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Previous Issues: 1998, 1999, Volume 21 No 1 January 2000, Volume 21 No 2 April 2000
Editorial Page
Births
SYO WIN THE COMPASS SPORT CUP
Wallies of the month Award
Over or Round - the Orienteer's Dilemma
World Cup 1 - Japan and Australia
British Champs 2000, Hereford 13/14 May 2000
Highland 99
Event Levies
Fixtures
YHOA Gallopen
Coming Home - Scottish Champs
Scottish Championships Weekend 27th - 28th May 2000
Twin Peaks High Dam June 3rd and 4th 2000
British Elite Orienteering Championships 10 / 11 June 2000
Brian Shaw
Well we did it again! SYO's stars shone yet again to prove undisputedly that we are the top club in Britain at the moment. On a scorching day on Ilkley Moor - 88oF in the shade except there was no shade - we had winners on 5 out of the 7 courses. Charlie has a full report for you. We arrived early at the event centre in the grounds of Ilkley Grammar School and to start with we sat in the sunshine giving everyone the opportunity to admire Tim Tett's tan. Tim had recently holidayed in Greece as befits an Adonis but did the latter ever sport lime green shorts I wonder. It wasn't long however before we retired to the shade. All too soon it was time to venture out into the relentless heat. The first 4 or 5 controls were uphill but if you survived that you reached the plateau at 1300 feet where there was the semblance of a breeze. Many of us were exhausted by the finish and the coach trip home was a very sleepy affair - not much in the way of raucous celebration and no evidence of a police presence at the Ecclesall terminus. The mercury was still reading 91o when I arrived home at 5.30 so it was straight into the paddling pool to soothe those poor feet. As my son put it "I'd rather hack off my legs with a bread knife than go orienteering in this weather".
Congratulations and thanks to Charlie Adams for arranging the coach, entering us all, showing the coach driver the way, collecting the money, looking after the kids, running very fast despite sore feet, making himself look presentable for the prize giving, and most of all agreeing to have the cup on his sideboard. Charlie is retiring as club captain this year so the job is going to be open if anyone fancies it - though Charlie will be a hard act to follow.
A great turnout for SYO - over 60 people gave up what may prove to be the hottest Sunday of the year to run for the club. Thanks to everyone for coming. It shows great commitment to run for the club in those conditions especially knowing you haven't got a cat in hell's chance of scoring.
Bill and Bridget Hanley are proud to announce the birth of twin daughters Lucy and Kirsty born on May 18th. All are doing well. Bill has really taken to domesticity. He spent most of the journey to Ilkley going into great detail e.g. contrasting the virtues of traditional nappies - not only greener but cheaper - with the decidedly non-eco friendly disposable variety. He may be setting up a web site on the internet so feel free to e-mail him with your views. Anyway congratulations and best wishes from us all. No doubt we'll get to see them when they make their debut on the string course at BOC2002.
Congratulations to you both from all of us.
Charlie Adams
Clear winning margin as SYO defeat MDOC, NOC, SLOW and BOK
On the hottest day of the year so far (and hopefully the hottest day of the year, full stop!) SYO held off the challenge of the other leading clubs to regain the CompassSport Cup at Ilkley Moor (Baht'at). SYO managed an almost full turnout, with virtually all our top competitors coming and representing the club. This contrasted with some of our opposition, notably MDOC who were missing a few key people due to the clash with the Lowe Mountain Marathon.
Apart from the heat another hindrance was the bracken, which the organisers claimed had grown up quicker than expected (how many times have we heard that excuse!). I had predicted the bracken and arranged late start times for our leading contenders in order that they might get the best of the 'going'.
One major factor in our victory was the return to CompassSport Cup competition of 'old stalwart' Rob Pearson. Now that Rob is M45, he considerably strengthens our C course team, previously one of our weaker areas. It was a pity though that Rob couldn't persuade his son Joel to run the F course for us!
