This area is said "not to be the best part of Epping" but I thought Paul's courses were a great effort to get the best out of the area. My view seems to have been supported by the compliments of competitors. Even those who commented on the difficult pit control on the vegetation boundary on the eastern side conceded that it was entirely accurate and fair - difficult courses are not intended to have easy controls! Paul did make it easy for me: his organisation and attention to detail are appreciated.
For me it was all great fun. Again it was a real pleasure to work with the Havoc team and they deserved the successful day it turned out to be. It was a near perfect day for orienteering and I hope that the smoothness of the organisation, the weather, the courses and a forest in good "shape" will encourage the many newcomers to return
again.
This was the first time I had planned a colour coded event in Epping South West and the first time I had planned using SI punching. I spent 4 days in August helping Brian Daniel update the map and spotting good control sites. I decided that the courses would generally run anti-clockwise about the area in order to avoid repeating the clockwise courses of the previous event. I also sought to provide variety by taking every course through both the rough open and the forest. Unfortunately only the longest courses could get to the far north of the map where the most runnable beech wood is found. The rest had to make do with the denser holly and hornbeam wood found further south. However this southern area has improved and become more technically challenging in recent years due to the patchwork of pollarded areas created as part of the woodland management regime. The updated map at a clearer, larger 1:10,000 scale made it possible to take the shorter courses through the pollards without undue confusion.
SI punching allowed the introduction of crossovers on some courses, thereby making maximum use of the best bits of the forest without worrying about runners taking controls out of order. Many thanks to Brian Daniel for programming the units and explaining their mysteries. Putting out the SI controls was more tiring and time consuming than conventional punches because the SI equipment was heavier. Taking them in would have been a daunting task and so I wish to thank Chris, Guy, Hazel and Clive for lightening the load. Lastly I would like to thank the controller, Clive Tant for his sound advice, relaxed but thorough approach and his practical help on the day.
We were treated to some fine summer weather for this autumn event which resulted in an excellent turnout of competitors. Everything seemed to flow smoothly and I hope no one was kept waiting to long for their run.
Thanks to Brian Daniel and his team for dealing with all the high tech stuff and to all the HAVOC helpers who responded to my requests so willingly.
Two apologies: firstly the entry fees quoted in Compass Sport were incorrect, I understand that this event information gets supplied very early and was not updated when the final fees were set. Secondly, we had hoped to hire some portaloos, but were let down at a late stage by the hire company. I hope these hitches did not detract too much from your enjoyment of the day.