The Newsletter of Orienteering New Brunswick
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Rob Hughes in Upper Kingsclear
The theme for this editorial is: you read what you send in. The flow of contributions is never quite what it could be. I have previously written quite a lot of the newsletter myself or scrounged up items from the internet. However i don't plan to keep on doing this, as I don't think it makes for a very good newsletter. What can make this newsletter different and more interesting to our membership are stories, opinions, anecdotes, enquiries, pictures, or anything at all produced by members themselves.You don't have to be A. K. Rowling, Shakespeare, or Ray St-Laurent in order to contribute, although contributions from any of these individuals are always welcome. I would like to see short items from many members rather than big chunks from a few, as that means more variety. So, please write.
Next issue: August or thereabouts. If you write a dozen words a week from now until then, that will be enough for a short piece. About two words a day isn't too hard.....
My normal reminder....the email address for all submissions to ONB Notes is rustics@brunnet.net. Contributions in any format gladly accepted.
Have fun, whatever you are doing......
The Ed.
Mike Smith
As the incoming president of Orienteering New Brunswick I'd like to take the opportunity of the first president's podium to introduce myself. I'm a member of the Falcon Orienteering club and am currently in my third year of medical school at Dalhousie University. I've been orienteering for over ten years both in New Brunswick and further abroad. Later this summer I will be representing Canada along with fellow ONB members Mike Fellows, Cherie Mahoney and my sister Sandy at the World Orienteering Championships in Finland. I would like to offer a disclaimer in that I was elected to this position not by virtue of skill or knowledge or wisdom but by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time! (Editor's note: no, no Mike! The right place!) I am happy to hear from everyone and anyone about how we can make orienteering grow and continue to be an enjoyable pastime. This includes what we are doing right and what we are doing wrong and what we simply could be doing better.
It's exciting to be anticipating yet another season of orienteering. A glance at the orienteering schedule from the first ONB notes shows a full season. The spring schedule kicks off with beginner's clinics in Fredericton, Moncton, and Saint John. These are great opportunities to dust off the compass, get in the woods and reinforce the orienteering fundamentals. It is also an opportunity to encourage friends and acquaintances to try orienteering and to gain practical orienteering skills from experienced coaches. There are tune-up events in Moncton on May 13th and Fredericton on May 27th that lead up to the NB Championships on June 3rd in Hillsborough. Here, runners of last year's Eastern Canadian Orienteering Championships will get a second chance to get even with the 'Pits of Despair' before the undergrowth gets out of control (Err...Ed's note #2. Didn't that happen some while ago!!??)
In elite news, New Brunswick has three out of four athletes pre-selected to run at WOC this July in Finland (technically, Cherie Mahoney now runs for an Ottawa club). The remainder of the team will be selected at the Ottawa Interclub meet on the May 19-20 long weekend.
Sister events to orienteering that also involve navigation and endurance are taking place this year in the form of SAR challenges (April 28-29, Hammonds Plains, NS: see OANS website) and rogaines. Stay tuned for an insider's look at Adventure Racing when Doug Mahoney, ONB ex-pat and member of team "Skreemin' Fury" talks about his successful season last year.
Finally, the 2001 orienteering season not only brings a fresh new schedule of quality orienteering events; we must again meet some challenges. Unfortunately, in New Brunswick, orienteering remains a relatively unknown sport struggling for membership and funding. It is essential to build our membership base to help make orienteering a self-sustaining activity. Throughout the year special efforts will be made to increase the public profile of orienteering through press releases and advertising campaigns. Through these efforts we hope to reach many more potential orienteers. Once we start realizing the benefits of the increased publicity, it remains our duty as die-hard orienteering enthusiasts to welcome all newcomers to our sport. I would like to ask everyone to make a special effort to make orienteering anenjoyable experience for newcomers. Also, with the increased publicity efforts, it is even more important as event organizers to back up our publicity campaign with a high quality product of well-organized and creative events. Looking forward to seeing you in the woods!
Mike
Carol Ross
Orienteering is a sport that allows us to maintain our mental prowess while staying in shape, but not many Canadians are aware of it. In New Brunswick we are fortunate to have many wonderful orienteers, among the best in the country. However, they are hardly recognized for their achievements outside the orienteering community. We owe it to them, to ourselves and to the sport we love to at least try to help raise the awareness of orienteering and to try to recruit more participants. This season, tell people about orienteering and bring friends along with you to meets. You might be surprised at the results.
If you want to take part in a bike-0 this October in the UNB Woodlot, Fredericton, please let me know. The event will be organised if enough interest is indicated. Score format, suitable for children, lots of trails. Helpers and suggestions also welcomed.
Rob Hughes, 363 5980 rustics@brunnet.net
May
5 - Camelot Park, Kentville -
jim.blanchard@go.ednet.ns.ca
May 12 -Amherst Sanctuary
macleajc@gov.ns.ca
May 26 - Bike and Foot-0-
nixga@yahoo.ca
June
9 - Short Distance and Score-0, Wentworth,
Cumberland County -
nixga@yahoo.ca
June 16 - Amherst Bird Sanctuary -
macleajc@gov.ns.ca
June 23 - Point Pleasant Park, Halifax
rjames@ns.sympatico.ca
July
7 or 14 - Canoe...date tentative confirmation of
high tide, Pugwash
nixga@yahoo.ca
July 21/22 - Dollar Lake:
Two day event and campout -
haynesmc@sportsns.ns.ca
Stig Skarborn, NCCP Coaching Coordinator
The following athletes have been named to the Elite/Junior New Brunswick Orienteering Team based on results from the year 2000 orienteering season, and the team selection criteria. Each of the athletes listed below is expected to continue orienteering as often as possible during the 2001 season. Membership on the squad will be re-assessed before the fall season.
