Ramscombe

Comments from organiser Richard:

Great to see a good number attending the annual club championships on Saturday. Held on a misty day in Ramscombe it took the form of a score course held at the same time as a JOG session. Age class handicaps were applied to level things up a bit so anyone could have won. Refreshments were provided afterwards while the scores were calculated so we could announce that the new senior and junior club champions are ..... Chris Philip and Deeyana Jaradat! But well done everyone who took part.

Comments from planner Shelia:

The QO Club Championships for 2024 was originally planned for September at Orchard Portman, this location having been postponed from the year before. Fast forwards to November and due to problems with permissions again we had to move the date and location to Ramscombe/Great Wood. Thanks to Andrew and Rosie for securing permissions from Forestry England for the area as well as the convenience of the Ramscombe Forest classroom and facilities.

With a Long Score for adults (60 min) and Short/Badger Score (30 mins) for Juniors the courses were designed to use the whole area of the map; to provide a good degree of route choice and to stretch our fittest athletes. We were also able to incorporate JOG Squirrel and Hare courses for the most junior and inexperienced competitors.

A still day, mild for the time of year, with low cloud and drizzle providing good enough visibility, not too boggy underfoot and a pleasant temperature for running up the hills: Ramscombe provides plenty of serious contours to attack and descend.

A mass start on the blow of the whistle saw competitors flying off in various directions, including many straight up the first big hill, to collect their controls in any order, with controls scoring between 5 and 60 points. Penalty for being late back was 30 points deducted for every minute over time.

The excellent 1:10 000 map, sourced by Steve and printed by Chris, provided good detail; accurate contours and features, an extensive path network and varied vegetation consisting of broadleaf and coniferous forest with open areas of bracken and gorse. With so many hills, valleys and re-entrants, the planner and controller knew that there was virtually no chance of anyone getting around the whole map in 60 mins for maximum score. However, there were some most impressive scores on the Long with some competitors almost managing to hoover up all the controls, bar 4 or 5 of the furthest out. Well done, that really was outstanding navigation and fitness, and well done to all for taking part and getting around their courses over some pretty challenging terrain in what is arguably one of our finest areas of the Quantock hills.

A huge thank you to Andy for setting up the scoring program in advance and Mark (Stodge) for fine tuning and running the scoring on the day. To Roger and Judy for behind the scenes sorting of SIAC boxes and Timing/Start/Finish equipment as well as stepping back in to look after the JOG competitors and trophies etc. Thank you to Pete as controller for great advice, support and several trips helping set up/check controls. And, to Finley, Geoff, Adam, Robin, Robert and Hamish for collecting in all the controls at the end and Hazel and Linda for sorting out all the kit afterwards. Finally, a big thank you to Richard our Club Chair and the event organiser for being calmly in charge of us all and providing a most delicious home-baked spread and hot drinks for everyone.