I often say this as I talk to people participating in one of Suncoast Orienteering’s urban events. Last Saturday, we were at the University of Florida campus in Gainesville.
We held our event at U-Florida thanks to the vision of 4th-year cadet Elise West, a graduate and orienteering team member at Lakewood Ranch HS. Elise had the idea for the event, approached Suncoast Orienteering for technical support, and convinced the Army ROTC leadership that such an event was a great idea.
As it came to fruition and on the day of the event, Cadet West’s student colleagues and instructors were ever present and crucial to opening the doors – sometimes literally- to a successful event.
We were also honored by the presence of the Command Sergeant Major for all the Army ROTC programs in America.
The event was a big deal for Suncoast Orienteering.
But what about the competition? News headline writers might have put it this way:
- Archer Continues Amazing Results
- Vanguard Uses Strong Green Team to Nip Ridgeview in Overall Team Results
- 135 Cadets From Seven Schools Blitzed Their Way Around UF Campus
- Six Teams Share in the Trophies
- “It Was Amazing!” Exclaimed One Cadet.
- Click Family Couple Completes Orange/Green Double.
- Nicolas Engestrom Only Finisher of 9 km Blue Course.
- Livelox Display Draws Lots of Attention
- Livelox Review Shows the Complexity of Navigating Among So Many Buildings. “We had to pay attention to where we were going,” said orienteers.
- “No Problems At All” – Reported UF Police Who Were Monitoring the Event.”
- National ROTC Command Sargeant Major Praises JROTC Orienteers and UF Event Organizers
- “Would Like To Repeat The Event Next Year” – Say UF Leaders
- “We’ll Be Looking For An Optimum Date for 2025-2026” – Says Suncoast’s Gord Hunter
The sport of competitive orienteering is at its best when we can offer the participants courses where they can make fast decisions on courses with many route choices. It is great to sometimes come out of the forests and find those navigation challenges in more familiar urban areas.
Gord Hunter
Suncoast Orienteering
December 8, 2024