We are back from Georgia, and I am full of emotion.
Back in December 2020, when we had the first exploratory Zoom call with folks who might be interested in getting orienteering going more formally in Missoula, I laid out my vision for a potential Grizzly Orienteering Club.
The centerpiece of that vision was building a youth program that could someday travel to national events and compete against juniors from all around the country. Somehow, this past weekend, exactly that happened.
We had three college students, a high school student, and two middle school students, as well as two parents, join me on a trip across the country in the middle of winter to run in the woods for four days.
I am not only grateful to all of them for coming along on this crazy adventure, but so proud of every single one of them for doing their best, getting better with every outing and, most importantly, having a fun and positive attitude throughout the trip. We didn't win a whole lot of trophies (though Jamie did get an F-14 mug for coming 3rd on Friday in her first solo race!), but I think we learned a ton, we experienced competitive orienteering for kids at its North American finest, and we returned home ready to work hard and improve.
GrizO crew in Georgia