Date for IISAC2011 - school holidays?

[iceman]

Hi all

I spoke to a few people about possibly changing the date of IISAC to February (2012) instead of October (2011) - partly due to having a short break and partly to not be the last star party of the calendar year.

I'm now ok with having it in ~October. The heat in February would likely be pretty bad and as much as it's great to be in the swimming hole all day, it's not the main reason to change dates :)
And being the last in the year is fine - if people want to come they'll come. If the numbers drop off too much then I'll give it a break for a year.

So now my question is around school holidays.

In 2011, the possible dates are:

- Sep 29th to Oct 2nd
This is the middle weekend of the school holidays, and the October long weekend is on Monday October 3rd.
The weather will be slightly cooler and only the brave kids will likely be swimming in the water hole.

- Oct 27th to Oct 30th
This is NOT in the school holidays. The weather will be warmer and there may be more opportunities to swim in the water hole.

Having it in the school holidays will possibly encourage more families as they're able to bring their partners and kids along. If it's not in the school holidays, the partners and kids may have to stay home due to school etc.

So, what are your thoughts, preferences? Please vote and explain your thoughts :)

[[1ponders]]

Its holidays and I can get there :D

[iceman]

Would be great to have you there Paul! Haven't seen you since the very first one in 2006!

[RB]

Prefer it during the holidays.
As long as we have exclusive use of the camp.



Now that's something to look forward to.

:)

[Allan_L]

The Rugby League Grand Final is usually on the Sunday of the Long Weekend in October.

Please don't make me choose. :scared3:

Also, the prospect of slightly warmer (more settled) weather has my vote.

Finally, travelling outside of school holidays has many obvious attractions, not the least of which is No Double Demerrits.

Al

[[1ponders]]

I've been trying to get there Mike, but having it that soon after the Oct hols makes it rather .... challenging to convince my fellow team teachers that I deserve another week off so soon after the holidays. :D Especially seeing as I've usually taken a week and a bit off a couple of weeks after the previous school holidays (Astrofest).

[mozzie]

my 2 cents worth!!!
end of october mike im booked on a cruise first week of october and elise wont let me bet out of that (or will she) boat cruise with out me??ooohhhh shell still have the kids!!!!!!!!!

[h0ughy]

doesnt bother me which set of dates

[Shano592]

End of October works for me. Every year in the 3rd term school holidays, I have to fly to Perth for work, so I sit here thinking, "If only ..."

[Steffen]

Having kids at school age I'd prefer a school holiday IISAC. I also couldn't care less about rugby, so...

Cheers
Steffen.

[sasup]

end of the month YES

[sheeny]

I haven't voted yet Mike. There are pros and cons with each, and personally it doesn't matter a lot either way to me, so I'll confer with Lyn and the girls before I vote.:)

Al.

[jamespierce]

We had a ball this year inspite of the weather, but skyoyster (alex) will be back teaching next year so make it school hols and we would love to come again. Its a massive drive but very good fun to mix with a different set of star nerds and ogle a new set of scopes.

[peterl]

Either date would be ok by us.
But it is good to see families there together. :)

Peter and Sue Langdown..

[sheeny]

Voted now...

During school holidays...

If the girls are with us, its all fine, if they aren't then it doesn't clash with their travel arrangements:).

Al.

[charsiubau]

Middle weekend of school holidays is ideal for us. We couldn't come at the end of October.

[skyoyster]

Conveniently, and somewhat surprisingly, the earlier dates would also be Victorian school hols. And that doesn't just help those with kids- surely there are heaps of teachers here who'd like to get there! (not just me.)

[Rodstar]

May I join the chorus of school holidays supporters! Jack starts high school next year, he won't come to IISAC if it is during term time. And I would be most disappointed if my new mates from Vic, James and Alex (hiya!!) can't make it.

I thought this year had more of a family feel to it, I would like to encourage that by keeping it during school holidays. The swimming hole is a minor consideration in all of this IMO.

[norm]

Hi Mike,

I'd much prefer it during school holidays as well and having the public holiday is an added bonus - one annual leave date saved and opportunity to recover. :thumbsup:

As it can be taxing on your sleep cycles, having it earlier at the start of school holidays gives families a few days to unwind when they get home, before possibly embarking on other outings/trips for the rest of the school break.

I assume either of those dates fit into the new moon cycle as well?

Cheers Norm

[RB]

Yes I agree, this year it did seem like it had a more family feel to it.

:thumbsup:

[iceman]

Yeh they're both new moon.

[iceman]

Just a note about daylight savings:

In 2011, Daylight Savings will come into effect on the Saturday Night/Sunday morning 2nd October 2011.

So if the camp was held on Option 1 (during school holidays), it would get dark quite early and on the last Saturday night we'd have to move our clocks forward.

I've also just sent an email to all previous IISAC attendees to get their feedback on the date for 2011.

[Deimos]

Not being in the family way (yet), school holidays is neither here nor there for me. That will probably change when we have school-aged ankle biters.

For now, though, holding it at the end of the month means that my birthday conveniently falls in the middle of annual leave so I don't have to be at work on my birthday.

How greedy of me? :)

[smersh]

Next year DLS will commence on Sunday 2 October 2011.

