Here is the Presidio story — let's call it the prequel to the Golden Gate Park event. 🙂
As Day 1 of Cal-O-Fest, Monday at the Presidio would be the introduction to California for many orienteers from around the world. Things had better look good, and be good — no pressure! Thanks to all the volunteers who contributed, I think we met our objectives, and the meet can be considered a success for BAOC. The spectacular venue certainly helped!
Matej Šebo was the beating heart of the event. As mapper, course setter, sole control placer, and creative equipment constructor, he put a huge amount of work into designing and producing quality courses. Key quote from Matej: "I'm honestly more attached to Yoda now for course quality reasons than sentimental value." ( I hope you all spotted Yoda!). With last-minute construction hand-drawn to maps overnight, and touches like the printed warmup maps, Matej's hard work and attention to detail made this a high-quality showcase for our club.
The event would not have happened without the work of Gavin Wyatt-Mair in negotiating our permit from the Presidio Trust, and all the background efforts of the Cal-O-Fest steering committee. It is a credit to our previous Presidio event directors and volunteers that we have established a great relationship with these stewards of the National Park. Orienteering is a unique proposition for the Trust to accommodate, but Gavin was able to negotiate a cost-effective and flexible permit arrangement. I shared my ED notes with the on-the-day park ranger, and the emphasis on being good partners with the Trust and the public clearly resonated with him.
The Registration team, led by Sarah Williams were the front line for that critical first interaction with our competitors. The highly-organized packets gave a very professional first impression, and the friendly welcome got things off on the right tone. The packet distribution team included Nancy Lindeman, Barbara Robben, Steve Beuerman, Olga Kraght, and Gary Kraght. Olga and Gary also dealt with merchandise distribution, issues, and exchanges. The Registration team included Steve Haas, Rosemary Johnson, Dennis Wildfogel, and Jeff Lanam. Bill Cusworth was behind the scenes answering emails and solving issues. Marie-Josée Parayre and Sheila Cotter gave beginner clinics, and François Léonard also helped with set-up.
The Start crew were led by Scott Aster, who also directed the preparation of the Start layout under challenging, windy conditions. Scott was resourceful in dealing with disappearing maps and clue sheets, and the learning was also put into play on Day 2. Other members of the start crew were Stephanie Maclean, Jamie Maclean, Graham Brew, Chuck Spalding, Terry Farrah, Tony Pinkham, Eric Bone, Wayne Staats, Jeff Goodwin, Steve Tarry, Betsy Geise, and Deron van Hoff. Dennis Wildfogel assigned start times, and Jay Hann formatted and printed start lists.
Rahel Schneider and Rick McBee ably staffed the Finish.
Jay Hann and Adam from Western Race Services set up all the electronic equipment, coordinated E-punch equipment, and generated results.
Our pre-runners were essential to the success of the meet. Lubo Šebo, Daniel Šebo, Steve Gregg, and Rex Winterbottom checked the large majority of controls, and identified one control that had been interfered with. This had the potential to seriously disrupt the event for many people, but the rapid response from pre-runners allowed Matej to correct the issue in a seamless manner to competitors. All the pre-runners then transitioned to course-marshal roles to ensure compliance of competitors and to avoid further control interference. They were extremely helpful in heading off potentially sensitive issues, such as packs of cyclists parking around one control.
Lubo Šebo, Daniel Šebo, Matej Šebo, Steve Gregg, Rex Winterbottom, and Tapio Karras picked up controls, and several members of the Day-2 team stuck around to organize the equipment.
Thanks to all! Let me know if I missed any volunteers.
See you all at Morgan Territory, and then on to Tahoe!
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