warmly invite you to
WHITE ROSE 2004
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28-30th August Dalby Forest North Yorkshire |
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28-30th August Dalby Forest North Yorkshire |
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We paid our first visit to the forest on a damp weekend in Spring, armed only with a rather faded 1:20,000 copy of the 1974 map showing most of the forest as white with only limited areas of slow woodland and lots and lots of planting lines and pits. We came away somewhat dispirited at seeing seemingly impenetrable blocks of dark green conifers everywhere.
Our first sight of the new map was in June and we were surprised at how few features had been mapped. A quick visit showed that there were going to be limited areas of fast deciduous woodland, lots of green, some of which was passable, open areas which were mostly strangled with bracken and brambles but a good network of rides and paths. We were not able to do any more until we had a new map.
Planning and controlling was also going to be complicated by the summer holiday season and Cath and Steve's house move to the midlands and as a result we were able to meet them to discuss courses less than we would have liked and had to resort to lengthy phone and e-mail conversations.
Nethertheless, Cath and Steve came up with a set of courses that left most people satisfied, tested their orienteering skills and stamina but did not result in many really long times. Given that they also had to undertake all the map layout work in the last couple of weeks and arrange the printing, I think that they did a tremendous job!
We made some mistakes and it is now really clear to me that the only way to start planning an event such as this is to get a start and finish that suit the TD3 (Orange Course) and then to fit the others around. This would have avoided the need for a taped route on Day 1. Apologies also for anyone who was confused by the relay controls that were set out early in the quarry area. We also had not really appreciated how many would chose to run back through the day 2 start. One extra group of controls would have prevented that.
The relays seemed to work well and used probably the best bits of the area. The assembly was super but it was a surprise when the first people started out up the finish run in - good thinking you remembered that steep walk to the start on Day 1.
One last final comment - this is the third White Rose we have controlled and we are always amazed just how efficient EBOR are at setting up and running this event - this year Roger never seemed in the slightest bit concerned and apart from the prize giving being a bit late everything ran like clockwork.
David and Juliet Morgan - EPOC
Phew! Glad that's over and done with. Taa for coming and we hope you enjoyed the event.
Obtaining the draft map of the area only 2 months ago meant that we had limited opportunity to fine-tune the courses and the map. With this in mind, we consciously put more technical emphasis on route choice rather than control choice (please don't misinterpret that statement). We took the view that people should enjoy the event rather than spending hours searching for 'bingo' depressions in the middle of thick forest.
Feedback from all three days seemed to be generally positive with only one or two 'nitpicking' type complaints. If you thought there was too much path running on the courses, you need only have looked to either side of the path to explain why!!
Thanks to:
Steve Wilson (Individual days) & Cath Wilson (Relays)
Firstly, our sincere apologies for the computer problems that plagued the event on Saturday and Sunday. One of the reasons for this was the "minor" software changes related to the BOF experiment (see below). You deserved better service and we would like to thank you for your tolerance and patience. We would also like to thank Dave, Susanne, Michael, Peter and the other workers for the many hours of effort required to resolve the problem. If any competitor still has a problem with his/her results, please get in touch with us. Although prize giving on Sunday was delayed by two hours, we managed to recover some ground by bringing Monday's prize giving, for the relays, forward by an hour.
We were disappointed to note that a handful of competitors, (e.g. parents with flexible split starts) had ignored the principle of balanced starts over the two days and had run late on both days, giving them an unsporting advantage. I guess they know who they are.
The weather in the preceding weeks had been awful and caused us to lose quite a lot of sleep. The serious rain stopped on Friday morning, the fields were hard and dried out very quickly and we had no problems over the weekend. Thank goodness!
As explained in the pre-event details, we were participating in the BOF experiment aimed at simplifying events by emphasising courses rather than classes. Although competitors needed to enter by course, it is interesting that a very large majority still stuck to their own age class. Alex Ross from BOF was present on the Friday and Saturday to hand out questionnaires and to talk to people. We look forward to his conclusions.
We were delighted when, back in the winter, we found the campsite field and the perfect relay assembly field in the steep little valley below the campsite. We are very grateful for the cooperation, tolerance and assistance given to us by Richard Laley, the farmer. He could not have been more helpful.
We had more competitors and campers than last year but produced far less rubbish. Thank you all for doing your bit.
We have already expressed our thanks to the computer team and to the farmer. The planners and controllers also deserve special mention. The challenges in producing satisfactory courses were daunting but they succeeded admirably, and without complaint. Of course, events like these don't happen without a tremendous effort by a lot of people. Dozens of Eborienteers worked hard over the weekend and stayed on after the end. Thank you to you all. It was gratifying to see the field completely cleared by 3.30 on Monday afternoon. It is hard work but it is also a good experience in uniting the club. Our club BBQ and prize giving on Saturday night was one of the happiest club events I can remember. (Even if Dave and his team were still sweating over their computers while everyone else was partying).
Anyone finishing in the first three places either in the Individual competition or in the Relays, has won a trophy. If your trophy was not collected at the event get in touch with us and we will try to get one to you in the near future.
Finally, the event would not happen without you, the competitors. Numbers have been falling over recent years and we were beginning to wonder whether the White Rose was nearing the end of its life. However, this year saw an increase in competitors over last year so things are looking up. We love having you and look forward to seeing you all again next year.
Roger and Ann Smith----- roger.smith100@btinternet.com
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