South Moe Road, Clifton Park, N Y WEATHER: Mostly cloudy, 79o, W wind at 8 mph, relative humidity 52%. EVENT DESCRIPTION: Start in Sugarbush Park between 5:30 and 6:30 PM. It was publicized as having several courses for regular (foot) orienteering and even one for bike O or rollerski O. All courses were designed so participants could finish in under an hour. We used classic card punching to keep it simple with map, clue sheet, and punch card on the same sheet. COURSES: WHITE: 5 controls,1.9 km. This is on residential streets with some (40%?) route choices on trails, all without crossing or using Moe Road. YELLOW: 9 controls, 5.0 k, more trail route choices, all on pavement, but required navigation along Moe Road. This could be done on rollerskis, road or mtn bike, or on foot. ORANGE: 10 controls, 5.4 k, similar to yellow but 4 legs (50%?) on trails in more park-like and wooded setting. This was my favorite, but I would have had to hustle to finish in under an hour. Those doing it on rollerskis were required to comply with ski-O rules. You can take off your skis to negotiate a leg or all of the course, but you have to keep all equipment with you. Bike or rollerski on the right, and walk/run left was advised on all roads. Entry fee was $3 for EMPO members and those who never tried orienteering before. All others were $5 per map. Obviously, EMPO made little money on the event. The major purpose was to provide a short, fun evening activity in a heavily populated area to introduce orienteering to those who had not previously tried. In addition I touted courses that could be accomplished on roller skis or on a mountain bike. As it turned out we had two bikes, one rollerskier, and one person on rollerblades. I was surprised to learn that it is possible to rollerblade on our compacted stone dust trails. In fact, a 750 m stone dust trail became a favored route choice for our rollerblading participant over a 1000 m paved street! We had 22 participating in this event. Five were new to the sport, so the event was an unqualified success. Further, no one got lost in spite of the major trail that disappeared under a carpet of new vegetative growth. And best of all, I received no complaints from the neighbors. THANKS I’d like to thank the Town Highway Department who lent me some "traffic calming" equipment (cones) and offered suggestions for Moe Road. McDonald's and Stewarts at Exit 8 provided the nearest restrooms. Barb Hamilton and grandson Tyler vetted the white course and picked up those controls. Phil Hawkes-Teeter was invaluable assistance with registration…and thanks to everyone for coming! RESULTS: LESSONS LEARNED: “Arm chair” course design is okay if you are intimately familiar with the area. Being in my backyard boosted my confidence. However, mappers work in spring and fall, those times of the year when we usually orienteer. It is especially disconcerting when a major trail disappears into new undergrowth of ferns, May apple, trillium and Virginia creeper. This reflects poorly on the mapper and the course setter. It's always best if you vet the course(s) before printing the maps. “Purple Pen” software is now indispensable for setting courses. In planning this event I took an approach that I had never used before. I picked out features that appealed and virtually hang a control on each. Then I made the courses by picking combinations that provide challenging route choices. I discovered an app for my iPad called “RaceSplitter” that I think would be invaluable for timing these short events. This would also make tabulation of results instantaneous and available on site. Unfortunately, I have little confidence with using this or similar apps, preferring old fashioned paper methods. Mid Summer Orienteering Results - July 20, 2017
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