WCUC rules (West Carpathian Ultra Challenge)

1. START AND FINISH
- The start is the campsite Jakubovany (Liptov)
- The finish is in Lozorno (20km from Bratislava)
- WCUC HAS a time limit of 222 hour (after this limit all the participants will be DNF)
- WCUC is expected to have restricted night ride in some stages (those will be specified according to official requests)

2. LENGTH OF ROUTE AND CATEGORIES
The exact length of the route will be announced after its final determination. Approximately 1000 km.
The event is designed for mountain or gravel bikes, runners/walkers and kick-bikers.
The participant must be at least 18 years old.

3. ROUTE AND ITS MARKING
- The route will lead from Zámutov, Levoča mountains, Pieniny national park, TANAP to Jakubovany. It will join the WCC route in Jakubovany and continue through Orava, Kysuce, Malé and the Biele Carpathians, to Lozorno near Bratislava mainly on tourist roads, roads, field, forest and tarmac roads.
- The exact route will be sent by e-mail to all registered participants no later than 10 days before the start in GPX format.
- The route will be fixed, but will not be marked. Every participant must be equipped with his own GPS navigation.

4. MANDATORY EQUIPMENT
Every participant takes what he / she deems appropriate, but
MUST take these things:
- whistle
- a spray against animals (we highly recommend a spray against bears)
- headlamp or other type of light
- isothermal (thermal insulation) foil
- cycling helmet for categories bicycle and kick-bike
- front and rear light for categories bicycle and kick-bike

- Mandatory equipment also includes a GPS device and a tracker. Tracker is provided by the organizer to participants for a refundable deposit of 50 euros (not included in the entry fee). Each participant is obliged to keep the tracker functional.
- Participants must carry the mandatory equipment throughout the event and can it be checked any time.
- The helmet must be worn on the head while riding. Riding without a helmet will lead to disqualification.

5. MOVING ON THE ROUTE, LEAVING THE ROUTE, RETIRING
All participants must follow these rules:
 a. they must move along the entire route on their own (using their own power) and not shorten the route.
 b. they must not leave any rubbish in the wild. Everything they bring must also be taken away and disposed of in places designated for this purpose (trash cans).
 c. in the case of camping in nature, the participant must restore the site to its original condition. It is forbidden to camp and set fire in the National Park, Protected Landscape Area and in the National Nature Sanctuary, except for places reserved for this purpose (official campsite).
 d. they must be considerate of the other participants and other people and animals along the route.
 e. they have to respect the rules and regulations applicable in specific areas as well as road traffic regulations when using the roads.

- Violation of the rules may lead to time penalty or disqualification. If a financial penalty shall be imposed by a third party on the grounds of a rules violation the organizer reserves the right to claim the compensation.
- It is allowed to leave the route for any reason, whether intentional or unwanted. If the participant leaves the route, he no longer has to follow the rule of movement on his own (he can, for example, be taken to a workshop by taxi or a stranger by car).
- If the participant wants to continue, he must return to the place where he left the route and continue from that point on his own. Time spent off the route is counted towards the participant's total time.
- Violation of these rules may lead to disqualification.
- If the participant decides to terminate the WCUC prematurely, he/she must notify the organizer by telephone or SMS and state the place, time and reason for retiring WCUC.

6. CHECKPOINT AND SUPPORT
There will be two official checkpoints on the route. First one in Campsite Jakubovany (start of WCC and WCUC) and the second at about the half of the WCC route (ca. 300km after CP1). Both will be time limited. It will provide participants with the opportunity to rest, recharge their devices, basic tools for repairs and refreshments. Participants will be informed in advance about the location of the checkpoint and the time of its operation. At the checkpoint, the participant can only accept the universal support of the organizer. It is not allowed to receive private support e.g. wife will bring dry clothes and spare batteries. Psychological support of family and friends is allowed, but what they bring belongs to everyone :-)

Each participant has the opportunity to hand over a package with personal needs to the organizers before the start, which will be delivered to the finish line. The package (bag, backpack, box) must be properly and visibly marked with the name of the participant and contain a telephone contact. The organizer does not send uncollected packages by mail.

