Thank you all for braving the elements to try your luck at Avon Water! Those of you with access to the Internet will have known that we came within a whisker of cancelling the event after the torrential rain the day before, but we held our nerve and after detecting a slight improvement in the water level just before daybreak decided to give it a go. The contingency plans came into operation and I gather that most of you found the river crossings exhilarating!

I don’t think anyone should be out be out for much longer than 90 minutes during a winter event and this proved to be the case for the majority of competitors while the winning times were an hour or just under. I know that some of you found the courses more challenging than you had expected - and all credit to the Planners who had made good use of John Warren’s new map. I would like to thank them both and their helpers with a special thank you to Kirsty who took over the role of chief Planner in Kevin’s absence; although I must add that Kevin was a tower of strength on the weekend - in particular coordinating the river crossing strategy.

Anything that reduces the Controller’s burden and at the same time reduces the possibility of error is always welcome - and the direct production of overprinted maps from OCAD files is just one example. The quality of the map and the digital printing was excellent and apart from some minor hitches with the software before the day of the event the electronic punching system also worked well. The Organisation was unobtrusive but highly effective and all in all this was another quality event from WIM in spite of the adverse conditions.

This is not the first time I have controlled an event on Avon Water in conditions like this - so future planners (and controllers) beware!

Robert Jackson (SOC)