Father’s Day 2014 dawned crisp and blue and sunny, with not a breath of wind and not a cloud in the sky. On any other day, we would have anticipated a huge turnout, particularly as Wattle Park is in a prime location in the Eastern Suburbs, but given it was Father’s Day with all those associated family commitments, we weren’t really expecting large numbers.
Well. Were we mistaken. As the last competitor (Peter Maloney) showed up just before midday and got handed a non-cardboard score card and sprint course hastily hand-drawn on a blank map, we looked down at our attendance sheet and noticed that we’d had more than 50 competitors (some with families) turn up!
Luckily it was just the one map and control card that we were short, and Peter is a regular ARDF competitor so took it all in his stride.
We hope everyone enjoyed themselves – certainly all the kids were smiling, and there weren’t too many grumbles (that the course setters heard, anyway) about control placement, which is always a relief when you’re setting multiple loops. Also all the equipment behaved and no transmitters were stolen, so basically, I’d call this a successful day.
Thanks to Geoff for the use of his maps, to Pierre, for co-setting and running this one and putting out transmitters with me this morning, and also to my long-suffering partner David who programmed up and battery-checked all the Fox-Ors and helped me put out plate controls on Saturday evening. Also to Fitzel, because he has fleas.
OK. Enough waffle. Here are some results.
Sprint Loop
This was a short (about 2.2km straight line distance) line course set in the eastern end of Wattle Park. Ian Dodd pointed out that there was an easy cheat’s way to shorten one’s distance on this one, given we weren’t using SI controls. In my naivete, I didn’t even think that this would be a problem, and I’d like to think that given the relaxed nature of the day and the cheerfulness of the competitors, this didn’t happen.
| Name | Start | Finish | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Hatley | 11:08:30 | 11:23:30 | 0:15:00 |
| Stephen Bird | 10:16:20 | 10:31:30 | 0:15:10 |
| Kristian Ruuska | 10:25:05 | 10:43:20 | 0:18:15 |
| Orry Thomas | 10:25:05 | 10:43:20 | 0:18:15 |
| Ian Dodd | 12:25:30 | 12:44:15 | 0:18:45 |
| Peter Maloney | 12:43:45 | 13:04:20 | 0:20:35 |
| Geoff Armstrong | 10:34:10 | 10:54:50 | 0:20:40 |
| Peter Grover | 11:17 | 11:39:24 | 0:22:24 |
| Deb Sutherland | 11:16 | 11:38:30 | 0:22:30 |
| Greg Tamblyn | 11:15:30 | 11:39:35 | 0:24:05 |
| Mark Besley | 11:55:38 | 12:21:19 | 0:25:41 |
| Dennis Mews | 10:35:45 | 11:01:50 | 0:26:05 |
| Pat Mews | 10:36:45 | 11:04:10 | 0:27:25 |
| Merv Bendle | 10:53:45 | 11:21:20 | 0:27:35 |
| John Sheahan | 12:00 | 12:28:30 | 0:28:30 |
| Debbie Dodd | 11:57 | 12:25:45 | 0:28:45 |
| Janet Johnson | 10:39:30 | 11:09:08 | 0:29:38 |
| Lara Bell | 12:55:00 | 13:25:30 | 0:30:30 |
| Pam Braithwaite | 10:49:30 | 11:20:45 | 0:31:15 |
| Bernadette Murray | 10:00 | 10:33 | 0:33:00 |
| Denise Pike | 10:50:40 | 11:23:50 | 0:33:10 |
| Pat Miller | 11:11:20 | 11:45 | 0:33:40 |
| Lauris Stirling | 10:33 | 11:07:20 | 0:34:20 |
| Andrew Francis | 10:17:45 | 10:55:55 | 0:38:10 |
| Liz Hatley | 10:39 | 11:18 | 0:39:00 |
| Kevin Maloney | 10:12 | 10:55:15 | 0:43:15 |
| Suzanne O’Callaghan | 11:49:15 | 12:33:20 | 0:44:05 |
| Rosie Salvaris | 10:00:45 | 10:47 | 0:46:15 |
| Des Gregory | 10:00:45 | 10:47 | 0:46:15 |
| Mike Hubbert | 9:35:00 | 10:23 | 0:48:00 |
| Alan Miller | 11:01:30 | 11:50 | 0:48:30 |
| Adams Family | 11:25:15 | 12:14:15 | 0:49:00 |
| Zoe Davies + Family | 10:24:30 | 11:15:55 | 0:51:25 |
| Amber Lecluyse + Family | 10:24:30 | 11:44:30 | 1:20:00 |
| Burr Family | 10:24:45 | 11:45 | 1:20:15 |
| Ardern Family | 10:24:30 | 11:45 | 1:20:30 |
| McGill Family | 10:24:24 | 11:45 | 1:20:36 |
| Thomas Pritchett + Family | 10:24:30 | 11:45:55 | 1:21:25 |
| Chris Jeffries | 10:40 | 12:01:40 | 1:21:40 |
Scatter Loop
We used the usual Wattle Park street map for this loop, scaled it down to be the same as the sprint map and hacked off a small corner to create a scatter course which was not too long. It’s surprisingly difficult to create interesting, short scatter courses! Hope we succeeded. Competitors had the choice of doing all 12 controls for a distance that I measured at 3.3km, or 6 out of the 12 controls for a distance of about 2km.
