It's finally here!  The 2013 orienteering season kicked off in NEOCland this month with two events by first time course setters Anna Shafer-Skelton and Tobias Karlsson.  The unpredictable New England weather took its toll by dumping a pile of snow on Belmont and forcing the cancellation of the Beaver Brook event on March 23, but that event has been rescheduled for May 12.  Last fall, the Board of Directors voted to continue the membership policy started in 2012: NEOC members run free at all local events.  

What will 2013 bring?  

The NEOC Spring calendar has thirteen events on it between March and June, including a Foot and Mountain Bike-O at Wells State Park and the June Canoe-O Champs.  The prestigious Billygoat long race and Speedy Goat sprint relay are the local highlights of April.  Head goat Peter Gagarin is designing the Billygoat on Earl's Trails, a map that he made for the 5-Day A-meet held there in May 2012.  The course will use many areas of the map that were not revealed at the 5-Day.  NEOC has three events in central MA this spring and one in Connecticut, but the bulk - eight - of the events are inside of the I-495 loop around Boston.  The fall schedule is in the planning stage, and will include some of the usual staples like Great Brook Farm and the Blue Hills Traverse.  A Night-O and Corn Maze orienteering race are in the works; stay tuned for details.  

Other clubs in the area also have burgeoning schedules.  New Hampshire's Up North Orienteering has eight events on their spring calendar, and WCOC in Connecticut has a further five.  UNO will host the Boulderdash A-meet in October and the Pawtuckaway Camping Weekend in September; both of these will be excellent events.  Cambridge Sports Union's spring features the usual Thursday night Park-O series in Boston area parks, and they have added two local meets, a training camp, and an urban adventure race.  All these events are listed in the NEOC schedule.  

On the National scene, April and May are always busy months.  The first A-meets of the year were in Georgia and Kansas in January and March.  A handful of NEOC members, including several up-and-coming juniors, made the trips.  April will bring the Flying Pig in Ohio, the Billygoat in NEOC, and West Point's regular A-meet in New York.  The highlight of the spring will definitely be the US Championships near Albany, New York on May 10-12.  The meet will have the standard sprint, middle, and long races and will be the team trials for the US team to the World Championships in Finland in July.  A group is currently planning the next NEOC A-meet for some time in 2014, so look for news on that in the future.  

Finally, I will be stepping down as the Vice President of Events this June after three years.  My main responsibility is putting the event calendar together, and I have been very ambitious during my tenure.  Leading the club has been a great privilege, and I am grateful to so many people who have stepped up to make NEOC's orienteering activity a reality.  I welcome any comments, feedback, and suggestions.  See you in the woods!

Ian Smith