Thanks to everyone who turned up and made the day such a success. Scores (unofficial) were as follows:
Course A B C D E F G TOTAL SYO 34 41 26 38 31 3 6 179 MDOC 38 21 17 34 29 13 10 162 SLOW 21 25 36 21 17 6 6 132 NOC 6 19 30 8 25 19 17 124 BOK 21 14 11 19 18 13 16 113
Here is the full list of scorers:
A Dave Peel 15 points E Hilary Bloor 15 Bill Edwards 10 Ted Morton 11 Martin Ward 9 Jenni Fiander 5 B Tim Tett 15 F Zoe Fiander 3 Charlie Adams 14 G Dan Tett 5 Mark Chapman 12 Clare Sutherland 1 C Rob Pearson 15 Bill Hanley 6 Phil Jones 5 D Helen Hargreaves 15 Jo Stevenson 12 Ruth Hambleton 11
Most of you will be aware that the club has trophies which are presented to the leading scorers on each of the seven CompassSport Cup courses throughout the year (for however long SYO remains in the competition). This year (and until the next time the competition is reorganised) there were just two rounds; the regional heats (held at Collis Rigg in March) and the Final at Ilkley. The maximum points available was 33 on the senior courses and 22 on the junior courses. Here is the list of trophy winners for 2000:
A Dave Peel 33 B Charlie Adams 32 C Bill Hanley 21 D Helen Hargreaves 32 E Hilary Bloor 33 F Zoe Fiander 8 G Dan Tett 14
Well done to all trophy winners! It looks as though we will be having a presentation evening as part of this year's AGM in October. Watch this space!
Surfing the results of the Scottish relay championships I noticed with some surprise that SYO won the M/W45+ class. Surely Hilary hadn't run her age class? No, of course not, don't be silly. Then who was the elusive W45? Could it have been Roberta "Bobbie" Pearson? Or Philippa - "Pippa" to his, sorry her, friends - Jones? Surely not Colleen Best? Unfortunately the lads couldn't fool the canny Scots and came home prizeless - but not because they weren't girls but because they weren't Scots! Next time fellas try wearing kilts instead of those flowery frocks.
Over or round - a decision which orienteers have to make regularly. Is it quicker to take the longer but faster route round or the shorter, tougher and possibly more risky straight route. Technically there may be little to choose either way. The arguments and counter arguments have continued unabated for years. Both sides have their advocates. Opinions, once held, can rarely be altered: old habits die hard. Well I can now reveal after years of research and countless opportunities to study the issue at first hand that, on average, all things being equal, taking everything into consideration, going round Manchester on the M60 is quicker than going over the Mancunian Way. So let there be no further discussion on the subject.
Helen Hargreaves
Four members of SYO have recently returned from a highly successful trip, competing for Great Britain in a World Cup Series of orienteering races. Jenny James, Dave Peel, Helen Hargreaves and Jamie Stevenson joined the rest of the team to depart for Tokyo at the beginning of April for 2 races in Japan and a further 3 races in Australia.
Against a world class field we had some very notable results, Heather Monro, based in Halden, Norway, achieving a personal best with 2nd in the opening race in Japan and SYO's Swedish based Jamie Stevenson also achieving a best with 15th. The following day saw the relay competition on very technical lava rock terrain, our male team teasing themselves with a fantastic 3rd place before discovering they'd been disqualified on a technicality.
We left Japan 6 days after we'd arrived to continue our races in Australia, flying overnight Toyko/Sydney to arrive on a beautiful warm autumn morning. Again, we recovered from the travelling and began to train in the bush. We had 5 days to get used to the different forests, the change in temperature (from about 5°C / raining in Japan to 20°C / blue sky in Australia) and the accent.
Again some outstanding results down under, Jamie Stevenson finally realising his potential with a clear victory in the third race and over 1 minute gap to his nearest rival. He had an early run, so we had to watch and wait before his win could be confirmed. Heather Monro found her form again with a run to secure her a top starting position in the final race of the trip. She managed to keep ahead until the dying moments where a sprint finish saw her claim 2nd position. SYO's joint chairperson Jenny James also had a personal best performance, finishing 12th in the last race.
Both Helen Hargreaves and Dave Peel were pleased with their performances, gaining valuable experience and a determination to make the team again. Competing against the best in the world is inspiring, we all came back from this trip exhausted but determined to achieve the best possible results in the future.
UPDATE:
The team selections for World Cup 2 and 3 are now out!
WC2 is in the Ukraine and SYO are well represented with Jenny James, Jamie Stevenson with sister, Jo Stevenson, all competing. Also joining them will be ShUOC's Oli Johnson with Al Buckley (also ShUOC) as reserve.
WC3 is based in Finland and competing we have Jenny James and Jamie Stevenson with Dave Peel and Helen Hargreaves joining them. Jo Stevenson and Oli Johnson (ShUOC) have been selected as reserves.
Doreen Best
Driving down the motorway in brilliant sunshine not only promised an excellent weekend weather-wise, but it really felt as if summer had arrived. Blossom covered the hawthorn bushes like soft snow, and the lanes were outlined with lush grass and banks of nodding cow parsley. It was my first trip to Herefordshire and I found the area quite enchanting. This is how England is in my dreams, a beautiful meandering river, endless meadows, fields and woods, and small hills dotted with houses and farms.
