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Guildford Orienteers host Middle Distance UK Orienteering League 2020, Sunday 26 January.
Report by Jeremy Wilds, Guildford Orienteers (GO)
“GO's Middle Distance Event in January at Farley Heath in Surrey (nicknamed the "Fairly Far Farley") attracted over 400 runners, which came as a bit of a (nice) surprise.” said Event Organiser and GO Chair Jeremy Wilde.
“The event was originally scheduled as a warm-up to the Southern Champs, but when that fixture was postponed several months ago, we took up its Sunday slot. We had slight reservations that without a major event to attract people, a middle distance event might be less well attended than other formats. Our fears were unfounded - maybe people had already laid their plans before the Southern Champs were moved to come to Farley Heath for the weekend, or perhaps the UKOL status made the difference, or was it the good old South-East League/National status? We'll never really know the answer, but we were very happy that all seemed to enjoy their day.”
The club decided to ask one of their GO Juniors to act as planner, so Adam Conway stepped up to the task. He did a great job, updating the map as well as selecting, checking and tagging all the control sites, and coordinating the setting out and collecting in of the controls.
“I learnt a lot as Course Planner.” said Adam. “It was fun to create courses from scratch, designing good course shapes, and giving competitors a mix of leg lengths, with switches in direction and exposure across a variety of terrain types. Luckily, I live nearby, so I knew the terrain already and could access the area whenever I needed. Thanks very much to Jeremy and Controller Gordon Parker from South London Orienteers (SLOW) for their patience, advice and support to help me get the job done”.
Photo credits: Guildford Orienteers
Scholes Mill, Old Coach Road, Tansley, Matlock, DE4 5FY
Tel: 01629 583037, Email: info@britishorienteering.org.uk
Registered in England & Wales No:1606472