Lake Needwood

Results are posted below and on Attackpoint and WinSplits. RouteGadget is also now online.

“If you hold it, they will come,” a voice whispered. In response, the Club decided to hold “it” – the first full event of the 2013-14 Quantico Orienteering season – at Lake Needwood Park on Sunday, September 15.

Everything was perfect, as frequently happens in the movies but seldom in real life: clear blue skies, temperatures in the 70s, a park that we had explored only two times before featuring a picturesque lake, a meandering creek and plenty of challenging hills, and seven courses expertly laid out by Peggy Dickison ranging from white to blue.

The voice was right: “they” came. There were 227 “starts,” one of the largest numbers in club history other than when hosting “A” meets. And because many “starts” consisted of groups with two, three, four or even more people, about 300 people enjoyed the beautiful day.

Just as in a famous movie, the day almost was spoiled. Two boys – nine and ten years old – were given permission to run ahead of their accompanying adult, and they then made a wrong turn. [Note: groups are supposed to stay together at all times.] Once we were alerted, orienteers transformed into our own versions of “’Doc’ Grahams”, supplementing the Park Police in combing the woods for the missing boys. Eventually, the boys were found at a different lake, Lake Frank, more than a mile away and far from the orienteering courses, completely unharmed and no worse for the adventure.

There also were unusual challenges. QOC has instituted a new pricing structure that resulted in the sale of a large number of epunches of two different types. Everyone also had to sign one of four forms of waiver newly required for insurance purposes. Unlike in the movies, however, these challenges could not be met through magic. Volunteers were needed, and like the crowds of participants, they came forward, and everything went smoothly.

Ben Bloschock, Dan Tam Do, Sara Lemanski, Tom Nolan, Jenny Szabo and Amber Tomas staffed the registration table, with the assistance of Jonathan, a cub scout whose mother approached us just as the event was beginning looking for a volunteer assignment. Greg and Kathleen Lennon prep'd the course maps (printed by Valerie) and helped in numerous ways. Richard Briggs and Don Fish provided instructions to the many first-time orienteers who showed up at Lake Needwood. Our normal epunch gurus – Amy Louden, Valerie Meyer, Heidi Onkst and Jon Torrance – recorded every start and finish, with the assistance of Shirley Tan and Jeanne Lieder. And after the meet, Adam Bee, Russ Damtoft, Tom Nolan, Liz O’Connell, Dan Quinn, Sara Robich, and Eugene Tspnyatov fanned out to pick up the controls that Peggy had placed on the fine map made and maintained by Nadim Ahmed.

All we needed was a director and a producer on-site, and the first big screen orienteering movie would have been a hit. Maybe they didn’t have a map and are still in the woods!

Mike Lieder, Event Director