Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Halloween Orienteering Meet A Great Success

On Friday, October 31st, we hosted an orienteering meet at Green's Creek on a sunny and gorgeous Halloween day. There were students from Colonel By, Glebe and Sir Guy Carleton, who joined our students on a total of 6 courses. In all, there were 101 students on everything from beginner to intermediate courses and it all started at the Hornet's Nest. Check the results below and the pictures on the side.

A special thanks to Colin Kirk, Bob and Helen Edward for helping us out on this wonderful day.

Beginner A

1. Laura Buffam (CW) 59:45
2. Taylor Lorenz (CW) 62:15
3. Shawn Hastings (CW) 62:32
4. Zoe Alcorn (CW) 63:58
5. Steven Clapp (CW) 64:20
6. Robbie & Thomas (CB) 67:53
7. Ryder Whittaker (CB) 83:01
8. Brittany Lee & Anna Gilliatr (CB) 85:42
9. April & Zara (CB) 88:46
10. Zeinab & Valbona (SGC) 106:45
11. Scott Maxwell (CW) 110:54
12. Paul & Brandon (SGC) 113:59
13. Max Hebert & Greg (CB) DNF (8 controls)
14. Jordan Ahmad (CW) DNF (6 controls)

Beginner B

1. Heather Kreker (CW) 42:59
2. Justin Whissell (CW) 48:59
3. Stina Hintze (CW) 52:02
4. Jamie Kraft (CB) 58:15
5. David Ethier (CW) 61:07
6. Kendra & Emma (CB) 62:01
7. Andrew Gaillard (CB) 109:21
8. Colleen Fleming (CW) 110:56
9. Jay & Alex (SGC) 117:48
10. David Tucciarone (CB) DNF (10 controls)

Intermediate A

1. Gabriel Harvey (CB) 80:36
2. Jeff Lachapelle (CB) 89:03
3. Stuart Jackson-Monroe (CW) 106:50
4. Ryan Wyatt (CW) 108.44
5. Bobby McNaughton (GLE) 110:39
6. Keith Burns (CW) 110:45
7. Kira & Justin (CW) 115:21
8. Stephen Weber (CW) 115:49
9. Ethan Richmond (CW) 118:19
10. Colin George (CW) 119:40
11. Stephanie Allen (GLE) DNF (14 controls)
11. Sean Atkinson (GLE) DNF (14 controls)
13. Alexander Joubert (GLE) DNF (12 controls)
14. Drew Hodges (GLE) DNF (9 controls)
14. Athena Papadas (GLE) DNF (9 controls)
14. Loretta Beauchamp (GLE) DNF (9 controls)
17. Margot Lederman (GLE) DNF (8 controls)
17. Emile Roy & Foster (GLE) DNF (8 controls)
17. Nathan Chan (CB) DNF (8 controls)
17. Howie Gul (CB) DNF (8 controls)
21. Quinn Fournier (GLE) DNF (7 controls)
21. Henry Assad (CB) DNF (7 controls)
21. Ariana Bonder (GLE) DNF (7 controls)
21. Adam Newman (CB) DNF (7 controls)
25. Kirk Webster (GLE) DNF (6 controls)
26. Katherine Silins (GLE) DNF (5 controls)
26. Bobby Magner (GLE) DNF (5 controls)
26. Nick Gorjup (GLE) DNF (5 controls)
26. Hannah Wilkinson (GLE) DNF (5 controls)
30. Ahmad Nusratti (CW) DNF (3 controls)
31. Alexander Charpantier (CB) DNF (2 controls)

Intermediate B

1. Addison Dark (CW) 56:58
2. Tyler Dubue (CW) 63:10
3. Craig Toonders (CW) 65:44
4. Jeff Desson (CW) 68:41
5. Matt Goddard (CW) 87:00
6. Cody Shepherd (CW) 90:15
7. Tommy Deadman (GLE) 106.34
8. Ben Angel (GLE) 121.34
9. Dakota Young & Brown (CB) 122:32
10. Taylor Richards (CB) 123:02
11. Katherine Znotinas (GLE) 125:03
12. Sarah Jackson (GLE) 126:33
13. Ben Stone (GLE) 129:03
14. James Laird (CW) DNF (14 controls)
14. Marc Gireault (CW) DNF (14 controls)
14. Jesse Kilvington (GLE) DNF (14 controls)
14. Francois Rioux (GLE) DNF (14 controls)
18. Luke Yang (CB) DNF (11 controls)
18. Samuel MacDonnell (CB) DNF (11 controls)
18. Alex Kim (CB) DNF (11 controls)
21. Firman Sigit (GLE) DNF (10 controls)
21. Jonathan Whittall (GLE) DNF (10 controls)
22. Rachel & Jenny (CB) DNF (9 controls)
23. Zoe Hart (GLE) DNF (8 controls)
23. Eugene Lightfoot (GLE) DNF (8 controls)
25. Adam Austen (GLE) DNF (3 controls)
25. Molly Gallant (GLE) DNF (3 controls)
25. Amanda Nimmo (GLE) DNF (3 controls)

