With one exception it was a small group
of seasoned orienteers who came out onto the frozen slopes of
Hackberry Hill before the sun rose Sunday morning.
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| Carrie and friend navigating on the run |
As is the case with every meet offering
navigational challenges, there were minor mishaps to provide the
grist for post-meet conversation. Three orienteers had the temerity
to imply that the course setter had allowed a dangling cord to lie
across Control UA in such a position as to convert it into a “JA”.
Apparently the dangling cord had been so expertly placed as to send
one of those poor souls off on a frustrating multiple minute for
search for UA. If only the course setter were so clever by half, he
would have crowed with pride at his duplicity. However, modesty ruled
and sympathy was dispensed. And then there was Control CA, which had
been ever so carefully placed, but omitted from the design of each of
the four motala legs. No one should be surprised that in this cynical
climate one orienteer openly voiced the suspicion that CA had been
placed only to seed confusion. This sad state of affairs calls to
mind a time-tested precept: Never attribute to malice what can be
explained by incompetence. Your course setter sincerely wishes it
were not so.
Rarely has there been a more gripping
and grotesque CTOC finish. That adverb ( rarely ) is employed here
instead of “never” only to avoid a further suspicion of hyperbole
in these suspicious times. Readers can consider the circumstances and
draw their own adverbial conclusions. Michael Bading and Bill Leahy
leap-frogged each other through the final leg. They first drew
attention as they appeared nearly neck-and-neck 75 meters up a steep
hill from the finish. The sprint to the finish was on. As they came
crashing down the hill Bill pulled insurmountably into the lead.
Well, it appeared to be insurmountable until within 20 meters of the
finish Bill converted “crashed” from the figurative to the
literal. He sprawled, rolled and seemed to have preserved his lead
with a somewhat less than seamless recovery, all the time with
Michael overtaking him. This observer had visions of cleat marks
running up Bill's back as Michael sprinted in a straight line to the
finish. That almost seamless recovery was almost because Bill no
sooner sprang to his feet than he crashed again within 5 meters of
the finish. In a final heroic effort Bill again leaped to his feet
and then to the finish. Although it looked more like Bowling than
orienteering, it was indeed a Super finish. Eat your heart out, John
Elway.
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| Amaya's First Map |
There was the exception noted above.
One of the orienteers ventured into our sport for the first time.
Cursory examination of the results might lead the observer to believe
that Zach, whose enthusiasm for our esoteric sport is contagious,
fell far below his potential. A cursory examination, however, doesn't
tell the story. We were ever so pleased to see Zach step up as a
coach and ambassador of orienteering. Zach brought his cousin, Amaya,
along for her introduction to the sport. Amaya's evident enjoyment
brightened the day. She got a dose of the real thing with boulders
and re-entrants, vegetation and elevation and all of the little
discoveries we have along the way. Thanks, Zach. Great job, Amaya. We
hope to see a lot more of you.
Photos have long been a staple of these
CTOC blog posts, often far superior to photos in commercial
orienteering publications. Today marks the first step into
drone-based video thanks to Liam Murray. He's been excited to explore
drone technology, and his grandfather along with CTOC now benefit
from his budding expertise. He is currently editing aerial video of
the meet. Notification of posting on YouTube is coming soon.
Please join Bill Leahy and Jim Byrne as
they host our next meet on Saturday, February 20 at Julia
Davis/BSU/Ann Morrison.
John Murray
David Murray
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