It's a new season; ah yes the season I do a course 8. I hope your off-season training has gone better than mine. I picked up a virulent bug that was stalking Fredericton so my push-ups had to get traded for throw-ups. However, it did give me a chance to work on the 10-meter hurl. But soon I'll be back to pit pot shape.
I believe the previous issue was the best ONB Notes that I can remember. There were articles from various persons with individual viewpoints on particular subjects. I hope to see continued participation by a spectrum of members.
"High" technology was used to hold a planning/mapping meeting. Using the services of Teleducation New Brunswick, five sites throughout the province were linked by computers and telephones. We were able to display the same text and images simultaneously on our computers. The cost for these services was quite reasonable. Although it took considerable effort to prepare for the meeting, was it worth it? No. The computer screens took many seconds to update so that the normal flow of conversation was inhibited. It still may make sense to use high technology again in the future when it becomes higher.
One significant action item from that meeting is that ONB agreed to purchase three copies of the map-making software, OCAD, available to New Brunswick orienteering clubs. This has happened. The equipment to run OCAD is the responsibility of each club.
Things have not gone spectacularly well for our national body, the Canadian Orienteering Federation. As expected, national funding has been slashed; this is the year of a much leaner (scrawny?) COF. However, most of you should not notice much impact on your lives, at least for the short term. Stay tuned.
How did this happen? Like most governmental funding, sport support has been cut. The federal government is using a formula that concentrates funding on sports with athletes that achieve results near the top of the world's best. With training facilities analogous to those available to the Jamaican bobsled team, it is unlikely that our best will bring home much metal from a world championship soon. Further consideration is given to Olympic sports. No points there either. We can't even claim Pan Am status. I'm thinking of organising another international sporting event, Pan d'Ammonia; we could clean up.
On the local front, things are more cheerful. On our new exciting schedule, note that we have two new maps: a greatly expanded Rockwood Park and an enhanced, consolidated Mactaquac. I can hardly wait to get lost in uncharted^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H newly-charted lands.
We are going to try producing these maps by a new method: colour photocopy. Technology has advanced substantially since we last explored this possibility two years ago. The cost to us, even for small runs, has dropped to be directly competitive with standard large-run offset printing methods. The new Xerox photocopier at Sport New Brunswick can take map files directly from diskette. We hope to be able to print the courses directly on the maps as well. By my eyes, the quality is superb. You can judge yourself at the Rockwood meet in May.
Happy trails.