National Orienteering Day got some fine weather this year, and we, the meet directors, had some fine volunteers. Many thanks go to Tim Parson for course setting, Meg and Ben Parson for vetting and streamer hanging, and Jason Tong for publicity. And also many thanks to everyone who helped on the day: Joanne Sankus, Caroline Flemming, Dan Westerberg, Dave Dunham, Michael Commons, Patrice Miller, Chris Bradford, Jeff Leiserson, Jim Paschetto, Steve Feldman, Ian Finlayson, Ethan Hall, Bill Pullman, and the many folks who helped with on-the-spot jobs like setting up tents and hanging signs.

The beginner courses were popular with newcomers. Some people raced around, others took detours to get ice cream mid-course. The advanced courses were deemed challenging, partly due to the amount of detail on the map. There was a good discussion afterward about the possibility of printing the map at 1:7,500 in the future to help with clarity. Post-race discussion also focused on the jump in difficulty between yellow and orange, and the possible need for some club training to teach intermediate/advanced skills. Do you know what a 'collecting feature' is? How to aim off? The difference between a spur and a re-entrant? Perhaps next year on N.O.D. we can offer intermediate training … or maybe it could be done sooner.