ROY 7 bites the dust (and the mud). Eighty bikers. Good to see you all. Please spread the word. We can cope with more at club run ROY events.
It’s annoying, maybe troubling is a better word, to see five mispunches, (mp) on course one in the men’s open. Unfortunately the initials mp don’t mean much to the reader. It could be a map short coming, course fault, bike breakdown, your bodies failure or just simply forgetting to punch the control. Whatever the reason come to the next event and try again.
The courses’ times worked out as planned with the exception of course three in which the Firman duo made a mockery of the eighty minute target time. It’s good to see the rest of you on course 3 behaved yourselves.
There were two niggles, (not really moans)
a/ That the controls were sometimes obscured by the trees on which they were hung. Sorry there was no intention to hide the flags.
b/ That an east/west route choice on courses two, three and four , about two thirds of the way into those courses, took competitors through a difficult wet track. Good solid black tracks or paths are always at least three times faster than those graded as difficult in the legend on the map. The alternative fast, but longer, riding route on these courses was about two minutes quicker for good riders.
Good course setting aims to provide at least two alternative route choices between controls and multiple distractions such as track corners and junctions, different track gradings, direction changes, terrain variations, lulling features etc. Short courses cannot always provide as many of these features as long courses.
Accurate control placement is essential on any event. Controls on lesser tracks will seldom be seen from as far away as those on fast tracks. In motorbike country they’re placed so as to avoid the motorbike trail.
Enough lecturing. Please keep your comments coming, good and bad. You are our reason for being.
Sunshine Orienteering Club
PS Many thanks to Liam and crew and Warren for collecting controls. We love helpers.
Organiser: Hub Carter and Lyn Stichbury Club: Sunshine Orienteers