7. THIRD PARTY SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE
During WCUC, each participant is dependent on himself. It is not allowed to have any planned assistance during the event. In case of problems, the participant must help himself or he can accept any random help. Participants may use a mobile phone or other means of communication to solve their problem and, within their organizational capabilities, secure any third-party assistance. However, he is not allowed to call the help of his acquaintance and thus disadvantage participants who do not have this opportunity. This Regulation shall not apply to situations where someone is injured and his or her life or health is or may be endangered.

8. SLEEP AND EATING
Organizer does not provide participants with accommodation or meals. It is up to each participant what kind of accommodation and refreshments to choose. Everything from sleeping in nature to hotels is allowed, as is eating. An exception is the possibility to use the services at the checkpoint.

9. CONTROL OF PARTICIPANTS
GPS tracker- Each participant receives a GPS tracker at the start and is obliged to keep it charged and running for the entire WCUC. The tracker monitors the position and movement of participants along the way. This is important for the purpose of checking compliance with the route and also for safety reasons for locating in the case of a rescue operation. It will be possible to publicly monitor the position of each
participant during the WCUC.

Random or mobile checks can be in any part of the route and will monitor compliance during the WCUC.
Own GPS navigation with route recording is recommended as a backup to verify route completion in the event of a tracker failure.

10. GROUNDS FOR PENALTIES AND DISQUALIFICATIONS
Each participant can be penalized or disqualified in the case of rules violation. The organizer decides about the form depending on how serious the violation was. If a financial penalty shall be imposed by a third party on the grounds of a rules violation the organizer reserves the right to claim the compensation.

Reasons for penalty or disqualification include, for example, riding without a helmet, pollution of the route with rubbish, lack of mandatory equipment, use of illegal assistance, unsportsmanlike behavior towards other participants, reckless behavior in nature.

11. RESULTS AND PRICES
WCUC is a non-stop event. The route is uniform for all categories. The time required to complete the route is calculated regardless of the time spent sleeping, repairing the bike, or other activities. The order of participants is determined on the basis of this time for each category separately.

The winners of the individual categories will receive a T-shirt with the inscription "Winner”, the other participants who have reached finish will receive a "Finisher” T-shirt.

12. CATEGORIES
It is possible to participate in the following categories: MTB/Gravel, runner/hiker or kick-bike. There is a separate winner for women and men in each category. There is no single or pair category. Riders are allowed to ride together in a group.

13. OTHER
- Each participant is obliged to follow the instructions of the organizer and his authorized persons
- Each participant is aware of all the consequences associated with participating in the event in which he voluntarily participates at his own risk. He is also aware that he cannot demand financial performance from the organizer or assert other claims in case of any damage to health or property. The organizer is not responsible for the health and life of the participant during the entire WCUC sporting event
- The participant acknowledges that the organizer is only responsible for permission to organize the event and thus use the places to start, finish and tourist marked routes. The organizer is not responsible and does not provide any guarantee about the condition of the route, hiking trails and their function or specific conditions given, e.g. weather or mountain environment. If the participant uses public roads, he must respect the road traffic regulations and regulations applicable in specific areas
- Each participant is obliged to provide first aid to another injured participant. In case of injury or other physical failure of another person, all participants are obliged to report this condition to the organizers
- The organizer does not ensure the transfer of participants to the finish if they decide to terminate their participation in the WCUC early
- The organizer reserves the right to change the route and program
- Each WCUC participant is strongly advised to obtain appropriate insurance for organized public sports and tourist events covering the intervention of the Mountain Rescue Service in Slovakia. The insurance must correspond to his health condition and the environment in which the event will take place. In no case is the organizer responsible for the type of insurance that the WCUC participant takes out
- By registering for the event, the participant agrees that his participation and the performance achieved during the event will be audio-visually recorded by the organizer or a person authorized by the organizer. The entrant also authorizes the organizer to use the audiovisual recordings, photographs or time results created before, during and after the WCUC for the purpose of presentation, without any entitlement of the
entrant to the prize
- By registering, the participant gives his consent in accordance with Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Act no. 679/2016 Coll. from April 27th 2016 On the protection of personal data with the administration, processing and storage of personal data required in the registration form by the civic association POD HOROU, Karpatská 32a, 900 55 Lozorno, ID:51151081 for the purpose of registration for the event West Carpathian Challenge