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Previous Issues: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, Volume 23 No 1 February 2002
Next Newsletter - Copy date August 15th 2002
I can now read Word documents. e-mail to:- b.shaw@dyson-techceramics.com
Please do not feel inhibited about sending hand written articles. Remember technology
is not important - your experiences, opinions, anecdotes, funny stories, snippets
of information and gossip, mistakes, good runs, ailments (especially interesting
ailments) are important so let me have them.
To Twitch or Not to Twitch
New members
SYO go electronic!
The History of SYO (Part 2)
Colin Best
Burnham Beeches National Event Feb 10th 2002
Fixtures
Sheffield O Net
SYO Informal Summer Evening Training Events
SYO Compass Sport Cup Brown Clee Hill March 10th 2002
JK Forest of Dean March 30th-April 1st
SYO Committee
Brian Shaw
A fairly short SYO News this time as there are a million other things to be done at this time of year. Interesting article in New Scientist (April 6th) sent to me by our company information officer, who thinks I should be trying to grow old gracefully, on my favourite subject. Research carried out in the USA - where else? - shows that VO2max, the body's maximum oxygen consumption, for fit people declines at 5% per decade after the age of 30, but 10% for sedentary types. This is not related to the reduction in the capacity of the heart to pump blood. Because the maximum heart rate drops by about one beat per minute each year everyone thought that this would be translated into less oxygen being delivered to the muscles. Not so apparently. Instead it's to do with the muscles not being able to utilise the oxygen, possibly because there are fewer mitochondria in the muscle cells or the arteries supplying them get clogged up. Anyway the good news is that sedentary middle aged people can vastly improve their VO2max simply by becoming more active. E.g. 50 year old men, after 30 years of inactivity, could regain in only 6 months the aerobic fitness they recorded at the age of 20 by training for 3 to 5 hours per week. This only works however if you are fit at 20: it doesn't work for couch potatoes. Nothing surprising here then, nor in the conclusion that you can boost your aerobic fitness by interval training.
Another finding relates to muscle build-up when weight training for example. Apparently we have two types of muscle fibre, fast twitch and slow twitch based on the speed at which they contract. As you age you lose the fast twitch fibres more quickly than the slow twitch. The reverse is also true: you tend to build up fast twitch muscle when you are young and slow twitch when you are older. Again this is good news for older orienteers who mainly need slow twitch muscle for endurance rather than fast twitch for sprinting.
Carol, Graham, Kara, Sean and Molly DUNCAN
Damien HOLMES and Ceri ASTON
Jo and Rob McPherson
The SYO committee have agreed to the purchase of our own electronic punching kit, to enable us to put on training, local and small colour coded events without using the YHOA kit. It will also supplement the YHOA regional SI kit at larger events.
How does it work?
Anyone who attends Badge events will have used an e-card (dibber or dobber) and should be used to the SI punching set up. However for most local members, unless they have travelled to another club's event where electronic punching is used, this will be all new. The following is a brief guide for them.
Jargon
The hardware is made by SportIdent. To use the hardware it is programmed using software on a PC and results are downloaded onto a PC. Currently YHOA and SYO use the OE software but Mike Napier is developing a package; intended to be more tailored to British events.
The software is used to program the control boxes; to set up the event on a PC; to input entries into the event and to collate the results downloaded from each e-card. Individual split times showing how long each leg of the course has taken can be printed immediately. The course results can be printed or output in various formats including web output.
Organising an event
While the SI system has in some ways made it easier to run an event there is still a considerable amount of work to be done prior to the event although there is far less to do during and after the event. The Planner and Entries/SI team need to co-ordinate their efforts as the success of the whole event is dependent on the initial setup.
The planner is constrained by the control numbers that can be used. For our kit these will be 61 - 100 and the YHOA or EMOA kit follows on from this. For a badge event the courses planned using Condes or Picover can be exported directly into the SI software to avoid retyping course descriptions. The SI team need to check the battery life and program these controls the day before they are due to be put out. The planner should bear in mind that carrying more than 10 controls/stakes/kites is a challenge. The Control numbers are on the Stakes so we have a set of unnumbered kites for these stakes. The controls are set to come on before the event and switch off after courses close to minimise battery usage.
For a badge event entries can be entered as received and this is facilitated by importing the BOF Archive and using this to create entries from BOF numbers. Start times are allocated and the entry slips printed from the event. For EOD and colour coded all entries are typed in as received - the trick being to get the entries in before the competitors finish.
During the event the SI team control the download of competitors cards, printing of split times and results and if necessary reprogramming of controls if any are found to be faulty during the event. If mains power and a building is available this is a relatively painless task; windy fields, tents and generators make it all the more challenging.
After the event the results can be exported in a format for web display or as printed results for creating a results booklet. Split times can be published and there are software packages for competitors to record and analyse these splits. For a badge event Ranking submission can be done over the Internet from the event results.
