Valentine Hunt
Woodland Trails Scout Reservation
Feb. 17, 2018
The weather for the 2018 version of the Valentine Hunt was again relatively mild. The ground was sloppy soft and snow began to fall around noon, sometimes obscuring visibility.
There were 68 starts and about 75 orienteers.
Maliki C. was the winner in the Primary School category, while the brothers Reed and Finley ripped through the White course in about 8 and half minutes.
Ethan P. was the winner on the Yellow course. There were no girls running it this year.
The Orange course was, once again, technically difficult. The fastest time was put in by stalwart veteran Warren M., who was the only one to break one hour. The heartbreaker was control 5; I am guessing that, instead of taking a safe route, either using the reentrant left as a guiding feature, or using the catching feature of the trail, too many people attempted a direct line through the green, leading to confusion. From S and SW the control flag was visible from about 50m out; from N or E not so much. Some of the young people need to hone their skills on the yellow course a few times before attempting Orange.
On the Green course, Tizoc C. of Michigan had the winning time, though last year's champ Jamie R. was close on his heels before skipping two controls near the end. Chiori S. successfully defended her best female time from last year on Green.
On the Valentine Hunt's signature Purple course teen phenom Aidan M. covered the 9.4k course in a blistering 83 minutes. Gheorghe F. could have given him a run for his money, but looks to have made about 20 minutes worth of mistakes. Aidan's dad Rob had the fastest time on the long leg. I had expected 18 and 19 to be the widow makers on that course, but nobody seems to have had trouble with them. On the other hand, the leg to 20, which I think is easier led to some big booms. I am guessing that people did not stick to a disciplined E direction, but instead let themselves be pulled by the nice looking trail (SE) into the hunting ground.
If your name does not appear in the results, it is becase you did not download. Please download at future events, so that we know that you are not still out on the course.
Thanks to Shane D, Matt B, and Sharon B for help with registration. And thanks to Bill D and the Union Co. Orienteering Team for control pickup. Specials thanks to Mike M for help with all aspects of the event from flag placement to registration to control pickup.
Tom S
Meet Director