Intermediate C

1. Brad Wood (CB) 115:51
2. Evan Nip (CB) DNF (12 controls)
3. Kinsey Beck (CB) DNF (10 controls)
3. Alex Robertson (CB) DNF (10 controls)
3. Julia Dutaud (CB) DNF (10 controls)
6. Brian Dumelie (CB) DNF (5 controls)
7. Heather & Sonya (CB) DNF (3 controls)

Intermediate D

1. Lindsay Hewitt (CB) DNF (9 controls)
1. Campbell Osler (CB) DNF (9 controls)
3. Aram Alexanian (CB) DNF (8 controls)
4. Nelly Twiss (CB) DNF (7 controls)
4. Jessie Head (CB) DNF (7 controls)
4. Chris Andrews (CB) DNF (7 controls)
4. Alana MacLean (CB) DNF (7 controls)
8. Chris Davies (CB) DNF (6 controls)
8. Mariel & Amanda (CB) DNF (6 controls)

18 comments:

Justin Birch said...

I had a lot of fun practicing for this meet. It brought out the competitive side of most peole. Besides who doesnt like running around in the bush getting muddy and looking for flags..? Me and kira worked well as a team we listened to eachother and pushed eachother to do our bests and trying not to drive eachother crazy. It also helped us learn how to you a map and compus while having fun at the same time. I thought it was a realy good course and i would consider doing it again if i was able to. I would like to thank kira for being a great partner and i would also like to thank Mr. Brouwer and all the volunteers for putting together such a great orienteering meet! Thank you, very much!

hfmas said...

The orienteering meet was a great success. I had loads of fun. For me I found orienteering has been one of the best part of the outdoor ed class. I found that I was very good a reading and navigating a map. What I enjoyed most about orienteering is being able to run freely in the woods, for me I enjoy running in the woods. But the down side of orienteering was falling in the water ,crossing streams where the water was freezing cold and getting cuts and scrapes from branches. After having doing orienting I have a better sense of direction and a better sense of where I am, I now know how to use a compass properly using baring and housing lines, to guide me in the direction I want to go and how identify certain object on a map such as contours lines, hand rails, streams, boulders, manmade object ect. I tried my best in every class, each time doing better than the last. By the time the meet came I knew I was prepared, and I finish with an excellent time. Also during orienteering I felt like I was in better shape after running class after class, by the end of the meet I felt like I could have ran even more. I would just like to thank Mr. Brouwer for setting up the flag every morning before each class, and to everyone that help out during the meet! I had a great time Thank you!!!!!!!

heather said...

Orienteering definetly did not get off to such a good start for me. I'm pretty sure that the first day we went out it was raining. That meant that all of the markings we had made on our map were washed off so we were forced to try and orienteer from memory. I also made the terrible decision to try and cross a marsh in order to get a flag faster and ended up falling on my back in the water. Needless to say, I wasn't overly enthusiastic aout our new unit.

Things didn't really improve over the coming weeks and I was still really struggling. I couldn't do anything by myself and was constantly relying on my fellow classmates to help me find controls.

Finally I realized that I was going to be up a creek without a paddle at the orienteering meet if I didn't learn how to do things on my own. So went out with some classmates and got them to teach me how to use various features on the map and in my surroundings to help me to find controls. I learned how to use handrails and catching features, which were invaluable tools when i was out in the bush.

When it came to the actual orienteering meet, I was extremely nervous. I was worried that I would get totally lost in the bush by myself and that people would have to be sent out to look for me. I told myself that finding just 3 controls would be a major achievement for me.

So, when I found that first control without any difficulty, it was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, I can't even describe how amazing it felt. From then on I just used the tools I had learned and found the next 9 flags without any difficulty. I didn't overrun or mistake where any flag was.

When I got to the finish and I realized that I was the first one back, I was in total shock. I was unbelievably happy because I couldn't believe how much things had changed from that first time that i was sent out into the bush with nothing but a map. It may have taken me awhile to figure things out, but I definetly improved and went from totally hating orienteering, to actually having some fun !

Thank you very much Mr. Brouwer for entering us in this meet and giving us this amazing opportunity to test our skills and showcase everything we've learned.

