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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, Volume 21 No 4 September 2000
Croeso class winners L to R: Clare Sutherland (W12A), Tom Charles (M20S), Andrew
Sutherland (M10B).
Next Newsletter
Copy date Jan 9th 2001. You will be pleased to know I can now read Word documents.
e-mail to:- b.shaw@dyson-group.com
Chair Chatter
A Winter's Tale
SYO Club Championships Blackamoor Saturday Dec 9th 2000
CompassSport Cup Winners 2000
Stan Maycraft
Fixtures
KYLOE NORTH (OCTOBER ODYSSEY DAY 2) 1st October 2000
RENEWING OLD ACQUAINTANCES - SANDAL BEAT WOODS, SYO COLOUR,
15 October 2000
What sort of people are orienteers?
The Great Sheffield Flood
HOPE WOODLANDS, MDOC Badge event, Sunday 12 November 2000
Commonly Made Mistakes (2)
Pen Rhiw Wen National Event
Jenny James
Unfortunately I must begin this with sadness, as I must tell you all that Stan Maycraft our excellent Treasurer for many years has passed away. Unable to make the AGM due to a heart attack Stan then died whilst waiting for an operation that week. Having been voted in unanimously in his absence at the AGM Stan will be sorely missed as an extremely reliable, friendly, keen and committed member of both the committee and of the club. It will be impossible to fill his shoes and we will all miss him. On behalf of the club I extend our deepest regrets and sympathy to his wife Jeanne and all his family.
Robin Stansfield and his wife have now moved to the Lakes and will be missed by the club in Sheffield. Robin has been the long-standing custodian of the club equipment and has provided many club members with help and advice over the years as new people come along to take the equipment for events. Thanks to Robin for all his hard work and I hope that he and his wife enjoy a well deserved relaxing time in the Lake District. Following that I must thank Phil Haywood, Colin Best, Martin Ward, Rob McPherson and Helen Hargreaves for retrieving & storing the SYO kit. This will be a temporary measure whilst we sort out a long-term solution but thanks again to those people for stepping in at short notice (our fault not Robin's). We are now considering renting a garage or storage spaces so if anyone knows of any please get in touch with one of the committee.
Meanwhile the AGM was a success - the enticement of free food was obviously too much and we had a healthy 30 people (not counting the Hanley twins) taking part in the event, held for the first time at the Norfolk Arms Pub on Ringinglow Road. Congratulations must also go to Ruth and Claire Sutherland who turned up in full fancy dress for the Halloween night run and I believe enjoyed their first night event - even if there were no markers! I must welcome Beryl Seaman onto the committee as Secretary and Helen Hargreaves as Captain and extend my warmest thanks to everyone who came along on the night and made it a successful evening.
Coming up there's our National Event on Burbage Moor, December 3rd. If you would like to help/be involved get in contact with Phil Haywood with your offers - no experience required. A week later the Club Champs is here again so let's all celebrate another great year for the club with a run, some food and some fun. Then once Christmas is out of the way we're into the British Night Champs on February 17th followed by a Badge event the next day. Both on an extended version of Blacka Moor where we now have permission to use the army huts at the bottom of the Moor, which will make things a lot easier and comfortable!
Back at home since the World Cups ended Dave & I have been hiding away following our TV appearance on C4 for the Hi-Tec Adventure Races. We entered our first one in Wales with my brother and won a free all-expenses paid trip to compete in the US Finals in New York. We had a fantastic time but now we're going to pay. Not only did The Times print a stunning A4 picture of yours truly tackling the 15ft wall covered in lard but now I'm on the box being towed by brother and partner - humiliating or what. For those unfamiliar with this race it's a mixed team event (about 3 hours long) where you have to complete a mountain biking, running and canoeing race as a team whilst the Army throw special challenges in your way. We were sceptical about these but found that all those years practice having to think under pressure appeared to pay off and we managed most of them. Dave & I also competed in our first ACE race - which was a 2.5hr score event, 5hr MTB score event, 1.5hr night score event, 2hr canoe score event and then a fell race up the Old Man of Coniston. Both races were superbly organised and good fun and people of all ages & abilities compete against each other on the same course. Certainly worth a try and fun as we soon realised you don't have to stay out for the entire length of a score event when there's only 30 minutes to the next event.
