Never been on a Rally before, and therefore not sure what to expect, well take a moment to read through some of these common questions regarding rallying with the AAOCC, and hopefully ther will put your mind at rest and make you want to join us on the rally field soon......

To come along to an AAOCC rally, you must first join the club. Membership starts at just £10 for the year, and we are that confident that once you have tried a rally you will love it, that we will give your money back in the first year after you have attended your first rally. Membership covers, yourself, your partner and any children you may have under the age of 18.

For more information see the website at http://www.aaocc.org.uk/ and follow the links to the membership page

Rallies are held at a variety of places, from Pubs and farmland to commercial sites, basically anywhere that our club licence will allow us to stay. Often rallying allows us to take our vans to sites that normal caravan users cannot easily get to, such as in the grounds of stately homes or private estates, anywhere really where we can provide fresh drinking water, and somewhere to empty the loo…..

Why not take a look at the rally program on our website at www.aaocc.org.uk, just follow the links to Rallies.

The rally program varies from rally to rally, but some of the basic ingredients will be the same on each one….  

Heading to site  

Having followed the directions in the rally handbook you will have found the rally site signposted in the last few miles. Marshal’s use a variety of signage, but all will have AAOCC in as big a font as possible….  

Arriving on site  

When you arrive at the site, the marshals should come out to greet you and point you to your spot for the rally. Should they not appear then pull up near the Rally Marshal’s van, which will be identified by a sign in the window, and then they will point you in the right direction… The marshals will also point out the fresh water and Elsan (where the loo gets emptied!!) point.  

Pitching up  

Once at your designated pitch, take some time to get the van level, and get the legs down, you never know you may even get a few offers of assistance for some of the jobs that you normally need to set up, like filling the water barrels etc.  

What’s next?  

Well that’s the hard part over, all you need to do now is head back to the Marshal’s van and in return for payment for the rally, the Marshal’s will provide you with the rally running order, this normally consists of a brief detail on the area, a list of your follow ralliers, and details of any entertainment that may have been arranged, but don’t worry, should the marshals have arranged some entertainment it is not compulsory to take part….. There may also be a competition or quiz to tax the mind over the rally….

Facilities are dependent on the rally site, but as a minimum you will have fresh water drinking point, and somewhere to empty the loo. Normally the site owners will have also lined up containers for dry waste, which should be bagged and sealed. When this isn’t possible unfortunately you may have to take your dry waste home or to an alternative venue (i.e. local waste disposal point).

On occasion rallies can be held at sites that provide additional facilities such as Toilet and shower blocks to electricity, where this is the case it will be clearly identified in the Rally handbook.

Simple answer this one, Yes, the club looks to book at least two rallies over a minimum of a weeks duration, this are aimed in holiday season, one normally around June / July, with the second around the August bank holiday period.

Rallies are also held over the majority of bank holiday weekends, often with follow on rallies nearby to extend the breaks for those with spare holidays!

The club also arranges a rally over the New Year period, with a now famous disco night on the big night itself.

Again it depends on the rally, on some of the smaller rallies there may be as few a 4 or 5 vans, whilst at our National rally there could be up to 30 to 40 vans. But don’t worry however large the rally we never lose the ‘family club’ feel to the rallies

Throughout the year the club hosts some event rallies, these are;

The AAOCC National rally, is used to raise funds for our elected charity.

The Junior rally, as the name says this rally focuses on our Junior members, often arranged and organised by the Junior council, at place the Juniors would like to visit.

The AGM rally, this rally hosts the clubs Annual General meeting, where elections for the committee are held, and as it normally coincides with the clubs birthday we normally have a party in the evening…

The New Year Rally is our wrap up to the year, celebrating the New Year in style with entertainment and a disco….  

All rallies are open to all members.

Not at all, although we think you will come to enjoy the social evenings, no one will force you to attend if you do not wish to….

Well for most rallies all you will need is the equipment that comes as standard with your van plus the usual extras of;

·        Water containers

·        Waster water container

·        Fire bucket (Essential) Additionally there are some items that will make your rally more comfortable.

·        At 110 amp leisure battery

·        Some chairs for joining in the natter in the evenings.  

Some other items that would be beneficial to you should the costs allow;

·        Solar panel (as big a wattage as possible)

·        Generators, the nice and quiet suitcase ones are the favourite.

Next steps are to follow the link to the AAOCC web page at www.aaocc.org.uk, from there follow the links to the membership page where you will find an application form along with details on who to send it into to.   You will then receive your membership pack which will include the all important rally handbook, from here you will be able to see which rallies are in your local area along with details on how to book…..  

Any more questions please feel free to email the membership secretary at mailto:membership@aaocc.org.uk   See you on a rally field soon…