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Previous Issues: 1998, 1999, Volume 21 No 1 January 2000, Volume 21 No 2 April 2000, Volume 21 No 3 July 2000
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Copy date Nov 5 2000. You will be pleased to know I can now read Word documents.
Send articles to Brian Shaw b.shaw@dyson-group.com.
Chair's Chatter
STRINES / BRADFIELD MOOR BADGE EVENT SEP 24TH 2000
Editorial
NOTICE OF THE AGM OF SYO
Sandall Beat Wood: Come And See It Now
Fixtures
WET WET WET
Robin Retires!
Equipment Officer
Wales v Belgium - A Game of two Halves
Commonly Made Mistakes (1)
Jenny James
The summer is coming to a close and it's time to look over those holiday snaps of wet orienteering events in Wales and Sweden and forward to next year. I've been busy with World Cup races in Finland and Ukraine and I competed in my first World Park races. These were memorable and look like becoming part of the future direction of our sport, although I prefer the Ultra-short title, since they are not necessarily in a park. The one at the Swedish 5 days was held on a large steep wooded slag heap, which Steve Hale kindly informed me was both radioactive and had hot spots, where the shale was still burning. The Swedes had extracted oil from the area during the war. The race was actually very technical and you had to think extremely quickly not to miss details. I was too tired to take full advantage and missed the first 2 controls and then climbed over a ski fence to find the run-in but I did enjoy it.
The most memorable moment this summer was running through the spectator control on 1st leg in the European relay champs just behind Jo Stevenson (SYO) in 1st and 2nd place. It was a great start to the week and meant that all those relays at home had been excellent preparation. For once Jamie Stevenson was Jo's brother not visa-versa! My team (Yvette B, Heather M) finished 3rd with the first European medal and Jo's team were 8th, just behind the first Finnish team. It was an excellent result for a 2nd team and they were all running in their first World Cup race - which bodes well for GB in the future.
Back at home the AGM is upon us again but this year we are making it into an SYO club night out. We've booked the function room at the Norfolk Arms pub on Ringinglow Road and in addition to the AGM there's the option for hot food, chance for a run and as promised Charlie will be presenting the Compass Sport Cup trophies to the highest scorers on each course. As it is Halloween the run is of course in fancy dress. Prize for the best dressed!
Congratulations to Natasha Davison who has passed her Chartered Accountant exams this summer and has recently moved to Leeds. Thanks for your 3 years as club secretary and on a personal note you were the best lodger I'd ever had! Charlie is also standing down as club captain after 3? years - I think we can all agree that the club has done well under his reign - the results certainly back that up! Guy Seaman has already agreed to take over from Martin Ward as Permissions officer - many thanks to Martin for all his work. Anyone interested in these roles can find out more details of what's involved from any member of the current committee.
The biggest thank you is reserved for Robin Stansfield who, my sources tell me, is now definitely moving to Penrith. I have only been in the club for 8 years but I do know that Robin is one of those members who has made up the backbone of the club for a lot longer than that and has most recently been the keeper of the club equipment. Best of luck to Robin and Hazel for the future and thank you for being in our club.
I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the AGM/club night out on Tuesday October 31st. Hope you can make it!
Jenny James
Chair
South Yorkshire Orienteers
Unfortunately South Yorkshire Orienteers are having to cancel the badge event on Bradfield Moor on September 24th.
Recent felling has made some of the area unusable and we are not able to get in to all of the new area in September. We have made the decision to cancel rather than hold a substandard event.
We are planning on rescheduling the event as February/March would be a much better time of year.
Apologies to those people who were planning on competing. All entry fees will be returned.
The National Event on December 3rd will go ahead as planned and promises some excellent orienteering on a new Peel Land Surveys map, using the forest, moors and quarries, with parking on the area.
Brian Shaw
A smaller issue than usual, obviously you've got better things to do in the summer than write articles for your Newsletter. However even if the width is down the quality is as high as ever. Thanks to all the contributors - Chair Jenny James, Beryl Seaman and her totally unmissable account of this year's Swedish O-Ringen, Ray Waight who has recently remapped Sandal Beat and - well that's about it really apart from yours truly. So why don't the rest of you make a big effort for the next newsletter due out in early November?
