Hello, my name's Michelle and I'm organizing this year's high school orienteering event.
If you aren't sure what orienteering involves, participants look at a specially designed map and use it to follow a route.
As they race, they have to locate a series of checkpoints along the way and do this in under 90 minutes.
This year we've slightly changed the route.
What with all the recent rain, some areas along our usual route are now very muddy and we don't want competitors having to go through them.
The course is already difficult enough.
But participants will still have to pay attention to traffic because we can't close any roads for this event.
Now, what about entry requirements?
Many participants will have done this event before, perhaps with an older sister or brother, or even running with a parent to give them encouragement.
But for some younger participants, it'll be their first time.
For confident kids, there's the option to do the event solo, but most competitors prefer to do it as a team rather than by themselves.
Obviously, there are rules that apply during the event.
Like I said, there's a series of checkpoints that the participants have to find.
It doesn't matter which they do first.
They can walk or run, but there are no bikes this year, so the race has to be completed on foot.
Of course, competitors are permitted to have phones with them, in case they need help of any kind.
So, the event is this Saturday.
Registration finishes Friday, so we'll have a list of the competitors' names already.
We'll have teachers directing participants where to go for the starting line of the race.
But I will need some assistance with handing out maps.
That's one copy per person, not just a team.
So if parents can help with that, fantastic.
We always have food at the event.
The competitors are hungry after the race, and it's a good way of raising money for the school.
So if anyone can make some simple cakes or cookies, I'd really appreciate that, because we're not hiring outside caterers this year.
We will have drinks on sale, though, which the school is organizing.
Now, we need some parents to volunteer to be marshals at each checkpoint.
It's up to the participants to look at the information they've been given and find their way around the course, so don't help them with that, please.
But if you see that participants are running out of time, do encourage them to go a bit faster.
Any minor injuries, cuts or sprains, call me and I'll send someone to the checkpoint to deal with it.
If you volunteer as a marshal, I do have some advice for you.
You'll probably be at the same checkpoint for the duration of the event, and you don't want to be on your feet all that time.
I suggest you bring along a camping chair or something similar.
Once the event gets going, you'll be pretty busy.
If you're thinking it might be an opportunity to relax and look at the newspaper, think again.
OK, let's look at a plan showing some of the checkpoints where we still need marshals.
So you can see the school is at the top, with Ellis Road going past the school, and Victoria Road also marked on the plan.
Let's start with the refreshments checkpoint.
So, near the golf course, you can see the junction of Ellis Road and Victoria Road.
The refreshments checkpoint is right at that junction, and we'll definitely need two or three marshals there to hand out bottles of water.
Queens Wharf is another checkpoint where we still need volunteers.
From school, the quickest way to get there is to cross Ellis Road, and take the footpath through the trees.
And at the end of the footpath, right out on the point, is Queens Wharf.
If you're unfamiliar with the area, you'll see there are two hills.
Find the hill which is nearest to a wharf, and then Cambria Gardens is on the northern side of that hill.
Not a bad place to spend a couple of hours.
The checkpoint at the Flagstaff needs a marshal too.
At the eastern end of Victoria Road, you can see a footpath.
Let's say you walk round that loop in a clockwise direction, you'd walk past the lighthouse, and then you'd get to the Flagstaff.
The Ocean View checkpoint is in a great location.
See that little footpath on Victoria Road that goes south and takes you past a wooded area?
Ocean View is there, between the trees and the sea.
Lastly, the halfway point.
You've got that hill between Ellis Road and Victoria Road.
From the hill, halfway point is to the northeast, the nearest checkpoint to the golf course.