Helping
When we did the national event in 2000 it was rather a steep learning curve and there were relatively few people round the country who we could turn to for advice. Now the usage is common place but we need more people in the club to learn how to use the kit for us to get maximum benefit out of it. Once we have the kit we will try to put on some training in using it. We need planners and organisers who understand how to use it and set it up and helpers at events who can help with downloads/results etc. Please volunteer to help and learn - there is no point having the kit if only one or two people know how to use it.
Usage
Come and see our shiny new kit at Cawthorne on 19th May and contact us to help! Rob & Jo McPherson rob.mcpherson@dial.pipex.com
Remember the 32-page booklet that was issued to members in 1997 to celebrate SYO's silver jubilee? Well guess what, the committee have agreed to reissue an updated version later in the year, and this time it will be 40 pages. For those who missed the 1997 edition, it chronicles all the successes of SYO members since 1972 along with lots of other 'interesting' information. Thanks to the internet, it has been quite easy to keep up to date the victories of SYO teams and individuals at major events I have not attended, even though, ironically, we will be reissuing a paper booklet!
Why am I telling you this now? Because if you know of any errors or omissions in the 1997 edition, however trivial, let me know and I will correct them in the 2002 edition.
Ray Waight ray@waight1.freeserve.co.uk
Colin Best has broken his femur just below the pelvis in a skiing accident at Easter. Poor Colin was on the his last run on the last day of the holiday when he fell. He tells me he will be off work until September and out of running action for a year. He plans to do some mapping on O-CAD and hopes to carry on with whatever he can do from home. Bear in mind when contacting Colin that he may take longer to reach the phone. Colin has already set up most of the small events this spring and summer but his lack of physical presence will obviously be missed. We intend to carry on with the events as planned but any extra help will obviously be appreciated.
Brian Shaw
To relieve the boredom of the 3 hour drive down the M42/M40 I had promised my colleagues sightings of red kites as we approached the Chilterns. The point where the M40 cuts into the chalk is well known both to aficionados of the Vicar of Dibley and bird watchers. I could tell they were dubious but kites are easy to spot even at 80 mph although it can unnerve the more timid members of the party. Sure enough the kites obliged right on cue. In fact we saw 13 that day, 6 on the way and 7 on the way back.
Anyway it filled in the gaps between reading aloud the event final details. Now these can also be an interesting and amusing diversion and this event was a classic: four full A4 pages of tight script. The bit we liked the best was the introduction giving us details of the area's status as an SSSI amongst other things and the 400 year old pollarded beech trees followed by an appeal to "respect the woodland as you are running through it". How do you actually do that? We all agreed that carving your initials in the bark would be a definite no-no (although it could be argued that the guys who did the pollarding had no such qualms) but we felt something more positive was required of us, tugging a forelock perhaps. In the end we settled for the occasional nod of appreciation in the direction of a particularly fine specimen.
The event itself was superb, fast runnable woodland where the straight option was nearly always the fastest and some impressive speeds were attained by the winners. Charlie adams won M35L in 5.6 min/km over 12.5Km and M55L was only slightly slower at 6.0 min/km whilst even the M60 winner ran at 6.9 min/km.
- see the special Fixtures page.
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Mark Chapman
Since the last newsletter I have replaced Helen as the club captain and we have already been knocked out of the Compass Sport Cup. What a start! Helen was club captain for just over a year, I think, but she made sure we didn't get beaten in any of the relays last year! I am beginning to see already why she was happy to pass the buck on. I would like to thank on behalf of the club for all her hard work - thanks Helen.
Well, back to the Compass Sport Cup - Round 1 took place on the 10th March at Brown Clee Hill. We had about 25 people on the coach with plenty of enthusiasm and spirit but knowing are chances were slim due to injuries, emigrating and skiing holidays. What used to be the bread and butter classes (M/W21) looked nothing like potential JK 2002 open winners! I have thank those that did turn up and especially Dave Harrison and Clive Wilson for "running up" a class which on a nice day would have been tolerable but I have to say I don't remember conditions being any worse in the 20+ years of O-ing! So it was no surprise we had two of our stars retire due to the conditions - I struggled to concentrate too. Outstanding runs came from Dave Charles who finished only a few seconds behind top orienteer Andy Hemsted and the Tett family.
A B C D E F G Total 1 BOK 32 48 41 51 30 18 20 240 2 WCH 38 32 36 40 39 21 16 222 3 SYO 17 37 34 21 39 15 6 169 4 HOC 41 10 31 16 38 11 16 163 5 OD 33 28 13 19 18 9 15 135 6 NGOC 4 10 16 15 8 4 5 62
SYO Scorers:-
A Dave Harrison 9
Mike Sprot 8
B Tim Tett 18
Mark Chapman 14
Clive Wilson 5
C Dave Charles 17
Phil Jones 9
Guy Seaman 8
D Hilary Bloor 12
Janet Adams 9
E Brian Shaw 17
Ruth Charles 12
Jill Gorvett 10
F Dan Tett 11
Tom Holmes 4
G Clare Sutherland 5
Luke Smythe 1
Shame that Peter Gorvett was injured otherwise the whole family car could have scored. He's never there when you really need him! Still he made up for it at the JK......
