In the Open; Peter Suba by dint of his fastest mins per k in Brighton is up 2 places to 3rd and could well challenge Alan and Dan for the title. Tereza is up 2 to 6th chasing Becca in 4th. Both have been to all the races so far. Rob Hick had a great run in Brighton and is up 7 to 9th.
In the Handicap; Charlotte still leads with Tereza in 2nd having swapped places with Mike Frizzell who frustratingly missed a control in the butterflies at Brighton. Mike is another who has run all races so far. However I think the real challengers to Charlotte are the heavy hitters who have only been to four or so events so far and are languishing at present in the teens – namely Mary Nixon, Robin Smith, Carolyn Dent, Ian Sayer and Chris Branford – we shall see.
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Latest League attached and a few words below. There was a blue towel left at Dorchester if anyone knows its home let Chris Branford know. Don’t forget the prize giving will be on Monday 3rd April at the Wimborne Town Urban event.
Please circulate widely and particularly let people know the last event on Monday 6th March has been moved to Broadstone Rec. Also can you reiterate to organisers that for forest events competitors must carry a spare torch or batteries. This is not just for their own safety, but if on a bitter night a search party has to be raised it puts them at risk too. It is also incumbent on the organisers to ensure those who collect controls in at forest events have a spare torch. If they get caught out it is unlikely there will be enough people left to form a search party. For Urban races competitors must wear something reflective. It is probably prudent in an urban environment for control collection to be done in pairs – especially at that time of night.
Dorchester – Monday 6 February
The weather was pretty foul but I hope that didn’t put you off as it was a gem of a race. Plus a new map to run on. Di Tilsley had planned a really challenging course. This can be borne out by the multitude of different routes taken. I’m still finding different and better ways! The rain may have been chilly to start with but you soon warmed up, as did the brain. That didn’t stop me from making one or two stupid errors. I will blame the rain for some of that as reading the map in those conditions was difficult. Some adopted the stop and work out the route, memorise it and go for it. There was plenty of ‘how do I get to that one’ and ‘which side of the wall is that one’. Get it wrong and you wasted those precious minutes. Jo Pickering and I were running together at one point before she missed a not so obvious alleyway and took the long way round. Becca Ellis ‘following me’ ended up in a back garden – but I won’t tell anyone Becca. (see I told you I would get you back for calling me fat!). A few of us adjourned to the local hostelry for a well-deserved meal which rounded off the evening perfectly. Congratulations to Helen Bridle (class will out) who showed us all how to do it. Thanks to all those involved for what turned out to be a great night.
The League leaders are starting to become clearer. In the Open there are only four who can now win. Rob Finch, but he has to attend all the last three races and win them, achievable but unlikely. Andy Snell has a mathematical chance but must win all the last three races without Gavin or Peter improving their scores – again achievable but very unlikely. Peter Suba is probably favourite providing he scores well in two of the last three races. Gavin although currently top will not be at the last two races which give Peter his chance. On the female side Annie is looking favourite but Jo and Becca can still outdo her.
In the Handicap League Gavin is favourite for the men’s trophy and Charlotte again for the womens, but there are still challengers who can could take both titles. Mike Frizzel is looking favourite to again take the prestigious ‘most events attended’ title.
Regards
Gavin
]]>After about 25 or 30 minutes, it became clear to me that I’d have to head into the woods at some point if I wanted to get a decent points score – there was a 50-pointer in there! So I turned in towards the dark woods and had to readjust to navigating without the benefit of street lights and not being able to see the paths clearly. And the paths were VERY muddy. And it was quite spooky as there was hardly anyone else around. But I trundled on and managed to get the 50-pointer, followed by a difficult 10-pointer hidden amongst some fight, before heading back to the finish via a 20-pointer near the end. It was a long jog (I don’t run very fast!) along a seemingly endless track and I kept on looking at my watch – it was going to be nip and tuck for getting back to the finish before the 60 minutes was up. I struggled a bit to find the last control, and my legs couldn’t go fast enough so I ended up 2 mins 20 secs over time – so I lost 30 of my hard-earned points!
But I still managed to end up joint 19th out of 39 – top half! – so I was pleased enough with that. And we rounded off the evening with a tasty meal and a pint of good ale. What more does one want out of life?!
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Monday 5th October, Bournemouth
A great start to this seasons Night League with the race held on a new Bournemouth map “Queens Park & Kings Park”. Ably prepared by virgin organiser Peter Suba the race incorporated a new twist, with three ‘blocks’ containing controls that were only discoverable from their descriptions. The ‘blocks’ held other controls that gave you a minus score! The unsurprising winner was Gavin Clegg, making the trip over from Somerset, with his experience of urban sprint races and ability to read descriptions at speed. Second place went to John Oakes and an excellent third place to WSX local Frida Forshallen. In the Handicap League last years victor Charlotte Thornton has taken the early lead but is closely followed by Gavin. Of the husband and wife competitors Jackie showed who was top dog in the Butt household. Roger Crickmore is just ahead of Tracey and Chris Branford just ahead of Lynn. There were some notable good orienteers languishing in the bottom half of the results. Next race is Salisbury City on 2 November.
Monday 2nd November, Salisbury City –
Another fantastic turnout for the Salisbury City Night Race. 54 this year, up 8% from last year and a very cosmopolitan club range including DEE, SN, OD, SO and BL. Charlotte, Ricky, Liz and Mark put on a great event. Many thanks to them and there helpers. The competition had a little twist on the usual with three groups of controls to be collected. Once you switched to the next group you couldn’t go back. The Five Bells made a good venue for the second year, but perhaps getting a little cramped? Its good to see some venues becoming annual fixtures. A good victory for Andy. Peter Suba not far behind. Stu Southwick in third closely followed by Frida Forshallen. As for the League well 5 of the top 6 places are currently held by the Ladies. Including in third place Jean Payne from DEE. Obviously worth the trip to both Bournemouth and Salisbury! In the Non Handicap League a new name in Peter Suba appears at the top, Gavin in second and Frida Forshallen lying third. Early days of course and as Caroline Dent will testify from last year – its not over until the very last race.
