Manchester and District Orienteering Club Torver Back Common Regional Event Sunday February 26th 2006

Results

Organisers' comments

We were glad that so many people entered and enjoyed their runs on Torver Back Common. We apologise to those caught in delays at Registration or whose choice of course was constrained by the popularity of the event. With a winter event we wanted Start, Finish and Assembly close together, which put some constraints on course planning.

We thank Ray Barnes for being a careful controller, who made sure that we considered the risks inherent in a winter event. Fortunately we did not need to use our search team or give out directions to the local hospital.

Our thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Wilson of Hoathwaite farm, and the National Trust, for the use of the parking field. Thanks also to the University of Birmingham and their staff for the use of the Priestley Centre, which was an ideal base for a winter event.

Thanks to the Torver Commoners, particularly Arnold Lancaster, for the use of the common. We very much appreciate the work they are doing on habitat improvement, including bracken clearance.

Finally thanks to everyone in the MDOC team who put so much work into making the event a success.

Margaret and Andrew Gregory
0161 445 5653 (only if necessary, and before 10.00 p.m.)

Planner's comments

We deserved the lovely weather, cos I'd got cold and wet on more or less every previous visit. It was good to see that the bracken had flattened considerably in the last couple of weeks.

We all owe a big "Thanks" to Ray Barnes, for stepping in as Controller at the eleventh hour and saving the status of the event. Ray's diligence under severe time pressure was extremely helpful and much appreciated. Thanks also to MasterPrinter Phil Colville for a couple of very timely observations; Eddie and Julie for SI boxes; Roger and Jen for helping me set out all 81 controls, and to Alan, Alan, Godfrey, John, Chris and Simon for bringing them all back again.

Torver is a lovely mixed area, making you worry whether you can do it justice (and whether you can find anywhere at all for White/Yellow/Orange). I tried to get everyone into the best bits and away from the worst of the rocky stuff. To keep Start and Finish super-convenient for the car park meant I had a very narrow strip of wood to thread the courses through, but it seemed to work out OK - from the amount of head-scratching I saw as I pottered round the area, the majority of people found it pretty challenging.

One consequence of the late surge of entries was that traffic levels at a few controls became an issue too late for me to change anything, and I did see a few convoys build up. With current demographics, if you follow the BOF Guidelines for Regional Events, Course 4 is very likely to cause problems like this. Someone suggested on Saturday that I could have done a second Course 4 of the same length, and spread the classes across the two courses - I wish I'd thought of that, and it is certainly what I would do next time.

All feedback gratefully received.

John Britton

Controller's comments

An exemplar of how a regional event should be planned and executed.
On behalf of the competitors, a "thank you" and "well done" to MDOC.

Ray Barnes, NOC

Badge Times

The Controller has adjusted badge times for W35L, W35S, JM1, JM2 and JM4 in accordance with BOFRules/AppendixJ/1.4.

Class     Gold    Silver   Bronze

M21L      79:18    95:10   126:54
M21S      56:39    67:58    90:38
M21V      38:02    45:38    60:51
M35L      80:57    97:09   129:32
M35S      53:38    64:22    85:50
M40L      84:15   101:06   134:48
M40S      55:49    66:59    89:19
M45L      70:01    84:02   112:02
M45S      47:01    56:25    75:13
M50L      71:45    86:06   114:48
M50S      48:10    57:48    77:04
M55L      65:37    78:44   104:59
M55S      46:31    55:50    74:26
M60L      70:44    84:53   113:10
M60S      43:43    52:28    69:57
M65L      68:40    82:24   109:53
M65S      49:40    59:37    79:29
M70L      60:22    72:27    96:36
M75L      70:12    84:15   112:20
M75S      57:49    69:22    92:30
JM1       15:53    19:04    25:26
JM2       24:07    28:57    38:36
JM3       41:06    49:19    65:46
JM4       46:57    56:21    75:08
JM5L      67:17    80:45   107:40
JM5M      52:52    63:26    84:35
JM5S      37:29    44:59    59:59

Class     Gold    Silver   Bronze

W21L      82:38    99:09   132:13
W21S      55:29    66:34    88:46
W21V      40:08    48:09    64:13
W35L      68:59    82:47   110:23
W35S      48:55    58:42    78:16
W40L      68:59    82:47   110:23
W40S      48:55    58:42    78:16
W45L      60:41    72:50    97:06
W45S      43:54    52:41    70:15
W50L      68:48    82:33   110:05
W50S      40:59    49:11    65:34
W55L      69:02    82:51   110:28
W55S      49:34    59:28    79:18
W60L      80:08    96:10   128:14
W60S      57:32    69:02    92:03
W65L      72:38    87:09   116:13
W65S
W70L
W75L     105:16   126:19   168:26
W75S
JW1       15:53    19:04    25:26
JW2       24:07    28:57    38:36
JW3       44:31    53:25    71:14
JW4       46:57    56:21    75:08
JW5L      84:08   100:58   134:38
JW5S      59:40    71:36    95:28

String Course Results