Organiser's Comments
Thank you all for choosing to come to Ringwood Forest to take part in the 1st round of the Compass Sport Cup and Trophy.
I would like to take the credit for organising the fantastic weather but I don’t think you’d believe me! The great weather certainly helped to make Sunday a wonderful social occasion and it was lovely to see so many people picnicking and chatting in the sunshine.
The event ran smoothly thanks to the excellent teams running the Start - synchronised by Trevor Bridle, Registration – efficiently managed by Barbara Warren, car parking – thanks to Richard Brightman and the yellow hand gang and the SI system –the computer whizz kids.
Thanks also to John & Di Tilsley and John & Liz Cook for providing the First Aid cover.
When we attend big orienteering events we have high expectations that the courses will be well planned and the event well organised, this can only happen if a large number of people are willing to give up their spare time. So a big thank you to all the people who did give up their spare time willingly and with enthusiasm, you helped make Sunday a success.
Finally, thank you to Neil Underwood, the controller.
Kirsty Staunton
Planner's Comments
My association with Ringwood North dates back to the early 1970’s, and as an orienteer that can be both an advantage and a curse when one picks up the mantle of Planner at very short notice. An advantage because it meant that I was able to select 95% of the control sites from memory whilst sat at the dining room table, and a curse because I started with all the baggage of preconceived ideas from previous courses. As everyone recognises, Ringwood North is not the most pleasant of forests in which to run. The deep furrows, tussocky grass and brashing make the priority route choice for the runner one of “how quickly can I get onto a path?” So for the Planner the challenge is to limit the number of escape routes while recognising that the runner will head for the nearest path; but which path?
In the end all seemed to go well, and there were few grumbles about the conditions or the planning - still the weather was kind to us wasn’t it? One concern of mine was that the ‘A’ course would be too long, and as result, so would all of the shorter courses. My view had been that 8.5 km would provide the target time, and if one ignores the storming run by Richard Wren, that was the case.
Wimborne is a great club and it never fails to amaze me how its members rally to the call and work unstintingly to provide events of the highest quality. While it would be wrong of me to single out any one person I would like to thank everyone who helped with the placing and collection of controls over the weekend. The support and help provided by the sports participants really is the envy of many other sports with far larger memberships.
Finally, over the next few weeks I will be writing to a number of you to ask for your help in a project I am conducting as part of a staff development programme for members of my team in the Forestry Commission. What I will be seeking to demonstrate is the minimal impact orienteering has on heathland forests. To this end I should be grateful if those I contact would provide me with details of the route they followed during the event. While it is obvious to orienteers that they tread on very little of the competition area, the thought of 500 runners rushing through an area when you are charged with protecting the wildlife can be quite daunting. I hope this exercise will help allay these unfounded fears.
Peter Brett
Controller's Comments
I hope you enjoyed your day in Ringwood Forest North. Congratulations to BOK and Sarum in winning through to the final of the Compass Sport Cup and Trophy respectively.
From my point of view most things went well on the day, and where they didn’t they were quickly spotted and corrected. I am sorry to the first two competitors to run on the yellow course. Control 7 was not where it was shown on the overprint (it was in the correct place, it was the overprint that was wrong and at least three people checked this and we all missed the mistake). As a consequence the control was moved to where it was shown on the overprint and I have adjusted the times of the two competitors affected. (One of those affected was an eight-year-old who worked out that the control was in the wrong place and successfully navigated across country to the next control!).
A few of you had trouble with 558 (control 3 on course C). The feature was where it was shown on the map. The vegetation around it was a little vague but indistinct vegetation boundaries should never be relied upon for fine navigation. One or two of you found a tag for 555. The planner and myself tried to ensure that all the tags that the original planner had put out had been removed. I’m sorry we seem to have missed the old 555 tag in question, there may have been more than one (originally 555 was on the adjacent hilltop to the re-entrant used).
Wimborne are a super club to work with, as a controller you get a lot of support. I would like to thank Kirsty as organizer and her dedicated teams of helpers. I would especially like to thank Peter who took over the planning with only a few weeks to go. Finally thanks to the controller of the weather for such good sunny day, especially for an event like this where whole clubs can spend the day together.
Neil Underwood (SARUM)
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