Gunston Hall

Rain, rain, and more rain! Mother Nature certainly put our enthusiasm for orienteering to the test at this year's QOC event at Gunston Hall. With rain falling throughout the day, participants faced wet woods, slippery trails, and soggy maps. But a little (fortunately not a lot of) rain wasn't enough to dampen the spirit of our orienteering community! We had 206 brave individuals the elements, include members of 3 JROTC units and 14 Northern Virginia Senior Olympics participants!! 

This year's event provided an opportunity to support the Northern Virginia Senior Olympics, an important community initiative that encourages older adults to remain active, engaged, and adventurous. QOC is proud to support the Senior Olympics and help introduce participants to the physical and mental challenges of orienteering. We extend our appreciation to everyone who helped make this partnership possible, particularly under such difficult weather conditions.

Of course, events like this simply would not happen without our dedicated volunteers. Working an orienteering event in the rain requires an extra measure of commitment, and we are especially grateful to those who spent their day helping others enjoy the sport while getting thoroughly soaked themselves!

A tremendous thank-you to Dale Morey, Caroline Cardullo, Charlie Field, John Organek, Matt Knight, Howie Weinstein, Erin Brandt, Paige and Shay Martin, and Marina and Noah Blake. Your time, energy, and willingness to brave the elements made this event possible.

While we might have wished for a little sunshine, days like this remind us that orienteering is about more than navigating between controls -  whatever the weather.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Gunston Hall. Here's hoping our next event features a little less precipitation and a few more patches of blue sky!

-Shannon Ford, Event Director