Being new to the role of organising an event I spent the last few weeks gleaning as much information as possible from club members,to whom I am very grateful, and praying for a fine day! The wonderful weather certainly contributed to an enjoyable day and I might even be persuaded to organise another event if the weather could be guaranteed!

 

It was very interesting to see the other aspects of an event which as a competitor I had probably taken for granted. I realised just how important clearing and punching the start box is so that information about each competitor is available. Also the importance of filling out a registration form correctly including car registration and telephone number in case of problems at the finish.These are things that I will do in the future as now I have seen the problems that they can create.

 

The smooth running of the day must be attributed to the hard work of all the helpers who not only turned up for their stint but some who arrived early and left late helping out where ever they could- my thanks to them all.

 

The best part of the day was hearing from people who had come for the first time how much they had enjoyed the event. Lets hope that they will return and continue to enjoy the sport.

 

Hilary Pickering

Planner

Competitors were brought back down to earth with a bump (or two) at Ringwood North. The fast and furious times of the November Classic weren’t to be repeated here! Ringwood North can be a tough challenge and as my first event as a planner I wasn’t going to disappoint.

Most feedback I received was positive and went along the lines of “physical, knackered, money’s worth, but enjoyable”. Negative comments were mainly about the amount of bracken and elephant tracks through the bracken that did not lead you to your controls! My personal challenge was to get as many competitors as possible into the far North West end of the forest which is not often visited but has a different feel to it than the rest of the forest – it’s on a hill with many varied slopes. The courses as a result included more climb than you might expect, but that was deliberate.

The Brown, Blue and Green all went round the North West end in differing directions, with many similar controls, each course as technically difficult as the other. All had the fun of finding the top of the knoll in the “dark green”! The length of the longer courses was achieved extending courses to the East or putting in long traverses across the forest. The shorter courses experienced a typical Ringwood North day out. It was good to see lots of juniors out on the shorter courses, to such an extent that we almost ran out of maps on White, Yellow and Orange.

Finally I’m very grateful for all the help and guidance provided by Kevin, who kept me on the straight and narrow, and without which the courses would not have been as good as they were.

Noel Smith

Controller

My thanks to John Warren for asking me to control the WIM Galoppen at Ringwood Forest North, many thanks to you the competitor for coming. It was good to see you all.

Thanks also to Noel and Kevin for producing such challenging courses. I think we as competitors forget just how physically demanding the forest is with its “Dorset Furrows” that sap your strength quicker the kryptonite! I heard many comments on the courses set and most of those were positive. It is always good to hear such positive comments as it makes all the planners' hard work so worthwhile. The weather gods were also with us with a perfect day for running: mild with a slight breeze. I think this was as good as it gets.

To close on a slightly more serious note, please ensure that you report in to the finish at any event you take part in and where asked to, put vehicle details or contact numbers you do as this will aid any rescue. We had one competitor who did not register at the start and by using their own SI Dibber were able to run around the course thereby putting their own safety at risk. Even worse, the finish team had no knowledge that you were in the forest!

Well done to all the Wimborne members: your hospitality and enthusiasm was there for all to see.

Pat Barclay (Sarum)