We previously promised an update by WomBall, so following a joint meeting with the SSAGO Exec last night we have some very important news to share… we are a, go, go, go! Whilst ScoutsCymru still restrict residentials to 30 people, we hope that this will be updated to reflect the guidance of England & Scotland before the rally, since we are unaware of any legal restrictions Wales still have in place that make this still necessary. Therefore, at the moment, the only thing we see stopping us is any surprise lockdowns (fingers crossed!).

Whilst still being finalised, we anticipate having a similar testing and refund scheme in place to WomBall. The risk assessment is also still being finalised, but we hope to be able to deliver a relatively “normal” event, without too much social distancing and limiting mask wearing to coaches, etc. We acknowledge that people will have different levels of what they are comfortable with, however everyone will have had the opportunity to be double vaccinated and we will have the testing procedures in place to hopefully prevent the pesky virus from entering the campsite at all. We are however still planning to offer a virtual aspect, with certain bits of the rally being live streamed, etc, so if you have to self-isolate or are not comfortable attending, you can hopefully still partake!

Additionally, this morning, the Scouts / NYA readiness level for England has been updated to Green. Amongst other things, this means international travel is now allowed. We therefore hope to be able to welcome some international contingents as well, subject to FCDO travel advice.

Stay tuned for an announcement in the coming weeks about booking opening!

Whilst it's not been too long since our last update, only a matter of weeks ago, there have been some important changes we wish to share with you all.

Now that restrictions have eased in England, The Scouts have allowed large scale events (i.e. 100 people plus) to take place once again. Whilst this means rally can technically take place, we are of course still keeping an eye on the restrictions across the other nations and the guidance still currently in place for England. We are however hopeful that, given the current vaccination rates, we are on track to run a relatively normal event.

Having had discussions with the new SSAGO Exec, we decided that should the worst happen and we are forced to postpone, we will move to Autumn 2022, a year later than our original date (probably giving us the record for the longest planning time of any rally, which we suspect Rali Cymru is currently eyeing up). Under the previous SSAGO Exec, the plan was for ourselves and Rali Cymru to leapfrog each others events until we could run however, we think allowing an election now for Summer 2022 would be the best for SSAGO as a whole, as campsites are getting booked up and it gives them plenty of time to plan.

We plan on making the decision to either go ahead, or postpone, by WomBall (11th September). We hope this will mean the vast majority of SSAGO, with the exception of only UHI (we believe), will know of our plans before they start back at university and start with freshers recruitment, etc.. We will be having regular review meetings to assess changes in guidance in the run up to this date, so if the decision is clear either way before that time, we will be sure to give an earlier update. We also anticipate that giving this much notice will provide the Exec with enough time to arrange an EGM to take place during Viking Rally, to elect an event for Autumn 2022 (and likely pass constitutional changes).

We look forward to hopefully raiding the North East with you all in November!

Following our last Coronavirus update, over 3 months ago, a lot has changed - for starters, we have a new SSAGO Exec, and we’re also set to be the first IRL rally back after covid. We have however been keeping a careful eye on how things have progressed and what new guidance means for us.

Currently, The Scouts forbid any large scale events (i.e. 100 people plus) from taking place, which would make holding our rally impossible, however they suggest that come Autumn / Winter 2021 we should be allowed them once again. This, combined with current vaccination rates and changing self-isolation rules, gives us hope we can still go ahead as planned.

Having had discussions with the new SSAGO Exec, we decided that should the worst happen and we are forced to postpone, we will move to Autumn 2022, a year later than our original date (probably giving us the record for the longest planning time of any rally, which we suspect Rali Cymru is currently eyeing up). Under the previous SSAGO Exec, the plan was for ourselves and Rali Cymru to leapfrog each others events until we could run however, we think allowing an election now for Summer 2022 would be the best for SSAGO as a whole, as campsites are getting booked up and it gives them plenty of time to plan.

We plan on making the decision to either go ahead, or postpone, by WomBall (11th September). We hope this will mean the vast majority of SSAGO, with the exception of only UHI (we believe), will know of our plans before they start back at university and start with freshers recruitment, etc.. We will be having regular review meetings to assess changes in guidance in the run up to this date, so if the decision is clear either way before that time, we will be sure to give an earlier update. We also anticipate that giving this much notice will provide the Exec with enough time to arrange an EGM to take place during Viking Rally, to elect an event for Autumn 2022 (and likely pass constitutional changes).

We look forward to hopefully raiding the North East with you all in November!

We’ve had lots of people understandably ask us what our contingency plans are regarding COVID-19 and how the pandemic might affect Viking Rally.

As it stands, we’re currently still planning to run in Autumn 2021, as originally planned. We are of course keeping this under careful review and will continue to work with the SSAGO Exec to ensure we run safely and minimise financial risk to SSAGO. The UK Government’s Roadmap Out of Lockdown, and the current vaccination rates, put us in a good place to be back to the new normal over the summer months, leaving a few months leeway before it will be effecting Viking Rally.

Whilst we look set to be able to run the event, there is of course talk about how some measures such as social distancing and face masks might be required for some time to come. At the moment, it’s unclear what sort of things we would have to adapt for & how these would work in practice at large events, however we’re confident that once big events (such as music festivals and county camps) start running again over summer, we’ll be able to look at what they’ve done, and apply it to our relatively small event.

If in the unfortunate event we are unable to run in person, we are planning to postpone to a later date rather than going virtual. Having worked with the 2020/21 SSAGO Exec, our current plan would be to take Summer 2022, however this is of course up for discussion with the 2021/22 SSAGO Exec.

Hopefully we’ll see you all in person at Moor House Adventure Centre in November!