Orienteering continues to gain experience

by Rachel Benedict on September 12, 2009

In orienteering’s long-distance course competition Friday, the American orienteers continued to experience new challenges. It was sunny and hot, the opposite of Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s competitions. The four-kilometer course was in the same woods as Wednesday’s middle-distance course, but was a completely different course with new control points and routes. Despite being 6 years older than the next oldest orienteer, Tracy Acuff said she felt good about her course when she finished it. Before she knew it, however, several officials crowded her to inform her that she went through a restricted area, which is considered out of bounds. In fact, of the 15 female orienteers, eight, including Acuff, disqualified because most of them went through the tricky restricted area. “I learned something, but I knew it was okay, since there were several of us,” Acuff said. For Patti Mace, the course was challenging, especially since she had to battle a back injury incurred during the race. The course Mace faced required a lot of climbing, and between two control points, she had to go through a cliff-type trail where she fell numerous times. At the fifth control point, her back pain became unbearable and she realized she wasn’t halfway completed with the course. Once she realized this, she made the decision to not finish and to seek help. “Overall, I felt good about the competition despite my back pain,” Mace said. Tom Wells finished 20th of 25 orienteers, an accomplishment considering his couple years of experience in orienteering. The climbs tired him, he said, but he finished the course. “It was mentally exhausting,” Wells said. The 2009 Taipei Deaflympics was Wells’ first international experience. He said he is mentally and physically tired, but is glad he came and experienced orienteering at the international level. Wells said he will continue to train for the 2013 Deaflympics in Athens, Greece, by attending the 2010 Deaf Nordic Baltic Championship and 2011 World Deaf Orienteering Championship in Ukraine. The long-distance event concludes the competition for the U.S. orienteering team. Although none medaled, it was a positive experience for everybody involved, they said. They added that they hope the orienteering team will continue to expand and become stronger, especially before the 2013 Games.

Patti Mace climbs a hill during the long-distance orienteering event at Yangmingshan National Park on Friday. (Photo by Bill Millios)

Patti Mace follows a trail through the grass in the long-distance orienteering event at Yangmingshan National Park in Taiwan on Friday. (Photo by Bill Millios)

Orienteering continues to gain experience

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