Has Covid-19 Put a Nail in the Coffin of Centres?

Alan

I am not sure it is just Centres. Whilst I digress a little we have a retired employee group that used to meet monthly and that is just not possible now and probably into the foreseeable future. That must apply to many hobby groups around the country. I would imagine that if you had to distance by two metres it wouldn't make rallies very sociable? The COVID situation is constantly changing so I suppose perhaps later in the year things might have relaxed a bit but who knows?

David

David

I understand what you are suggesting.  However the lockdown has resulted in many streets sitting outside their own properties, chatting, partying on occasions such as VE75 celebrations and even socially distanced dancing.  Centre members are very versatile and innovative and I have no doubt activities such as the above would be organised in very short order while sticking to the distancing rules.  And there would definitely be a problem queuing for the facilities when required.

Yes I have managed to get a reply box.!,,,

Alan you are not alone thinking this.It maybe even more vocal in the CCC rallying brigade.

But my personal view on this is Control,Control that if the Covid re infection took off again they could shut Club Sites and CL’s relatively quickly but with the various rally’s dotted around the country could prove difficult to manage.

Suspicions could be aimed at site fees being lost to both Club’s when they need it the most.

Fozzie

Regarding your ‘control’ comment, as the vast majority of rallies run over a two day weekend, normally in the local area, I suspect it wouldn’t be too difficult to to close them as quickly if not quicker than club sites.  I think CL’s would the hardest to manage as no one in the Club would know who was using them.  Even holiday rallies would be easy to contact via Centre Rally Secretaries or their respective regions.

I suppose thinking about it that even if campsites were open a rally could still be seen as operating against the Government rules of the numbers that are allowed to meet together. I imagine that will remain until the Government relax those numbers? I appreciate what you say about people meeting in the street parties but some of those I have seen come pretty close to breaking the rules if not overstepping them. The problem is that whilst your group might be very well controlled and responsible there might be others that wouldn't. I suppose the Club can only look at the worse case scenario and make decisions based on that. The title of your thread I imagine could be asked over a number of different situations and I wonder whether there are will be a number of members, who having not used their vans maybe this year decide to vote with their feet as far as caravanning/motorhoming is concerned? We are in the position where we are not certain how much use we will get out in our year old motorhome this year but even in the best case scenario I can't imagine us using for much more than a dozen nights this year?

David

I’ve just finished watching the news tonight.  It seems that the Government rules on gatherings don’t seem to be followed very much at the moment by a huge number of people anyway.  While I agree that the club should continue to follow the rules, I can’t accept that it’s reasonable when club sites are re-openened, that paying members who chose to use their outfits in a slightly more relaxed way, but still following social distancing rules, should be treated any differently.  I don’t believe that rallies are likely to be any less considerate of the regulations than any other members on club sites or CL’s.

We have also SORN’d our motorhome during the lockdown but are hoping to get back on the road as soon as it’s safe to do so.  I would have thought there are many other Centre members who feel the same though plainly very few seem bothered about discussing their future plans or concerns here, so maybe my question has been answered.

I think that rallies are partly about socialising which is defeated with the social distancing so will not be as enjoyable.  In my Centre we have marshals that are not now keen on running raffles because of handling money and prizes and also handling any cash which is how 99% of our rally fees are paid and I expect some other way of payment will have to be devised.  On top of that we have ralliers some of whom are elderly and have underlying health conditions who won't feel comfortable attending rallies for some weeks to come.  As I believe rallies have been in slow decline for many years now I believe this virus situation has hindered the rally scene certainly for the rest of this year with a few Centres already cancelling all of their 2020 rallies.

The Club have issued guidelines to Centres with regard to Protocal for Rallies once sites re-open (expected/projected for July 4th).  I get the impression that Rallies will re-commence when camp sites are allowed to re-open, but I'm not absolutely sure.  I suspect that 'social gatherings' as part of rallies with have to conform to strict 'social distancing' rules.

I know there are folk who are looking forward to rallies being re-introduced, even with strict social distancing guidelines/ regulations in place.

David

I think that there have been guide lines established for the running of rallies but there will also be more elderly ralliers with possible underlying health issues that will still feel nervous about attending a rally.  It will also put a lot of responsibility and workload on to the marshals who are volunteers anyway.

I think that the most disappointing aspect is the inconsistency in different Centres approaches.  I would have thought that from the head office of the CAMC through their regional structure there would have been a more consistent approach established.

Our local centre cancelled events until the end of June, I feel they will probably find a work around when things ease up. I think a self contained rally in a field or similar won't have the same risks as a crowded caravan site. But we'll wait and see, looks as though social distancing will come to an end and we'll have to exercise caution in our own way.