Monday 9th November, Shillingstone
Another mild evening and another amazing turnout, this time 49 entries. After just three races there are now 85 people listed in the league. Birthday boy Dick Keighley aided by Chris Branford and the other birthday boy John Whittingham, put on a lovely challenging event. Showing what you can do with a little imagination in a small village. The winning time may have been a tad short, but everyone I spoke to had enjoyed themselves. Plus competitors scores are remarkably similar to that of Salisbury. Which must mean something?
Remarkably little change to either league. In the main Handicap League Lyn Branford is up four to forth being the main mover. However Charlotte in second place has outscored Gavin at both Bournemouth and Shillingstone and is therefore my early tip for this seasons title.
In the Non Handicap league Gavin has swapped places with Peter. Andy Snell with two wins from three looks ominously in form and could do what Dale did last season and score a maximum 3,500 points. But its early days and things should be lot clearer in the New Year.
The series moves East next for Marchwood on Thursday 12th before the ‘double header’ of Moors Valley and Dorking on Sat 21st.
Thursday 12th November, Marchwood
Southampton took the planning and organising duties on this the fourth of this seasons Night league urban race. This was the third years use of the Marchwood and Macmullen barracks area map, with the event centre in the warmth of the Junior school which is the focal point of the village next door to shops and the Roebuck. It was good to see 4 of the Juniors from school on the results. On the school site football training was on in the dark and rain for the dedicated, whilst 3 controls were sited on the playing field for Orienteers. A great area made even more challenging to sequence correctly as there were many un-crossable walls meaning routes have to be chosen very carefully. Soldiers manned the entrance to the barracks who had been pre-warned to expect several head-torch bearing runners entering and leaving their enclosed base. As with most night events the maximum 50 point location was sited here for the biggest distance runners. Unfortunately one control was stolen, other than that no hiccups. From the 40 competitors only 5 managed the whole available points within the hour. Another good visit to Marchwood look forward to year 4! Next League event on 21st November is either Moors Valley Country Park or the Southern Night Champs in Dorking which both count towards league points. Bonus points to anyone who can make it to both events!!! Bring on the night. Jason
Saturday 21st November, Moors Valley
Saturday 21st November, Dorking
The first of the forest night events, rather than urban or park and a complicated weekend. You had some like Rob Hick doing a daytime MTBO at Moors Valley followed by the Night event. Eva Maierhofer did the Moors Valley day event followed by the night event. John Oakes did the Moors Valley day event followed by the Southern Nights at Dorking. Some just did the Moors Valley Night and some just did the Southern Nights! Movement in the Handicap league: Peter Suba up 2, Andy Snell up 3, Jason up 4, Tim Houlder, the victor at Moors Valley up 8. In the Non Handicap League, Andy and Jason up 1, Mike Frizzel up 2, John Oakes up 3 and Chris Branford up 5 on the back of Organiser points. A break of a couple of weeks now before the new Boscombe Chine area on Monday 7th Dec.
Monday 7th December, Boscombe
Another interesting new area to run round. Ian Sayer used the odds/even ploy to make the best use of the area and with at least two runs up the zig-zags it kept everyone amused. Only the top nine getting all 25 controls in the hour. Tim Morgan was the deserved winner of the 40 participants. This number is about the norm for the Night League entries these days. A far cry from the 10 or 12 we were seeing only three or four years ago. Little change in either league table. I don’t think we will see much change now until after the end of January when those that have competed in 7 races start to tread water whilst others catch up. Next competition is the iconic Poole Town race on Monday 4 January with a new planner in Rob Hick. Looking forward to it Rob!
Saturday 19th December, Brighton
Monday 4th January, Poole Town
After a short hiatus over the Christmas period, the league has now been updated to include Brighton on 19 Dec and last weekends excellent Poole Town race, handsomely won by Dale Paget (who could still retain his Non Handicap title if he attends enough races). In the League, Charlotte has certainly set out her stall and its up to the rest of us to catch her. Although there are still 7 races left there are probably only two or three real contenders likely to put in the heavy scores needed to overtake Charlotte. It could all go down to the last couple of events so make sure you get your entry in for Brownsea as the entry limit (I’m guessing 40) is likely to be reached. In the Non Handicap League Andy now leads having swapped places with Peter. Mike Frizzel is up 5 to forth and a little further down Ian Sayer up 18 places to 18th.
It was great to see so many people at the Poole Town Race. The little café was absolutely packed!
Rob’s planning included some previously unused sites – like the northern limit of Poole railway station and the centre of a large thicket! The latter took a little finding, although it was certainly safe from vandals!
One mis-placed control caused some competitors a little difficulty (not Rob’s fault), although I was fortunate that my chosen route choice took me straight to it, even if somewhat unexpectedly!
I was pleased with my result, particularly running with injury. Although, post race analysis shows I wasted 3 minutes accumulated over 5 legs. With my fitness starting to return, I am optimistic that when injury free and with my brain in gear I may be able to start to reverse my slide down the National rankings!
