By Peter Graube
Werner Haag and Rory Maclean (supported by his parents Derek and Stephanie) performed the heavy lifting for this event. Werner was the driving force in the selection the northern portion of Joe Grant Park (which is rarely used) as the venue for this year's event. Rory, now 14 years old, set the White and Yellow courses for the second year. Werner set the intermediate and advanced courses.
This was the first classic orienteering event in quite a while. 169 people showed up. The day was beautiful, if a bit warm. The wildflowers and poison oak were abundant. The ground was hardening. A hawk was seen on the Blue course wrestling a snake; the snake escaped.
Werner put in a lot of effort trying to accommodate various comments in setting the advanced courses, including many from Derek. The Orange and Brown courses turned out to be tough: many participants did not finish. Several Blue contestants said the course was perfect.
The White and Yellow courses received rave reviews. Two groups liked White so much that they went on to do Yellow. Rory, the course setter, provided a fine example for the younger generation of how to take charge.
Volunteers
Of course, the event couldn't have happened without the help of the many volunteers.
E-punch: Rosemary Johnson, Jeff Lanam, George Minarik, Gian Coolen, Rory Maclean, and Derek Maclean
Registration: Steve Haas and Sarah Williams
Saturday Setup: Werner Haag, Rory Maclean, and Derek Maclean
Sunday Setup: Werner Haag, Derek Maclean, George Minarik, Deron van Hoff, Greg Ehrensing, Bill & Barbara Straka, Vladimir Gusiatnikov, Nick Giori, and Robert Lewis
Starts: Rory Maclean and Derek Maclean
Beginner Clinics: Deron van Hoff, Werner Haag, and Derek Maclean
Control Retrieval, Equipment Packing, and Clean-up: Misha Kreslavsky, Daniel Sebo, Matej Sebo, Monika Sebo, Lubomir Sebo, Greg Ehrensing, Steve Haas, Wes Erck, and Mary & Scott Sampson
Map Printing: Bob Cooley
Web Page Updates: Chuck Spalding
The younger generation pitched in to help. Gian Coolen (11 years old) helped with epunch. Daniel Sebo (9 years old) and Matej Sebo (16 years old) helped clean up. Together with Rory, the enthusiasm of the younger generation makes me think the club has a good future.
Mary & Scott Sampson—first-timers to the sport—also enthusiastically helped with clean-up.
Results
The White course winners were the team of Ryan Gini, Cameron Owings, & Lucas Hobbs by 5 seconds, with Leander Coolen in second, and Emma Jansson in third. The top three on the Yellow course were Gian Coolen, Daniel Sebo, and Chris Danek. On Orange, the winner was Huba Horompoly, followed by Dennis Kourakin and the team of David Strong & Spencer Tai. The Long Orange course was won by the team of Pubudu Wariyapola & Jessica Cook, with the team of Eugene Bychkov & Ruslan Halavach in second, and Shawn Poston in third. Mikkel Conradi ran Brown as a second course and won. Otherwise, Dennis Wildfogel won Brown, followed by Evan Custer and Gary Kraght. The Green course winner was Cornelia Coolen, followed by Bruce Wolfe, and Marie-Josée Parayre. The top three on the Red course were Misha Kreslavsky, Tapio Karras, and Graham Brew. Blue was won by Mikkel Conradi, with François Léonard in second, and Vladimir Gusiatnikov in third.
This was George Minarik's first Joe Grant event since his recovery. He came in fifth on Brown, a very respectable showing. It was a joy to see George back in action.
Do not forget to fill in your routes on RouteGadget. The routes will be used by other orienteering clubs to analyze route choices, thus supporting the sport. Years later you will be able to look back and be reminded of your adventures.
Lost & Found
These items were left at the orienteering event at Joseph Grant Park:
- Car keys
- House keys
- Sun hat
- Compass
Call Peter Graube at 408-245-7457 if any of these items belong to you.