Mike's Best and Worst of 2006

Happy New Year. With a new year comes a list of the best and worst of the previous year. Mike Waddington weighs in with his “Best and Worst in Orienteering for 2006”.

EVENTS
Best International race: Swiss Orienteering Week
Best US race: Flying Pig
Best Canadian race: North American Championships

RACING
Best race performance: Florida middle distance
Worst race performance: Tio-mila
Scariest race moment of the year: Tio-mila (losing contact with the map…three times!)
Best elbow of the year: Tio-mila (during the leg#1 mass start)
Most satisfying race moment of the year: Tiomila (after the race)
Best post race bender: GHO Canada GHO at the Flying Pig
Best pre race bender: Estonia World Cup Sprint Finals
Best race accommodation: Estonia World Cup (Sauna, TV, 50m to sprint start)
Worst race accommodation: Tio-mila (my car)
Biggest disappointment: WOC (injured)
Best transport to a race: Gondola and cable car (Swiss O week)
Longest walk to the race arena: SAIK (3.5km)
Best finish line performance: Patrick Goeres and the mud slide
Most interesting map: Swiss Orienteering Week Day#3
Flattest map: Rocky Ridge
Steepest map: Swiss Orienteering Week Day#6
Flattest & steepest map: Flying Pig Classic
Best orienteering debut: Emma Waddington (first place in D-10 in her 2nd ever race)
Most scenic finish line: Swiss O Week Day#6
Shortest wait to start: JK Classic (arrived 30 seconds before the start)
Longest wait to start: COC Middle (stopped keeping track at 2 hours)
Best terrain: Almost any race in Sweden
Worst terrain: Greenwood
Best park race: Stockholm City Cup

TRAINING
Best training run: Edinburgh (narrow streets and a run up Arthur’s Seat)
Best orienteering session: Lunsen with Boris Granovskiy
Worst training session: Getting lost at Rocky Ridge without a compass
Worst training run: Pick any from the last 6 months (injury)
Best club training session: Any TNT session
Biggest inspiration: Sandy and Holger Hott Johansen at training camp in Hamilton
Best training presentation: Mark Tarnopolsky on nutrition
Best training weekend: With Bash and ‘Bent in Caledon
Worst training moment: Knee injury while training with Spike at Lunsen
Scariest training moment: Getting pawed by a cougar in the DV
Top O gear: Axis Gear
Top O supplier: Scarborough Orienteering
Best AP training comment: Yessss Simon Yesssss
Worst AP training comment: The anti GHO NAOC hosting "rant"
Best new AP log training term: The MANther
Best new AP log training name: Poolander

NORTH AMERICAN ORIENTEERING
Top club performance: CSU at Jukola (almost top 200)
Top club: GHO (Hey we won the US Relay Champs and hosted the NAOC)
Top orienteer: Mike Smith (COC sprint, middle and long Champ)
Most improved: Patrick Goeres
Best comeback: Wil Smith
Top new Canadian: Hans Fransson
Top SI guru: Valerie Meyer
Best future orienteer: Mia Smith
Top AR-O crossover athlete: Bob Miller
Best web site: AttackPoint
Most improved web site: www.orienteering.ca
Most impressive race: John Fredrickson (NAOC middle distance)
Best new club: Waterloo Stars