News
Steve Willis organizes his final event.
Posted: 19/10/17
You probably know that Steve Willis is retiring as co-ordinator/ organiser of the NYMBO league after 20 years in the role. He planned his first MBO event for Eborienteers at Allerthorpe Common in January 1997. I haven’t counted, but that must be close to 300 events, and countless participating riders.
That is a remarkable commitment to the sport!
Steve has always put NYMBO events at the cutting edge of developments in MBO. They were early adopters of electronic punching (thanks to links with foot orienteering club EBOR) with all the analysis and discussion that that brings (and getting rid of tedious control card checking). The standard of map provided for riders has improved out of all recognition. I don’t quite remember the days of providing your own map and plotting grid references or copying master maps, but we thought that photocopied OS maps were such an improvement. Then came the modification of maps to show muddy areas, and to grade the size/rideability of tracks and bridleways, and then highlighting the useable bridleways in green, permissive in red, so much easier to pick out on the map. A combination of input from planners, great cartography from Jens (since 2003, I think – another long term contribution), and printing maps instead of photocopying . All these improvements make it possible to choose a route based on the facts on the map, rather than guesswork or local knowledge. All the information put on the map, making more of a level playing field for everyone. We came to expect 30 controls, with a logical score pattern, with separate description sheets. All thanks to a commitment to spend money to make the event more enjoyable, so riders come back, and lots of entries bring in the money for more improvements. All these developments have steadily transferred to the OMM Bike (previously Polaris) and made those events attractive to a wider range of folks.
Thanks to Steve we have had the joy of riding some superb permissive tracks, which are often much better riding than the old neglected bridleways. Access to these needs negotiation by talking to landowners, farmers and gamekeepers. There are still some estate roads near my home that I have only been able to ride in NEMBOS events!
Every year, Steve has found different planners for the events, but having one overall organiser has bought a consistent feel to the series. We knew there would be signs to the event, car parking, toilets, a village hall or tent for registration, somewhere to leave keys, maps of the area available, start and finish banners, results on the website within a day or two, and a report to follow, and a mass of other “little things” that we now just take for granted. But all requiring time and effort by the organiser.
As Conrad Ellison says.......
“For Jill and I the first few NYMBO events we planned were daunting with us not being from an orienteering background and Steve was always there to offer advice and guidance. Even nowadays it is always useful to run a draft event map by him as he can invariably find ways of making it better. From time to time we’ve been faced with potential conflicts with landowners (e.g. shooting parties) and Steve has that uncanny knack of knowing when to yield and when to assert.”
I have concentrated on Steve’s work as an organiser, but of course he has also planned numerous events for NYMBO, NEMBOS, EBOR and OMM. They always had courses to test the best while providing some easier options so everyone could enjoy their ride. Happily, we can look forward to more events planned by Steve in the future.
The enduring legacy of Steve’s work is to make Mountain Bike Orienteering fun for everyone. Kiddies on pillion, tag-alongs, tandems, oldies, all were welcome. There has always been an achievable route, always nice areas to explore, always support and encouragement.
I hope we can keep the momentum and continue to provide events that we can all enjoy - and that includes having Steve as a competitor!
Thank you Steve.
Many thanks to Karen Blackburn for compiling this article.
On behalf of BMBO I would also like to thank Steve for all of his hard work over the last 20 years. He has made a major contribution to the development of our sport over this time for which we can all be grateful. Steve may be standing down but I am sure that we will still see him out on his bike and competing as enthusiastically as ever.
Tony Brand-Barker, BMBO Chairman