The competitors moved with such unseemly haste through the Tangara trails that we the setters and vetters had perused at our leisure and saw them in many hues. We paddled on the beaches and cycled with gay abandon through flood waters, stopped at the cafés and shops and found secret connections and community cared for verges, unique architecture and were chased by many backyard dogs. In short setting the metrogaine gave us an excuse to explore our own backyard.
The machine that is Rogaining Tasmania supported us every step of the way with a clear outline of what we ‘needed’ to do by when and help with all the little tasks that seemed to be beyond us as the event got closer. If you enjoyed participating in the event, and you have enjoyed a couple of the others in the past you are a prime candidate for taking your rogaining or metrogaining to the next level and organising an event. It does take time and a bit of commitment, but it is incredibly rewarding. Need a map - I can help. Need more helpers - Gary is great at finding people.
So what were my highlights? I enjoyed creating a new map, deciding the format and scale and was rewarded on the day by seeing most competitors get in sync with it pretty quickly. Although one valiant team did take over 10 minutes to leave the arena, mistaking the mown area for the larger Roscommon parcel of land. All the smiles and the animated discussions between teams on their return were great to see and be part of. I really liked it when I joined with people talking about the view from a particular spot or a surprising vale or dell that opened up while travelling though the map. There were some true gems!
After the event we plotted where people had gone on the map. See the link:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/4xaDmwD1WYg5LvS66
I think we could have run a longer event on this map. Maybe six or even 8 hours? I welcome your views.
The tools for setting and vetting are getting easier to use especially with a distributed team where Avenza Maps makes taking and sharing pictures of controls easy and tags them with the location for review.
The ‘on the day’ team extended to about 10 people, I had not fully grasped that need, but again the Rogaining Tasmania machine did not let me falter, they found the volunteers that enabled the scoring to progress efficiently.
Oh, and while you were out on the course we all improved our archery skills! Some more than others.
Thanks to all of you for taking time to take part and make the day a success. You can view the event results, and enjoy some photos.
Simon, Karen and Meisha (with a whole team of helpers on the day)
