I've always thought Kansas was a good place for orienteering because the terrain is not very good. If you learn O' in Kansas, any other area will seem nice -- no matter how rough it actually is. (Actually, Kansas terrain is not really so bad....its not rocky or extremely hilly). On his homepage, Mikell Platt wrote about the importance of practicing in areas that aren't clean open forest. He was writing about a particularly pleasant area in Sweden...

To me, it doesn't hardly get any better than the Hokensas, even if it's true--as Goran says--that you can't become a good orienteer if you just run here (it's too easy, too clean and open). And it's true. If you only ran in these really nice areas, you would be at a big disadvantage in any more "normal" Swedish forest and terrain, as soon as it got thicker, or stonier, or when the visibility went away, and so on.

-- Michael (meglin@juno.com), June 09, 2000

Answers

Another reason orienteering in Kansas is good is because of the people. From Gene, to Mike, to Dan, to Mark, and including the interlopers over the years. We are concerned with excellence, committed to having fun and welcoming of others. What other club has had an event with fake manned controls, or banquets that have a dress code?

-- Fritz (fpmenninger@hotmail.com), June 10, 2000.