It's better to travel to and arrive at the site during DLS so you can unpack, setup camp, have dinner and set up scopes without stressing out......

...So I vote for Oct 27th to Oct 30th

[vk2emq]

Sep 29th to Oct 2nd 2011 is more family friendly and gets my vote.

Plus while we are in forward planning mode....what about plans for FNQ Solar Eclipse Wednesday 14 Nov 2012. I had a look at Fred Watson's proposed tour as mentioned after his lecture - and at $5000+ per person I can think of a lot of optics I could buy instead.

Last year I tried to book a place at Mangaia in the Cook Islands for the Solar Eclipse on 11 July 2010, and with 10 months notice the island plus flights to it were fully booked. Are there any thoughts for planning an event with possibly other Astro groups involved - with special emphasis on base camp location and contingency plans for backup viewing sites on the morning of the eclipse according to the weather forecast.....?

[Satchmo]

I vote for end of October as there are always so many things competing on the long weekend .

Also it will be warmer and Orion arm of the Milky Way will be 30 degrees higher, but the Saggitarius arm will be not as favorable

[Ken]

the end of September and over the long weekend would give you time to unpack or even stay over another night if we can organise it with the people who own the land!

[zardos123]

I also vote for the end of the month, my astrologer said around the 27th someone with be having a positive day :lol::lol::eyepop:

[iceman]

Still very divided. Was hoping to see more of a trend one way or the other but it's not happening yet.

Obviously whichever date is chosen there'll be a chunk of people either disappointed or no longer able to come, which is of course unfortunate either way.

[RB]

You don't have much on your plate Mike, you could always run two camps.

:whistle:

[Omaroo]

For those of you with children, the school holidays would be preferable I guess. Without any, my pref is for the end of October.... much quieter. Back three or four years ago we had the 40+ temps - what time of the year was that? I can't remember...

[icemith]

Hi Mike, Sorry to have missed the AstroCamp last weekend, but due to prior commitments, I could not attend, though I was most anxious to, and was able to at least remember from previous years, and imagine what was going on over the weekend. So it is somewhat relevant that this poll appears, as I had originally had it in my head that this year's Event was going to be at the far end of October, and on checking, found I had only a couple of days notice, but could not get things changed to suit me.

So for me the later date is more suitable, warmer weather, and hopefully less chance of cloudy/rainy conditions, (I can save more by then to bribe the Weather Bureau!).

Has anybody factored in the probability from previous years since records were kept for the Upper Hunter, which period would yield clearer skies, including the now known dominant effect of the "El Nino"? That would at least over a few years to come, probably ensure a better experience, and I, as well as others would just have to accept the timing to ensure higher satisfaction. At the moment though I find it strange that we have to pick an "arbitrary" date twelve months ahead, but I guess that is what has become necessary, due to the booking schedules involved.

You win some, and you lose some, so what do I know?

Ivan.

[iceman]

Hi Ivan


July and August are statistically the clearest months at Lostock, however it's very very cold at that time of year, not to mention it conflicts with QLD Astrofest. So I won't be moving it to July or August.

October is statistically supposed to give better conditions than January/February, though we were lucky with 2 lots of 3-clear-nights in January 2006 and January 2007.
But we're only talking about 1-2 additional clear nights a month - so statistics can only get you so far. Anything can and does happen.


Absolutely - the date needs to be booked in with the scouts, the land owners, the marquee hire company, the AV hire company, the Gresford RFB, my wife, my boss... You get the picture :)

This poll isn't necessarily about an arbitrary date in the future or about changing times of year - I'm going to keep it in October (ish). This poll is about whether school holidays (end-Sep) are better or worse for people than end-October.

[spacezebra]

Hi there

Conflicts with Astrofest and BSG :D

Either way on dates, I agree with you Mike, there will be groups that will be disappointed.



Cheers Petra

[iceman]

Yeh for sure - I didn't know if BSG had moved to September permanently, or..?

[iceman]

Thanks to everyone for providing their feedback and voting.

Based partly on the votes, but also because of my own circumstances and my wife and kids and what is best for them, IISAC2011 will be in late-October - 27th to 30th October.

That means it won't be school holidays, I think for the first time since we started! It's generally always been in school holidays. It will be daylight savings.

I understand not having it in school holidays will be a problem for some people, and they may not be able to come and/or may not be able to bring their kids - I'm sorry about that and I hope that you can still make it. However as I'm sure you're aware, I can't possibly please everybody and whatever date is chosen there's bound to be some people who are affected by it.

So, put the date in your calendars:
IISAC2011 - 27th to 30th October, 2011.

I hope to see you there.

[Allan_L]

Hi Mike,
On behalf of everyone, thanks for letting us know so far in advance.

It is a little surprising (maybe even disappointing) that the response was so low.
Perhaps those who did not vote were indicating that they will be coming for either date proposed (or not).

Either way, as in many situations : Damned if you do / Damned if you don't".

So I thought I would get in first and give positive feedback on this decision.

And, everyone should also respect that failure to vote removes any right to complain on the outcome. :scared3:

Your work is appreciated
Thanks :thumbsup:
allan

[Arthur Alchin]

Thanks Mike, It's good with me also, good work

[Shano592]

Fingers crossed ... Sue and I may actually be back in time next year to attend.

Here's hoping.