R-W said...

Catching features, hand rails, controls, is that what orienteering is all about. From my recent, experience over the last month I now believe that orienteering is more about teamwork as well as competition. I noticed that orienteering is mostly what you make it. The weather is never predictable so you have to be prepared for everything. The very first time that we went orienteering as a class it was rainy and miserable, my points ended up being washed off of my map, I was cold and not in the best of spirits but still managed to finish the course by using a mix of memory and guess work. That was when I realized that it was a better idea to bring a change of cloths and enter each new course prepared to get wet and dirty.

We had many interesting experiences through out the unit such as; Jordan doing the running man along the river bank, Ahmad falling off the log… twice, and finally getting to set up our own course with Jeff Desson. After a few weeks of practice, and many experiences, the day of the actual meet arrived.

Greens Creek is a very diverse area; there is a mix of dense forest as well as many gullies, reentrants and even paved surfaces. I had decided earlier to compete on the intermediate course as I felt confident enough in my orienteering abilities and thought that it would be challenging and enjoyable at the same time. That morning I threw on a pair of long johns, sweat pants and a jacket and headed out. I found that specific course harder than anything I had done before however I used many of the same strategies. Flags were often placed near distinct land marks which I would aim for and sometimes establish a catching feature behind it and then sprint towards my mark to save time. Being able to read a map is clearly the most important thing when it comes to orienteering and it is one that on many occasions got me out of trouble. The only major problem I ran into was missing a flag, this cost me about 15 minutes which did not help my time or my spirits. I am happy with the way the meet ended and with my results however as with most things, there was room for improvement.

I did not find orienteering as much fun as the canoe trip, which was to be expected, but it was also never the less another great experience. The real highlight of this unit for me was being able to spend time with my friends and it provided as a great reason to get out of the classroom and expend some energy.

Taylor said...

Ah, orienteering. This was something that I was very unsure of. I had a difficult time trying to get used to reading the map and coordinating a compass at the same time. I had trouble with grasping the idea and therefore I was lost behind in the knowledge that everyone else already understood. But, I always had someone there to help me understand. They were patient with me which helped, so I didn't have someone hovering over my shoulder trying to get me to hurry up. I eventually got the idea of orienteering and I became more involved as I worked with my group members or partners.

Orienteering had definitely brought out the competitive side of me, and I tried to not let it show so much. This competitive side pushed me to run more and go faster, but it didn't always help me get back to school before lunch started.

I was able to challenge myself, by orienteering around the school by myself. But, in the end I realized that I felt more comfortable with others participating with me.

I have never had to wash a pair of running shoes so much in my life. I ended up lugging them home and bringing them back to school the next day just so I could get them and my new set of clean clothes dirty once again. This was the worst par about orienteering, the getting dirty and wet part.

Because of this experience I can now read and a map and use a compass, which is something everyone should know how to do, as it is a vital piece of information. I will also be able to carry away some memories that I am fond of.

Orienteering is an experience I will never forget and it helped pass the time faster. It is something that I never thought I could enjoy as much as I did and I hope to continue with it in the future.

kira said...

The orienteering part of the class was very fun, but at the same time challenging! Our first class ever doing it, we got heavy rain and it didn't make a great first impression on people. But as time went on, we got to like it, alot! Most people were really in to it and wanted to win at any cost. Even if it meant crossing Billberry creek up to your waist, getting your clothes full of burrs, climbing a tree across the river and getting mud everywhere. The funnest part was coming back at the end of class to see what everyone got themselves into! Laugh at each other, and at ourselves for the things we did to try and win. The orienteering meet was a VERY nerve racking thing for me. Of course, it had to be on the day of my birthday.. I was nervous, so i think that was the reason why my blood sugar kept going low so i asked if i could go with a partner just in case. The first flag i almost killed myself by falling on top of the car wreck, but after that i was getting the flags no problem. We had trouble with one flag close to the end, but eventually we found it. At the end, we arrived full of mud and burrs of course, but with smiles on our faces. Orienteering was a great part of the class, sometimes we hated it but mostly we all loved it. Even though my blood sugar kept going low, the meet was still pretty fun. Thanks for taking all the time to set up the courses in the mornings Mr Brouwer! and thanks to everyone who out together the meet!

Stina said...

I was very excited before the meeting because I decided to go the first time alone on a course. And I didn't know the area around Greens Creek so I was a little bit scared to get lost :) But we had practised a lot before at school so I was sure, that I will survive :)
And it wasn't really hard as hard as I thought.. The map was easy to read, I didn't have any problems to find my way, knew always where I was and the flaggs. Only once I was a little bit lost but after a little bit thinking I knew where I was and found my way. I had to get a little bit wet but the orienteering at school was worse.
And after the meeting we got cookies and water and could change and watch the other coming back.
Thank you to Mr. Brouer to organize this meeting, it was really a lot of fun!!

qwerty said...

