Volume #37 Issue #3 | Page 9

enthusiasm of its passionate core of club members. To continue the Challenge a different approach appears necessary, and some areas of adjustment have been mentioned. There needs to be modification to the event so that drivers do not compete for 24 hours and then drive home; we need to ensure the fire season of October to March is avoided for large and inflexible gatherings in our forests; more robust financing is important to acknowledge risk to the Club and volunteer efforts; and we might return the Challenge to an event in which club members are the core of the entrants. Planning is underway for 4WD trips following the partial lifting of lockdown restrictions from 13 th May. After a wet Autumn there have been some early track closures that we will need to accommodate in our planning, and longer travel around Australia remains very restricted. Experienced club members can offer ideas as to how our trips can be designed to support the small businesses in regional communities affected by pandemic, bushfires, drought, and flood. For a moment we have limited trips to one day, convoys of four vehicles and only members of one family in any vehicle. More than 100 members have logged into the virtual familiarisation trip and become acquainted with the Wild Apricot system. As the medical experts have advised us, maintain our social distancing, wash thoroughly and be sensible with where and why we travel. Neil Phillips 1744 President: [email protected]