The AGM is on Oct 31st the Tuesday after the Karrimor this year instead of the Monday so there can be no hangover excuses. Please make a big effort to come. It's only one night per year and your committee work hard all the year round on your behalf and would appreciate a little more support. It's going to be a fun night with an optional night event beforehand and food laid on at the Norfolk Arms, Ringinglow (see below). On the other hand we don't mind if you come purely out of a feeling of obligation - just come!
I got reprimanded by Henry Marston for my adverse comment in the last edition about those gallant "Monarchs of the Road" - camper vans. Sorry Henry but you couldn't have been too upset otherwise it wouldn't have taken you two months to complain. Of course the other possibility - perish the thought - is that you didn't get round to reading my article for two months!
The club AGM will be held on Tuesday 31st October 2000 starting at 8.30pm in the Norfolk Arms Pub, Ringinglow Road, Sheffield (next to Burbage/Lady Cannings plantation).
Nominations for the committee and any resolution changing proposals to the constitution should be submitted in writing to the Secretary 14 days before the meeting (17th Oct) so they can be included in the meeting.
Before the AGM Dave Peel is arranging a fun event/run for all abilities, which will be a mass start at 7pm from outside the pub (bring torch/light if you have one). Prize for the best dressed Halloween orienteer! A buffet and drinks in the function room of the pub will follow. Children very welcome!
SYO are ordering a buffet but we need to know numbers in advance. Please phone me by 17th October if you intend do coming.
Contact: Jenny James email: jjames@stanleyworks.com
ALL WELCOME! Book now for the food. See you there!
(You don't have to join the committee if you come along but you can avoid those 'trick or treat' visitors at home!)
Ray Waight
Ever orienteered at Sandall Beat Wood, Doncaster? I suspect many SYO members have not in recent years, and newer members not at all. Whatever, it must hold the record in the UK for an area staging an official BOF event with the oldest O-map (unless you know different). The map was surveyed and drawn by John Helliwell in 1979 with the first event held on June 22nd 1980, at which 164 people attended, and was used at 10 further events, the last one held on November 1st 1998 with 196 competitors, none of whom, I am told, registered any complaints about the map. To me this is a reflection on the thorough job John did all those years ago, in spite of both natural and man-made changes to the area since 1979. However, as you may have guessed, SYO now has a new map and an event coming up.
In 1809, Slater the Woodman was commissioned to plant 120,000 trees on Sandall Beat Common, adjacent to Doncaster racecourse, and these grew to maturity during the 19th century, becoming a popular area for local people to use for horse-riding and walking. For orienteers who have seen it, the house in the middle of the wood was built on the site of a Victorian bandstand. In the early 20th century a railway was cut through the wood to serve the nearby Armthorpe Colliery (now closed) and latterly Thorpe Marsh power station.
Nowadays there is a good path and track network both sides of the railway, as well as many streams and ditches, mostly dry, and plenty of point features. Oh, and by the way, it is completely flat, there isn't a contour on the map. Again for those who remember, the large wide stream running NW/SE and called the Main Drain which 20 years ago was always full due to water pumped from the colliery, is now completely dry, other than for a few days after heavy rain. It is about 10 feet wide and 4 feet deep and ran for 600m between bridges. I can recall events where I could save up to a minute or more by long jumping it rather than going to the nearest bridge. Unlike the well known M60 EPOC member who 20 years ago did the same and didn't quite make it across.
I started surveying in January and after speaking to various mapping gurus, have re-classified all the 'water courses', including what were marked as dry ditches (old brown symbol) or small gullies, and changed most of them to blue line symbols, even though they are virtually always dry. This improves the visualisation of the map and should help new orienteers. The area has been well maintained by Doncaster council, and is still mainly runnable, even at this time of year. There are improved paths, new footbridges (one of which is across the Main Drain!) and a few new ditches. Because the water table has dropped, probably due to the pit closure, the very large uncrossable marsh on the East side is now rough open for which I have extended the map slightly. The difficult job has been updating the many extended rhododendron and holly thickets, but for this I got the assistance of Dave Heath, John Helliwell and Pat O'Grady who not only did what was required for the green features but each found at least one previously undiscovered pit or depression.
