Hot and Cold

The day was punctuated by extremes of temperature. As I remarked to several people, I knew it was going to be cold when I saw a flock of penguins flying south in search of warmer climes. The ink in pens didn't flow and my already indecipherable handwriting deteriorated into a scrawl. I'd like to blame my poor record keeping on the shivers, but it is often equally flawed in warm weather. A little later the heat came. Ennis Wright cruised into the finish dripping sweat after his winning performance on the Intermediate Course. By the time I picked up controls my sweat rival Ennis's, albeit without the triumphant aura. 

This event was a joint effort by Christy Morris and me. I updated the map, designed the courses, and set the controls. For me, that's the enjoyable part. Christy managed all of the administration, the part I only tolerate. That is she managed the administration until she turned it over to me as she and Scott tackled the Intermediate Course. 

At that point the quality of administration took a quantum leap off a cliff. As much as Sean Howerton's assistance took pressure off at the start table, it was not enough to rescue me from my long moments of inattention. So, when you review the results below, you might find an error or three. Christy's review did find an inaccurate elapsed time that resulted from a typing error. Any errors and inadequacies you find derive directly from my record keeping. 

In the course of reviewing the liability waivers I found seven people who apparently participated with one of those other people who are listed on the start sheet. I made some informed guesses that attached some people with others on the start sheet, but after my guesses those seven remained without a slot. 

CTOC has a history of holding a meet every month except December. That's what we offer for your dues. No one stepped forward to direct this meet until very late in the schedule. We need more meet directors to fill in the gaps. If you have any inclination to help, please contact us. We will give you total support. 

And, speaking of support, I am grateful to David Bergset, who stayed after the meet to pick up almost all of the controls on the Sport Course and to search for an orienteer who did not check out. You will note from the results listing below that David ran off with top honors on the Advanced Course. On the subject of excellent results, most of which will remain unsung, Christy offered this. "Only thing I'd mention is that this was Cat Stauffer's first INT moving up from the Sport and she crushed it." Great job Cat. Also note that Britini and Baileigh Gates took the lead in the Sport category by a whopping 14:20, the largest first place lead in any category.

Judging by several comments the meet was a success introducing some folks to our sport. The fact that eight people who began on the Beginner Course went on to the Sport Course. They are identified with a “B” behind their name. I hope the remaining 43 of the 50 participants were at least as equally inspired.

On behalf of Christy Morris and Sean Howerton I hope you all enjoyed the meet and will join us on April 15 when Sergey Velichko directs the Fairmont Park Motala. A motala is a meet with three loops, each loop starting and finishing at the same location. 

John Murray Co-Meet Director