All in all, a great event enjoyed by all who attended. Even the (very) heavy shower of rain that gave pretty much all of us a bit of an early wash didn’t dampen the pleasure of exploring one of South’s interesting town centres. Here’s looking forward to next year. Dale
Thursday 14th January, Eastleigh
The Cricketers Arms at Eastleigh was the welcome venue for the latest Wessex Night League race. Another excellent turnout of 42 hardy souls braved the usually cold evening. There was even a bit of ice on some of the paths in the parks. Colin Hicks provided an entertaining and mixed challenge, including some very wet and muddy bits. One of the early challenges was to work out how the double sided map fitted together. The answer was bottom right hand corner of A4 Portrait overlapping with top left hand corner of A4 landscape! Rob Finch won handsomely showing that there is no substitute for being young and fit but in second place was M60 Gavin Clegg, Andy Snell making up the podium. Ten races in, six to go and the two leagues are starting to sort themselves out. In the main Handicap League Charlotte Thornton is starting to tread water with her worst run of the season. Gavin has moved up four places to second with still one race in hand. With few others scoring in the 6 and 7 hundreds it looks like a battle between those two. Also moving up four places are Chris Branford to 4th and Rob Hick to 7th. The Non Handicap league is a little more complicated. Andy Snell in pole position seems best placed but only moved on 8 points at Eastleigh. Peter Suba in second failed to improve from Eastleigh allowing the pack to close up. A couple of good scores from Stu Southwick will see him very much in contention and don’t rule out John Oakes or even Jason Falconer if he has a few more runs like Shillingstone and Poole. Incidentally there are five runners who have been to all the races (Dorking and Moors Valley count as one as they were on the same night): Andy Snell, Jason Falconer, Charlotte Thornton, Eva-Marie Maierhofer and Mike Frizzel. Well done! There is a prize of a T shirt to the competitor that attends the most events.
Thursday 28th January, Woolston
Another Thursday night and another interesting urban event hosted by SOC and planned by Colin Hicks. This time the venue was Woolston, based in Southampton Sailing Club, which provided plenty of space and facilities including showers, changing and a bar. The A3 map covered the area from Weston Shore up to the North beyond the railway line and Itchen Bridge. The wooded parks between provided some surprisingly wild vegetation for an urban setting, making for some entertaining and varied orienteering (from open shore to tight alleyways). Only Calvin Routledge managed to collect all the controls in just over 57 minutes. Andy Snell collected 22 in 59:30 but they must have been the good ones, earning him 2nd place ahead of Stuart Southwick, coming in just outside the hour. Making that decision of when and which ones to leave is perhaps a skill that some of us will have to improve as we get older and slower. Tim Houlder?
The league will be updated on 12 Feb. Gavin Clegg
Monday 1st February, Verwood
The WIM event was based at the club house at Potterne Park, which provided changing rooms and a social area. The event used Chris Branford’s new map of the park plus part of Verwood, basically the urban area in between the North end of the Moors Valley map and the bottom of the Ringwood Forest North map, which means that should WIM wish to hold a Long-O, they can now link the two forests together in several places. The event attracted 50 competitiors including a few juniors running in pairs, on what was a dry but rather windy night.
Chris was fairly kind in his planning, bearing in mind that in February the weather could have been cold and unpleasant, and of the 46 finishers, the first 16 managed to visit all 25 controls within the 60 minutes allowed. Paul Pickering took only 38.35 for his run, closely followed by Peter Suba, with John Oakes, Andy Snell, James Crickmore & Stu Southwick around five minutes behind. Fastest lady on the night was Annie Crookshank in 46.20, just behind Stu. Jaime Mayol dropped his dibber half-way round his course, but fortunately, it was spotted and returned by another competitor.
All finishers received prize of a water bottle and/or goodies courtesy of Jo Pickering, who’s bike events company had surplus prize stock left over after a number of recent races. The event was marred when the last few competitors to start were affected by a missing control together with its gripple, abducted by aliens towards the end of the competition. Scores have been adjust to allow for this.”
Pouring down here in Shillingstone, and forecast to continue now until Sunday morning! – I bet its nice and warm where you are, although I remember that the time John Kewley went out to the Portuguese O-week for some warm weather training, he had snow. Dick Keighley
Saturday 6th February, Stonedown
Due to the forecast of high winds.
Saturday 13th February, Upton
What a cracking little event Tim Houlder put on for us. An extended Upton Country Park map and a twist on the odds/evens where you could transition between odds and evens as many times as you liked, provided you went to any one of the two transition controls betwixt the transition. Lots of standing around after the start trying to formulate a ‘plan’. Dale must have cracked it as he managed all the controls in just over 59 minutes. In effect Tim produced the perfect event, in that the actual scores – with Dale getting 500, didn’t have to be adjusted to 500 – thanks Tim, saved me some calculations. It was a tad damp underfoot mind you, but although only 3 degrees, because there was no wind, it didn’t feel that cold. Until you went to collect in controls that is!
In the League, with only two races to go, final positons are starting to emerge. For the Non Handicap race it is between three, Andy Snell and Peter Suba are just 30 points apart. Gavin could mathematically triumph but virtually needs to win both Brownsea and Southsea. Rob Hick and Tim Houlder are both doing extremely well and could still make third. In the Main Handicap League its all over. Whilst Gavin has scrabbled his way to second, even if he wins both Brownsea and Southsea, Charlotte will win by 4 points! So congratulations for the third year running to Charlotte.
The prize-giving for the 2015/16 League will be held on Saturday 2 April at Shillingstone. As well as the Female and Male Handicap Trophies and the overall Non Handicap trophy. There is a new prize this year for the person attending most events. Currently Charlotte Thornton, Andy Snell and Mike Frizzel have been to all the races to date – well done them.
Monday 29th February, Brownsea Island
Once again the magical Brownsea Island wove its spell. Many thanks to Eric Whapples for organising the whole thing and planning a challenging course. Due to changes of personnel on the Island the viability of the event was in doubt right up to Friday. But thanks to Eric’s contacts and skill, he got the green light. Chris Turner did well to get all the controls but at a cost of 13 minutes of penalty points! Congratulations go to winner Rob Hick as well as Annie Crookshank and James Crickmore who were a close second and third. Collecting in the controls after was very special as you had the Island almost entirely to yourself. Some pre entered competitors didn’t make it which was a shame as there was a waiting list. Don’t forget to get your entry for this event in early next year – you were warned back in early January that it would be ‘first come first served’.