| Name | # Controls | Start | Finish | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Hatley | 12 | 10:51:25 | 11:08:15 | 0:16:50 |
| Ian Dodd | 12 | 12:44:30 | 13:05:00 | 0:20:30 |
| Kristian Ruuska | 12 | 11:00:40 | 11:22:45 | 0:22:05 |
| Orry Thomas | 12 | 11:00:40 | 11:22:45 | 0:22:05 |
| Geoff Armstrong | 12 | 11:02:20 | 11:24:50 | 0:22:30 |
| Denise Pike | 12 | 11:41:30 | 12:07:10 | 0:25:40 |
| Deb Sutherland | 12 | 10:33:50 | 10:59:30 | 0:25:40 |
| Greg Tamblyn | 12 | 11:55:30 | 12:21:55 | 0:26:25 |
| Pam Braithwaite | 12 | 11:25 | 11:52:32 | 0:27:32 |
| Pat Mews | 12 | 11:20:40 | 11:48:40 | 0:28:00 |
| Dennis Mews | 12 | 11:19:40 | 11:48:40 | 0:29:00 |
| Janet Johnson | 12 | 11:12:50 | 11:42:30 | 0:29:40 |
| Mark Besley | 12 | 10:51:45 | 11:22:25 | 0:30:40 |
| Bernadette Murray | 12 | 10:35:30 | 11:06:50 | 0:31:20 |
| Peter Maloney | 12 | 13:35:00 | 14:07 | 0:32:00 |
| Lauris Stirling | 12 | 11:12 | 11:45:15 | 0:33:15 |
| Geoff Adams | 12 | 12:15:05 | 12:49 | 0:33:55 |
| Andrew Francis | 12 | 11:00 | 11:35:20 | 0:35:20 |
| Christine Parker and Peter Berry | 12 | 10:32:05 | 11:09:05 | 0:37:00 |
| Sandy Burgoyne | 12 | 10:27:30 | 11:05:40 | 0:38:10 |
| Murray Hanna | 12 | 9:55:30 | 10:35:10 | 0:39:40 |
| Ian Stirling | 12 | 10:30:15 | 11:11:40 | 0:41:25 |
| Pat Miller | 12 | 10:12:45 | 10:57:15 | 0:44:30 |
| Liz Hatley | 12 | 9:51 | 10:36:20 | 0:45:20 |
| Ian Baker | 12 | 10:38 | 11:23:50 | 0:45:50 |
| Dorothy Adams | 12 | 11:15:30 | 12:04 | 0:48:30 |
| Alan Miller | 12 | 10:12:45 | 11:06 | 0:53:15 |
| Gray Family | 12 | 10:23 | 11:30:40 | 1:07:40 |
| Peter Grover | 6 | 10:52:45 | 11:09 | 0:16:15 |
| Debbie Dodd | 6 | 11:34:20 | 11:51:25 | 0:17:05 |
| Stephen Bird | 6 | 10:39:45 | 10:57 | 0:17:15 |
| Merv Bendle | 6 | 11:26:30 | 11:45 | 0:18:30 |
| Henk de Jong | 6 | 10:11:15 | 10:40:50 | 0:29:35 |
| Dianne Shalders | 6 | 10:11:15 | 10:40:50 | 0:29:35 |
| Mike Hubbert | 6 | 10:25 | 10:59 | 0:34:00 |
| Julie Wood | 6 | 10:23:35 | 11:05:10 | 0:41:35 |
Fox-Or Loop
The Fox-Or loop took in the western part of the park, with all those lovely hills. Straight line distance for the lot was about 1.7km. It was predominantly our regulars who tried this loop, but we roped in a few newcomers as well. Congratulations to Deb for finding her chosen 3 transmitters, and to Sandy who said she’d give it a try, and came back in good time with all Txs under her belt!
