Results for Harvester Trophy 2003, Longshaw Estate, 15/06/2003
Comments: Lost Property, Organiser; Planner; Controller.Lost Property
Two thumb compasses,Organiser
First the apologies. I didn't realise that Derbyshire had midges to rival
Scotland's best! If you suffered camping and spectating spare a thought for
the helpers who stuck at their posts with the lights attracting them and the
tents giving them perfect flying conditions. The long trek from the car
park ensured that we had a good assembly & camping and a weatherproof car
park. Right from the beginning we were adamant that camping and car parking
should be in different areas for safety reasons. Our first choice had been
the fields immediately behind the Grouse which would have had 3 adjacent
fields but haymaking plans scuppered that. The second choice car park was
across the road but that is damp and involved people constantly crossing a
busy road. I know there was a shorter route via the competition area but
that passes close to a number of controls. I had not thought of the need to
accommodate camper vans and can only apologise to the two couples involved
in having to sleep a long way from the centre of activity. I can't explain
why the full moon took a very low route choice across the sky. If I had
thought, I would have ensured that the helpers collecting the water container
from the spectator control left enough mugs there for the few remaining
runners in the hottest part of competition. I can only plead a long night.
Our grateful thanks go to the National Trust and particularly the Property
Manager, Sophie Millner. Tree branches were lopped to allow the loos
access, a particularly nasty branch across a path was removed and the
kissing gate into the field was released from its hinges and liaison made
with the tenant farmer to ensure that we could have the cattle removed from
the fields for the duration. Though I had not expected my first job to be
to round them up - did you see the size of the bull?
Thanks also go to a large band of helpers from DVO (& LEI), most of whom
think night orienteering is a weird minority sport. Several of them stayed
at their posts all night. Having adequate manpower ensured the whole event
ran smoothly and had a relaxed feel about it. As a result no runners took a
wrong map which was a particular worry of mine as it spoils the competition
for an innocent victim. Meticulous planning and controlling by Steve and
Mick made my job a lot easier. Winning times of 6:58 and 4:46 against the
estimates of 7 and 5 hours speak volumes. The East Midland SI controls have
recently returned from their software and radio interference upgrade. In
fact this was the first use since then and not one failed.
Michael Napier contributed a lot to the event and his software performed
flawlessly. The computers in the changeover tent giving instant feedback on
who was punching at the spectator and last controls added considerably to
the feel of the event. Now you know what it is like to be a commentator at
a relay event. If only we could afford a large plasma screen.
Finally I need to thank all 290 competitors for supporting the Harvester.
Maybe not as many as in 2000 but back on an upward trend after last year.
Not a trace of litter was left behind.
Next year's event is being organised by Mole Valley. It will be on 15/16th
May 2004, at Pippingford Park, Sussex. Easy access from the motorway
network. Terrain will be similar to the part of this year's courses before
the spectator control, only slightly more technical. The event is being held
a month earlier to ensure that bracken does not spoil it.
Mike Godfree
Planner
Planning a relay event is often about constraints. You work around the
assembly area and the need for a spectator control. At Longshaw there is
the added constraint of a number of "corridors" which restrict course
shapes. Combine these constraints with the course distances and the
shape of the courses quickly became apparent. Most courses had the
contrast between the fast open moorland and the steeply contoured wooded
hillside. In the latter area you had to keep close contact with the map
not to make mistakes, unfortunately the height of the vegetation meant
that once you lost contact it was hard to quickly relocate. It could
have been worse as we had decided not to use the area at the south of
this hillside as the vegetation here was just too bad. Much time was
also spent cutting back the vegetation in the vicinity of many of the
controls.
Many thanks to the Mick for his patient controlling and to those who
helped with the time consuming task of putting out and or collecting in
controls.
Stephen Kimberley
Controller
It was good to be involved in a relay where there were no formal complaints, all the e-punching equipment worked and nearly all the teams completed the course. The controls after the spectator control turned out to be even rougher than I had anticipated and perhaps two of the controls were slightly too far from attack points for fine night navigation through the vegetation.Any queries, errors, or omissions should in the first instance be addressed to Michael Napier tel 0115 928 9663 e-mail mnapier @cix.co.uk
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