In the League the winning Male and Female places are sown up but there is still plenty of jockeying for the minor places. Chris Branford has moved up to 4th, Julie Astin suffering from a lost dibber on Brownsea. In the Non Handicap League its between Andy Snell and Peter Suba. Andy has to be favourite, but if Peter wins and Andy scores less than 471 then the title’s Peters. Two new prizes this year: There will be a prize for the first lady on the Non Handicap and the winner for that is Annie Crookshank. There is also a prize for the person attending most events and the likely recipient this year being Charlotte Thornton.
The Prize giving will be combined with the WIM/WSX Annual Prize Giving and Social on Saturday 2nd April at Shillingstone Church Centre, near Blandford Forum, Dorset, DT11 0SW Pre entry only!!
Saturday 5th March, Southsea
The last of the Wessex Region Night League took place on Saturday evening over at Southsea, thanks to SOC. It was a lovely evening, with a beautiful sunset over the water. The venue, as last year, was Sloppy Joe’s Pizza restaurant on the promenade, and most competitors had quite a feast after the event. Dale Paget was the winner, closely followed by Peter Suba – both of them getting all the controls in well under 60 minutes. Well done all. Julie Astin managed to finish dead on 60 minutes – more by luck than judgement I understand!
Wessex Region Night League 2015-2016 – Final Report Hearty congratulations to the winners: Charlotte Thornton of Sarum, Gavin Clegg of QO, Annie Crookshank of WIM and Andy Snell of Sarum. Charlottes win is her third in four years. New names snapping at her heals this year in Julie Astin and Mary Nixon. On the mens side Gavin Clegg managed to keep Chris Branford, last years winner, at bay, with Rob Hick in third. In the Non Handicap competition, included if you recall to give the M21’s a chance, its pleasing to see that this year, rather than an M50 its been won by an M40. Very well done Andy Snell, one place better than last year. Close second was Peter Suba just 12 points from victory. On the distaff side Annie Crookshank was first and a very creditable 10th overall. Second Eva-Maria Maierhofer and third Julie Astin. New for this year is a prize for the competitor who completes the most races. Charlotte Thornton has a full house attending all 14! (Dorking and Moors Valley count as one as they were on the same night). Close seconds with 13 races were Jason Falconer and Mike Frizzel. T shirts go to all three. The League goes from strength to strength. More races, more participants and closer results. Only one event was cancelled this year, due to adverse weather conditions. Leaving us with 15 races. This seems to be about the right figure and the numbers competing in seven or more events is quite significant. Handicap W Handicap M Non Handicap W Non Handicap M 1 st Charlotte Thornton 1 st Gavin Clegg 1 st Annie Crockshank 1 st Andy Snell Sarum QO WIM Sarum 2 nd Julie Astin 2 nd Chris Branford 2 nd Eva-Marie Maierhofer 2 nd Peter Suba Wessex WIM WIM Wessex 3 rd Mary Nixon 3 rd Rob Hick 3 rd Julie Astin 3 rd Gavin Clegg SOC Wessex Wessex QO Gavin Clegg League Co-ordinator.
]]>Wessex Night League 2014-2015 – Final Results Congratulations to the winners: Charlotte Thornton of Sarum, Chris Branford of WIM and Dale Paget of WSX. It’s been another exciting night season. Charlotte has won for the second time in three years, just shows that the cream will rise to the top. Same for the men with Chris winning in the handicap and Dale the non-handicap, both for the second year running. Last year I wrote “….we introduced the ‘non-handicap’ league to give the M21’s something to aim for. The winner this year being M50 Dale Paget! Tim Morgan would probably have won if he had attended enough events”. So no change there then Participation is up again with a 15% increase in the number of competitors listed on the results. I haven’t analysed it, but I get the impression more people turned up for more events this year as well. The 16 race format with about half Urban and half Forest seems to work well. The 2105/16 league is taking shape as I write this. Female: 1 st Charlotte Thornton SARUM 2 nd Carolyn Dent SARUM 3 rd Kirsty Staunton WIM Male: 1 st Chris Branford WIM 2 nd Dale Paget WSX 3 rd Ian Sayer WSX Non Handicap: 1 st Dale Paget WSX 2 nd Andy Snell Sarum 3 rd Jason Falconer WSX.
Mon 6th Oct, Bournemouth,
The Wessex Night League kicked off with an excellent opener at Kings Park, enticing the same numbers as for last year. Well planned by Julie Astin, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Even Dale couldn’t find a control in the wrong place and duly won on the night. Rumour has it he was spurred on by the absence of one or two competitors not having returned from running abroad that weekend. Rob came a very creditable second but if we look at the scoring it is the ladies who are taking an early lead. Jane is obviously keen to retain the lovely trophy from last year but she is going to be pushed hard by Carolyn. With 16 races and 7 to count the league is going from strength to strength. If you are looking for some technical O training you could do worse than have a go – it certainly focuses the mind!
Mon 3rd Nov, Sherborne
Some excellent results from Sherborne. Most people had improved their scores than from a month earlier. Andy Snell certainly had a much better run, but top spots go to Dale Paget for a second straight win and a superb run from Carolyn Dent who now tops the league, taking over from Jane Morgan. Its certainly the ladies that are leading the way this year. Good to see some friends from further afield including QO and Kerno.
Mon 10th Nov, Salisbury City
What an amazing turnout for the Salisbury City Night Race, 53 entries. The most for any Wessex Night League to date. Charlotte, Ricky, Liz and Mark did a great job keeping everyone amused. I just hope the locals at The Five Bells weren’t too put out! Tim Morgan showed his class by getting all the controls 10 minutes faster than anyone else. Only a few people plumped for the ‘bonus’ route and quite a few of those that didn’t were ruing that decision as they had plenty of time to spare. No change of the top three in the League with Carolyn holding her position after scoring the same points as Jane. Chris Branford is on the move as is Lyn. Tim has to be favourite for the non handicap title if he gets to enough events. Keep an eye on your websites as some of the later events are changing dates – more later.
