Flying Pig Sprint
April 16 - Woodland Trails Scout Camp
Weather: 80°+ & sunny and hot!
Attendance: 248 competitors!
The courses were designed and set by Matt Bond, with miniscule help from Sharon on Thursday. Friday dawned bright and sunny, which quickly turned into sunny and hot. It was August in April, considering that the honeysuckle was almost fully leafed out. Many competitors complained of the heavy vegetation, but I think after Saturday's encounters with thorny multi-flora rose, they probably wished they had the honeysuckle back again.
Of course, it cannot be an A meet without some kind of crisis, and this one was interesting. Work on the water main in camp caused a break, leaving the whole camp without water. This led to some interesting discussions about the USOF Juniors dinner that afternoon. Sharon earned a free brownie by shlepping 30 gallons of water from the only water source in camp - the spigot by the main entrance gate.
Many competitors started arriving around 11:00am and the competition began at 1:00. The kids found the fun place to hang out while waiting for their starts - the creek by the start/finish area. After finishing, it was a short walk back the dining hall and either to their buses or the Junior dinner. Awards were given and everyone left to prepare for the next day's competition.
And congratulations to Major Roberts and the Wayne High School teams, who attended their first A-meet. They had the winning team on green at the 2004 Junior Orienteering Championships, which won them a sponsored team place from MVOC in the Interscholastic Championships. Wayne ended up bringing two teams and we hope they enjoyed competing against high school orienteers from around the country.
Many thanks for the help from the following volunteers: