Easter

The Easter 3 Days Orienteering Carnival was run by ACT this year. Sometime ago Andy volunteered to set the courses for the Long Day (Day 2). His planning and subsequent visits out to the map were all under control as time ticked by.

After an Easter meeting in January, Andy said the organisers were still looking for a person to run the starts and as I can't run that perhaps I should volunteer. So I did. With 7 weeks til Easter I joined the organising team and after the first meeting had offered to also make the arena mud maps which escalated to producing the program (or Bulletin 2 as it is now know as).

Anyway the weeks ticked by, I coerced a great group to join the start team and began getting my head around the requirements for each day. Bulletin 2 was eventually signed off and uploaded (not without issues) and before we knew it April had arrived! Andy's role as course setter (with Cath as his controller) meant they disappeared on the Friday. My role as start coordinator meant early mornings and long days away from the arena. We are eternally grateful that Eoin was happy (?!) to take our girls. He was well organised by 4 teenage girls for 3 days!

The Prologue was held at ANU on Friday. First though, Al and I took the dogs out to the kennels at Yass. The drive was horrible with heavy rain and busy roads. A serious accident closed the main highway and we detoured on to the small pot holed riddled roads adding 20 mins more to our trip. Not long after turning on to this road we encountered a minor car accident. The rest of the trip was ok but the rain was relentless.

Back in Canberra I picked up the girls, packed the rest of the car before heading off to ANU with the rain still falling. Surely this front would pass?

The Prologue arena was on an oval in the middle of the ANU campus with very little protection from the elements. Made even harder with ANU requirements that no pegs, posts or pickets could be put into the grass! Between showers including one that sounded like a freight train coming sending everyone scurrying under shelter, the start area was ready. The conditions were so wet that the cricket pitch was under water creating a pool and instant attraction for the small children who kept us entertained while we waited for time to tick over.

Timing for the Prologue was slightly stressful with multiple mass starts. All went well and the public queued start event flowed even more smoothly after. Despite the weather, the rain held out for the competition period. By 3pm, the start was packed up and I was on the road settled in for the 2 hr drive to Nimmitabel, the base for the next two days.