Training Log Archive: BorisGrIn the 1 days ending Nov 22, 2014:
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Saturday Nov 22, 2014 #
Event: QOC Cabin John
Orienteering 45:00 [1]
I set the courses for today's QOC local event at Cabin John Park. It was my course setting debut for Quantico.
I had never been to this park before, so after designing courses and running around the map to hang streamers last week, I had to move quite a few controls and make some changes to the map. Mostly, there were new rootstocks and patches of green, and I had to remove some rocks and dot knolls. Plus, there was construction right in the middle of one of the nicer areas on the map.
This map presented some unusual course setting challenges for me, especially for the advanced courses. The map is small and narrow, and fairly urban. There is also an active road crossing the map east-west right in the middle of the map. I ended up deciding to use loops to take advantage of some of the better terrain the park has to offer. I think it worked out relatively well, and gave me the opportunity to offer an UltraBlue course that Lacho, Jon T, and a few other brave souls attempted.
I think the beginner and intermediate courses - something I pay a ton of attention to when course setting a local event - worked out relatively well. Based on past results, I set a short Orange course (jut 3.0km), and I think that was good, as the rate of DNF's and extremely long times seemed pretty low, while the fastest times were still reasonably long.
The worst thing that happened is that two e-punch boxes went missing during the event. They were both on controls that were hung on Thursday, and someone must have cut the boxes off the strings they were attached to, in one case even removing the "Do Not Remove" sticker and leaving it behind. The control flags were left in place, which is good for minimizing the damage to competitors, but I still feel pretty terrible about it, both for the competitors and for the damage caused to QOC.
Finally, I should say that volunteering for Quantico was a great experience. I got all the support I could possibly ask for, and my responsibilities were both very limited and made very clear to me. Unlikely everywhere I else I have ever set courses on a local level, I was not responsible for either map printing or organizing control pick-up, which made my life a lot easier. The sheer number of people volunteering for this small event and the efficiency with which they were organized into tasks and shifts, speaks a lot to Quanitco's impressive organization. I feel very lucky to have ended up here upon my move back to the US orienteering scene from Sweden.
Thanks in particular to Amy L, Jon P, Tom N, Greg L, Valerie M, Tori C for all your work!
I had never been to this park before, so after designing courses and running around the map to hang streamers last week, I had to move quite a few controls and make some changes to the map. Mostly, there were new rootstocks and patches of green, and I had to remove some rocks and dot knolls. Plus, there was construction right in the middle of one of the nicer areas on the map.
This map presented some unusual course setting challenges for me, especially for the advanced courses. The map is small and narrow, and fairly urban. There is also an active road crossing the map east-west right in the middle of the map. I ended up deciding to use loops to take advantage of some of the better terrain the park has to offer. I think it worked out relatively well, and gave me the opportunity to offer an UltraBlue course that Lacho, Jon T, and a few other brave souls attempted.
I think the beginner and intermediate courses - something I pay a ton of attention to when course setting a local event - worked out relatively well. Based on past results, I set a short Orange course (jut 3.0km), and I think that was good, as the rate of DNF's and extremely long times seemed pretty low, while the fastest times were still reasonably long.
The worst thing that happened is that two e-punch boxes went missing during the event. They were both on controls that were hung on Thursday, and someone must have cut the boxes off the strings they were attached to, in one case even removing the "Do Not Remove" sticker and leaving it behind. The control flags were left in place, which is good for minimizing the damage to competitors, but I still feel pretty terrible about it, both for the competitors and for the damage caused to QOC.
Finally, I should say that volunteering for Quantico was a great experience. I got all the support I could possibly ask for, and my responsibilities were both very limited and made very clear to me. Unlikely everywhere I else I have ever set courses on a local level, I was not responsible for either map printing or organizing control pick-up, which made my life a lot easier. The sheer number of people volunteering for this small event and the efficiency with which they were organized into tasks and shifts, speaks a lot to Quanitco's impressive organization. I feel very lucky to have ended up here upon my move back to the US orienteering scene from Sweden.
Thanks in particular to Amy L, Jon P, Tom N, Greg L, Valerie M, Tori C for all your work!