Organisers Comments

With this being the first event I have organised I was particularly worried that I would forget something which would cause havoc on the day. Thanks to the help and expertise of the two Andrews, the day went relatively seamlessly. The only problem was that with the parking having to be on Glenesk Road it was hard to direct people from random parking spots on the road to the registration. With such willing people on hand to help though this problem was resolved quickly with tape and makeshift signs. One of the advantages of using the SI equipment was that the numbers of people required to help was reduced so the finish was left unmanned as the download was just opposite the finish control. This meant that we heard most of the comments as the runners were coming in which were on the whole very favourable. Having SI also made the planners job a lot easier with such a small area to plan the courses on.

With such great weather, I enjoyed the day and hope that everyone else did too.

Carys Morgan

Planners Comments

When I first saw the Eltham Park map and the smaller 1:7500 scale I thought the area was going to be too small and uninteresting to stage this event, but I revised my initial thinking having walked around the area. The overgrown vegetation, intricate path network and the fact we were going to use SI kit meant that I could 'shoehorn' the Frolics course and an extension to make a set of courses of reasonable distance and difficulty. The view on the North part of the map overlooking London was a nice bonus, which hopefully some of you had a chance to appreciate. The map itself however was in need of a bit of a makeover. Indistinct paths had now become very distinct and new features had also appeared, which at least meant I had a few more control site options.

The worse fear on the day was control vandalism. The week before the event the area had around 5 groups of loitering teenagers, and I could foresee a lot of the SI kit going 'walkabout'. As it happened we only had one minor incident, surprisingly at a control site within view of the registration/finish area. The SI unit had been thrown under one of the trees surrounding the control site and was recovered shortly after we had been made aware of it. Thoughtfully our vandal/s had left the kite intact at the control site, which luckily was located on the only feature in the vicinity so (hopefully) minimal time was lost by those of you affected by it. It is pleasing to report at the end of the day no kit whatsoever was lost.

My biggest dilemma with the event occurred just 2 weeks before. Whilst the many map changes had been resurveyed they still needed to be drawn up and the event maps printed. The physical restrictions on the area also meant that I was not happy with some of the courses and never having planned an event with SI equipment before, I didn't know what was required in this respect. A quick phone call to Klubb Chairman Andy Evans soon resolved all these problems, and one week later there was virtually nothing left to do. Thanks to Andy (SI), Phil Basford (Map), Jack Richmond (Course checking and suggestions) for all rallying round at short notice and to Carys (Organiser) for co-ordinating all the other bits and bobs that made the event possible.

Andrew Pitcher