Margam Country Park is an area of heathland with pockets of forest on the coast very near Swansea, and the Relays took place the day after the Individual Championships in the Brecon Beacons. At the Relay Champs, our 7...
EM League Event
Level: C (Regional)
Provisional results are now published.
Organiser: Sophie Vincent – Contact: beansop.sv@gmail.com
Planner: David Vincent
Controller: Ranald Macdonald
One item of lost property was left – a collapsible walking stick. Please contact the Organiser to claim it.
Controller’s Comments
I hope everyone enjoyed David’s challenging courses today. Yes, they were quite physical (some might say ‘very’) but that is the nature of the area. Most courses had path options on many legs. It was unfortunate that we haven’t had a decent fall of snow this winter to flatten the bracken but, at least after recent months of seemingly incessant rain, it was dry and warm.
David and I spent quite a lot of time walking in the terrain to try to judge what was suitable for the short technical courses. The times for the Very Short Green look a bit long but those competitors I spoke to seemed to appreciate that we had tried to avoid the worst of the brambles and bracken.
The Brown Course should be run by a top elite runner in 57 minutes so 59.36 by Richard Robinson was about right. As always, there were quite long tails down to about 120 minutes on the three long TD5 courses. Sitting at the Finish, there were some pretty exhausted finishers. Well, at least those who could speak said they were exhausted!
It’s a shame we didn’t get more runners on White and Yellow as those who ran seemed to enjoy their courses.
It was gratifying to see so few retirals and missed controls out of the 243 runners, some of which are groups, so the total number of competitors was greater.
Lea Wood hasn’t been used for quite a long time so was new to many. The wild daffodils were lovely and in a few weeks the bluebells will be spectacular in Bow Wood and worth the trip back to see. Having use of Smedley’s car parks also made things much easier, even with the road crossings.
I’m sorry some of you were faced with abuse from one person, in particular, who thought we should not be orienteering in Lea Wood. I also spoke to another couple who felt the same. However, one gentleman, who volunteers with the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and has played a big part in the renovation of Aqueduct Cottage was more complimentary in his comments. I gathered from him at a previous encounter that there had been quite a bit of chatter on the local Facebook page about the event; some supportive, others very hostile. I hope we have convinced them that we have only a temporary impact on the area and will welcome us back in the future.
The mountain bikers are obviously having a bit impact on the paths in Bow Wood and are beginning to do so in Lea Wood. It’s a shame as these are ancient woodlands which do need protecting and there are many Forest England forests in the area with predominantly conifers which are less environmentally sensitive.
Finally, I’d like to thank and congratulate David on his interesting and challenging courses. To Sophie who did a good job on her first outing as a DVO Organiser. To Sal Chaffey for mentoring Sophie and providing logistical and other support at all stages. To the various teams who, as ever, help DVO’s events to run so smoothly. And finally, to you, the orienteers who were so positive in your comments about all aspects of the event and hopefully went home tired but happy.
Ranald Macdonald, Grade A Controller, and Cassie, the Controller’s dog, who is looking forward to less strenuous walks for a while!
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