Meet Results

  Into the Wild

Reedy Creek Nature Preserve | 07-Feb-2009 | Sandy Kohn, meet director.

It was a great day for Orienteering with temperatures rising into the high 60°s. I have been directing a February Meet at Reedy Creek for the past 10 or more years.  This was one of the warmest. 

We had 146 people go out on the courses (plus a few dogs).  The most used course was Yellow with 59 participants, with White next (36 participants), then Orange (35), and finally Green (16). This is similar to past distributions, so I had really focused my planning on the White and Yellow courses trying to make them more interesting with a good  level of challenge. 

Both the White and Yellow courses took participants away from trails for over 400 meters of travel. In the section where there were no trails nearby, there were three controls quite close together, each one almost visible from the previous one, to help ensure that a new orienteer would not end up lost in the wilds. This allowed the participants to practice using a bearing or following terrain features while getting rapid feedback if they were going the right way.  On Yellow, control number 7 seemed to be the most challenging.  It was the first one far from a trail.  Many folks indicated that they had not realized (even though it was marked as such on the control description) that #7 would be located on the spur a bit above the stream. However, since it was near a stream junction, there were great catching features to help lead folks to it.

I liked getting even the beginners away from trails, into the wilds, so they could begin to experience the joys of having to use their navigational skills to find their destination.  They couldn’t just mindlessly follow a trail thinking it would eventually get them to where they were going.

Orange and Green always take folks into the wild, far from trails.  I used a number of detailed control points that had similar features nearby, so competitors had to pay good attention to which gully or which rock they were looking for.  The large boulder, which was #9 on Orange and # 8 on Green, was surrounded by numerous other boulders.  The clue sheet indicated it was 3 meters high - which was the best clue for picking out the right control feature, even from a distance.   A few people had some challenges on Green #4 since the terrain was fairly homogeneous - so it was not easy to keep track of exactly where you were as you approached it. Green # 5 was deep in an area of gullies at the foot of a small knoll and it was only visible once you got very close to it. The person picking up that control had a heck of a time finding it.   

Seventeen of my students from UNC Charlotte participated- most of them for their first time ever orienteering.  I was busy teaching them (and other beginners) the basics, so most of the registration and timekeeping was done by volunteers, others students who work with Venture at UNC Charlotte.   Thanks to those students who assisted with the meet:  Ana Pisani, Donna Thomas, Ryan Mitchell and Steven Erdmanczyk and also from UNC Charlotte’s Venture program - Scott Moulton. Thanks also to John Barnes and James Sisk who helped pick up controls.  And as always, thanks to David Alexander and Walter Siegenthaler for their help with providing maps, equipment and support.

 

White Course — Length in kilometers:  2.3

Rank	Competitor	Finish time
1	Strickler (5)	46:20
2	Joey Shook	48:12
3	Luke & Roger (2)	50:10
4	Linares (4)	59:35
5	Nancy Hightower	61:10
6	Barbara & Mattman (2)	63:47
7	Troop 28 kids (2)	67:00
8	Snow (7)	71:50
9	Deb Marsha	74:17
10	The Bishop (3)	79:45
11	Tichica (3)	82:50
12	Troop 28 adults (2)	103:10
13	Flaming Arrows (3)	118:50

Yellow Course — Length in kilometers:  3.4

Rank	Competitor	Finish time
1	Chapman 2 (4)	71:40
2	Steelers (3?) (unofficial time)	72:00
3	Vikings (3)	77:30
4	Matt & Dad (2)	78:30
5	Matt & Jim (2)	80:00
6	Rebecca & Hannah Sweeney (2)	80:20
7	Rachel & Chase (2)	82:16
8	Wanderers (4)	85:34
9	John Nusc (2)	86:44
10	Crispin Mc Donald (2)	102:20
11	Moore (2)	108:00
12	Flashman (3)	118:28
13	Katie & Megan Team (5)	120:30
14	Knit Hats (4)	133:50
15	Peggy & Laurie (2)	135:10
16	Albright, Garst & June (3)	137:50
17	Duffy, Giller & Reid (3)	145:32
	Cook & Bitts (2)	DNF
	Vance 1 (5)	DNF
	Vance 2 (4)	DNF

Orange Course — Length in kilometers:  4.5

Rank	Competitor	Finish time
1	Barry & Bodkin (2)	102:45
2	Al & Katie (2)	107:30
3	Chris White	110:38
4	Coni	112:21
5	Lane	127:29
6	Jim & Laurie (2)	130:45
7	Hinkle (2)	138:18
8	SCHS (3)	140:20
9	John & Don (2)	140:59
10	Chapman 1 (3)	143:20
11	C & S Wright (2)	144:24
12	Gary & Laura (2)	145:33
	Ilson (4)	186:42 - OVT
	Bruce (2)	191:26 - OVT
	Stooges (3)	201:43 - OVT
	Phyllis & Robbi (2)	222:06 - OVT
	Scott & Steven (2)	DNF

Green Course — Length in kilometers:  5.8

Rank	Competitor	Finish time
1	Walter Siegenthaler	80:25
2	David Alexander	84:40
3	Richard Stewart	138:10
4	Bill Ketring	148:21
5	Matthew Gatz	149:47
6	Jim Murray	166:00
7	Crossroads (4)	166:49
	Chipmunks (2)	DNF
	Chipmunks 2 (3)	DNF
	Don Teague	DNF

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