Now the appeal. There is a colour-coded event at Sandall Beat Wood on October 15th. Pat is the organiser, John is the planner and I'm the controller. As most orienteers know, the organisation is the same whether there are 50 or 500 competitors. So to make all our efforts worthwhile, whatever your age, sex or ability, come along and have a run at a very pleasant area with a brand new 5-colour map. Assembly is not at the usual place, there's a Sunday market along that road now, but at Danum School (with toilets), GR 609046. Note that if you cross the railway which has 1 train a day, other than at the footbridge, you'll be disqualified and possibly fined up to £200 if caught, but don't tell anyone how I've crossed it when out surveying in order to save up to 1 km unnecessary walk!
- see the special Fixtures page.
Beryl Seaman
I had packed my mosquito repellent, suntan lotion and swimming cossie. Unfortunately no one had advised us about slug pellets, wellies, waterproofs and full wet suit cover in the forests.
This was our 1st Swedish O Ringen. Emily and Jeni (veteran O Ringers) had told us of sun soaked forests and swims in sparkling lakes so we were a bit unprepared. The wettest O Ringen ever was how it was officially titled after the event. Just about 100 k north of us Sweden was experiencing the worst floods in 30 years. Roads and houses were being washed away.
What had been my major concerns before going?
Well, I survived (1) above. It is surprising how you get used to chatting to people sitting in the loo 6 inches away...you soon learn the etiquette of where to look (and more importantly where not to look - Ed). I have to say on one day even the loos were flooded and I sat enthroned with my feet in a couple of inches water .... and this was my summer holiday.
On the last day in the showers at the event, an area the size of half a football pitch was surrounded in plastic sheeting and open to the heavens. My abiding memory is of 5 queues of about 25 women in each, naked apart from wellies, standing in about 6 inches of mud and some of them talking on their mobiles!!!
(2) Yes the forests were difficult and yes I kept getting lost... it was very difficult to relocate and I realised that my compass work needs a lot, and I mean a lot, of improvement. Because of the weather the marshes and ditches had expanded to lakes and fast flowing rivers. well it felt like that. There was often a control at a ditch junction which meant wading through 20 feet of bog up to and above the waist.
By day five I felt as though I was just cracking it but to no avail as I had mispunched on day 2 and in the O Ringen there are no days to drop
(3) Camping - When we arrived Guy and Ian could not believe that we were really expected to camp on the waterlogged field ... apparently the week before the fields had been under water with ducks paddling around.
It rained almost continually for 5 days. Luckily Ian and Monika have a smooth pad in central Stockholm so after day 3 we bailed out back there to dry out and get the mud out of our various orifices.
It was hard to get back into the car to go back but luckily by day 4 I think even the slugs had drowned.
The O Ringen City is something else. The organisation is fantastic with everything working to time in spite of the weather. The food was excellent - as much as you could eat for about £5 and pancakes with everything.
Towards the end of the week pumps were brought in to stop tents, caravans and small children floating away.
(4) There did seem to be a lot of people in the forests, maybe for me in particular. My courses were relatively short and so I was never that far from the start and finish. Although the organisation was brilliant (the bussing was awe-inspiring) I am not sure I really like such big events. Over the Summer we also travelled to two multi day events in Belgium, much much smaller but equally well organised, and I think I enjoyed those better, but as those were both in brilliant sunshine, perhaps it is not a fair comparison.
Would I do the O Ringen again? Not sure...I would certainly like to orienteer in Sweden again but probably at smaller events and hopefully in the sun.
Following the event the weather changed to glorious sunshine and we spent four days with Monika and Ian swimming in the sparkling Baltic and sunning ourselves on sundrenched rocks.
Robin Stansfield has recently retired as lecturer at the Sheffield Hallam University and is moving to Penrith shortly. We are going to miss him badly - Robin has been probably our most consistently available and reliable helper at SYO events over the past 15 - 20 years. He organised, planned and controlled countless events for us and of course co-ordinated the British Champs at Ewden in 1990. He's also a great competitor although in recent years Robin's enthusiasm for the sport has declined. Perhaps his motivation will return once he's in the Lakes. I hope so, I really miss the battles we used to have.
