 |
MOLE
VALLEY ORIENTEERING CLUB |
|
|
DISTRICT EVENT INCORPORATING TRAIL CHALLENGE AND
|
|
District Event and Trail Challenge:
|
| Planner's Report |
|
Box Hill, with it's flat(ish) summit and many paths is a very easy place
on which to plan the less technical courses. However, the shortage of
runnable forest and lack of intricacy in the contours make the technical
courses harder. I tried to take advantage of the terrain and provide a
degree of route choice which is rarely encountered in the south-east,
and also to provide a couple of legs requiring more accurate navigation
early and late in the course.
If I listed all the people who helped it would be long and boring to read, so I'll just say thanks - you know who you are. I must however mention controller Mike Murray for checking the controls sites and courses and spotting an error in a master map, and to Jackie for her genius in organising unbroken sunshine when precipitation was forecast only 24 hours earlier. Even as I type this after the event, the sun is still shining and the Met Office web site says it is "fairly cloudy". Thank you all for coming, and for some kind comments afterwards,
Ian Ditchfield (Mole Valley)
|
| Organiser's Report |
|
Many thanks to the small but very hard working band of Moles who gave up their time on Sunday to make sure everything ran more or less to plan. It was a pleasure to organise an event where all the key stations were within 250 metres of each other, and not much further to flushing loos. My thanks to Peter Creasey and the other National Trust wardens for giving us permission to use this beautiful area (and for not arresting Ian as he put out the controls after dark on Saturday.) Although overall numbers were slightly disappointing it was great that so many juniors took part in the Young Orienteers Festival and I am assembling a strong team to take to the National YOF in Battersea Park on May 2nd . It was a happy bunch of Trail Challengers that eventually found its way back to well-earned prizes. Orienteers don’t seem to need prizes; perhaps the joy of cruising through sunlit forests is reward enough. Thanks to Nick and Cynthia who prepared an excellent String course, it was just a shame that more children did not have a go. Those of you whose arms (like
mine) are getting a bit short for the 1:15,000 map will be glad to hear
that our stocks are nearly exhausted and for future events on Box Hill we
will be able to offer a range of scales. |
| Controller's Report |
|
"The best blue course I've ever run".
"My Dad said don't run up and down the hills - but it seemed the only
choice"
- but two comments on Ian's courses. Well the flier did promise route choice and you chose some interesting routes on the big legs, and the planners worked hard to create some challenging routes. Blue 4 to 5 and Brown 8 to 9 - 216 to 235 was probably the best on the longer courses. Ian stated that nobody in their right mind would go direct and so when I trialled the Blue course I "redlined" its 5.0 km and can now confirm his wisdom. I think the path route to the north east is best. Green 4 to 5, Blue 7 to 8 and Brown 11 to 12 - 230 to 220 invited you to go direct - and wonder if the long path route southwards was quicker as you struggled up to Juniper Top. Perhaps the control sites could have been easier on the Trail challenge and I hope that the fine weather and 1 : 10000 map off set any navigational problems. Well done Jackie on marshalling all the Moles, Nigel for his Trail challenge courses and Ian for the colour coded. Mike Murray (SLOW) |
|
|
|
Back to home page |
Mole Valley Orienteering Club