We had 118 orienteers in 59 starts.

The weather was perfect for orienteering with temps in the 60s and sunny.

In the Jr. Champs' Middle School/Jr. High Individual Division, Thomas Yunt of Stebbins High School is applauded for posting the fastest individual time.

In the Rookie Individual Division an at-large youth Joseph Brandt took the top spot.  For the Rookie Co-op (i.e. group) Division, the Burkett, Anderson, and Jones teams of Beavercreek High School were on top.

The JV Individual Division's Caleb Kjar from Beavercreek High School posted the fastest time with Henry Taylor a mere 30 seconds behind.  Beavercreek's Gent, Campbell, & Friedman rounded out the team to take the division's large traveling trophy.  For the JV Co-op Division, Beavercreek High School almost won it, but only two teams finished seccessfully.  The top three times determine the team score, and only two could count.

In the Varsity Division, no individual orienteers competed.  The Varsity level doesn't have a cooperative (i.e. group) division.  I understand the reasoning behind only sending out groups of orienteers, however in the spring competition vying for trophies, the large traveling trophies are only awarded to teams of individuals, not teams of groups.  The guiding principle focusing the expert level course at this championship on individual achievement within a team setting is to align it with Orienteering USA youth competitions, the national governing body of orienteering in the US.  Hopefully these seasoned navigators can take on the cause for their school and run individually during the spring Jr. Champs event where the large traveling trophies are on the line.  Success in bringing home that big trophy (or trophies) starts with planning your team strategy.  Be sure to reference the Jr. Champs rules, and as a help, use the Team Planner spreadsheet..

Reconciling results between the Jr. Champs Practice an the Turkey Hunt may cause wonder about why there are many in the Turkey Hunt classes that are associated with schools, where one would think they should be in the Jr. Champs classes.  The reasons are varied and include:
   • The group consisted of leaders of the youth organization, or had adult navigational assistance on the course.
   • The group/individual ran a second course.  Only the first can count toward the Jr. Champs classes.
   • The group ran a course that did not have a corresponding Jr. Champs class.
For this last reason, several groups ran the green course, some quite successfully.  However for the green course, the only Jr. Champs class is for individuals.  The green course is designed and set at an expert level where any mapped feature is fair game as a control location.  Thus, those on the green course have trained on the earlier development courses, are comfortable navigating with their given tools and experience, and can test their ability in high competition.

The split time list shows time spent traveling between each control.  This is a compilation of everyone's split time report they received when they finished.  For each competitor, the first row shows cummulative time, and the second row shows each leg's split time.  Leading times are in blue.

The next MVOC event is the Night-O at Cricket Holler Scout Camp on December 9 using reflective controls.  It includes a Search & Destroy - O and a Potluck -- bring a dish to share.  It's all great fun, and we have the K-Lodge reserved again this year!  Check out more details on the MVOC home page for this event where controls can be found in any order -- with a time limit!  You don't want to be late!

Many thanks to the volunteers who helped:
Setup: Sharon Bond
Registration: Sharon Bond
Computer Entry: Ben Bond
Control Pick-up: Bill Donnelly