By Scott Aster
Thank you to all who came out and enjoyed a day of Orienteering at my favorite club map!
The course setter, Dennis Wildfogel, went the opposite way this year from several years ago, when he set a record of number of controls. This year, he incorporated many long legs, testing people's abilities to choose the best route between controls. Based on the discussions after finishing, he did a great job, as many different routes were taken, and spirited discussions were argued over which were best.
The weather held up just enough for us. The day was interspersed with the sun unsuccessfully trying to make an appearance, and the occasional light mist. Map cases proved necessary due to the wet conditions of the vegetation. Even though it did not rain, people came back damp and wet thanks to the bushes and trees dampened by the previous night's rain.
With the relaxation of participation limits imposed upon us by the land owner (the Marin Municipal Water District), we should consider expanding this map, and possibly offering more courses. There is good terrain south and east of the current map, which would allow for more variation in course locations.
Of course, this event would not have been possible without the help of many club members. First of all, I want to thank the course setter, Dennis Wildfogel, who stepped in at short notice and designed the courses and hung all the controls for the event.
I also thank these people for helping:
- Jeff Lanam came up early on Saturday, and set up the E-punch system, which ran very smoothly this year!
- Our permit person at the Water District, Sabrina Gonzales, was very helpful and easy to work with, and was the person who told me our old participant limits had been changed!
- Chuck Spalding quickly and repeatedly updated the website for us, as we bombarded him with notices and updates before the event.
- Bill Cusworth executed the many map updates needed that Dennis found while field checking the courses.
- Sarah Williams set up online registration. (This was the first time this was used for our annual Bon Tempe event.)
- Steve Gregg, Rex Winterbottom, Deron van Hoff, Theo Verhoeven, and Tom De Vre picked up controls for us, which is always very much appreciated by this event director!
- Tapio Karras set up RouteGadget for the event.
I also want to thank the people who brought food to share. Thanks to them, we had some very tasty treats to enjoy, which helped make the event seem extra special.
Lastly, I want to acknowledge Nancy Lindeman, longtime club member, who came out and did a course on the fifth anniversary of her being diagnosed with a serious health condition. You are an inspiration to us all Nancy!
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