I'm not familiar with Stewart or SOS, but isn't this a safety issue?
Imagine a worst-case scenario - a rider goes off course, and for whatever reason remains unaccounted for at the end of the day.
Is this not a concern of the promoters?
I admittedly have never once actually read one of the Waivers I signed, so this is a genuine question.
Ok I will take this and answer it, since someone asked me what my opinion was as a race promoter.
For me, I look at the things from a really simple perspective. This is what racers want:
1. A course
2. Scoring
You need to get these 2 things right. If you somehow mess up number plates, you know, in the end you can make it work still. But you absolutely need the 2 above pieces to call your event a race. Everything on top of that is an add-on. Food, schwag, ice cream, aid station, course TM, etc. If you screw up #1 or #2, forget it, you don't have a race. I will not get into #2 as that is not an issue here.
I will look at the race we host with the greatest possible threat to rider safety: Stewart 45. This is because it is a hot time of year when people can overheat and do dumb things. As a race promoter we need to address this.
No insurance company is going to give you insurance without doing some due diligence, and you need to make sure you act accordingly as a promoter to fulfill these promises. To that end:
1. We bring in an ambulance as well as an EMT quad in the event medical attention is needed
2. Before that, we have submitted an action plan to the insurance company with regards to the above
3. We go over the map of the course with the lead EMT
4. We publish the GPS to all racers and volunteers
5. We put an aid station out on the course
6. We put volunteers at key course areas where confusion may occur
7. We sweep the course after the race
8. We provide food & water at the start/finish as well
9. We have volunteers riding the course all day
But how can we be sure that nobody is left on course? We don't leave until the pit is clean of all personal items and there are no cars in the lot. As long as we have covered steps 1-9 as well as making sure nobody's personal effects and cars are there, there is some reasonable assurance that nobody is out there lost and trying to find their way home.
I will address the above scenario as it plays into some of this. I am hesitant to get involved here but it is part of this answer so I will. Every intersection needs to be addressed the following way:
1. An arrow before the intersection
2. An arrow at the intersection
3. A confirmation arrow after the intersection
4. Tape across the other options of this intersection
5. Sometimes red arrows down these wrong trails too if it is a potential problem area
6. Usually we put a lot more than 3 arrows
See #3: confirmation arrows. This is critically important. If you go through an intersection and see a confirmation arrow, you know you went the right way. Nothing makes a racer panic more than going through an intersection and not seeing a confirmation arrow.
If we have done the above, then as a race promoter and team, we have covered all our bases. Signing a waiver means that we have done some basic work to assure the course is well marked and reasonably safe. The sport of mountain biking is inherently dangerous and anyone who enters a race like this knows the risks involved. As long as we have covered all course & safety issues and we do our best to address any injury situations as quickly and efficiently as we can, then we have done all we can do to provide a safe & well marked course.
No matter how well you mark the course, things happen. Last year someone blew through the tape, hit the brakes, and turned around. Racers after this just went through, somehow not seeing the arrows nor the tape. Luckily for us the trails ended up in the same spot and it was really a non-issue in the end. But the point is that despite all your best efforts, sometimes things still happen and there is nothing you can do about it. All you can do is your best and hope that everyone has a good day out there.