Mark Chapman
The JK has now been and gone. Individually there were successes for Jamie Stevenson (1st in M21E), Charlie Adams (1st in M35L), Martin Ward (3rd in M35L), Tim Tett (2nd in M40L), Peter Gorvett (2 nd in M55L), Dan Tett (2nd in M10A), Ian Wainwright (3rd in M60S) and Hilary Bloor (1st both days in W45L).
Other top 20 perfomances:
M16A Robin Tett 15 M21L Phil Winskill 13 M40S Rob McPherson 6 M75L Eric Shimmin 4 W18B Zoe Fiander 2 W21E Helen Hargreaves 5 W21E Jo Stevenson 9 W21L Judith Padget 6 W35L Dorothy Pelly 9 W35L Janet adams 19 W40S Jo McPherson 14 W50L Jill Gorvett 14 W55L Monika Cooper 11 W60S Margaret Wainwright 7
SYO did tremendously well in the relays. It wasn't all smooth behind the scenes as I had a headache selecting the men's open team. Dave Peel was very close to being dropped to the B team as he was returning from injury and was beaten by Mike Sprot on Day 1. Charlie didn't want to run 1st leg but in the end common sense prevailed and he ran excellently to come in about 90 secs down. Phil Winskill just pipped Charlie on the run-in to edge the 2nd team in front. Tim and I had a ding-dong battle but Tim came in 30 secs ahead of me but more importantly only 30 secs behind the very strong Interlopers team. At the spectator control Dave Peel was only 90 secs behind INT but lost a minute in the last loop back to finish. There was no doubt in some minds that Jamie was going to catch Tim Lenton from Interlopers. It was down to 30 secs at the spectator control and now it was a formality and SYO finished about 10 secs ahead of INT. Well done Charlie, Tim, Dave and Jamie. Oh and the 2nd team finished about 8th, which is pretty respectable - if only we had had Jamie on last leg! (Ed. note - sorry to be a misery Chappers but according to the results someone in the second team mispunched).
In the women's race, SYO had a very strong chance for victory. Jo Stevenson gave SYO the perfect start and I believe Jenny James (running the short leg due to a bad cold a few days earlier) maintained the lead but poor Helen Hargreaves had Heather Monro (Britain's current No.1 and in the World's top 10) breathing down her neck. Alas, we finished 2nd but we can take the consolation that SYO's team contains runners who live or have lived in Sheffield! The winners, Warrior OC, have two runners who have never lived in the Lakes!
The other plus for the day was the M165+ class. Again major selection troubles. Finally decided based on the overall performance on the two previous days despite the victor here running off the map! Then on the day, I was told Brian Shaw hadn't turned up. Was this a cruel April Fool's joke? Ian Wainwright replaced Brian and the team set Peter Gorvett up nicely on last leg to anchor it to victory. Again, well done Phil Jones, Ian and Pete. The Juniors (or should I call them the Tett family) must have had a good result as they had Kevin Walters (an M21) running but I haven't seen any results. (Editors PS: the M48- team finished a creditable 7th - Ed. SYO also had two teams in the W120+ class and they finished 5th and 11th but I cannot find any individual names in the results so cannot comment on who did what. Can anyone enlighten me?).
Scottish Champs Relays
The Scottish champs entries will be sent by the end of April, so let me know asap
if you want a run.
Harvester Relays
The Harvester is at the end of August and I will need to know numbers by the beginning
of July. I would like to see a large entry so don't be put off by being in a team.
There isn't much difference from an individual race and a relay but the latter
is certainly more sociable and exciting. The Harvester is more special as the
race unwinds through the night. With an August date, there's potential for fantastic
weather. So I hope to see you there.
The men must get another 1st (best bet is the Harvester) and a 2nd to retain the UK Relay league for the 4th time (I think)! So we need a full turnout at the Harvester (Dave, Tim, Charlie, Martin, Phil, Mike, DaveH and anyone better). The women are probably in a better position but need to ensure full teams at the remaining races. So Jo and Jenny your services are needed. They may need the services of Hilary Bloor or nurse Ruth Hambleton to full fitness in time for the Harvester.
Have fun out there,
Mark mark@cobul.free-online.co.uk
PS I will use the SYO web page occasionally, so keep your eyes pinned there a
few days before a relay.
Chairman Alan Goddard alangoddard10@hotmail.com
Secretary Doreen Best colinallanb@yahoo.co.uk
Treasurer Dave Heath dave@heathcma.fsnet.co.uk
Permissions Guy Seaman Seagoon1@aol.com
Equipment Phil Haywood Philhsyo@aol.com
Fixtures (bigger events) Phil Haywood Philhsyo@aol.com
Fixtures (smaller events) Colin Best colinallanb@yahoo.co.uk
Newsletter Brian Shaw b.shaw@dyson-techceramics.com
Coaching Bill Hanley hanley@rmplc.co.uk
Membership Helen Hargreaves Helen.Hargreaves@arup.com
Club Captain Mark Chapman mark@cobul.free-online.co.uk
Mapping Officer Ray Waight ray@waight1.freeserve.co.uk
Last modified: July 25 2003 10:22.