Elite squad (A-Pool) members are entitled to financial support attending the Ottawa Interclub May 19-20, the September 8-9 Boulder Dash in New Hampshire (alternative event will be the Eastern Canadian Championships if organized by Ontario), and the Canadian Orienteering Championships October 6-8 in Brandon, Manitoba. In order to be a member of the A, B and C pools they must be paid up members of ONB for year 2001. The level of support has been set at $100 per person for the Ottawa Interclub event.
David and Bobbie Ross have volunteered to organize group transportation and escort a team, probably 8-10 persons maximum, to the Ottawa event. If you are interested in this trip, please contact Bobbie or David Ross at 389-8091, E-mail docsross@nbnet.nb.ca immediately, but no later than May 4. It is hoped that the pooled resources will pay for transportation and part board, with the athlete being responsible for event fees and registration themselves, food, and any part of the board not covered by the $100 per person. Details will be at the discretion of Bobbie and David Ross.
Elite squad athletes already in the area should notify Don Heron in advance of the event that they will be competing, in which case they will be entitled to a $100 contribution as well.
Elite Squad (A-Pool) Mike and Wil Smith, M20
B-Pool
Doug Mahoney, M20
Jon Smith, M20
Anne Hughes, F17-19
Vicky Whaley, F17-19
Kathleen Cameron, F17-19
Daven Hughes, M13-14
FraserRoss, M12
C-Pool
Graham
St-Laurent, M20
Jeff Mahoney, M20
Rachel St-Laurent, F15-16
If control descriptions and how they are determined, is needed, the
following resource should prove helpful.
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~ouoc/iofcd/iofcd.htm
Bobbie Ross
Have you ever slipped while in the woods orienteering or have the woods always been bone dry or without any leaf litter? Have you ever wondered how those elite orienteers streaked past you on the course? I finally discovered a concept any orienteer, including novices, can capitalize on and it has nothing to do with superior fitness nor enviable navigational skills. Have you ever tried to drive on show with summer tires? Have you ever tried to walk on ice with boots on?
For all these years I have always tried slogging through the woods in hiking boots or slipping through the forest in running shoes that end up ruined by the end of the day.
One of the best outcomes of my attendance in October 2000 at the North American Championships in New Jersey besides having private car time with my daughter, and actually finishing both courses (albeit in last place), was the chance to try on one of the many styles of orienteering shoes that were for sale at the event. I still can't understand how people buy footwear by mail order, as you can never really make sure they fit until they are on your feet.
Orienteering shoes are basically available in
narrow and medium widths with two types of soles, cleated and cleated with
metal studs, as well as high cut and the more popular low cut models. After
much modeling and asking others re their satisfaction with their own shoes I
settled on a pair of bright yellow high cut Jalas from Finland.
Within
moments of the start of the race I knew I had traversed the point of no return!
I was like a young buck racing though the undergrowth, leaping over logs,
clattering over rocks, remaining upright while charging across mud, with the
ability to turn on a dime at high speed!
Two problems quickly became apparent. I was now going so fast through the woods that when I fell I tumbled forward head over heels rather than the usual feet slipping out from under me thereby landing on my derriere. Secondly I could no longer read the map as fast as I could run. Especially while trying to sort out how to use a new thumb compass, but that is another story.
In conclusion, definitely get a grip with cleated new shoes if you are unsafe even at low speeds, as I was. Consider metal studs if you want the ultimate grip. Consider the high cut style if you have weak ankles. I only wish that I had these new shoes at the Pits of Despair at the COC's August 2000, as I would still own a decent pair of running shoes.
Carol & Fraser Ross
My brother (age 11) and I (age 13) have recently tried out Win OL, Orienteering for Windows. It is, in a nutshell, virtual orienteering. In the Demo, which we downloaded from the internet, allows you to choose from 2 maps and about 10 courses. Then you can choose what conditions you want, such as night, fog and optimal. The game is fairly easy to control but I find it very annoying that I can't use my sense of direction to help me complete the course. However, that's what the compass is there for. There are practically no features, and no woods to speak of, only the odd tree here and there. One nice feature is at the end it traces what you did on the map, so you can see where you went. All in all it's quite fun, but I wouldn't pay a lot of money for the full version. And it sure doesn't beat being out in the woods!
Comments on Win OL from David Ross......
Here are a couple of comments as a parent.
Stig Skarborn
Course Setters often hear complaints about their courses. Here is your opportunity to set a course yourself, to show that you are an organizing force to be reckoned with, and to give you the opportunity to hear others complain about your course. If you would like to try your hand at setting a course (or up to four courses) for this event, please contact me at skarborn@brunnet.net. I will send you a blank map of Mactaquac Provincial Park with the start and finish areas, and the location of the last control. No later than June 1, you should mail me the map back with your theoretical proposed course(s). You do not have to field check the proposed control locations. I will do so, in my role as the official course setter. The courses should comply with the course setting guidelines of the COF "B" Meet Manual. A copy can be ordered from the COF at a cost of $10, or I can send you copies of the relevant pages.
If several courses are submitted for each level of difficulty (1 to 4), I will select the one from each category which I think is best. If a proposed control location is unsuitable, I will change the location to a suitable nearby feature. The prize for the competition will consist of the enjoyment of having had competitors on your course and, of course, being on hand to hear their critique when they arrive back at the finish.
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