The main objective of the visit was to spread MTB-orienteering by demonstrating that events are easy to organise. Michael visited the area three weeks earlier, classifying the tracks for MTBO in a single morning. With lots of grassy area and discontinuous tracks, he made use of the NZ invention, the green "allowable route" symbol. Seeing the modified map on paper for the first time on Friday night, Michael designed a 20-control, 5km course and set it up in one hour.
The fastest time of 29min was set by Rob Kay, who was a participant in the first NZ championship in 2000, but with the exception of his son Hamish, none of the others had done MTBO before. 16 riders took part.
At a debriefing afterwards club members were enthusiastic, noting that there is plenty more scope for MTB-orienteering on Rabbit Island, not to mention many other areas in the hills behind Nelson.
This page was written by Michael Wood and installed on 24 Mar 03.