About 130 people came out on a warm, yet comfortable day to Spring Lake County park in Santa Rosa to try their hand at Orienteering. Of the 130, about 115 were brand new to the sport, and the enthusiasm they showed even with the heat was tremendous. Everyone seemed to have a good time, registration and starts flowed smoothly all day, and most participants even completed their courses!

I set both White and Yellow courses, which toured the areas immediately around Spring Lake, utilizing the maze of rock piles, intricate trails, and small mapped features to make for technical courses, demanding excellent map reading skills. I also set a short Orange level course which was listed as a training opportunity for people interested in more advanced navigation. In this spirit, no times were taken on the Orange course, and it was advertised more as a training exercise rather than as a regular course.

At registration we handed out BRUNTON brochures, and gave away snacks at the finish line. Unfortunately, many of the mini candy bars I brought melted in the heat, but the bags of chips went quickly!

I must thank the many volunteers who helped me make this event such a success. Judy Koehler got out lots of publicity to the local press before the event and did countless beginners clinics throughout the morning. Martin Taylor, Gregory Logan, and Marty Lautze all helped set up the start area and worked the starts. Gary Kraght handled the finish line single handedly most of the day, while my parents, George & Pat Aster were the stalwart registration crew. Deren Von Hoff graciously picked up most of the controls, helped by Marty Lautze and a first timer, Claire Warner. THANKS EVERYONE!!!

Below are the preliminary results.

Preliminary Results

  Pl  Name                                              Time

White Course    (2.3 km, 45 m, 8 controls)

   1  Tom Brand                                         36:48
   2  Ronette & Chad Verrall                            39:23
   3  Siposs Family (4)                                 40:44
   4  Danny Linder, Enbo Li                             41:00
   5  Robert & Jean Thille, Crystal Rigby               41:07
   6  Dana Keeten, Adam Kohot, Ronald Jensen            41:29
   7  Heidi, Anna, Sofie, & Thomas Whalen               46:23
   8  Carson Brand                                      47:40
   9  Cathy & Pat McKenna, Anna, Susan Spencer          47:59
  10  Lynne Hollander                                   49:24
  11  David Spengler, David Darr, Brad Osgood,
        Chris Monson                                    54:45
  12  Lisa Bellone (4)                                  59:08
  13  Don & Florian Basmajian                           62:06
  14  Colton Dixon, Aaron Randall, Daniel Spengler      67:15
  15  Karen, Matt, Sarah Hoffman                        69:38
  16  Alex, Alexandra & Nicole Vargas                   72:05
  17  Bryan, Stephen, Jonathan, & Erik Fisher           75:35
  18  Chris Wasden, Alex Spengler, Blake Monson         78:47
  19  Bev & Ron Leve                                    83:51
  20  Nathan Kendall, Zak Osgood, Jeff Nelson           87:12
  21  A. & J. Young                                    104:14

      Jackie Alvarez, Stacey Strong, Mark Murphy         MSP  (#1)


Yellow Course   (3.8 km, 100 m, 11 controls)

   1  Jim LaFrance                                      35:11
   2  Tim Millor                                        36:40
   3  Heidi Whalen                                      41:43
   4  Bill Whalen                                       51:02
   5  Martin Taylor                                     64:12
   6  John Quintrell                                    68:24
   7  Julie Bywater, Sonny Hogg                         80:26
   8  David Springer                                    85:03
   9  Brian, Kevin, & Aleda Carnes, Erin McCawley       85:33
  10  Marty Lautze                                      86:09
  11  Beth Ann Turner                                   90:05
  12  Sarter (3)                                        92:53
  13  Bugs Posse (3)                                    94:32
  14  Toby Brooks, Scott & Jag Jensen, Cameron Purcell  96:02
  15  Will & Ian Lamers                                 98:10
  16  Emily & David Sims                                99:35
  17  Paul & Jessica Newman, Amanda Clem               119:56
  18  Jeff Bowman                                      121:30
  19  Mark Burchill, Mel Konrad                        123:55
  20  Glen, Caitlin, & Matthew Hatfield, Lisa Mast     124:15
  21  Ben, Judy, Corey, Leah                           138:58
  22  Tim Weaver                                       138:59
  23  Caitlin Hansen, Amanda Austin                    151:52
  24  Bob Hansen, Larry Coonjohn                       155:17
  25  Jennifer, Lisa, Nick, Rachel                     175:21

      John, Robin, Kurt, & Alison Wendler                DNF
      Josh Smith                                         DNF
      Jared & Susie Hansen                           Lost Card


Orange Course   (2.3 km, 65 m climb. 8 controls)

      (Training course; no times were recorded)

      Jeff Smith
      Eric Roller
      Rosemary Johnson
      Deron Von Hoff
      Tim Kinion
      Rich & Jan Steiner
      Dan & Aaron Kalb
      Claire Warner
      Jim LaFrance
      Tim & Christopher Weaver, May King
      John, Nanette, & Melissa Haviland

_______________

DNF = Did not finish
MSP = Mispunched