Robin is also the SYO equipment officer and has relinquished the use of his garage and spare bedroom for at least the last 15 years. I would like on everyone's behalf to thank him for this and for all the work he's put in over the years. I would also like to thank Hazel for her good natured forbearance in putting up with us turning up at odd times to pick up equipment often at the last minute. We wish you both well in your retirement and look forward to seeing you in the Lakes.
.......which brings me to a very important issue, that of the position of equipment officer. The situation is obviously now urgent. We must have someone. We need someone who is:
a) prepared to allocate some space be it garage, garden shed, spare room or whatever to looking after the equipment
b) enthusiastic about doing it because a certain amount of maintenance is required.
This is a job that has to be done by somebody - why not you?
Don't hang back waiting for someone else to do it call me or Jenny James/Dave
Peel now.
Brian Shaw
The Welsh 5-day, otherwise known as "Croeso 2000," was centred on Dolgellau, (pronounced Doll-geth-lie) and the Belgian 4-day around Mol (pronouced Mol) in the Kempen area close to the Dutch border. It was just about possible to do the fifth day of the Welsh on the Friday and get to Belgium in time for the first event on the Saturday if you were prepared to travel unwashed and take the overnight ferry. I decided to miss the last day and spend a night at home, washed. (I didn't quite get the welcome I anticipated but I did get to do my washing and take the dogs out.)
Wales had been wet, not as wet as Sweden perhaps but nevertheless wet so we were really looking forward to some sunshine. Every mile we travelled the weather improved and once we reached Belgium it was hot. In fact the two events could not have been more contrasting. The orienteering in Wales had been on rough and hilly terrain with some technically challenging areas. Belgium was flat with lots of track running and small, sometimes vague control features, just off the paths. It sounds easy but attack points had to be ruthlessly attacked from otherwise you could easily miss the control. I was too undisciplined and found it hard to maintain concentration, especially in the heat. Others had no such problems. Sun goddess Beryl Seaman won the first three days and the overall title in W50 - her first significant win in any event - so congratulations to Beryl.
Perhaps the best part about Belgium was sitting around in the sunshine afterwards. Every event had a beer tent tended by very affable barmaids (that's going to get someone reaching for their modem) who were clearly non-orienteers. Perhaps orienteering in Belgium is like cricket over here, the men play and the ladies make the tea. I can't see it catching on in England but I understand the Irish are having one at the British Champs next year.
Another fond memory was ringing Bill Hanley on the mobile to translate the (dutch) menu for us. Lucky we did, the waiter's improvisation of kikker billen which we guessed as being ostrich turned out to be frog's legs!
Final score: Wales 3 Belgium 2
Post script......
The fourth day of Croeso had been in some very wild country near Lake Trawsfynydd.
The area was virtually devoid of paths with many rock features. To make it even
more interesting the clag was down. For once my run went perfectly, everything
fitted, and one experienced that rare feeling of exhilaration akin to flying.
I looked at my watch - 53:13. Beat that I thought. I downloaded my dobber and
moved expectantly over to the results. The overall class leader, a Norwegian,
was at the top of the list again with - oh no - 53:11! Almost in despair I looked
down at the slip of paper in my hand and - oh joy! 53:10! The splits would later
reveal that the Norwegian had been slightly faster on the first half of the course
and I was faster on the second half. However I was still 3 seconds adrift at the
last control. So I won it on the run in! So... don't ever give up.
A good example was this leg on day 3 in Wales (Llechweddgain pronounced Thlek .. um .... double d ... is it "th" or is that only at the end of a word..um.....). The straight line route involves climbing 11 contour lines and by day 3 the old legs are getting tired so let's contour round instead. After 300 metres over rough terrain I feel as if I've climbed a fair bit and I reckon I'm probably at A whereas I'm actually at B. Thinking I've climbed enough and conveniently forgetting that I need to compensate on my bearing I go due east on the compass, end up at C and make it fit with D. A bit further on, one knoll, two knolls, and it should be up that rocky hill to the north (E). No, not there so I keep going to the next hill. Surely I wasn't this far off line? Yes there it is but I've lost at least 2 minutes.
Corrective actions:
1) stay on line, ruthlessly following the compass, even when your legs are crying
out for easier ground.
2) keep checking features against the map.
Last modified: July 25 2003 10:21.