Thurs 13th Nov, Southsea Sea Front
Another excellent turnout and a good course from what I’ve been told. For those who enjoy such things a few early stats: After 4 races we have 74 scoring runs compared to 58 last year, an increase in participation of 27%. last year after 4 events there was just one runner (Andy Snell) who had competed in all four. This year we have 7 (including Andy again).
In the league, with 14 of the top 15 competing at Southsea there is very little change in the top 10. Dale now has outright hold of 2nd place and Carolyn still has the lead. Highest move up is Ian Sayer; four places to 10th. Looking further down the field Mary Nixon has moved up 12 places to 13th and will definitely be in the mix if she gets to enough events.
Sat 15th Nov, Silchester Common
Judging from the times some of you were out the SNC it looks like it was quite a challenge. However when you see from the splits some long ‘mistakes’ from experienced navigators it does raise some questions. I shouldn’t really be commenting as I wasn’t there, but its an observation from looking at the results. As the SNC isn’t a score event like the others in the series I have to be creative with the scoring and use minutes per k. I think this is fair and for most the scores are pretty close to an average of their previous scores. Some are a fair bit different and I put this down to a bad (or good) run on the night. The SNC scores come with a health warning in so far as I haven’t given a score to Jamie Ranson, who had the fastest mpk on the night. Jamie hasn’t competed in any of the league so far, but if he competes in any of the remaining Wessex League events then I will have to go back and recalculate and all your SNC scores will reduce by 27%.
In the league it will come as no surprise to say that those that didn’t run at the SNC have moved down the pecking order. Chris Branford is up to second and Rob Hick to 4th. Lots of movement in the places outside the top 10. Ian Peirce up 8 to 12th, Chris Turner up 9 and Sally Calland up 6 to 13th. Sally could upset the usual leaders if she continues running as she did at the SNC, becoming the Army Womans Champion in the process – congratulations. In the Non Handicap League Andy Snell has taken over from Dale, with Rob in third.
Sat 22nd Nov, Golden Cap
Six races done and for an event at the extremities of the region a fair turnout. Certainly far better than the 1 competitor we had last year at a venue not far from Golden Cap! Carolyn still tops the table and little movement in the top ten. Chris Turner has moved up 5 places to 9th. Outside the top 10 Ian Sayer is up 4 to 12th and Tim Houlder up 13 to 16th.
Dale has returned to the top of the Non Handicap league with Rob Hick 2nd. Chris and Ian move up the most, up 11 to 6th for Chris and up 18 to 9th for Ian. Broadstone on 1st December will be the 7th race in the series so Brighton on the 20th could be when we see some significant changes to the league table. Don’t forget to let Gavin know if you want a place in the minibus for Brighton [email protected]
Mon 1st Dec, Broadstone
Race 7 completed . Carolyn still leads but we may see things changing after Brighton when a number of competitors will complete their 7th event, then from the Poole race onwards worst scores will start to be discarded. So everything still to play for. Jason moves up five places due to his organisers points. In the Non Handicap league Andy Snell has moved up to 3rd. Dale still leads and with 5 maximum points, looks set to collect a total of 3,500 and be unbeatable. But as he points out with 9 races still to go someone could still come along and also get the maximum. That would tax the compiler on how to separate them!
Sat 20th Dec, Brighton
Even with 8 races still to go Brighton has clarified things quite considerably. All bets are now officially off. Carolyn to win the League and Dale to win the non handicap league. Dale just needs to win one of the remaining races to be untouchable. In the League its difficult to see who can topple Carolyn. Dale can only score a maximum of 633 and Carolyn has already topped this in 5 races. Chris Branford stands an outside chance but needs some of the fast boys like Dale not to run. Mary Nixon might challenge if she gets to enough races and the same applies to Jane Morgan and Kirsty Staunton. Outside the top 10 Robin Smith is up 8 and Kirsty Staunton up 10. In the non handicap race Ian Sayer is up 15 to 6th and Robin Smith up 22 to 11th.
Mon 5th Jan, Poole Town
A bountiful turnout, a superb venue and a challenging course. Thanks to all who came, you seemed to enjoy yourselves. Its not easy to produce a good score event. Control sites have to well thought out, as your route could bring you in from any direction and I try to make your brain frazzle when working out the optimum route. Judging from the splits this succeeded as there were only two identical routes taken. Tim was victorious with a four second victory over Dale, Tim did ask what I thought was the optimum route – “Haven’t got a clue” said I. Sorry to those that noticed the two transposed controls. It didn’t seem to phase the score event competitors but sincere apologies to Yvette on the linear course who was at the right place but didn’t punch as it was the wrong number so thought she was wrong. Thanks to all the helpers and to Emma from “Just Bean Ground”, the venue for the evening.
In the Leagues there is little change. On the Handicap, Julie is up 1 place, Ian Jane and Kirsty up 3, Tim Colin and Sally up 4. Dale now has maximum points and whilst he wont win outright has to stay sharp to fend off the challenge from Chris. Carolyn has to hope Tim and Dale keep Charlotte and Mary’s scores low in the forthcoming 7 races. Lots of scope for changes in the minor places though. In the Non Handicap Dale has maximum points and cant be beaten. Tim could draw if he wins 5 of the last 7 races and theoretically someone could come out of the woodwork and win all the last 7 races to tie.
Thurs 15th Jan, Romsey
From Mary Nixon: It was great to have such a good turnout on the eastern extremes of the Wessex area. Romsey is a typical old market town with several areas of modern housing. I enjoyed going round my local patch but not convinced going east first was the best idea. However I was put off by knowing it would be very dark in the Memorial Park! It was a shame that control 113 went on the blink causing a lot of problems with the results. It was restarted 3 times! Terry Smith worked very hard to solve all the queries with this. How did people feel about using the Emit tags with the touch free controls. Colin is interested to have any thoughts/comments in this type of map. The original map was a training map drawn by hand by John Horton for his own use. It has been extended over the years as the town has grown and been updated in presentation. Once the new 800 house estate in the N.E.corner has been finished and perhaps another 250 estate going up near there it may be worth doing a proper urban map. Thanks to the planners Colin Hicks and Kevin Bratcher, Terry Sankey for control hanging, Di and Terry Smith for computing, plus Bill and Barbara Davidson, Roger Pleasant and Rob Finch who collected controls.