Orienteering was a new interesting activity that I had never really heard of before taking Outdoor Education. It was interesting to learn that it's a real sport, with many different athletes competing throughout the world.

I enjoyed going outside everyday with a map, trying to find all the different controls. It was a nice freedom to be able to go into the forest and find your way around. It was great practice for the big orienteering meet at Green's Creek because while we knew the area around the school, it was difficult enough to find the orange flags in the bushes.

It was good to learn to read a compass and a map properly, and it was good to learn all the different tricks and methods that professional orienteerers use to find my way around.

Orienteering was also more than just running around in the forest. If you travelled with the right people, you could make it a very exciting and enjoyable activity. I enjoyed watching people, particularily Ahmad, fall in the water. It was just a nice activity to be able to pick up and have fun with it.

The meet at Green's Creek was more difficult than around the school as expected, but I was mostly relieved that I didn't get completely lost. Of course, I could have made a much better time, but I was pretty pleased with my time overall.

Colleen said...

I had lots of fun doing orienteering. I t was fun to practise at school and see everyone come back either wet or full of burrs and scratches. Steve Weber, you made my life, you were so fun to follow around. Even though you were garunteed to fall in or get hurt you were always a good sport about it and laughed it off. And Ahmad was just hilarious. Heather you were a great partner and you always made me laugh how you took so long to find the flags when I had already seen them for 2 minutes. You tried so hard though and I appreciate that! I thought that the meet was going to be a lot harder than it was. But Mr. Brower prepared us well and even though I sucked real bad at the meet I had lots of fun doing it. I will never forget how dumb I was getting flag #10 as my first flag. Or standing right beside one and getting very frustrated because I couldn't find it. It was lots of fun, and so far my favourite unit.

Tyler Dubue said...

Orienteering was very interesting. I started out not enjoying it at all, but the more I did it, it grew on me. Going out for consecutive days practicing in bitter cold weather, having to take risks, crossing streams and muddy areas, tested my competitiveness. Seeing how far I would go just to get a control. I found that the more we practiced, the more I would be able to run between controls. Of course, bush wacking was also great, and being scratched by branches was just part of the "game". It got me prepared for the orienteering meet, which I ran the whole course. I learned about score orienteering aswell. Not only did I not even know that orienteering was a sport, but there were different kinds. I also learned how to read a map with contour lines, man made objects, depressions, catching features, all types of things that helped me in the orienteering meet.

On the way to the orienteering meet I was a little bit nervous because I didn't know what to expect, but in the end it was something that I really enjoyed. The weather was perfect, and I ran with great people along the way, Addison and Craig. Even though I had fun running with them I found it pushed me harder. I found orienteering like a big game of hide and go seek. There were a lot of obstacles that we had to overcome to finish this course. For example when we are going up a really steep hill the the only thing to help you get up is a rotten tree, and then Craig breaks it. I honestly didn't know what to do. It all worked out in the end.

I would like to thank you Mr. Brouwer for the chance to go to this orienteering meet. I had a lot of fun.

Jeff D said...

When I found out we where going to be doing a bit of orienteering I had mixed feelings because I did some orienteering with the reserves during the past summer and while doing some navigation at night I was leading my section and we wandered around for three hours and they all got poison ivy but me (we finally pulled out a G.P.S. and there was nothing at the coordinates). So after that event I wasn’t to sure about my abilities. After doing it at school for a while by myself I became fairly confident in my abilities and was finding it extremely fun. Setting up a course with Ryan and Stuart was a highlight of this unit, as much as it sucked because my feet got really wet and cold and we got back to the school right as lunch ended it was still extremely fun and I learned a lot doing that.

When the 31st came around I wasn’t really worried about not finishing the course I was just worried about doing horrible and just wasting a lot of time on an easy control. At the end of the day though it all went well for me and I had a lot of fun, there were just a couple of small obstacles I encountered but nothing that ruined the day for me. Thank you Mr. Brouwer for setting up this meet, it was a lot of a fun.

Colin George said...

Working on mapping and compass skills in mystery park was a ton of fun. We all worked hard to get ready for the 31st. When i saw the course at school i thought it would be horrible but when i got there and started on the course i realized it wasnt too difficult. other than some confusion on where north was at times it was easy. Thank you Mr. Brouwer for bringing us to Green's Creek and helping us learn a great new sport.

James said...

