Rock Crawl FAQ

Here are answers to some Frequently Asked Questions regarding Rock Crawl events.

What exactly is Rock Crawl?

How do you plan for such a large event?

Why is Rock Crawl limited to only 100 participants?

How does the registration process work?

What if I couldn't get registered this year?

Some additional facts about Rock Crawl

What exactly is Rock Crawl?

For each of the past five years, members of the Island Rock Crawlers Four-Wheel Drive Society have decided to host a 4x4 event. We invite other avid four-wheelers to join us for a weekend of organized trail rides, and family-style camping, near Sooke, BC. For the past three years, this event has been known as "Rock Crawl". Its popularity has been increasing each year, making it one of the biggest events of its kind in Canada.

Rock Crawl events are in no way a competition. Each person is essentially testing their driving ability and their vehicle's capabilities during a slow-speed ride through trails and obstacles of varying difficulties. Half the fun is meeting a wide variety of people from all over the Pacific Northwest who share a common interest: four wheeling. Attendees like to compare notes on what vehicle modifications work best, and which driving techniques to use in different situations.

We rely on the support of many organizations and sponsors to help us stage a successful event. For instance, the Sooke Community Association allows us to use the beautiful community campground for Rock Crawl Basecamp. The Sooke Lions Club organizes the excellent meals for the event. A host of other businesses provide services, donate prizes and trophies, or are on hand to ensure the safety of our participants.

Prizes at Rock Crawl are awarded by random draw. Every participant has an equal chance of winning some kind of prize, regardless of driving skill or vehicle capability. There are some trophies awarded for things like "Iron Butt", for the participant who traveled the furthest to attend Rock Crawl.

It is important to note that Rock Crawl is not staged as a money-maker. The Island Rock Crawlers is registered as a not-for-profit society. The proceeds are used to pay for the campground, food, portable toilets, insurance for the event, prizes, t-shirts, dash-plaques, and other items. In the past, any money left over after the bills were paid was donated to a worthy cause, or kept as a float for future events.

How do you plan for such a large event?

Every October, our society holds its annual general meeting (AGM). It is at this meeting that a new board of directors is elected, and some important decisions regarding the next twelve months are voted on. One of these decisions is whether or not to host a Rock Crawl event.

Before we vote, we ask everyone in the society to carefully consider the amount of time and energy they are willing to commit to the planning and preparation for Rock Crawl. The planning process starts in November, and lasts until the event is over in May, for a total of six months. As well, we rely on everyone in the club to be present and available to help on the weekend of the actual event.

It is very easy to vote to hold the event, but it is not an easy event to hold. Because we depend entirely on a lot of volunteer effort, it is not a decision we take lightly. It involves a lot of work, and takes up many hours of everyone's time.

There are plenty of jobs to do for each event. The main task categories are:

1. Event Co-ordinator
2. Food
3. Registration
4. Donations/Promotions/Sponsorship/Trophies
5. Posters/T-shirts/Dash Plaques/Stickers
6. Campground/Tents/Garbage/Toilets
7. Trucks/Tech/Trails
8. Banking

Each of these main tasks has many subtasks, some requiring a number of people to complete, so our Rock Crawl Committee must consist of at least 15 dedicated members. Some tasks, like clearing and preparing trails, require as many people as possible to spend a few weekends wielding a brush-axe or a bowsaw to trim the new alder growth that springs back along the trails every spring.

On the weekend of the event, the whole club must work together to make it a success. For each of the trails departing daily (of which we have over a dozen), we require between two and three member vehicles per trail. That means we need between 35 and 40 club vehicles to guide our guests, plus a sizable contingent to run the show back at the campground. For instance, the registration tent requires people to process incoming guests, others need to be on hand to co-ordinate the camping area, the vehicle tech inspections, and to make preparations for the prize give-away. Still other are needed to man a 'breakdown' team to assist drivers whose vehicles get broken along the way and require assistance.

Why is Rock Crawl limited to only 100 participants?

As you can tell, the number of participants at a Rock Crawl event is limited by the number of people that we can depend on to help run it. As well, the campground and the trails we use cannot sustain more vehicles than we already have. Typically, the participant vehicles number about 100, sponsors number around 20, and the Island Rock Crawlers add another 45, for a total of 165 vehicles. Counting all drivers, passengers, and officials, Rock Crawl has well over 300 people attending! We have reached our limit to what we can successfully manage and still have fun doing it.

How does the registration process work?

Our policy has always been first come, first served. Typically, starting in January, we distribute posters, magazine advertisements, and publish a web page about our Rock Crawl event. People are invited to send us their name and address to be put on a mailing list. We accept such requests via Canada Post, FAX, and e-mail.

To make the chances of successfully registering equal for everyone, we run the registration strictly though the postal service. Still, each year, many people request that their registrations be sent to them via e-mail. We can't do it because this would give the "wired" contingent an unfair advantage over anyone else. Remember, we use the postal system only!

In the next step, in early February, everyone on the list will be mailed a registration form. Those who fill out and return their registration (with payment) to us promptly, make it in. The returned registrations get sorted by the day the were mailed back to us, so the postage cancellation stamp (which contains the date) determines who the successful entrants are.

What if I couldn't get registered this year?

For Rock Crawl 2000, we received over 300 requests for registration forms. Unfortunately, our limit means that there will be about 200 disappointed people who can't make it in. But cheer up-the chances of success are about 1 in 3 - still better than the Lotto!

To those who did not make it in, all we can say is, "Better luck next year!"

With the increased interest and popularity of this event, future Rock Crawl Committees may decide to run registration a little differently. Perhaps, to eliminate the factors of slow mail delivery to some areas, a random draw could be made from all potential registrants until all the spots are filled. But that's for next year's committee to decide.

For this year, after the dust has settled at the end of May, the current Rock Crawl committee will sit down and review how everything went, and then make some recommendations for improvements to our process. Then everyone will heave a sigh of relief, for another successful Rock Crawl will be behind us!

Some additional facts about Rock Crawl:

• there is no racing in the event, it is simply safe, steady wilderness trail riding
• the event has seen astounding growth, from 25, to 50, to 125 participating vehicles since its inception
• the event has been featured in two separate magazine publications, resulting in international recognition of this event throughout the four-wheel-drive community
• Rock Crawl '99 saw approximately 300 individuals (drivers, passengers, families), and about 60 sponsoring businesses (donating door prizes and services)
• all society members and their families are involved in the planning and execution of this event
• including ferry costs, estimates of approximately $40,000 entered the community
• participants from British Columbia, Alberta, Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, South Dakota, and California have attended past Island Rock Crawls
• various organizations from the local communities have been involved in this event: including, but not limited to, the Sooke Lions, Sooke Community Association, Search and Rescue B.C. (SARBC), Sooke Disposal & Recycling, Timberwest Forest Products