In the League very little change, the top five staying the same. However everyone else is catching them up. Mary Nixon is up 5 places, Kirsty up 2, Colin Hicks up 4 (shows what organiser points can do for you!), Jeff, Becca and Sally all up 3 or 4 places. In the Non Handicap the top 6 stay the same. Jason moves up 3, Colin and Tim are both up 5. Tim could draw with Dale if he wins 4 of the last 6 races. The league is certainly thriving, last year the average turnout was 30. This year its nearer 40.
Thurs 29th Jan, Eastleigh
An excellent event at Eastleigh, some words from Organiser Colin further below. Please take your pick from A or B: A) To make things even more interesting I am not going to publish the league tables until 20 Feb when there will be three races left. Or B) I’ve just realised the spreadsheet is on my computer in France and I’m in Portugal till 17th Feb. Gavin.
From Colin: Everyone seemed to enjoy the event and map area. It was good to get a 30+ turnout. I think the decision to extend the Fleming Park map westwards across the M3 proved a good one and made the area very suitable for a WNL event, providing a great variety of urban terrain. I will take on board the comments I got about some of the smaller alleyways and gaps needing to be widened out to improve the map clarity at 1:5,000.
Thanks to Ian Sayer for telling me that he met an annoyed resident, who complained that competitors were taking a short cut through his front garden! I know that competitors get the “red mist” syndrome when competing, but the olive green out of bounds does mean exactly that, do please take more care in places where “open plan” estates that have no front garden walls, stick to the tarmac unless an area is mapped as yellow. We do not want to bring our sport into disrepute. Thanks to all the SOC helpers who made the event possible and to Allan Farrington for the touchfree EMIT kit.
I wish to also put on record my thanks for the help I received from the following corporate organisations that allowed controls to be placed on their property.
Alison Andrews and Trevor White of Kier
Karl Golder of B & Q
John Stansfield of Ageas Insurance
Mon 2nd Feb, Bournemouth
It may have been the coldest day of the year so far, so well done all those that turned out. It was unfortunate that Chris in his haste to put out the controls for Becca before it got dark, hung a flag on the wrong knoll in a bit of woodland on the W. side of the area: as it was the closest 50 pointer, everyone went for it! Fortunately everyone who found the tag on the correct knoll was credited. Some people, of course, just got the wrong knoll first time, punched and ran on. Becca had decided against an odds/evens race, which made for a very quick, fast run for most people. Nearly half of the field got all the controls inside the hour, with Dale taking a mere 35 minutes to clean up, but on a bitterly cold evening in temperatures below zero, no-one was complaining! Comments from Becca: For the first event I have ever planned, it was great to have almost 30 people running. It’s good to have an area with the variety of woods, park and housing estate in a relatively small space. Competitors commented they enjoyed the challenge of the ‘paths’ in the woods (some more than others!) Another fantastic run from Dale Paget, closely followed by Andy Snell and Roger Crickmoor. Frida Forshallen was the first women and in 4th place overall. Thanks must go to Chris Branford for helping me to plan and put out controls and to my dad, Cris Ellis, and Lynne and Chris for control collection. League results will appear on 20 Feb.
Sat 14th Feb, Holton Lee
First my apologies for the break in transmission. I have now been reunited with my computer and the league has been updated for Fleming Park, Slades Farm and Holton Lee. Just three more races to go on what has been an excellently attended series. In the Handicap competition the ladies are ruling the roost. With six people in contention the only male flying the flag is Chris Branford. Carolyn is still favourite but Charlotte and Chris are creeping ever closer.
Three others still in with a shout, should they score well at the last three events, are Mary Nixon, Kirsty Staunton and Jane Morgan, now fully recovered from her calf injury as displayed by her recent wins in Portugal. In the Non Handicap league its the reverse, with Becca Ellis and Carolyn the only women in the top 10. Dale is going to win as I have it on good authority that Tim Morgan wont make at least one of the next two races and as he is planning Lyndhurst will score 480 for that, so well done Dale. Dale has only missed one of the league races to date. Second and third place for Andy and Chris also look pretty secure, but forth to tenth look likely to change. Becca could make forth as could Frida, but my money is on Jason to bridge the 12 point gap to Ian.
Don’t forget to email Eric Whapples if you want to run on that very special place of Brownsea Island. If you don’t then there wont be a place on the boat for you.
Sat 21st Feb Vernditch
Hmmm, After Vernditch you would think with only two races left things would start to become a little clearer on the eventual winner, but the top of the Handicap table is getting tighter and less clear. Carolyn still holds her pole position gained at the second race. Symmetry being what it is, we could well see Carolyn loose the championship on the last race. Chris Branford has narrowly moved ahead of Charlotte into second and if he scores as well as Vernditch in the last two races could win. Charlotte has to score as well as she did in Poole in the last two races and she has done that three times. Dale in forth has the maximum handicap score he can attain so I’m afraid he is only going to go one direction and it isn’t up. Kirsty who jumps to 5th after her 7th scoring race needs to score similarly to Brighton or Vernditch, a tall order, but within Kirsty’s capabilities. Mary, who has a couple of low scores to discard just needs to run consistently well in the last two races. Julie Astin is theoretically in with a chance, but let’s just say I won’t be putting any money on it (sorry Julie!).
