Planners Comments

I was sorry I couldn’t be there on the day due to receiving a ticket for Wales v Uruguay in the Rugby World Cup ballot.

It sounds like I missed a good day: I hope I added to your experiences as Ibsley is quite a difficult place to plan certain courses, as there is very little to hide runners from one another. Therefore I decided to mix you all together going round in different directions with hopefully enough challenges on each course. I tried to complete as many map alterations that I could but maybe I concentrated on the ones that would help you if you were on the correct routes, rather than the ones that would help you if you were on the wrong compass angle, I thought there were enough paths that you could relocate on.

I experienced Ibsley in all weathers, on the Wednesday before the event, the ground was covered in water and blowing a good gale across the tops with the rain going sideways, Friday started beautiful until the heavens opened, Saturday night was so still and in the sunset you could see for miles, Sunday morning the Mist made placing the controls difficult, but made the deer stand out looking at me from their vantage points on the hills, it is a pity we couldn’t have run the event in all the different modes, Rain, Sun, Night and Mist and I didn’t know what type of weather you had until I returned as the Roof on the Millennium stadium was closed all day.

Thank you for Eamon Staunton for taking over my duties, and to Terry Smith for his help in the controlling of the event and putting me right on a number of points. I advised him Ibsley was a fast run and that the courses I planned in 2013 were a little short and that the heather and bracken were lower this year, so this time they were right at the top of the allowed limits, so any faults are all mine

I did raise a glass or two to you all in the afternoon, but I understand I did miss some very good cakes in assembly area, something we should have more of in Orienteering.

Kevin Pickering