Looking further ahead the British Champs (for all classes) next year is in Northern Ireland so if you're planning on going do book well in advance. You can still, at the moment, fly from Sheffield to Belfast at very reasonable prices (£60 return) just let me book first!
Next Committee Meeting:
Monday 4th December 8pm
20 Riverdale Road, Sheffield
Brian Shaw
This is the time of year when it takes real commitment to get out and train. Dark evenings, no up-coming big events to prepare for, plenty of easy viewing on the box, how do you convince yourself that it really is worthwhile to tread the streets? Well if you're like me (heaven forbid) one way is to think about the guy (or gal) who regularly beats you and convince yourself that he (or she) won't be out. This way you can steal a march on him (or her).
Out here in the sticks there are no street lights so training opportunities are limited unless you go for a big head lamp with rechargeable batteries. There are dangers however if you go out on your own, e.g. what happens if you have an accident? No-one is going to find you until morning and you could end up dying of exposure.
The answer is hill reps. This is the perfect solution to winter training. Just find yourself a hill and run up it as hard as you can. Jog down then do it again. The total training session should only last 30 to 40 minutes so this leaves plenty of time for other activities. I used to do 6 hills per session but now I do only 4.
I started hill sessions exactly 10 years ago and during that time I have run up this wretched hill outside my house over 500 times. It's mind numbingly tedious but it does seem to work. One way of providing incentive is to time each hill and, yes you guessed it, keep records using a spreadsheet.
see graphs (click on browser back to get back here
The first graph shows the total number of hills run in a particular year. Enthusiasm waned during the mid 90's for some reason but seems to have returned over the last couple of years. The second graph shows the mean time per hill for the year. The two curves correspond almost perfectly - the more hills you do the faster you get. Hardly surprising I hear you say. Perhaps more interesting and certainly more encouraging is that mean times in 1999 when I was 57 were as good as when I was in my early fifties. This year has seen a deterioration however so perhaps the rot is beginning to set in. The third graph shows the difference between my speed and the winner's speed in all the badge events entered in a particular year. There seems to have been a marked improvement in 1992 once hill reps got under way. The low hill rep years 95 and 96 saw a deterioration which was reversed once they got under way again. Incidentally odd number years being worse than even number years is a result of the Scottish 6 days - foreign competitition plus the fact that I'm rubbish in Scotland. Anyway I hope you find all this mildly interesting and I promise not to do another article on the subject for at least 5 years.
Organisers: Colin Smith and Jackie Butcher
Parking: On lay-bys along the A625 (between Blackamoor and Houndkirk Moor) and on lay-bys on the B6450 (see map below). We would request that priority to the nearer parking is given to families with young children - we'll advise when we give you your start times. Please take care crossing the A625.
Pub: The Norfolk Arms, Ringinglow (GR 291 837)
Start GR SK279 806. Allow 5-15 minutes depending on where you park. Those coming from lay-bys A-D will walk along a short section of one of the shorter courses - please give way! (Though it is unlikely that you will encounter anyone due to the timing of starts etc.)
Entry (free): If possible by email to ja_butcher@yahoo.co.uk. You will be allocated an appropriate course and handicapped start time.
The week before the event we'll e-mail you with your start time and final details. If you entered by phone, please ring again (in the evening) for your start time. Start times will be between 10am and 11.15.
Collect your control card, descriptions and map at the start.
Master maps will be used for the long courses so bring a red waterproof pen and
a polythene map case. Pre-marked maps will be provided for the two shortest courses.
Map Corrections: Probably!