Haugh Wood was not disappointing either. It was a hilly mixed wood with plenty of paths. The eleven Bradfield students all did the colour courses in preparation for their relay on Sunday. My course was No.19 (W50S), only 3.63K with 185m of climb. In the sultry heat of the afternoon the climb seemed particularly hard. My course was technically not too hard but got easier, and physically easier too, over the second half of the course. I was pleased not to make any technical errors but took it slowly, stopping to admire the carpets of bluebells and even a patch of wild orchids. Back at the school bus, the students had all had good runs and enjoyed the area. Colin also had an excellent run.
We had booked in at Welsh Bicknor Youth Hostel for the night near Ross on Wye. For those into Youth Hostelling, it is one to be recommended. It commanded a superb position above the river with walks across the field to the bank. It was artily furnished and decorated and the food was excellent.
Next day, all the students were taking part in the Relay at Penyard Hill and I was running 2nd leg in the Ad Hoc with Rebecca and Claire. Nothing like a bit of stress and tension to keep them quiet! I saw off as many students as I could before going into the pen to wait for Rebecca. I also saw several of them come storming into the finish. Caitlin was a first leg runner on the M/W12, handing over to Heather. They didn't seem to be taking very long. As Rebecca handed over to me my only thought was that I could keep running up the very long run-out until I was out of sight of the watching crowds. I arrived at the start kite hot and sweaty with only 3K to go! I wondered what had happened to the elephant tracks as I battled my way through the undergrowth to my first control. More likely everyone else had found an easier way! It was an excellent little course that I thoroughly enjoyed, although the last control area was tricky. It was just so easy to punch the first control you came across and assume it was OK. I had just enough energy to run up to Claire and into the finish. And to get a print out of my run straight away! Electronic punching is just brilliant.
Unfortunately several of our runners mis-punched at the final control, just not being careful enough. It was a pity because some of them had very fast runs. It didn't seem to dampen their spirits though and they are full of enthusiasm for Northern Ireland next year! It had been an excellent weekend, two good runs in a lovely area of rural England, comfortable accommodation and hot sunny weather.
Thanks to Malcolm Reed who once again gave up his weekend to share the driving and the responsibility, the students for their lively and pleasant company, and the organisers of the event.
Last of all I would like to send out a little plea - does anyone know how to get cow poo out of jeans? Having run in two woods without getting a spec of mud on me, I gently knelt down in a large squashy cow pat when collecting the maps from the club tent. Any suggestions gratefully received. (Try Bill Hanley's website he seems to be the current expert on that sort of thing - Ed).
Results
Individual M21S David Farqahar 1st
M35L Charlie Adams 3rd
M40L Tim Tett 3rd
W40L Dorothy Pelly 3rd
W45L Hilary Bloor 1st
UK Cup Womens Helen Hargreaves 1st
Jenny James 2nd
Relay Mens Premier SYO 1st
Womens Premier SYO 1st (yes,that's official)
PS I still have some maps from relay day. Editor.
We have received a very nice thank you letter from Eleanor Pyrah of ESOC thanking us for our assistance last summer at Highland 99 along with a cheque for £250. So thanks to all those members who helped.
Stan Maycraft
We have been receiving letters from BOF about the non-submission of form ER3 after an event and the non-payment of levy. I have been looking at the instructions and they are quite clear. Will organisers please fill in these forms after events. The BOF instructions carry the threat of disqualifying clubs from events for non-payment of levy. I am willing to help, but only the organiser can complete ER3. Thank you.
- see the special Fixtures page.
A Message from Brian Ward (HALO).
YHOA are to resurrect the Galoppen for 2001 ( format as yet to be confirmed
).
There will be a strong club element involved as well as individual league tables.
Colour code events are to be used and to gain maximum publicity I would like to
sort out the fixtures as far in advance of the competition as possible. I would
like to publish the rules and event dates ( at least ) in the YHOA yearbook as
we do not have a regional newsletter, as well as in all YHOA club newsletters
- including regular updates on current tables after each nominated event.
Would each club please nominate one colour coded event during the year that they feel could host a Galoppen event. I would very much prefer that a full range of colours are available - White, Yellow, Orange, Light Green, Green, Blue and Brown.
Jamie Stevenson
A letter from Sweden.....
From my distant outpost here in Borlänge in central Sweden, things look to be going well for SYO back at home. SYO runners seem to have had an iron grip on all the important individual competitions, and now that the British Champs has been reinstated, it doesn't look like many clubs can threaten our lead in the men's or women's UK relay League.
