Orienteers learn about SI Timing at Musselburgh workshop
On Wednesday 30th October, 24 orienteers from Scottish Clubs gathered at the East Lothian Outdoor Centre in Musselburgh for a workshop on the use of SPORTident and SI timing software. Robin Strain led the workshop and imparted some of his vast knowledge and experience to those of us who attended.
Robin had put a fantastic amount of time and effort into developing the workshop, and started with a basic example of using SI Units and a mini printer, before moving onto SI Timing software. We were then taken through the sequence of how to set up and run an event.
The entire session was conducted in a hands-on, interactive format, where we had to go through the steps ourselves, learning how to import courses, download results, display results and cope with entries. Throughout the evening, Robin also showed us how to deal with some of the most commonly occurring problems – for example, what do you do if a unit fails at an event?
The 3 hours passed in a flash, with everyone putting Robin on the spot asking more and more questions which he patiently explained to us all – Score courses? Mass starts? Time penalties? We concluded with the promise of another follow on workshop in the New Year, as although we had all learned lots, we had only touched the surface of what can be done, and hopefully there will be another workshop for beginners too.
A fantastic, informative and fun evening for all. Thanks to Robin and Sheila Strain – what would we do without you?
