Weekend review
28/29 October
Storm Brian left its mark again, this weekend moving further down the coast to Cornwall. Holywell Bay was put on a Yellow (and green) alert, with Brian Fletcher reaching dangerously high speeds and blowing away the competition. Further east, Andrew Page achieved second place at the Cambridge city race.
Brian F, Mexico Towans, Sept '17
Credit: Steve Rush
Those taking part in the training evening preliminary to September's Caddihoe Chase will be familiar with the complex dunes at Polly Joke, which perch dramatically over Holywell Bay, itself familiar to many as a backdrop in high profile movies and TV productions.
Brian once again showed he is a force to be reckoned with on dunes and burrows. Running the Blue course, he enjoyed a 50 second winning margin over the runner up, Cornwall OC chairman Chris Moncaster and was six minutes ahead of QO club night coach Gavin Clegg. On the longer course (Brown), only one competitor got within half an hour of Devon OC's Ben Chesters sub-hour winning time.
Andrew's course at Cambridge
Cambridge City Race
Andrew Page was in a close race too, finishing just 47 seconds behind the winner in Cambridge. He had a clean run and was comfortably ahead of most of the dozen or so in his MYJ (Men Young Juniors) category.
Contactless punching
Credit: SI
Contactless punching
This is where the competitor only needs to run near the control to register visiting it. We were going to use it at the (cancelled) St Audries event, which had been earmarked to trial 'mixed punching'. That is, competitors had the choice of using either physical punching like we're all used to using or the new-fangled contactless punching with SIAC cards. Interesting to see then a lively discussion on the subject referenced in the latest newsletter from British Orienteering (link).
Training courses
There will be an Event Safety Workshop organised by Wessex OC on Saturday 9 December at Avon Heath Country Park, Ringwood. More information here. QO's Tony Hext will be going. Attending such a workshop is required for anyone who wants to plan, control or organise an orienteering event or activity.
Those looking to officiate at a major event might be interested in the Grade B controllers’ course on Saturday 11 November 2017 at Montacute House, Yeovil. For more details please contact Arthur Vince as soon as possible at arthur.vince@btinternet.com. Of QO members currently only Steve Robertson is level B qualified.