All this fun seemed too good to miss out on: when club captain Charlie Adams asked if I could consider coming back to the Scottish Champs to join SYO in the relays, I didn't need much persuading. When the club generously agreed that in addition it would support me with a contribution towards the cost of travelling home, my mind was made up instantly.
I had good self-confidence on coming back to Scotland. Several races had gone exceptionally well this spring. Before I left Britain last autumn, I would never even have dreamed that it was possible to compete in Sweden and beat the best runners on their home terrain here. I saw my move there as an opportunity to develop my orienteering and learn a little. But having been here for a while, I have realised how human even the top runners are. Even if they are incredibly fast and accurate, they are certainly not unbeatable - and training in the amazing variety of terrain around here has probably helped to make me a little bit faster and more accurate myself.
The two races that stick in my head most from this spring are the Swedish Long Champs, and the short distance World Cup II in Australia where I took a gold medal. Of course the World Cup medal has pride of place on my bookshelf, because winning a major for the feeling of total surprise and euphoria that it represents. But the Swedish Champs also has a special significance as the very first senior race I ever won in Sweden, and a signal to other Swedish rivals that I was here, on their doorstep, in their championship, to stay for a while. There is also a certain satisfaction in having two medals from nearly the shortest and definitely the longest elite races I have run this year at 4500m and 24000m respectively!
It was interesting to come back to my home terrain with a new perspective. What I had learned over here and down under proved useful in Scotland, and the individual went to plan, especially in the beginning. A cracked compass after a third of the course left me with a useless, spinning red needle but the rest, even if it was a little more ragged. I sprinted in to join Jenny James in an SYO double victory in the open classes. Close behind on the results list, Charlie Adams was looking like a dangerous man for Sunday's relay.
The purpose of the journey was of course Sunday's relay, or more exactly, to make sure that Interlopers did not beat SYO. The final line up on the men's side was fixed - we were going to go with Martin "the rock" Ward for a granite-solid, reliable start and Charlie "the rocket" Adams, to punish the field further, or in the extremely unlikely case that we lay behind, to scythe the leading margin mercilessly. The third leg was mine; I had been secretly imported from the land of the midnight sun and Volvos to follow up this fearsome start combination. We hoped that the result would be a foregone conclusion - boringly secure, like driving the aforementioned Swedish automobile.
It was nearly so, but an excellent run from in-form Dave Godfree of Interlopers meant that at the first changeover, we lay a little behind. However, Martin is not one to go down without a fight, and not many seconds passed on the worried spectators watches before he charged up the tussocky run-in to send Charlie into the fray. Charlie attacked the gap ruthlessly, and other teams fell by the wayside so that at the second changeover, although our two main rivals, Interlopers and Newcastle still lay ahead, the margin had shrunk to make winning a very realistic possibility. Indeed Martin and Charlie had left so little to do, that by the first control, Newcastle lay in SYO's wake and at the second, we were within sight of the green and yellow colours of Interloper's anchor man Andy Kitchin.
The women's race, developing simultaneously, was following a very similar pattern. The first changeover had seen SYO behind, but within striking distance of Interlopers. After a good run from Jo Stevenson on second leg Jenny James was also inside missile-lock range of the enemy.
In the end of course, it was two yellow o-tops who were first up the finish chute. Full points for the UK relay league, and a SYO full house in the four open class races that weekend.
From my point of view it was a great fun weekend to come back to - a chance to meet friends and enjoy the SYO club spirit again. And hopefully helping SYO towards a double win in the UK relay league made it a good weekend from the club's point of view. I think being the best relay club in the country is something to be very proud of - especially as over the year there are so many different runners who have contributed to one or other team success, so that it is not a merit resting on the shoulders of just a few. I look forward to a few more return trips in the future - in the black and yellow colours of SYO of course!
Colin Best
We'd never been to the Scottish Champs so this was a first for us. We had decided to go partly so that we could see our son, David, who is at Edinburgh University and has got back into orienteering and was competing for the University club. We arrived at the Individuals, which were to take place at the Touch Estate near Stirling, at about midday after setting off just after 6 am. We arrived amid sunshine and showers which is how it stayed for most of the day. I enjoyed the rough, tough technical forest - isn't it easy to forget how challenging Scottish orienteering is ?! - but I'm glad I was only doing 5.2k on the short course. Doreen didn't enjoy the challenge - she had forgotten how rough and tough Scottish forests are - and retired. Meeting David made up for her disappointment. The day was rounded off by a chilli at Wilf's and a very comfortable B and B on a farm near Cumbernauld.
