Discussion: Fabulous 1990's Orienteering Memories

If this has already been discussed...I apologize for being redundant.

If it hasn't been discussed yet...I look forward to the discussion.

Excited to share my own...

I don't think I'd heard of orienteering in the '90s so I don't have a lot of memories.

Back in the '90s I had some fabulous memories of orienteering in the '80s

Back in the 90's my fabulous memories consisted of navigating around a rubberized 400m oval in the spring and navigating various flagged 5k courses in the fall. No map, no compass, no controls just start and finish lines. How did I ever manage without?

Pin punching at all events. Had to enter big events by snail mail (no on-line entry). Had to wait for results to be mailed to you. Event schedule was in club/regional/national newsletters. At smaller events you had to copy you course off master maps onto a blank map (pre-printed courses only for larger events).
Actual orienteering experience - pretty much the same (except that in the 90's most of my orienteering was in the UK, and since then it's been mostly in in the US).

Oh - and no attackpoint to share thoughts after events - or GPS watches to see your route after the event.

Training on WOC '93 maps one autumn with the OJOT as a 15 or 16 year old. Surebridge, Jackie Jones, Rockhouse, Pole Brook.

I remember absolutely caning it through a portion of the middle course on Pole Brook, with it's 'bleached' white forest...mild, sunny autumn day...describing it as 'orgasmic' afterwards.

Relocation exercises on Surebridge:

Actually finding one of Steve Key's 2 mm wide, grey bare rock features...being blown away by it. Probably the moment when I finally learned how to read a map, rather than 'guessing' off a trail with some good 'ol rough compass.

That map inspired me to map like Steve Key...which I failed miserably at.

I earned orienteering merit badge in 1995, without knowing about the sport or doing any of the official requirements. We did a 10-day backpacking trip (Philmont, NM) and we were supposed to rotate through being lead navigator each day. Nobody else wanted to do it, so I just navigated every day.

Afterward, the troop leaders said that that was the first time they'd ever gone there and not gotten lost, so that was good enough for them to give me the merit badge.

Dealing with that $^#% Steve Key...

crazy tights....crazy summer trips with other juniors....something about chocolates being presented to some start offical at - was it Oringen .... a treasure hunt in the hills above Colorado Springs....

No, the start official was in Germany. And she was quite attractive.

We had a pretty decent contest of one-upmanship on how high our national flag was flying which (d)evolved into a flag stealing contest at Oringen that was a great memory.

At O'Ringen 1997 in Umeå, Canadians performed quite well in the various 'flag' events. We even won an unofficial World Junior Beer-O League event, teaming up with members of other Commonwealth nations to defeat the Italians.

I wish we performed as well in the actual 5-day...but an awesome time nonetheless.

I remember having a 17 year-old crush on the lead singer of a local band who would perform at the main campground. She was killing it, (and me) with a 'Fake Plastic Trees' cover.

Edit: Actually, I think it was 'High and Dry'.

Pen-and-ink cartography. Scribing, even.

the wedding at WOC 93

Doing split-times analyses by going around to everyone you could find post-race and writing down what they'd recorded on their stopwatches.

In June 1994, somehow, I won the US Championship (2-day classic) in M35+

It took place in Anchorage, AK, but there was some stiff competition up there -- who shall remain nameless... ;-)

I still remember seeing the advertising flyer for that at WOC 93 - especially the bit which said that "mosquito repellent will be provided at the start, the finish and all water stops".

Ahhh the Casio Accelator. (Not a spelling mistake.)

Anchoring Canada to a win over Sweden at WOC 1997. Great lead off run by Wil Smith helped as did Jimmy Birklin's DQ

Mostly Jimmy, I think...

1996(?) North American Roundup, including races on the WOC93 maps. One of my very favorite orienteering festivals ever.

So. Much. Fun.

Yeah ditto Wil's comment about the 1996 RoundUp in Harriman. It was a great week of racing.

Selling Surebridge maps to old Swedish orienteers at WOC'93. Some of the orienteers hadn't been to the US since before WWII, and were paying me in buffalo nickels and Mercury-head dimes.

Kleppperton > think I was on last leg on that beer race, was a proper classic week
what about the junior tiomila in 1997, we were leading after the third leg and the organisers kept telling us to slow down as we were spoiling the race for the swedish club teams, our commonwealth team slowed down to finish 25th - see results
http://user.tninet.se/~njw639u/u10mila/1997/1997hd...

Rosstopher > think that flag stealing episode ended up in a massive brawl with us Brits against the USA.......fueled by snus and 3.5% swedish beer

North America hosting 4 World Cups and of course WOC over 4-5 years was pretty impressive. Although were the WCs out west in 89 or 90?

Also, thank god Attackpoint did not exist for the Cle Elum WC. There's a thread that would set records.

World Cups in Alberta and Washington were in 1990. The previous round (Ontario? and New York) were in 1986.

Ha. Rob Plowright and I were reminescing about the Cle Elum race the otehr day (he is here mapping).

Dids: Lol to Tiomila. I forgot about that. Looks like Mr. Hertz did the squad in.

And ya man, that whole summer was great...some hefty laughs.

Grimstad/Arendal to cap it off was dynamite as well.

Hammer and Wil: I lost my mind (and voice), cheering you guys on...

many of the things that Hammer and Nev and Klepperton mentioned...plus Chad Spence's full-tuck airborne somersault in a steep downhill finish line in Belgium at a training event for JWOC, and his perfect 10.0 landing (quite a sight to see as Chad is 6 and a half feet tall). Also, the OJOT team's relay win at the US relay champs....where was that Hammer?

...and that is just getting me started. Too many to mention actually!! Fun times.

Klepperton > Think Dick Hertz over dosed on the dextrosol tablets from what I remember......good times mate!

Dextrosol tablets... there's a blast from the past. My dad swore by them, said they would make such a difference. He used to advise I take them with me on a race, in my trouser pocket. They didn't much like the wet... rarely managed to get half a tablet out of the sticky mess that was left.

When CLARO ruled Great Britain! :-)