Ogden Water Night Event

Planner/Organiser’s Comments
The year we put the night event on the same weekend as our Sunday fixture which has its pros and cons.

The bulk of early planning for the day event was already in place thanks to Ian and Julie before I even started to look at the area and it might have seemed straightforward to just plot some night courses using their control sites but due to the practical constraints of the area it would have meant very long walks to and from the area in the dark which wasn’t a good idea on such an exposed area. Being able to have the assembly on the heart of the area did mean sorting out a few extra sites and so as not to advantage anyone running on both days, a number of the controls in the valley were moved between events. Whilst this meant a bit more work for the planners and controller early on the Sunday morning it did make it fairer for competitors.

The weather was very kind despite forecasts of possible sleet or snow showers and having been up on the area in December after the heavy snow falls it was always a worry that the elements might intervene but as it turned out, although the ground was a little sodden on places, it was a good evening. I will however need to revise the start time in the future as there can be quite a delay between sunset and when it is actually dark enough to night orienteer so I apologise for the delay from registering to actually starting you off.
The number of competitors was a little down on previous years but it was good to have some new faces trying out night orienteering for the first or second time as well as many of the usual stalwarts. Although remote, it’s not that inaccessible provided you get the right road from the centre of Halifax but I this did out a few people off coming.
We seem to have got the courses about right with the spread of times being what I’d hoped for. Your positive comments were much appreciated and it good that people stayed around to that Steve Corrigan to do the prize giving on the night.
Thank you to Ian and Julie for their support and for accommodating the additional work caused from overlapping the events, to Chris Burden for all his help in getting the courses right on the night and to all the EPOC helpers who took on the various jobs on the night that ensured the event ran as smoothly as it did.
Thank you also to the estate’s owners for letting us use the area for both events.

Alistair Tinto

Return to Castle Carr