Results
for National event, Eyam Moor, 21/01/2024
Organiser Ann-Marie Duckworth, Planner Mike Gardner, Controller Martin Ward SYO
Thanks to all
competitors for braving storm Isha and turning up, and also for all the
comments on the courses.
Thanks to Martin Ward
(controller) for all his welcome comments on the courses beforehand and
checking of the controls.
Eyam is quite a
physical area. Originally I was wanting to use Bretton Clough but it seems
impossible to get the shorter courses in there given there is only one
intermittent path and many restrictions imposed ( such as we must not use/ run
through any marshes). Trying to start in Bretton for the longer courses would
mean a lot of climb, which I wanted to avoid. I therefore decided to use just
the moorland areas. This did mean a lot of tussocks but I tried to plan routes
to avoid the worst areas
I wanted to give folk
a challenge at the end of their courses so hope you all enjoyed Slate Pit Moor
(the area after the taped route). The landowner is going to plant it with young
trees in the very near future, so we may not be able to use again for some
time.
Mike Gardner (Planner)
What a great day to be
out on the windy moors. Quite a few positive comments that it worked well bringing
the first start times earlier to make best use of the better weather. This was
only possible because both the Planner Mike Gardner and Controller Martin Ward
(SYO) had prepared so much the day before, and with extra help from Ranald Macdonald,
they made it possible to have first starts at 9:35!
A big thank you to the
many DVO volunteers who got to the area even earlier, and made it run so well so
that everyone was on their way home by 2:00pm with the first rain hitting the
car window.
I would also like to thank Elliot
Frampton (first aider) and especially the runners who interrupted their
runs to help carry someone off the moor.
DVO are going to donate
the uncollected £2 parking to the Orienteering Foundation, unless you
contact me and we can work out how to reimburse you.
Ann-Marie Duckworth
(Organiser)
I'm always happy to be asked to Control DVO events. They have a great team of people that just ensure things run smoothly, and any on-the-day incidents are dealt with effectively. Well done Ann-Marie as Organiser. When I took on the role I warned Mike, the planner, that I would be away for 3 weeks over Christmas and New Year, so everything needed to be finalised with courses and control sites by early December. That worked fine. On my first visit to the area in the autumn the bracken was quite bad in places, but we were confident that with some cold winter weather it would be much better by mid January. And so it proved! In fact, a couple of weeks ago we were more worried about snow and ice, but in the end it thawed a bit and it was the forecast severe gales of the imminent Storm Isha that we had to be concerned with. The decision to bring the event forward a bit ensured runners were off the moor before any significant rain arrived, and before the winds got too strong. Well done to all the volunteers who worked hard to make that happen. Eyam is tricky area to plan on, particularly for the shortest TD1-3 courses where there are limited options. We knew they were slightly longer than the guidelines suggest, but we preferred to keep the start and finish locations not too far into the area. The TD4 and 5 courses seemed to be about the right length, albeit with mainly shorter legs rather than good long legs due to the constraints of the various crossing points. Mike's courses made best use of the area I thought, and I had very few suggestions for him on how to change things. I trust you enjoyed them, and that they provided a good technical challenge as well as the obvious physical challenge! Unfortunately we had two serious injuries to runners on their courses. Thanks very much to the fellow runners who gave up their runs to raise the alert and provide assistance to them, and to the organising team and First Aider who got people back to safety promptly.
Martin Ward (Controller) SYO
