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Radio Society of Great Britain LEVER PARK ARDF - after the event.
Well how did it go? My first comment is a HUGE thankyou, firstly to SELOC. for being the only local 'O' club prepared to 'take us under their wing', give me an orienteering education, for which personal thanks go to Steve R, Clive and Caroline, and two events to which we could attach our radio O course. I have since joined them and consider myself a novice orienteer. Secondly my thanks go out to all who entered from as far afield as Scotland and the south coast, east midlands to west midlands but mainly to all the northern entries for whom, like me, this was their first event and I hope, not their last.
Other than the usual Lancashire weather, the only anxious moment was when 2 transmitters failed to start up on time and had to be investigated, the two furthest from the start of course. So as I started a walk to the oposite end of the park, the arrival of Sue & Allan Burgess from oarc. to run the start could not have been timed better and transport by car saved a walk and an hour of lost time.
All transmitters running now, registration and start open, we stood back to see who would turn up, 7 were expected but 10 were hoped for, double figures would make the day a success for us. SELOC's registration stood by and hoped for 100 entries. By midday both were happy, we saw 14 starters signed in while the 'O' camp exceeded 180.
All starters completed the course with varying degrees of success which suggests that the course difficulty was pitched about right for 11 radio entries, 5 newcomers, and 3 orienteers.
Finally my thanks go to Geoff Oliver G0BJR my co organiser, Pete Rushton G7PMZ in charge of timing, Sue G0RKE and Alan Burgess G4GLV who ran the start and supplied photographs of the event and Bob G3ORY, Dave M3WDD and Dave G3ZOI for for dropping me in this situation in the first place. Without your individual contributions, Lancashire would still not know what ARDF was. Now what about some activity in Derbyshire and Cheshire and what's that other county over the Pennines called ?
Phil Ellis M0GIE
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