∞ Badger Hole

Sunday, October 18, 2020

Thank you everyone for coming out! We had 20 participants out for a what turned out to be a beautiful day! This map was created a few years ago and had only a few participants at the time, so with some modifications we put it back to work. Putting these meets on is a lot of work, even with a head start on the field work and course setting John had done previously. With fewer than 10 meets under my belt, the learning curve is a bit steep, but it was fun. I have a better understanding of the process and the subtleties that can go into orienteering. 

I am happy to report there were no known injuries to badgers or participants, besides some bruised 

John demonstrating the depth of some
badger holes on the course. 

pride, in regard to badger holes. No scores were kept, however sounds like if we had, there would have been need of categories for number found and deepest found. In finishing the setup of the course Sunday morning, I did nearly lose a shoe in one.

We had some good showings despite the badger holes. It turned out to be a warm day and many were prepared for it to be cooler. Olie had a false start before a last minute wardrobe changed and Sergey 40+ minutes later had a similar dilemma when he arrived - what to wear? Sergey not surprisingly eventually took the lead, although he was surprised when he caught up with Olie and their separate route choices got them to the next control at nearly the same time. In the end Zach, whose goal whether verbally stated or not, is to beat Sergey one of these days trailed by 20 minutes, but clearly hadn’t used up all his energy by the time he returned as he was willing to get back out to pick up controls without a second thought. Melanie and Innes, who teamed up part way through, and Olie made good showings as well. Jason was determined to give the advanced course a shot since the kids hadn’t come along and by the time he returned was glad he hadn't taken them on that adventure for fear they would never try orienteering it again.  

 

Advanced
Name	Start Time	End Time	Total	Total Minutes
Sergey	10:54	12:01	1 hr 7 min	67
Zach	11:32	12:59	1 hr 27 min	87
Olie	10:18	12:18	2 hr	120
Melanie & Innes	10:59	13:13	2 hr 14 min	134
Jason	9:50	13:09	3 hr 19 min	199

 

The intermediate course had some old friends and new faces. Newcomer to the club Dustin came in strong with the best time of 38 minutes. While Dustin, Carrie, and Jennifer, the first three finishers had a spread of 42 minutes, the next 9 participants (in 4 groups) were within 11 minutes of each other.  Everyone who started the courses today finished! 

It was the first time out with the club for Nikki and Scott as well and some time since their last orienteering experience. They passed along a great lesson – be careful when you bring your own magnets along – they can unknowingly affect your compass. Who would have thought that the magnets that are used for detachable sleeves would be strong enough to cause trouble? We're glad you figured it out!

 

Intermediate
Name	Start Time	End Time	Total	Total Minutes
Dustin	11:10	11:48	38 min	38
Carrie	10:14	11:09	55 min	55
Jennifer	10:44	12:04	1 hr 20 min	80
Jerry	10:09	12:06	1 hr 57 min	117
Christy & Scott	9:55	11:53	1 hr 58 min	118
Kim, Roy, Randy, & Darla	11:20	13:23	2 hr 3 min	123
Norma & John	10:03	12:11	2 hr 8 min	128
Nikki & Scott	10:08	12:55	2 hr 47 min	167
Intermediate - John Style*
Name	Start Time	End Time	Total	Total Minutes
John	13:13	13:54	41 min	41
* Since John helped set the course and had done a walk through once already, he ran this time without a map and picking up ~7 controls.

 

Course terrain

Kim, Roy, Darla, & Randy continue to improve their skills started with the sport course before moving on to the intermediate course. 

        

Sport
Name	Start Time	End Time	Total	Total Minutes
Kim, Roy, Randy, & Darla	10:05	11:19	1 hr 14 min	74

 

While Covid has reduced the socializing at these events a bit, sometimes it is still nice to take it easy after a workout on the course and some do some physically distanced socializing on such a gorgeous day

  

Olie and Jerry enjoying a snack and some shade - not much of that on this course. 

Many thanks to John for all his advice and patience on the course setting and the map work. OCAD isn’t quite the mapping software I’m used to, but it has been pretty interesting to learn.  

 

Many thanks also to Zach, Olie, and Melanie, who after each doing the Advanced course, went back out to help pick up the controls! I'm glad John has also found his way of getting out on the course even when he helps set it up – running it without a map. 

The night before the meet I set most of the course. I was a little flustered as I got out later than I'd expected and didn't know how long it was going to take me. However as the evening wore on and I get things figured out, I was treated to an amazing sunset while making my way to the few controls. A good omen for the day to come.

See you again soon!