Braille Rallye		by Nelson Wilson

ALMOST HALF A CENTURY OF BRAILLE RALLYES

That’s right, our club has been sponsoring a Braille Rallye for sight-impaired individuals through the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind for almost 50 years! That is an amazing accomplishment. We should be proud of ourselves for continuing such a worthwhile endeavor. So, I am writing this article to notify you that the 47th annual Braille Rallye will be held on Saturday, August 22, 2009, at Burke Lake Front Park in Fairfax County. Please help us to continue this wonderful tradition by reserving this date on your calendar and participating in this year’s Rallye..

Most of you are familiar with the Braille Rallye, but, for those who are not, a brief description follows. This event is usually attended by 25-35 of our club members with their MGs, by a similar number of sight impaired individuals and by several Lighthouse staff. The rallye course through the countryside surrounding the park is determined by the Rallye coordinators prior to the event. Each car in the Rallye is manned by a driver and a navigator. When they approach the start line, the participants are not aware of the course route and optimal time for completing the drive. The navigators in each of the cars are sight impaired and the course instructions are printed either in large print for navigators with some sight or in Braille for those who are sightless. The drivers are dependent upon the navigators to successfully complete the course with an elapsed time as close as possible to the optimal time. After the rallye, the drivers, navigators and their families and the staff of the Lighthouse gather in a shelter in the park for a picnic. During the picnic, awards for several different classifications are presented to the winners of the Rallye.

We invite all of the MG Car Club members to come out and participate in the Braille Rallye on August 22. It is an opportunity for us to treat our sight impaired friends to a ride in the LBCs that we drivers all love so much. Even though they can’t see our cars, they still have a great appreciation for them. Next month’s Spark will contain another article to remind you about the Rallye and to provide directions to Burke Lake Front Park. If you have questions about the event, feel free to call Nelson Wilson at 703-723-1419. Or better yet, discuss you questions with him at one of our club’s scheduled June events. Hope to see you at the 47th annual Braille Rallye!