Things are a lot clearer in the Non Handicap league. Dale has won – congratulations. Andy Snell is a likely second unless Tim Morgan wins on Brownsea, in which case he will be second. If Tim doesn’t go to Brownsea then third place is up for grabs. Chris currently hold the position, but Ian, Jason, Rob or Tim could all move up and it may well depend on who gets the second lot of Organiser points on Brownsea. Don’t forget to email Eric Whapples if you want to go to Brownsea Island as I wouldn’t recommend the swim!
Gavin
Mon 2nd Mar, Brownsea Island Pics by Chris Branford
Brownsea Island is such a special place that more words than normal can only do it justice. A perfect still evening with clear skies greeted the ferry arrivals at Brownsea for the penultimate Wessex Night League. Taking the standard one hour score format, runners were preparing for collecting as many controls as possible over the whole mile and half length of the island. Last years massive storm damage has been cleared and so for the first time in years there are several log stacks. With the tree fall now cleared, main tracks and the 85% coverage of white runnable forest on the map provides a fantastic area for Orienteering competition. Two ferry loads kitted up and awaited the dark. Starting in the church field the nearby lagoon nature reserve with its thousands of wintering birds added a symphony of pre-roosting birdsong in the growing dark. Starting at 2 minute intervals Eric set off club members from SARUM, WSX, WIM, BAOC, SOC and SO for the race. Controls in new positions again from fresh planning included a couple of deep pits, the location of second world war bombing and some interesting new re-entrants. Taking in the whole island runners were challenged by open heath, steep slopes and earth banks that are hard to locate in pitch darkness. Competition was tight with 5 collecting all controls, and the top 4 finishing within a minute. Frida F showing brilliant accuracy she reported no difficulties, something in the Swedish genes perhaps? Jason F and Chris T took similar routes over the Southern higher side of the island to the Western end, before using Dales usual tactic of zigzagging between the remaining controls on the way back. Seems to be the technique on Night events, as there often isn’t a clear sequence of control picking over a whole course. Although both double dibbing one control Chris beat Jason on time to first place, with Andy Snell in third after Frida in second. Everyone loves the car-free peace of Brownsea, the ferry ride and superb forest. Eric is working on next years event already! Thanks to Jason for that report.
In the League, as predicted its all change, just one race earlier than anticipated. Chris Branford had a cracking run to overtake Carolyn, who I’m sure would have loved to run had other commitments not intervened. But an even better race by Charlotte Thornton saw her leapfrog both Carolyn and Chris into first place. Kirsty Staunton had her chance but didn’t preform as well on the night compared to others. With one race left it is theoretically possible for either Chris or Carolyn to overtake Charlotte, but Chris would have to better his highest score by 66 points and Carolyn by 98 – a very tall order. In the Non Handicap league, Jason, as I predicted has taken third place and could, if he won at Lynhurst, beat Andy Snell to second place by 1 point! Feida has overtaken Becca for first lady, but its too close to call.
Tim and Jane were pleased to have such a good turnout for the last event of the league at Lyndhurst. It was the first time Matley has been used for a night event and combined well with the urban part to form an interesting area. The ‘odds and evens’ added to the challenge particularly those not used to the format. Well done to all those who took part and thanks to all the helpers , Colin and Simon for the map and the cricket club for use of their clubhouse.
What a great series of events it’s been. Right from the off at Kings Park back at the beginning of October the competition has been fierce but friendly. Carolyn Dent to her surprise, took the league lead at the second race at Sherborne and to her chagrin held that lead right up till a week from the end of the series. Had she been able to get to the penultimate event at Brownsea then it may have been a different story. But then isn’t that what Orienteering is always about: the ‘if only’ syndrome? Charlotte Thornton is this years winner with Chris Branford in second just two points ahead of Carolyn. That’s the equivalent of a few seconds out of 960. We had a magnificent 16 races this winter, with no cancellations due to bad weather unlike last season. 7 urban, 7 forest and a couple of hybrids. Salisbury City had an amazing 53 competitors. Including the Southern Night Championships and the Brighton City race seemed to be welcomed. Lots of people could have won the league Julie, Kirsty, Jane, Mary, Dale, Ian etc etc, again it’s all down to ‘if only’.
In the non handicap league Dale won an unprecedented 11 races. His only real worry being Tim Morgan. Tim didn’t manage to get to enough races this year, maybe next year Tim? Competition for the minor places was fascinating with Andy Snell always favourite for second, but third was up for grabs right to the last race. Jason became very competitive when he realised he was in contention and ended up a deserved third for his endeavours. The Wessex Night League is intended as a low key bit of fun during the winter months and although it has guidelines for the races there is scope for some lateral thinking to get the most out of some unlikely areas. Wessex in this case refers to the area of Wessex as opposed to being a WSX preserve. Most of the races are put on with the minimum of manpower and just because someone has put out a few of the controls, I have never seen why they still can’t compete if they want. The organisers points (two people per race) have played a major part this year, with a number of people doing well on the back of helping out. My sincere thanks go to the small band of dedicated people who have put on the events this season, my thanks also to the clubs: WSX, WIM, Sarum and SOC for their support.
Gavin
]]>Congratulations to the winners: Jane Morgan of SOC and Chris Branford of WIM.
What a fantastic night season we have had. Not too many disruptions despite the weather and a nail biting competition all the way through. Jane has won at the first time of trying and Chris is a previous winner. The handicap competition will always favour those ‘good for age’ competitors and in Jane and Chris we have two of the best in the country.
With that in mind we introduced the ‘non handicap’ league this year to give the M21s something to aim for. The winner this year being M50 Dale Paget!!!. Tim Morgan would probably have won if he had attended enough events.
