Day 6 Report – Glen Feardar West
So that’s it – 40 years after the first Scottish 6 Days we end another successful event. Once again the weather gods were kind to us and much of the day’s competition was staged in bright sunshine. Light rain fell on the prizegiving!
The final results were determined for all classes, though some had already accumulated enough wins during the rest of the week to be assured podium places. The podium itself was a fine affair with Aberdeenshire Council Leisurelend’s mini-podium on top of a more substantial trailer pulled into place by farmer Peter Downie. Sheila Reynolds did a great job with floral decoration (complete with bracken) and some of our colourful Scottish 6 Days scrim completed the picture.
The big screen showed live footage from around the arena and spectator control (also broadcast on YouTube) along with snippets of GPS tracking provided by SEDS. Many thanks go to EventScotland for supporting this aspect of the event, along with the very popular daily videos filmed and produced by Jason Sinclair of Poppycock films.
The commentary team provided extensive coverage of the Elite races – Mark Nixon of Forth Valley Orienteers was the fastest man on the day but Ali McLeod of Clydeside Orienteers was a clear overall winner. Unlike some other multi-day events the Scottish 6 Days is based on 4 best results out of 6 – this gives everyone a sporting chance even if days are missed through injury, organisational commitments and orienteering off-day disasters. In the Women’s race Megan Carter-Davies of Mid Wales Orienteering Club was fastest on the day but Jess Tullie of Badenoch & Strathspey Orienteering Club was clear winner. Closest rival Hollie Orr sat out today with damaged feet and made her debut in the commentary box.
Statistics from the week include :
- Red Cross daily count – 45 45 62 30 30 24. No maternity cases, one air ambulance and one NHS transfer to hospital by ambulance (badly broken ankle today).
- 26 existing gates, 24 fence crossings (including 4 deer fences), 1 wall crossing, 7 ditch or stream crossings
- 35 toilets each day plus disabled toilet and well-ventilated urinals (apologies for frequent regular lack of loo roll. The toilet movement plan worked well with this exception)
Thanks go to all the traders including the very busy pre and post-race massage therapists, equipment suppliers (CompassPoint is up for sale) and food providers who gave us such a good choice.
There were a huge number of volunteers involved from every club in Scotland plus many others from south of the border. The Central Organising Team was largely local club MAROC based but included some key staff from Interlopers. Everyone will agree that Jon Musgrave did a great job as Event Coordinator.
Thanks go out to everyone for such positive comments. 33 countries were represented, did you know the flags? The feedback from landowners and farmers was also very positive – they were most impressed with the event organisation and the good nature of the competitors.
So as they say in Looney Tunes – That’s all Folks (at least till Strathearn 2019).
Colin Matheson
Assistant Coordinator
Events Manager Scottish Orienteering Association
