Discussion: ICMOF announces first-ever Corn Maze WRE

This Wednesday, 5 pm, details are here.

A good bit of rain here overnight, so just a heads-up that Mike's Maze volume 2 might have to be postponed if the track is too muddy, since corn maze orienteering, one must remember, is a sport for ladies and gentlemen.

I'll check out conditions late today.

If corn maze orienteering were to be combined with rogaining, what would the sport be called?

Took a quick look at the maze and conditions look excellent -- the rain packed things down but no mud -- so we're on for tomorrow. And Mike is delighted to have us back.

Obviously, this is mainly for the local gang of 5 to have another go at CMO, but if anyone else wants to join in, let me know so I will have maps ready. Streamers only, bring your own gadget to take splits. Mostly likely two courses, classic and sprint, with a bit of deviousness thrown in of course.

I assume that once Curiosity finds some corn on Mars, we'll have another layer of championship?

Codes/idenifiers written on the streamers?

Wasn't planning on it. But I suppose I could. Is it necessary?

relocation is easier with a code on the streamer...

Just in time -- thanks to Matthew Robbins, the winner of ICMOF's logo competition!

I love it!!! That rocks.

Kofols wants to know how to promote competitive orienteering? Bring PG & Co. in as a strategy and branding consultant.

More details --

2 courses. First a classic, then a "short classic" (well it's too long for a sprint, and more in the style of a classic), with the theme for both being -- if you find yourself going down a dead end, you might not be lost.

The courses are all set. The ICMOF event advisor has OK'ed the organizers' request to use pink streamers instead of controls, as long as they are bright (which they are, for everyone except JJ I would guess).

Anyone else who wants a map had best contact me right away.

First start is at 5 pm.

An emergency meeting of the ICMOF board agreed to the organizers' request to have both of today's races be WRE's. First came the classic, with its multitude of dead ends --

1. Ali Crocker 18:30
2. Steve Richardson 20.26
3. Alex Jospe 22:51
4. JJ Cote 25:39
5. Phil Bricker 33:51
6. Gail Gagarin 47:59



And then the short classic --

1. Steve Richardson 8:38 (his first major international win)
2. Ali Crocker 8:41
3. Alex Jospe 9:53
4. JJ Cote 10:54
5. Phil Bricker 14:52
6. Gail Gagarin 23:02

And then for the mandatory party, not just one but two to choose from. Ali opted for the departmental party in her honor, apparently to sit around and talk astro stuff, while the more sensible rest of us retired to 300 North Main for steak, corn, salad, raspberry pie, ice cream, and three bottles of wine.

A good excuse if there ever was one for the late reporting of results.

And so, barring further bouts of insanity/inspiration, ends the 2012 season at Mike's Maze. Clearly a year to remember.

Enter your splits, if you were there!

Thanks for yet another wonderful CMO experience!

I want maps with routes! If it was a WRE didn't everyone have to wear a GPS? Oh wait, if it's a WRE they're not allowed. Or is that some other sport?

My routes from a morning run to make sure the planned courses had sufficient deviousness. First, the classic --



And then the short classic, though I forgot to start my Garmin until #2. Also, I changed it to record every second, which gives it a more realistic-looking track, though not necessarily a more accurate one.

Again, I can't guarantee that I selected the absoltely shortest legal routes, but the lengths I came up with are:
Day 1: 2.168 km
Day 2: 1.079 km
I did have my ultra-legal display-free GPS tracker, in 1-second recording mode, but it remains to be seen whether I'll be able to superimpose my results on a track (or if the track is even reasonable).

Kudos to the organizing committee. Terrific fun.

And a candidate for most memorable moment: 10 minutes before first start, Mike walks up to PG and says "Oh, by the way, I found a bunch of pink ribbons out there this afternoon. No problem, I picked them all up for you..."

:)

That was Will.

So where are the rankings? I want to see point tables.

I'll see if I can do the rankings over the weekend, if I get enough free time.