Report by Robin Strain member of East Lothian Orienteers (ELO)
East Lothian Orienteers (ELO) managed three events in the autumn, and we have had our second since the latest restrictions were eased this weekend.
All events have been limited to club members who live within the East Lothian local authority area, which meant excluding several of our members in neighbouring Edinburgh. We have given temporary club membership to those in nearby clubs who live in our area. We have not actively tried to attract newcomers, but we have had some enquiries who were able to come to the event once they had joined the club. Entries were taken on a Google Form and payment was by bank transfer.
We had about 70 individuals in 50 groups. The biggest extra task has been drawing up and distributing start lists. We allocated start times with one start a minute for ten minutes followed by a five-minute gap. We encouraged runners to arrive near their allocated start time and that worked well.
After the course, download was fairly normal although the download unit and splits printer (Epson) were kept at a distance from the computer and operator. There was no results displayed, but results were almost instantly uploaded to the website.
It is very rewarding to hear all the positive comments from runners after they have finished. Members are just pleased to be able to get out into the terrain and take part, however rusty they discover they are. One of the biggest challenges was preventing groups forming, even socially distanced ones, after their runs.
Photos credits: Robin Strain (ELO)
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To view the current British Orienteering Guidance visit:
https://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/COVID19_Safe_Orienteering
#StaySafe