QOC Chase

On June 6, The QOC Chase for 2010 returned to the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary. The day was sunny, hot, and humid until late afternoon. Then heavy showers with a little lightning moved in. Dave Linthicum kept tabs on the weather and especially on a tornado warning that included Jug Bay (but politely stayed away). The 2009-2010 season will be remembered for the multiple weather related cancellations and rescheduled meets as snow, wind, and rain tried repeatedly to disrupt our plans.

For the Chase Francis Hogle provided intriguing two courses: the Short Chase (2 loops) and the Long Chase (3 loops) as well as orange, yellow, and white courses. Dasa Merkova and Jan Merka organized the Lemonade Chase (with a streamered course) and an obstacle course “O” which were enjoyed by all the younger orienteers as well as many of the grown-ups. A total of 62 starts were recorded.

The surprise with the Chase this year was free registration for all attendees. The theme was: honoring and celebrating everyone who volunteers and helps with the meets to get all the necessary tasks completed so that we can all run, compete, and enjoy our sport. And as a special “Thank You!”, all volunteers from our last season received a new style of QOC T-shirt, made with a wicking fabric and designed using ‘club colors’ by Kathleen Lennon. Volunteers who weren’t present should see Kathleen at future meets and ask for these special shirts.

The 2010 Annual General Meeting was held prior to the Chase. A quorum being present, as ascertained by Mike Newman serving as proxy for Secretary Dave Hauver, voting for five Board positions was conducted with the results as follows:

President: Jon Torrance
Vice-President, Maryland: Mike Newman
Vice-President, Virginia: Gary Smith
Secretary: Dave Hauver
Treasurer: Vic Culp

Best wishes to our new President as well as continuing Board members!
A big THANK YOU to Greg & Kathleen Lennon (“As of now, former co-Presidents (2004 - 2010)”)

Following the Chase and picnic, the awards ceremony was conducted along with general announcements – in between the occasional rain shower. Overall points winner for Sid’s very own (and certainly unique) ranking methodology was Greg Lennon; a Juniors award was won by Linus Hamilton (who was off not winning the Washington Post Hunt with his family); and a special award for consistent control pickup was awarded to Sam Listwak. Juniors also received QOC racing singlets, to help support their (road) racing aspirations; singlets are available for sale as of now to those interested.

The season’s Orbit Award, honoring the tenacity of an orienteer this last season who repeatedly tried to find a control for quite some time, perhaps even circling around it several times before finding it (hence, the ‘orbit’) – and who has entered their route into RouteGadget for all to learn from – consisted of a light fixture designed around a control flag. Given the “must be present to win” rule in effect, Mark Mace won the award for his route from control 5 to 6 on the Jan. 24, 2010 green course at Meadowood (VA), as faithfully rendered by his GPS watch. Had he been present, the award would have gone to Dave Scheidt, for his dogged search for the second control on Greenbelt’s red course on January 10, 2010, for which he logged perhaps 5-6 times the average distance and time of other orienteers on this leg. If at a future event you find yourself looking, and looking, and looking, for a control – and it can certainly happen to any of us – console yourself by keeping in mind that if you enter your route in RouteGadget you’ll at least be a contender for the season’s Orbit Award!

[Ed. The topic of the next paragraph was omitted in the write-up by the Meet Director, but we refuse to allow his modesty to suppress it.]

And amidst all this celebration of volunteers, who won the Volunteer of the Year? None other than Meet Director (and VP for Maryland) Mike Newman. Thanks, Mike, for going above and beyond the call of duty in helping meets run smoothly; we know a lot of efforts are done behind the scenes (like getting permits), and even more effort is needed in years when the weather plays havoc with our events, so thanks again and keep up the good work!

Announcements:
Glen Schorr noted the name change for the national orienteering body. Orienteering USA now replaces US Orienteering Federation (USOF) as the organization’s “public facing” name. Glen also mentioned a number of initiatives underway including sponsorship by Motel 6 and efforts by the state of Kentucky to become a recognized orienteering destination.

Gary Smith and Mike Newman unveiled the schedule for 2010—2011. In addition to the regular meets, Jan Merka is organizing a ski-O in Pennsylvania in February 2011. Several mountain bike O’s are being planned for this season.

The Summer Series is being planned with the first event on June 12 in Laurel.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who made the day so much fun:

Hosts, First Aid, Meteorologists—Peggy Brosnan and Dave Linthicum
Beverage Meisters—John Landers, Jody Landers
Beverage Service—Florence Tan, Addie Nolan, Mei-An Nolan, and others
Registration—Sam Listwak, Kris Beecroft, and others
Control pick up—Sam Listwak, Francis Hogle, Eddie Bergeron, and Dave Linthicum
ePunch—Sam Listwak, Valerie Meyer
Help with Yellow, White, Lemonade Chase—Glen Schorr, Dave Linthicum