2 weeks and 2 days to the official start of the Deep South Spring Scrimmage on Wednesday April 27th. Still too far away to give any sort of accurate weather forecasts, but in about another 10 days doing that will be more of a possibility.
While we only have 9 who have officially registered as of this past Saturday, I know of 8 more who have told me personally that they plan on attending. I think this is because they too are waiting on an accurate weather forecast. Keep in mind that the Spring Scrimmage runs over 4 nights and while there may be some adverse weather on one or two days, 4 days and nights almost assures that we will have at least one good night and likely more. Last fall at the 39th Annual DSSG we had 3 good nights out of 5 (Tuesday, Friday and Saturday).
Let me address some common questions and possible misconceptions about the upcoming Spring Scrimmage and our site at the White Horse Christian Retreat Camp.
1) We do not have a registration fee for the Spring Scrimmage......but you do have to register. Registration is for several reasons including: so we can give Carol at White Horse an idea of what our needs are - how many bunkhouses need to be opened and how much food to purchase to name a few.
2) On the subject of food.......while it is not on the Registration Form, Carol is planning on offering an evening meal at 6 pm. As we will be operating under Daylight Savings Time, eating at 6 pm still gives us plenty of time to get back out on the field to make final preparations for an evening of astronomy. Other meals, you are on your own (there is a microwave and coffee pot available for our use in the main building and for both breakfast and lunch we do have nearby options in the form of the Country Diner and The Smokehouse plus several other options in Columbia, MS.
3) COVID Vaccination is up to you. Bunkhouse assignments will be made based open vaccination status. Last fall for the 39th Annual Deep South Star Gaze, vaccination proof was required, but we were still in the Delta Surge. That is behind us now and things appear to be getting better. I had a very mild case of the Omicron Variant in January and that was in spite of being vaccinated and boosted. Note though if you experience any symptoms that makes you suspicious of COVID you should test and if you test positive, we strongly suggest that you not attend.
4) Once again, there is no registration fee but we do registration for the purposes of an accurate head count. Note, when you register please pencil in whether or not you have had a Covid vaccination(s) and what nights if any you want an evening meal. Additionally, all attendees should read and sign the Liability Waiver. A signed Liability Waiver is mandatory.
5) What do you need to bring with you? Sheets, blanket, pillow and/or a sleeping bag and soap, towel, washcloth, etc. for the bathroom. Snacks, drinks, etc. plus weather appropriate clothing and your astronomy gear.
6) Note - the Liability Waiver has been updated. The major change agreed on by the Advisory Board is the addition of wording banning both open carry and concealed carry of firearms at White Horse. This is fully supported by Carol at White Horse, and with appropriate signage on site is fully backed by law. Additionally unless the Liability Waiver is signed (which explains this) you cannot register and if not registered you cannot attend. We always had thought this was a common sense/courtesy sort of thing but apparently recent events showed that we were wrong, hence the addition of the rule.
"Note - your vehicle is your castle, anyone can store their personal protection in their vehicle, just no need to carry it or display it either out on the observing fields or in any of the buildings."
7) Start time is 12 noon on Wednesday, April 27th. White Horse is located at 315 Hurricane Creek Road, Sandy Hook, MS. The address is for the mail box on Hurricane Creek Road. On the opposite side of the road you will see the White Horse sign. Head up the dirt road where the sign is. The road is straight but it does "roller-coaster". You will be on this road for just about 1 mile, and then you are there!
Questions? Let me know.
Barry Simon