SYO results
M21E 1st Jamie Stevenson M50S 1st Colin Best
5th Charlie Adams
W21E 1st Jenny James
M21S 2nd Bill Edwards 16th Ruth Hambleton
4th David Farquhar 20th Hilary Bloor
16th David Best
W21L 4th Susan Edwards
M35L 6th David Harrison 5th Natasha Davison
M45L 5th Rob Pearson W21S 1st Lesley Ward
M50L 2nd Peter Gorvett W35L 10th Janet Adams
17th Phil Jones
W50L 11th Hazel Gibbs
12th Jill Gorvett
The Relays took place at Devilla Forest, near Kincardine. Devilla is a flat forest, fast and furious for a relay. SYO had originally booked three M/W45+ teams and Doreen and I were planning to run in the same team but seeing as all but two other M/W45s failed to turn up I was drafted into a 'first' team comprising Rob 'welcome back to orienteering' Pearson and Phil Jones. We all failed to notice that our M/W team didn't have any W's in it (!) so our joy at being first team back was dashed by the realisation that we were non-competitive. Never mind. Except that Doreen had failed to get a run because of this. Any way I was waiting to get a little prize for winning the M50S the previous day, only to find that prizes were only going to either native Scots or members of Scottish Clubs. Robbed twice!
SYO Results
Men's Open 1st Women's Open 1st Short Open 3rd M/W45 1st (n/c)
Brian Shaw
You have to hand it to MDOC they really do put on great events. This was a pearler. Brilliant area, superb planning and courageous organisation - this event had it all.
On the Saturday we started out on the southern part of the map around Boretree Tarn the first time it had been used by us ordinary mortals and it was very technical and highly enjoyable. The weather at this stage was perfect, dry with a fresh breeze and some sunshine. Everyone was happy, well almost everyone. Guy Seaman mispunched near the end to ruin what would have been a brilliant run and Pete Gorvett had his dobber snatched off his finger by a particularly aggressive branch. After 15 minutes searching he had to give up. Still, compensation for Pete was that Jill won W50L.
Just as we finished it started to rain and as the night went on it got heavier and heavier. How many times were the words "I'm glad we're not camping" uttered. The next day the parking field was a quagmire. Most clubs would have bottled it at this stage but not MDOC. Peter Lomas, Frank Rose and their band of stalwarts decided to carry on and with the help of a number of volunteers saw it through successfully. Our own Rob and Jo McPherson were among those 4WD owners giving asisstance in removing vehicles, especially camper vans (my pet hate as an event organiser) from the car park. "Anyone offer you anything Rob?" one ventured. "You must be joking, they're orienteers" was the reply. Rob incidentally was a winner in another way, on M35S. What I found hard to understand was why the people who had camped seemed so cheerful. Ruth Charles eventually explained - "because now it's over ". Funny lot aren't we. Anyway after a good winge with Hilary Bloor outside Wilf's we all set off home none the worse for wear and in my case thankful that on this occasion it wasn't me who would be cleaning the car.
Congratulations and many thanks to MDOC. We look forward to working with planners Dan and Karen Parker who will be controlling the National Event on Burbage on December 3rd.
Hilary Bloor
Loch Vaa (terrain used for WOC99 relay without the crowds and flags!). Probably the best terrain in Britain! (Well tell us about it.. Ed)
British Short Race Championships
Men Women 1 Ed Nash 29.37 1 Heather Monro 31.25 2 Jon Duncan 29.40 2 Jenny James 33.30 3 Dave Peel 29.42 3 Sarah Rollins 35.18 (5 seconds separated the top 3!) 4 Jo Stevenson 36.37 11 Charlie Adams 32.38 16 Hilary Bloor 43.54 16 Tim Tett 33.30 18 Susan Edwards 44.30 21 Martin Ward 34.45 26 Ruth Hambleton 50.26 36 Bill Edwards 37.24 33 Natasha Davison 56.45 41 Mark Chapman 39.00
British Classic Race Championship
Men Women 1 Jon Duncan 91.47 1 Heather Monro 71.02 2 Steve Nicholson 99.22 2 Jenny James 80.16 3 Dave Peel 99.46 3 Jenny Whitehead 84.33 13 Tim Tett 108.32 5 Jo Stevenson 86.16 22 Mark Chapman 115.48 18 Hilary Bloor 101.42 24 Bill Edwards 117.35 37 Martin Ward 139.13
Congratulations to Jo Stevenson who has been invited into the GB Potential Squad and selected for the next set of World Cups in Ukraine, after her excellent return to form shown in these races.
Last modified: July 25 2003 10:23.