Meal: Come along to the meal afterwards and join in the quiz. Choices available: Beef and Ale Pie £4.99, Chicken Breast £4.99, Lasagne £4.50, Leek and Gruyere Crown £6.99
Served with chips or jacket potatoes; in addition, lasagne is with either salad and garlic bread or vegetables.
Please phone or e-mail us on or before Wednesday 6th December to confirm numbers and preferences.
Prize Giving: Will follow the meal.
Informal Crèche/String Course We hope to provide an informal crèche in the start tent and a string course for any children who might have a long time to hang around.
Help: is needed for the above and at the Start/Finish! If anyone isn't running and would like to help then we would love to hear from you. Offers of help to bring in controls and check cards would also be gratefully received.
Charlie Adams
The following were presented with trophies at the AGM for being the overall highest scorers in their respective classes in SYO's winning CompassSport Cup team:
A Dave Peel B Charlie Adams C Helen Hargreaves D Bill Hanley E Hilary Bloor F Zoe Fiander G Dan Tett
Congratulations to you all and let's do it again next year.
As most of you will now know Stan Maycraft, our much loved Treasurer, died in the early hours of November 2nd. Stan and Jeanne started orienteering in 1973 when their son Tony planned an event at Chigwell school. They soon became hooked and travelled the country in their caravan in pursuit of orienteering taking in such events as the very first Scottish 6-day. Although Stan was never a fast orienteer he loved the navigation. They moved up to Sheffield with the Midland bank in the late 70's and after a brief flirtation with DVO joined SYO.
Stan came onto the committee in 1988 and served continuously since including being treasurer for BOC 90 at Ewden Valley. During that time he kept a firm hand on SYO finances which hitherto had been in a precarious state. The speed at which the annual accounts appeared at the year end was legendary and could be measured not in weeks or even days but in hours. It was some years ago that ill health stopped Stan from orienteering but this did not prevent him from supporting the club. Every year when asked the same question about carrying on as Treasurer he was almost apologetic in his acceptance and had to be reassured that he was not putting anyone else's nose out of joint. Stan also carried out the role of treasurer for other organisations. His wide experience and avuncular character will be greatly missed.
- see the special Fixtures page.
Doreen Best
Having booked a weekend to go to Edinburgh to take up essentials to David - you know the sort of thing students can't live without, ghetto blaster, bean bag, set of juggling clubs, etc ... - Colin "just happened" to find a nice little event at Fenwick, between Dunbar and Alnwick on the A1. Well, it was on our way home. It might have been in Northumberland, but it jolly well felt like a Scottish forest! We got off to a good start by getting stuck in the parking field and managed to spray the car with mud, grass and cow poo. I don't know what they feed their cows on in Northumberland but if the texture of the poo is anything to go by, their milk should be wonderful stuff!
The event was actually Day 2 of the October Odyssey, and like Ulysses I got lulled into danger and forgetfulness. Kyloe is a working forest, running over what must have been moorland. Consequently there are plenty of paths, tracks and rides, on the map that is. The map looked straightforward, easy even. Just follow this path up here, ah yes it sort of fizzles out into open moorland. Trying to relocate when there are no features and without knowing where I am was not easy. After three attacks I eventually found my first control, brazenly fluttering in the breeze. That had taken me 40 minutes. After an hour I had only found three controls. Seven more to go. Should we book another hotel for Sunday night? Would Colin, Penelope-like, wait for me? This had so un-nerved me I did the rest of the course on paths. This did not make for very exciting orienteering, but I did arrive at the finish before dark! I had obviously got badly out of practice over the summer as I should have enjoyed such a challenging little course. Amazingly, I won W50S, even though I took 108 mins. But it doesn't bear to look too closely at the results.
