Navigation and Rogaine Skills Workshop
12 - 13 September 2009
[Joel's photos][Thomas Wedderburn-Bisshop's photos][Terence Hatton's photos]
[Comments from participants - below ]
The 2009 NSWRA Navigation Workshop took place - as it did last year - at Rydal Showground and in the surrounding Lidsdale and Falnash State Forests. This is a fabulous location for the event - plenty of facilities at the showground and very pleasant open forest to sharpen people's navigation skills without having to content with scrubby undergrowth. The weather was superb and the daffodils were out in Rydal, a great start to the weekend!
This year we had 25 participants eager to improve their navigation skills and at least eight instructors (nine if you count Belinda Bright as two - the time is nearing rapidly!), so there was plenty of personalized instruction to be had. The weekend started with an introduction to rogaining and navigation by organizer Michael Watts, which was quickly followed by the first navigation exercise in Lidsdale State Forest. Instructors briefed their charges on how to distinguish spurs and gullies on the map (an old favourite!) and they they were all off - wandering the forest looking for checkpoints. Doing this outside of a competitive event is a perfect opportunity to get a feel for relating the map to the ground - one of the most important skills in rogaining.
After lunch, there were some calibration exercises - getting people to find out how many steps they took to cover a certain distance - and talks by Alexa and Joel on how to plan a route and what to pack for an event. After dinner there was the night navigation exercise - again a great way to get a bit of night nav experience with an experienced person keeping an eye on proceedings.
Sunday morning saw the third nav exercise - in Falnash, where the wattles were in full bloom. Lunch followed and the weekend culminated with the 2.5 hour minirogaine - the perfect opportunity for everyone to unleash their newfound navigation skills.
Feedback was very positive - everyone (including many of the instructors!) seemed to learn something - so keep your eye on the calendar next year if you are interested in honing your skills in a workshop environment.
Thanks to Michael Watts and his family for organining a top class event with top class catering, and thanks to the instructors for giving up their time to help others improve their rogaining skills!
Comments from participants:
"I thought it was a great weekend. I really gained a lot from the weekend, esp.
recognising the contours - I have never been good at that."
---Sharon Tsetong
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"A very big thank you to you and Mike Watts and all the other instructors and
volunteers, who had prepared so well before the workshop and worked so hard
during the weekend for our benefit.
Stephen and I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and we now feel that we can
participate in a rogaine with more confidence in our ability to read the
map, know where we are in relation to the map and to use our compass to find
the next checkpoint. We thought the workshop with its various exercises and
information was very practical and had just the right amount of theory.
We think you have the formula just right. The location was perfect; the
facilities, including the buildings, at the showground were very appropriate
and we had them to ourselves. The courses set for the exercises were
moderately challenging and gave us plenty of scope to learn, especially the
night exercise which was a little more challenging. The instructors were
extremely helpful, friendly and well-prepared and the many meals and snacks
provided by Mike and his family and the band of volunteers were varied,
nutritious, plentiful and absolutely delicious. We especially appreciated
the computer presentations and the many maps that you provided for us, to
assist with improving our map reading skills and planning a rogaine. We
recognize how much time and preparation would have gone into just organising
this aspect of the workshop.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Chris Schulz, our chief
team member and instructor, who was extremely helpful & encouraging to our
team during the weekend. In the first exercise, Chris, introduced us to the
concepts and skills that we would need for the exercise and then he gave us
the opportunity to plan & execute the exercise. From time to time, Chris
would throw in different approaches to our thoughts. With the subsequent
exercises, Chris was always there to guide but gave us more and more
opportunity to be independent. At the end of each exercise, Chris would
help us work out what we had done correctly or what approach might have been
more beneficial. A big thank you, Chris.
We look forward to putting our improved skills and knowledge to the test in
the New South Wales Rogaining Championships during the October long weekend."
---Karen Breckenridge
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"A really good weekend! My thanks to you, Michael, all the organisers and
instructors especially Alexa who most expertly shepherded our team. You
requested feedback on how you might improve things but I find that
difficult; location, camping sites and facilities were great, good food,
interesting and varied locations for the exercises which provided challenges
(especially at night) for a newbie but not intimidating. However, perhaps as
always on such events, the best thing was the interaction with a very
pleasant, bright group of people. I am certainly hoping to make it to some
future events though perhaps I will not start with a 24 Hour event - leave
that to you, Alexa and the other elite Rogainers!"
---Terence Hatton |
