last few days. Just to let you know that I will be able to check the email up to about 1pm on Friday after which I will be leaving for Threshfield. All being well I will have access again when I get set up at the school but if you need to query please do it sooner rather than later.
  

The Fellsman Committee wish you all safe journeys to Yorkshire and look forward to seeing you at the start on Saturday. Best of luck to you all.

As the event is now less than a week away it's time to post up those all important last minute instructions…

Instructions for entrants with an existing place (indicated by receipt of entrant number and handbook)

• All entrants who already have a place MUST have checked in at Ingleton by 08:15 on Saturday 8th May.

• Any entrant who has NOT checked in by this time (and is not in transit on a Fellsman bus) will be considered a no-show and their place will be reassigned.

• A pre-event kit check session will be in operation on the Friday night at Threshfield from 19:30 to 21:30. Any entrant wishing to have their kit checked is welcome to do so but please note that you must still 'Check-in' on the Saturday morning prior to collecting your tally.

Instructions for entrants hoping for a place on the day
Although technically the event is full, we expect a number of no-shows on the day. Usually there are between 20 and 40 depending on the weather forcast for the weekend! We have therefore decided to instigate what we hope is a fair system for reassigning these places.

• Individuals wishing to be considered for a no-show place must register their intent IN PERSON at Threshfield on the Friday night between 19:00 and 21:00 at the Accommodation desk; or on Saturday morning at Ingleton from 06:30 onwards. Individuals will be added to a waiting list in ordering of registering of intent.

• Those 10 or so individuals still on the pre-event waiting list who have been notified by telephone will be given priority on the list but must still register IN PERSON to be considered for a place.

• At 08:20 any places arising due to no-shows will be handed out to individuals who have registered an intent in strict list order.

• We ask that, in order to speed up your check in, you have a completed entry form and a cheque made out to 'The Fellsman' or cash for the full on the day entry fee of £32, ready to hand to the check-in desk.

Please contact us if you have any queries about what you need to do.

Firstly the camping….
Apologies for the long delay in getting this information to you. We have persuing a number of options with regards to laying on camping facilities at Threshfield with limited success. We now have permission from the school to allow a limited number of competitor tents on the playing fields. We therefore have around 15 camping spaces available. Those people who have already emailed the website about the possibility of camping will be contacted today about a place. anyone wishing to reserve one of the remaining camping places should email using the contact form. Places will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis. We are limited by the number of pitches not the number of campers so if a bunch of you want to sleep together in a six man tent that is fine by us.

Secondly accommodation in the school….
As usual we are offering free accommodation in the school hall. However due to the increase in numbers this year we have also secured additional free accomodation in Grassington Community Centre. A shuttle bus will be provided to take competitors assigned to the Community Centre up on the Friday night and back to the school on the Saturday morning in time for breakfast and transport up to Ingleton. There will be tea and coffee making facilities and toilets at the community centre. In order to ease congestion in Grassington we are asking all competitors to park in the Fellsman carpark close to the school and use the shuttle buses to go into Grassington. As we only have the Community Centre for the Friday night we are also asking that all competitors return all their gear back to the school on the Saturday morning where it will be stored in the Quartermasters store as usual.

Well, three weeks to go. I will be posting up some information about the weekend in the next couple of days with regards to times and places, and entries on the day but before that I just want to draw everyone's attention the FAQ tab. On there you will find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions about the event such as:

• Are my shoes OK?
• Why does the Hell Gap grid reference not map exactly on top of Hell Gap on the map I've got?
• What do I do if I can't tolerate gluten?

It's worth having a look here to see if your question is answered before emailing as you may find just the information you're looking for. If not then please email me. I will be happy to answer your questions

A historic moment in the recent history of the Fellsman. For the first time since 1993, 450 entrants have registered for this year's event. This means that the event is now full!

People who have already posted their entries and have been unsuccessful in gaining a place will have their cheque returned, however as we are aware that people do have to withdraw for a variety of reasons, we will continue to hold on to their entry form as reserves, in case places become available. These places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Please do not post your entry merely for inclusion on the reserve list as we already have a number of people hoping for a place.

With this in mind we would like to ask that anyone who finds that they are unable to take part in this years event please let us know as soon as possible so that spare places can be allocated. Refunds (minus a small administration fee) will be given up to the 1st April 2010.

In addtition to this, as we always get a number of people who fail to turn up on the day (last year there were 40 people who were no-shows), there may be places available on the Saturday morning at Ingleton. Any places unclaimed by 08:15 on Saturday 8th May will be issued on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries. The email is experiencing a bit of a deluge at the minute so please be patient, I will try and respond as quickly as I can.

Congratulations to all those successful in their entries. I look forward to seeing you all on the weekend. It is shaping up to be a great event.

CAN ANYONE HELP???

We need a checkpoint team to run Middle Tongue checkpoint on the event. It really needs 2 people with a mountain tent who are prepared to spend the night up there clipping tallies and checking the competitors through the location. If you think you can help click the contact button and email us your details. Thanks Andy.

Checkpoint Organiser.

Due to the unprecedented demand for online entries I now regret to inform you that all the available online entries have now been allocated. Any online entries recieved before noon on the 13th March will be allocated a place. Although the Paypal button on the payment page for entry fees is still active you will now receive a 'Sold out' message. The Paypal payment page will remain active until the event to allow existing hikers to order additional meals or transport if they require it, or of course, to make a donation to the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

We do still have a number of postal entry places available although we are now talking in the region of 40 entries before we reach our maximum limit of 450. Any entries received after the maximum limit has been reached will be returned. There may be places avaialble on the day in the event of pre-registered entrants not turning up and these will be available on a first-come first-serve basis from 08.30 on 8th May.

Please feel free to contact me on the hike email address if you have any queries.