It was a close call. Last year’s runner up, Orienteering Maine, did themselves proud by having 100% of their club members participate in some impressive bribery. This is easier when you have only 2 club members present, but still, 100% is a very good number. Hudson Valley Orienteering also scored points (and EMPO as well), largely in virtue of the generous and much-appreciated assistance their non-runners provided for the meet. And WCOC’s Peter Goodwin’s handling of the weather for the day was exemplary.

In the final analysis, after much computation of style points and finishing off the Pale Ale provided by OME, the coveted club award goes to...Orienteering Maine. This should help confirm the old Confucian saying "Kind words and a bottle of Ale will get you further than kind words alone." I may have mis-remembered that quote a bit, but I’m sure he said something like that.
 

Now, some additional notes on the various clubs:

Orienteering Maine: As noted, OME scored big points by employing the time-honored tradition of shameless bribery. Great stuff–locally produced refreshing beverages, fruit chutney, trinkets and the like, all tastefully presented. Maybe next year we could skip the clam thing. Nice thought, but Goats aren’t big on sandy squishy bottom-dwelling critters. But otherwise great.

Hudson Valley Orienteering: HVO volunteers, managing the finish and helping with the aid stations, were crucial to us in putting on the event, and they thereby scored big points for their club. However, some of their runners (I won’t name names such as Bernie and Greg) may not have helped their club’s cause by standing around at the end sipping champagne, while not offering any to an obviously-thirsty Head Goat. Bernie did eventually pick up on some not so subtle hints, trying to explain (not entirely successfully) his delay by claiming the champagne must have gone to his head.

Western Connecticut Orienteering Club: After two weeks of cold and rain leading up to the event, WCOC’s Peter Goodwin, in charge of weather, came through in marvelous form, thereby earning some serious style points for his club. Peter arranged for cloudless skies, a light breeze, and 65 degree temperatures–just perfect. Moreover, in a nice touch, he managed to keep the good weather around for another day so the Head Goat could finish control pickup under sunny skies. WCOC’s volunteers, helping with registration, recreational courses, the finish, and aid stations, also scored points (true, we were hosting the event, but still the volunteers were appreciated). Also noteworthy, though not necessarily in a good way, was our intrepid club president George Walker leading 13-year-old John Goodwin on a near-suicidal route choice straight down the almost-vertical hillside going east out of #12. (They then ran the boulder field just off the golf course, which while legal, wasn’t necessarily smart.)

Cambridge Sports Union: In what seems to be becoming something of a tradition, CSU again managed to do an impressive job of digging themselves into a style points hole. Last year they likely lost out on the club award since, after taking 3 of the top 5 spots, they left without waiting around for the awards ceremony. This year they outdid themselves, announcing just before the event that CSU has stolen Viktoria "Mercenary" Brautigam from WCOC. Ken Walker Sr. tried to undo some of the damage with a generous bribe, and the bribe was appreciated, although too little too late.

New York Adventure Racing Association: NYARA had three first-timers in the Billygoat this year, and while 2 of the 3 didn’t finish (they also didn’t start on time, arriving 20 minutes late), their enthusiasm and smiles were noteworthy.

Weston Police Department: True, the Weston PD did not compete in the Billygoat, but Dan the Cop helped out by handling, as diplomatically as the circumstances allowed, an irate and out-of-line neighbor.
 

I had great fun designing the course and setting up the event, and I highly recommend Head Goating for those who haven’t tried it yet. I hope everyone had fun in the woods. See you next year,

Rick DeWitt
Head Goat, Billygoat 2003
Western Connecticut Orienteering Club