Participation has been particularly good and is building year on year. I have not included ‘Ind’ competitors this year and we are just two shy of 100 competitors – something to aim for next year. We have a full calendar of 15 races lined up including Salisbury City and Lyndhurst. Meanwhile let’s look forward to the summer. Gavin
Female:
1st Jane Morgan SOC
2nd Julie Astin WSX
3rd Charlotte Thornton SARUM
Male:
1st Chris Branford WIM
2nd Dale Paget WSX
3rd Gavin Clegg WSX
Non Handicap
1st Dale Paget WSX
2nd Jamie Hicks SOC
3rd Andy Snell SARUM
Read on to see how the season unfolded…
Sat 9th Nov, Downton
All change after the Sarum event on 9th November. Heading the league is Rob Hick of Wessex, closely followed by Nigel Benham and Andy Snell both of Sarum. Leading Lady is Jane Morgan from Southampton in 4th place overall. Son Tim is in 7th place.
Sat 16th Nov, Basingstoke
Gavin Clegg WSX now heads the league with Carolyn Dent SARUM first lady and 4th overall. The 23rd Nov race has been cancelled (but may be replaced later in the season), so the next event is on December 2nd at Parkstone Grammar School, Poole. Gavin wont score in that one so there is likely to be more change at the top after that race.
Sat 23rd Nov, Port Regis
Mon 2nd Dec, Hillbourne
All change following the 5th race at Hillbourne. Chris Branford of Wim now tops the chart with Carolyn Dent of Sarum a close second heading the ladies. Ian Sayer and Rob Hick are 3rd and 4th. Becca Ellis after her best performance of the series to date moves into the top 10. Amongst the family contingents parents are just on top; Nigel Benham is heading Jack, Jane Morgan heading Tim, Colin Hicks is ahead of the injured Jamie , however Harry Butt in 12th place is just managing to hold off father Jeff in 13th.
Sat 7th Dec, Wareham, Results by Class or Course
Mon 6th Jan, Poole Town
An excellent turnout at the Poole Town Urban. Somewhat breezy but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Thanks to all those that made the effort on what could have been a very nasty night and I hope your journeys home were safe. Thanks also to the fantastic band of Guys and Girls from Wessex OC who helped out on the night. Without these ‘volunteers’ our events wouldn’t take place. No change at the very top of the order, but the ladies are making a move with Lyn Branford, Jane Morgan and Julie Astin all moving up. Jason Falconer and Andy Snell have moved up into the top 10. Tim Morgan had a fantastic run on the night to take the win, taking a unique route – was this the optimum route? Apologies for control 21 (61) which was on the edge of the circle. If you feel you lost time on this control and it has affected your points then let me know and I will make an adjustment.
Gavin
Sat 18th Jan, Hurn Forest
What could have turned into a compete washout had hardly a spot of rain, although it was rather wet underfoot. Thanks to Chris Branford for a variation to the normal score event. It worked very well. Very little change at the top of the order. but as the current leaders hit their 6 scores those below the top 10 are making big strides up the table. Gavin moves up 8 places to 8th, Becca up 4 places to 10th, Charlotte and Dale both up 9 places to 11th and 12th respectively. 5 races within a month coming up so expect to see a lot of movement in the table. A key race could be the reinstated Port Regis race on 22 Feb as this coincides with the British Night Championships and will see some of the top scorers absent.
Thurs 30th Jan, Marchwood
Ninth race done and six to go. With more people now doing their sixth race or more, changes are slowing down. Jane Morgan now heads the table. Son Tim was one of the highest movers going from 17th to 11th after another win at Marchwood. However due to the age weighted handicap he needs to win by an even greater margin to make much more progress. If Tim finishes in the top ten that would be a very impressive performance. Both Jamie Hick and Andy Snell are up 4 and Charlotte Thornton making a move up 3.
Sat 1st Feb Rockford
Mon 3rd Feb, Wimborne Town
Looks like the Women are taking over the world! An superb turnout for the Wimborne race, usual rules with a little Branford twist to keep the fast guys happy, but it is the ladies who profited. Jane still in the lead, Julia Astin 2nd, Charlotte Thornton moves up four to 3rd and Carolyn Dent 4th. Chris Branford and Ian Sayer are hanging in there for the guys. Dale Paget enters the top 10 in 9th. The forest night at Vernditch this weekend might shake things up a bit.
Sat 8th Feb Vernditch
Sat 15th Feb, Upton
With just three races left it looks like the league it will be going down to the wire before we know the winners. A small contingent turned out at Upton House for what was one of the best evenings of the series, very still, cool with a spectacularly clear sky. However what with the winds of the previous night and the Compass Sport Competition the following day, participation was always going to be low. So thanks to Tim Houlder for putting on the event. Main mover in the league was Dale Paget who has gone up to 4th. It has been agreed to run a parallel ‘non handicap’ league as well to encourage the youngsters and M21s who are highly unlikely ever to win the handicap league. Its produced an interesting list. I would add that it wasn’t my idea!
Gavin
Sat 22nd Feb, Port Regis
Following Port Regis Jane Morgan still remains top but everyone is queuing up behind. Most significant challenge is coming from Dale Paget. The second chart shows a ‘non handicap without organiser points’ league with Dale heading that. However if Tim Morgan in 4th were to win one of the final two races then the non handicap title is likely to go to him.
Mon 3rd Mar, Brownsea
With just the one race left in what has been an excellent series of races, things are starting to look a little clearer on who’s going to end at the top of the pile. Jane Morgan has a reasonably secure position at the top of the table but can still be overhauled by Julie Astin, Chris Branford or Caroline Dent. Caroline needs to score 493 handicap points, Chris 410 and Julie 379 at Southampton on Saturday. Chris has won the male title and can’t be caught. Things are slightly more clear-cut on the non-handicap league. Dale is currently leading and the only person that can stop him is Tim Morgan. Tim needs to score 500 points with Dale scoring less that 470 otherwise the title is Dales. Trophies will be presented at the Wim social on Saturday 26th April.
Sat 8th Mar, Pear Tree Green
Jason Falconer collected all controls in 53.00 minutes. However the event was using proximity emit and he wandered too close to the start box when on the way to download and erased his emit. For the league Jason will be inserted as having completed all in 53 minutes. Gavin
Check the organising clubs website using the links above for further details.
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