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My Covid Summer - O training with New Jersey BSA scouts in Paramus
  • Topic created by BRycharski on Mon Jun 29, 2020 at 9:27 pm
    Bob Rycharski (BRycharski)
    BRycharski
    Num Posts: 198
    Primary Club: DVOA
    Fav map: Rutgers Preserve
    First O: 1976
    Hi All, Summer O reports are due early this year, What have YOU been UP to while the scheduled DVOA events have been postponed, canceled and dates that disappeared in thin air? Well, one can either Watch the reruns of the Harry Potter Movies (look for the One where the trio of Hogwarts students forest orienteer, but are also chased by snatchers... aka bounty hunters ... and "captured" (much like the old Vampire O game).
    Me, I just on 20 June held a small COVID special Scout Orienteering 1.3 mile hike with 20 Scouts from 3 NJ units to work on there Requirement 4A (1st class sub-req.) or 12 of the youths were doing Hike 2 (of 3) orienteering  hikes (Troop 335 rivervale). (OMerit badge doings)...
     Fastest team was 36 minutes and a few sec.s, and the rest wandered in at the new Dunkerhook map I "Transfigured from" a bootleg bad County park map that at least had a stream and path system mostly correct.  I added with Drafting pens and a French curve tool (Do young folks even know what a 'french curve' is?) and have not bash created a map in over 15 years.  Just wanted all those planners and runners yes its tough and dangerous but NOT in the Park,  WE social distanced the training (Trainer side and student side of the picnic table) and Masks were required. That and I used 11 Cleaned and covid free Red Pin Punches and quaint Old style punch cards I had left over in the attic.  The rest was standard white course fair, you can never make a White course too easy, In fact 1 of my 8 theams tried to walk off this small 1:5000 scale map, but the escorting Dad with them asked why they were not seeing anything the map, and got them turned back to the obvious foot bridge crossings (with nearby Orange and white orienteering flags.then we compared the pin punches to the master Punch card, and all was in order and we said we would try orienteering again in September when it got cooler..
    Anyway, that was my saturday with my  home grown special map, better than disappointing the scouts, and nothing else really going on in HVO or DVOA area (no meets), I feel that properly set up and crowding limited to small 4 or 7 groups (I had 3 flights 30 minutes apart...), we all had some O fun and 2 scouts even stayed late and helped pick up 4 of the 11 O flags for me.  Keep the Faith.  have a nice summer, understanding the (coff) circumstances...and Gov. Murphy Rules on crowding in parks ...
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