| Name | # Txs | Start | Finish | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Hatley | 6 | 10:37:20 | 10:51 | 0:13:40 |
| Kristian Ruuska | 6 | 10:44:30 | 10:59 | 0:15:00 |
| Orry Thomas | 6 | 10:44:30 | 10:59 | 0:15:00 |
| Ian Dodd | 6 | 11:28 | 11:46 | 0:18:00 |
| Peter Maloney | 6 | 13:06 | 13:25:00 | 0:19:00 |
| Suzanne O’Callaghan | 6 | 11:25 | 11:45 | 0:20:00 |
| Mark Besley | 6 | 10:30 | 10:50:50 | 0:20:50 |
| Greg Tamblyn | 6 | 9:57:10 | 10:20:15 | 0:23:05 |
| Henk de Jong | 6 | 10:49:30 | 11:21 | 0:31:30 |
| Dianne Shalders | 6 | 10:49:30 | 11:21 | 0:31:30 |
| Lara Bell and Paul Elliott | 6 | 11:25 | 11:59 | 0:34:00 |
| Mike Hubbert | 6 | 11:00:20 | 11:36:20 | 0:36:00 |
| Sandy Burgoyne | 6 | 11:21 | 12:05:10 | 0:44:10 |
| Debbie Dodd | 3 | 12:29:15 | 12:47:15 | 0:18:00 |
ARDF Loop
In a park as small and open as this one, we weren’t able to have the flags as visible as we would have liked, but despite this, the only complaint we got was that the flags did not match the Tx numbers. Whoops… Yes, we did notice this as we were putting them out. But then we decided we couldn’t be bothered going back and changing the flags over. (Come on, early on a Sunday morning…)
We saw a bit of a change in the results for this leg; where previously speedsters Tim and Ian were vying for winning places, in this leg our more experienced ARDFers demanded a bite of the action. Congratulations to Kristian for winning this loop (despite the dodgy flag numbering), although it was a bit mean of you to give your mate Orry the slip so close to the end! Particular credit, also, to David and Peter who, despite walking, found all five controls with minimal fuss, and only a couple of minutes more slowly than Kristian had. Sometimes accuracy beats running ability – excellent effort, boys! Good work also to Greg, who found three Txs, and Lara and Paul who gave it a go and picked up two.
| Name | # Txs | Start | Finish | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kristian Ruuska | 5 | 11:25 | 12:03:20 | 0:38:20 |
| David Beard | 5 | 12:00 | 12:39:55 | 0:39:55 |
| Peter Maloney | 5 | 12:00 | 12:39:55 | 0:39:55 |
| Orry Thomas | 5 | 11:25 | 12:05:15 | 0:40:15 |
| Tim Hatley | 5 | 9:50:00 | 10:36:50 | 0:46:50 |
| Ian Dodd | 5 | 11:46 | 12:44:50 | 0:58:50 |
| Henk de Jong | 5 | 12:10 | 13:11 | 1:01:00 |
| Dianne Shalders | 5 | 12:10 | 13:11 | 1:01:00 |
| Mark Besley | 3 | 11:25 | 11:54 | 0:29:00 |
| Greg Tamblyn | 3 | 10:25 | 11:15:10 | 0:50:10 |
| Lara Bell and Paul Elliott | 2 | 12:00 | 12:38:15 | 0:38:15 |
The Battlers
The beauty of this CombO course is that people can come and try whatever loops they want – I think that’s what makes it such a popular event with both orienteers and ARDFers alike. But a special mention, I think, is absolutely necessary for those people who put in the effort to try every single leg. So without further ado, here are those brave souls who took on all four loops on offer. (Particular credit to Mark who, every time he came back, informed us that he needed to go home to get to a Father’s Day event… and then proceeded to go and try the next leg anyway!)
| Name | # Scatter controls | # Fox Ors | # ARDF Txs | Total time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Hatley | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1:32:20 |
| Kristian Ruuska | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1:33:40 |
| Orry Thomas | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1:35:35 |
| Peter Maloney | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1:51:30 |
| Ian Dodd | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1:56:05 |
| Mark Besley | 12 | 6 | 3 | 1:46:11 |
| Greg Tamblyn | 12 | 6 | 3 | 2:03:45 |
Congratulations to Tim Hatley, our overall winner!
PS. Kudos to this nice online Excel-to-HTML converter, which produces clean HTML tables without all the crappy formatting stuff Excel tries to stick in when you save as HTML from it: ~link~