Penn Wood Easter Weekend 2011 : Officials' Comments
First of all, we would both like to thank Bob & Pattie Beresford for the excellent map and the support we received over the weekend.
Our thanks also to the TVOC teams, who despite fielding one or two substitutes (thanks Fred), managed to offer an enjoyable couple of days, helped by the woods , weather and the enjoyment of the event.
The Saturday went smoothly, apart from a temporary disappearing act by 2 youngsters on the Orange, happily resolved with smiles all round.
Mark's courses were universally praised by the competitors in conversation with the controller at the finish.
The Controller did get one query from an experienced competitor and checked it out after the courses closed. This was in relation to control 142 can only say that the map and surrounding area looked fairly represented.
Sunday was another superb day, we expected and got a smaller attendance, but the courses were enjoyed with many favourable comments.
We ask that those who ran the 45 and 60 minutes scores pop their route on Routegadget, to help us gain useful information for future planning.
Finally, we would both like to thank all who competed, it was a pleasure to see you all. Makes all the work worthwhile.
See you again soon.
Mark Thompson (Planner Day 1, Controller Day 2)
Peter Riches (Controller Day 1, Planner Day 2).
Organiser's Comments:
Having spent the previous few months being totally swamped by helpful e-mails giving advice and prompts regarding budget, permission, risk assessment, car-parking, wet-weather plans, loos, etc, etc, I devised my own survival plan for the weekend, largely based on hot-cross buns. In the event of any disputes, complaints, raised voices or moaning, I was poised to administer the seasonal snack in order to buy some time to resolve whatever the issue may have been. In the event, there really was precious little to irritate anyone - with a venue of this quality and fabulous weather, it would have taken a considerable effort to fight off the positive vibes of such a glorious weekend.
Penn Wood is owned by The Woodland Trust, and my thanks go to them on behalf of TVOC and all the competitors for allowing us to use this stunning area for our event. Also, a big "thank you" to Penn Parish Council and Curzon C of E School for the use of the field for parking and admin, and to Dave Grimes and his team from Abingdon Venture Rescue for providing First Aid cover. Fortunately there were only a few minor scrapes for them to deal with. The temporary disappearance of 2 youngsters on the orange course did cause some concern, but they reappeared unscathed just as the organised search was about to start. Needless to say, this potential problem has kick-started discussions already, with a view to preventing similar incidents from occurring in the future.
The teams were super-efficient and good-humoured throughout. All I can say is a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who helped out prior to the event and on the day. The string course was greatly enjoyed, the lack of any string proving no hindrance at all to the young orienteers, so thank you, Lyn and Jim, for this. As a first-time organiser and an orienteer of limited experience, I am enormously indebted to Bob (my invaluable mentor), Alun, Mark and Peter for their expertise in mapping, planning, controlling and dealing with the administration. Their energy and enthusiasm showed no signs of waning; what a team! Likewise, Fred did a brilliant job at the start (many thanks for stepping into the breach at the last minute) and Gary lead the car-parking team with great efficiency. I can honestly say that it has been a pleasure to be part of this event and I hope all participants enjoyed it at least as much as I did.
Sue Jones