Doreen Best
It had been some years since we had orienteered at Sandal Beat and decided to forego Longshaw and support SYO instead. We were not disappointed. Parking this time was at the other end of the woods in a school with the use of proper loos! This was my first Green for some time, and it was interesting to compare it with my last Green at Sandal Beat. I ran (euphemism for trotted) 4.8K in 73 minutes in 1988, and this time I ran 4.6K in 75 minutes. Looking on the bright side, the intervening twelve years has not seen me slow down. It was an excellent course and I really enjoyed it, even the bit over the railway line. I took to heart the fact that it was a 1 to 5000 map and went very carefully, and I managed not to overshoot anything. In fact I was boringly accurate. If only I could be accurate and fast! Even better, accurate and fast all the time!
The interesting thing about Sandal Beat this time was that even after all the rain we have had over the past few weeks (when has it ever stopped?!), the water level in all the dykes and ditches was either extremely low or non existent. This made it possible to cross even the deep dykes. What has happened to the water? Is it the underground mining in the area? It was certainly otherwise wet and muddy, although I did manage to finish without getting my shoes too dirty. It was nice to renew my acquaintance with Sandal Beat. Even nicer, was bumping into Brian and Eileen Shaw. They had not orienteered for a few years, but still run regularly. We exchanged news about our "children", and hoped to see each other at future events. Colin met Geoff Green, who also had not orienteered for some time, and John Storey from South Yorkshire Schools Orienteering Association days, who was taking his young grandchildren round the course. And we still had time to chat to more regular orienteers. A very enjoyable morning, and thanks to the organisers and planners.
"Rambling" Ruth Sutherland
As will probably be documented elsewhere in this newsletter, this year's AGM was planned by Jenny and Dave (our Chair people) to be a bit more light-hearted than in previous years, with a pre-meeting Hallowe'en run and a free buffet supper. The idea was obviously successful as a record attendance resulted; it was a thoroughly enjoyable event, bringing together representatives of all facets of SYO, but unfortunately with little time to socialise as runners arrived back in trickles (or deluges in some cases) and details about the forthcoming National Event at Burbage were discussed between various parties before the main meeting began.
Once the AGM business started, all went well until we reached the election of officers. Although we had been reassured in the AGM invitation that we 'didn't have to join the committee' if we came along, there were some embarrassing silences when members were asked to volunteer for vacant committee jobs. We all had our own reasons for not wanting committee posts. Our club is a large one with members scattered quite widely in the South Yorkshire area. Attending meetings is difficult for many people but the AGM turn-out indicated clearly the members' support for the club. SYO attempts to provide something for all of us and recognises our diverse needs and interests. The club is as good as we make it and at the AGM it became clear that in recent years the running of the club has been done by a smaller and smaller group of members. Everyone has busy lives. Most people have work and leisure commitments in addition to their orienteering. No one (well HARDLY anyone) relishes being on the SYO committee but those who are, are the ones responsible for the continuing existence of the club.
Driving home after the AGM, and feeling as sheepish as everyone else who kept quiet at the meeting, I asked myself what would make a more active involvement in running SYO easier for members? Not surprisingly I didn't come up with an answer, but the whole business set me thinking. I asked myself
a) what do I want from the club?
b) what can I contribute to the club?
It would be interesting and, I think, informative for members of the club to ask themselves the same two questions and let the committee know their position. Perhaps members' views should be canvassed more formally using an annual questionnaire and feedback form? As I thought about the orienteers I have met during my nearly-four-years involvement in the sport I realised that we encompass a huge spectrum of interests and abilities. At the AGM there were a significant number of members whom I didn't know. The corollary to this is that they didn't know me either, and indeed one of the club's young elite runners stated during the meeting that she didn't know the club veterans. I was uneasy when I first joined the club because I knew nothing about orienteering. I was a complete beginner, hampered by a young family, overweight, unfit and out-of-my-depth. Everyone else in SYO seemed competent, fit and self-assured. Having grown to know and love an increasingly large number of members I realise of course that my first impressions were not entirely correct. Even the elites (well some of them) speak to me now - but wait, just because they are elite runners and I hold them in awe and I dream of being able to run half as fast and half as accurately as they do, it doesn't mean they are any more comfortable or integrated as club members than I am.