The orienteering meet was and not one of the funnest things i've ever done but it was something new and another challenge to attempt to concour. I had some dificulty finding some of teh controls and i got lost a few times in the woods. I did not get it done very quickly and was a long challenge to do in a day. I had fun just adventuring through the woods and learning to read maps was something I think I learned fairly quickly and glad I did or else i would probaly have gotten lost and never end up getting any controls. Overall tho it was a fun experience i hope to do another trip like this one.

Anonymous said...

I found the orienteering trip quite fun. I was able to get some exercise and spend some fresh air out in the wilderness. I was able to test my strengths and knowledge out on the course, which challenged me and made my experience more interesting. Though, I found the course hard in a few places and got lost a few times, but when I did it wasn’t for long and I did not give up.

There were a few rivers that I had to cross over, but because I was dressed appropriately I walked right through them to cool me down. Near the end of the course I remember chilling on a rock and soaking my feet into the water while catching some fresh air. The random car in the forest gave a very interesting impression of the surroundings and it made me laugh as how it got there…someone wasn't watching the road I guess.

The orienteering trip benefited me in a few ways. I was able to learn more about my strengths and weaknesses in these situations, which I've never done activities like this before so I never knew how well I could do. During my last few flags I came across this field with huge stones. This field is a very popular place for snowboarding and filming, but not too many people know where it is because it's considered a 'secret spot' here in Ottawa, so that was a nice spot that I found.

Prior to the orienteering trip, the practice courses around the school were also fun to participate in. Just like the trip, I was able to test my knowledge around my surroundings and be competitive. I have never been too good with maps and compasses because I never was in a situation that I had to use those items, so I eventually became more knowledgeable of using those items. Each time I went out on a course I would try to better my last attempt. I gradually became more confident each time I went out orienteering around the school. I started to be more relaxed about the Halloween orienteering trip because each course I did I gained more experience and more confidence.

Orienteering is an activity that I've tried, but don't think that I'll come back to. It was great to participate in and I have no regrets doing it. Orienteering was fun for Outdoor Ed, but I have other hobbies and sports that I would rather participate in during the summer and winter days.

scott said...

It was great practicing for this orienteering meet. It was interesting learning all the differnet techniques of orienteering and learning how ot read a map are skills that I will take with me. I found that our training during the week at cairine wilson, only helped us find our controls all the much easier. The orienteering meet at the hornet's nest was good fun as we ran through the countryside of green's creek. Higlights include getting lost and jordans map. Even though finishing close to dead last I had a great time. Thanks to Mr.Brouwer and the volunteers who set up the meet for us.

craig said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
craig said...

I never knew how much fun orienteering could be. The most fun about it for me was getting into it and competing with the rest of the class, trying to get the best time. I realized that if you take a moment and slow down for a few seconds to read the map and figure out the fastest way to the control is and what catching feature you will use to find it. The first day was hard because I didn’t know where all the trails were but by the end, I figured out the map and knew the fastest ways to everything.

On the day of the meet, I ended up finishing 3rd out of the whole meet. I got confused on the 4th of 5th control because it was in an open field and there were so many other controls that weren’t for my course and I saw people going every different way. Once I got the control, the rest of the course went by quite fast. Some of the controls I spotted by luck and that saved me a lot of time. But on other controls it took me a while to find the control because they were hidden so well by Mr. Brouwer.

When I got to the finish line, it was such a relief when I saw the water and cookies as a snack. I was dead tired but it was very fun.

Mr.Brouwer said...

I enjoyed orienteering very much. One thing that I enjoyed the most from it was how competitive the training was. When you sent us out in the woods during class to go find the controls a bunch of people were running the entire way, which made it an experience because we were all new to this game but we all enjoyed it. My most memorable moment on that unit would be when Addison, Tyler and I were coming up to a control that we didn’t quite know which side of the stream it was on. I took the risk and thought that the control was on our side of the stream while Addison was traveling a cross a bridge to the other side of the river (Tyler was confused at the time so I don’t know what he was doing). So as soon as we realized that Addison had chosen the correct route I had the choise to go back to the bridge I would be very behind if I took that route because Addison was now so far ahead, or I could go threw the steam. So I decided to go threw the stream which was much deeper then I thought It was (up to my chest). The look on Addison’s face when he saw me was just priceless when he saw me at the control before him. That would be one of my most memorable experience for that unit. What I would have done differently on the actual trip would be to wear better clothing that would be suitable for running threw the bush. A pair of shorts and a tee shirt didn’t cut it that time. I should have worn splash pants and a spring jacket, which would help decrease the amount of scratches that I had at the end of it.

Stuart