QO have a policy of matching experienced planners with novice controllers (as at this event) and vice-versa.  This first fixture in the 2005/6 series was an experiment with Sunday local events in an attempt to increase numbers, especially of juniors.  We will assess its success at the end of the season.

Dave and I had preliminary discussions at the Scottish 6-day, but I was away for a further two weeks and Dave was away on a subsequent week, which compressed the timetable a little. The unavailability and unsuitability of parts of the northern part of Lydeard Hill, added to the early date of the event, required a new area to be mapped  (with two starts) and also necessitated additional publicity.

However, I was satisfied with the sequence of stages in the mapping, planning, checking, and printing processes which led up to the event, thanks to the co-operation of all those involved.

On the day the sun shone (until the time came to collect in controls!). No vandalism or problems with controls, thank goodness! The range of times conformed to the guidelines and the split of last years Green competitors into Blue/Green in the ratio 26/21 worked well. 11 junior competitors was an improvement also.  Apologies to the Green competitors for the tough start, but they were compensated with a downhill run to the Finish!

The Committee will discuss further the need for written control descriptions for longer courses, but I feel that Green and Blue should be aimed at those with experience and therefore knowledge of pictorial descriptions.

Roger Craddock