Few people want to join a committee or take on an organisational job among strangers and on reflection I wonder if the club could move forward by aiming for a greater sense of inclusive 'club identity'? I am not suggesting a mad social programme, but some more informal events-for-all along the lines of the AGM, (without the business), to enable the young and the less-young to mix and to get to know one another better. Having the Club Tent at events would be good too, and I would love it if everyone made a point of acknowledging fellow club members at events, just to say 'Hi!' or to extend a cheery word of encouragement before or after a run - these are the little things which I think we all appreciate and which make such a difference to our feeling of belonging to SYO.
A long-standing veteran member of SYO said wistfully to me recently "orienteers are a pretty serious bunch on the whole". I can see what he means, as many people understandably take the sport extremely seriously. (I only wish I were good enough to do so myself). Yet the beauty of orienteering lies in its accessibility to all, at varying levels; and despite our disparate abilities we can all call ourselves 'orienteers'.
When teaching children about adjectives I often play a game with them in which we take a noun, in this case 'bunch' (as in 'collective group of orienteers') and brainstorm all the adjectives we can think of which could possibly be used with the particular noun. In this case for example, you could focus on personal qualities eg. friendly, welcoming, interesting, entertaining, fun-loving, dedicated, loyal, hard-working, helpful, pleasant, communicative, knowledgeable, fit, energetic, and so on, thus: "orienteers are a pretty ********* bunch on the whole".
If I were to make a sweeping generalisation about the orienteers I have met over the past 4 years I think I would say "orienteers are a pretty marvellous bunch on the whole"
What would you say?
Ed. What about sweaty
As a one time thespian myself I still take an interest in the theatre and recently went to the first ever staging of a new play written by a friend of mine, Kay Massey from the Lantern Theatre, about the Great Sheffield Flood. This happened in 1858 when Dale Dyke reservoir (Strines) burst and flooded the Loxley valley, Malin Bridge, Hillsborough and Neepsend. Over 200 people were drowned and bodies were found as far away as Doncaster. Some of you may have seen the minuscule monument which was erected only relatively recently on the site of the original dam wall. What's this got to do with orienteering? Well nothing really except that one of the stars of the show was our very own Zoe Fiander. I also spotted Jenny Goodall, alas no longer a member of SYO, in a play at the aforesaid theatre. So, another adjective to describe orienteers could be "multi-faceted".
Doreen Best
I felt strangely enthusiastic about this event. The wind was blowing outside, it was cold, and it was raining. But I still wanted to run in a steep sided woodland, with complex start arrangements, after months of rain and floods. I was even up and dressed before Colin! Nor had the seemingly horrible weather put off the Bradfield pupils and the usual little squad joined us in the school bus, along with Ted. Ted persuaded Colin to drive over the scenic route to Edale, and Colin made several stops along the way to show the youngsters where they would be orienteering. However, the rattle of crisp packets drowned out any gasps of wonder, and cries of enthusiasm sounded somewhat dampened when muttered through a half chewed sandwich! For myself, I felt that Ladybower looked beautiful with the woodlands brazenly displaying magnificent autumnal colours below a horizon of brightening sky.
Although we were running in the woods above Ladybower reservoir, access was from the Edale side where parking was provided on a working farm. Although the farm offered hard standing, Colin managed to carefully park next to a large puddle of cow poo. (I am not really obsessed with cow poo, it just seems to manifest itself at each event I go to!).
The bussing system to the drop point for the walk to the start - a fleet of three minibuses worked around the clock dropping off and picking up - worked very well and we didn't have to wait at all. The walk from the National Trust property at Edale End to the start at the top of the ridge was very muddy, slippy and steep, but with electronic punching at least we didn't have to wait around in the cool wind and were able to start when there was a space.
The woodland is a delightful mix of tree varieties, but is also a working forest, and the extraction lanes were unbelievably muddy making it slow and difficult on the paths and rides. It was much easier to "go for it" through the trees. I really enjoyed my course - water, mud, climb, everything. Even my mistake which caused me to make a detour down a very steep and wet bank sliding from tree to tree had a certain excitement.
The pupils arrived back in various stages of muddiness, but they had all enjoyed their courses, even those who had mis-punched. I had run the same course as Claire, one of the W16B runners, and it was interesting to compare our splits. Just a little bit of hesitation at several controls adds up to a few minutes overall. But she's catching me up fast! Well done to Tom who won his class, M14B, in 38 minutes, to Claire who also won her class, and to all the pupils who finished their courses in less than ideal conditions. But this is what orienteering is all about, tackling courses in all weathers and all conditions and still finishing.
Although this is a more common affliction for competitors new to the sport it can also affect experienced orienteers when concentration is lost. The mistake shown here is probaby the worst of its kind - ever - and happened after a friend of mine had already made several mistakes on Day 1 of the JK on Leith Hill in 1999 and was feeling tired and dispirited. I expect. Coming out of 11 expecting to hit the path at A I, sorry he, deviated off the compass and hit the path at right angles to it at B. Turning right onto the path without checking the compass he arrived at C thinking it was D. He then ran on to E assuming he was at F so duly turned right only to find he was going in exactly the wrong direction - SW instead of NE. He even managed to convince himself that the finish field close by was somebody else's start! Eventually he cottoned on and gave up (G).
Corrective Action: Take special care coming out of a control - keep checking your compass - and check the direction of the path as soon as you hit it. If it is not coincident with the compass stand still until you have worked out what other path you may have hit. Do not run off along the track blindly looking for clues.
Alan Goddard
No question on this occasion for your normal run of the mill orienteer that it approached purgatory. There will be some who challenge this - hard men, the slightly off balanced and perhaps a few genuinely out of the ordinary people who enjoy it tough - but for the rest of us it would be difficult to claim the experience to have been pleasurable. There were two factors - travel and competition. However you travelled down the conditions were bad but bearable - coming back however was just about the pits. It just streamed down the whole way, there was traffic everywhere and the journey was interminable. Our esteemed editor and his carload got back at 8.0 o'clock and my son Roger day-tripped from Milton Keynes and got back at 9 o'clock.
Now to the event itself. I had an early run with cagoules compulsory and wind chill at -7 degrees C. Apart from thermal top and bottoms I actually ran in a woolly hat for only the second time in 15years. Having said this the conditions weren't too bad in practice - we had some driving rain, some hail and a lot of wind but it was bearable. The terrain was runable (shortish grass and a few tussocks) and interesting enough without being very complex. I got round with just a few minutes worth of errors and to be honest (which normally means the opposite) quite enjoyed it. That really was the end of the good bit.
Conditions then deteriorated - it really started raining the wind seriously started to blow and even strong orienteers weakened. Brian mispunched in the fog and mist and the normally impeccable Pete Gorvett lost his way. In short it became horrible. Of course those of us already finished benefited - I had my second best ranking score of the year - those still out suffered. Roger said he had an almost error free run and lost 10 minutes on comparable performers who had run earlier.
Of course a number of sensible people just didn't go. For example that normally highly motivated couple - Martin Smith and Dorothy Pelly - took one look out of the window and turned over and went back to sleep. The organiser deserves huge credit for carrying on with the event - compare with the J.K. day2 last year.
I guess one's sympathy has to go out to Brian - 12-13 hours effort in awful conditions for a void run. He claimed to me he had run the leg in question perfectly except for mispunching at the end!!
One final reflection - disparaging remarks have been made in the past in these columns on my healthily sized O-bag, on this occasion I didn't take it (we were going on to London) as a result of which I had to buy yet another cagoule and a third woolly hat. Never again - in future it comes on every trip!
PS Apparently there was a case of hypothermia on the bus back from the finish.
Last modified: July 25 2003 10:21.
