Thursday, July 24, 2008
Ashton Court - Flyer
A flyer for the 'come and try it' event on Saturday 6th September 2008 is now available. Please note that the venue has been changed from The Downs to Ashton Court.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Leigh Woods - Flyer
A flyer for the district event and 2008 club championships at Leigh Woods on Sunday 5th October 2008 is now available.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
WMOC 2008 (Portugal) - Full Report
This is Jackie Hallett's full report on the World Masters Orienteering Championships:
This event was held in Portugal in the Leira region in Pinewoods planted back in the 13th and 14th centuries to support Portugal’s naval ambitions for world supremacy. With over 3500 competitors Britain was the 5th largest nation with 232 competitors; the Scandinavian countries fielded the most with Norway having the highest number with 686. There were 13 competitors from BOK. The age groups spread from M/W35 to M/W90 but the largest fields for both men and women were the M/W60 category with 622 competitors. The week consisted of 2 competitive events – a sprint and classic. The sprint race had a qualification race in the old town of Leira which contained narrow, often steep slopes or steps. For those who have not competed in sprint races the courses are short, mine being 1.5 km with a winning time of 14 minutes. I think sprint is possibly the wrong word as it is really intense orienteering with a map scale of 1:4000 controls come up very fast and it is easy to miss a turning or to find yourself the wrong side of a flower bed or a wall (which are not crossable). Unfortunately I had a punch which didn’t register and so was disqualified – really disappointing as I would have been second in my heat. The sprint final was quite different as it started in forest, then onto sand dunes before finishing in the old town of Praia da Vieira. The scale of the forest and sand dunes caught many people out but there were good results from Alice Bedwell 5th W 45 and Mark Saunders 9th M45. I managed to win the B course but it was little consolation. We followed this event with a traditional Portuguese dish – sardines. We certainly did not expect the size and amount of sardines as we only ordered enough for 6 even though there were 8 of us. Even so, and delicious as they were, I did have to stop after 4 although a few hardy souls managed 6! A rest day followed or the option of an open race near to where the long distance final would be. Mark Saunders had entered us for this event and upon arriving at the start I discovered my course was 8km. Needless to say I treated it as a practice and just did some controls.
The long distance race has 2 qualification days in lovely pine forested sand dunes with lots of small contour detail. Mistakes were costly but easy to make in the 2½ m. contours with it being difficult to know what was up or down at times. Conscious of being disqualified in the sprint I made sure my dibber beeped twice at every control. I was careful and kept in contact with the map to ensure I always knew where I was. No one was more surprised than me to find I had won my heat. The second qualification day was in similar terrain although we had 19 controls in 4.4 km. I wanted to have a clean run but did not really want to end up as a last starter as the final always has the best athletes from the qualification starting last so I tried to be steady but take a little more time. I wasn’t the fastest on the day but with both days added together was fastest overall in my heat. Many BOK runners had made the A finals which in itself is a good achievement. A rest day followed with time for some sightseeing. The final was in a different forest which has been described as Culbin with attitude. There were some denser areas of younger trees near the finish and some hillier parts but also still some vague areas. Early starters were off at 9am but unfortunately I had a 12 o’clock start as did Alice. I was pleased with my race although I felt really tired in the heat especially in the middle of the course where we had some long uphill legs. I did make a few small errors but was pleased to finish in 6th place overall. It was great to see 2 BOK people on the podium both achieving fantastic results by coming third on their courses– Alice Bedwell W45 and Anne Donnell W75.
This event was held in Portugal in the Leira region in Pinewoods planted back in the 13th and 14th centuries to support Portugal’s naval ambitions for world supremacy. With over 3500 competitors Britain was the 5th largest nation with 232 competitors; the Scandinavian countries fielded the most with Norway having the highest number with 686. There were 13 competitors from BOK. The age groups spread from M/W35 to M/W90 but the largest fields for both men and women were the M/W60 category with 622 competitors. The week consisted of 2 competitive events – a sprint and classic. The sprint race had a qualification race in the old town of Leira which contained narrow, often steep slopes or steps. For those who have not competed in sprint races the courses are short, mine being 1.5 km with a winning time of 14 minutes. I think sprint is possibly the wrong word as it is really intense orienteering with a map scale of 1:4000 controls come up very fast and it is easy to miss a turning or to find yourself the wrong side of a flower bed or a wall (which are not crossable). Unfortunately I had a punch which didn’t register and so was disqualified – really disappointing as I would have been second in my heat. The sprint final was quite different as it started in forest, then onto sand dunes before finishing in the old town of Praia da Vieira. The scale of the forest and sand dunes caught many people out but there were good results from Alice Bedwell 5th W 45 and Mark Saunders 9th M45. I managed to win the B course but it was little consolation. We followed this event with a traditional Portuguese dish – sardines. We certainly did not expect the size and amount of sardines as we only ordered enough for 6 even though there were 8 of us. Even so, and delicious as they were, I did have to stop after 4 although a few hardy souls managed 6! A rest day followed or the option of an open race near to where the long distance final would be. Mark Saunders had entered us for this event and upon arriving at the start I discovered my course was 8km. Needless to say I treated it as a practice and just did some controls.
The long distance race has 2 qualification days in lovely pine forested sand dunes with lots of small contour detail. Mistakes were costly but easy to make in the 2½ m. contours with it being difficult to know what was up or down at times. Conscious of being disqualified in the sprint I made sure my dibber beeped twice at every control. I was careful and kept in contact with the map to ensure I always knew where I was. No one was more surprised than me to find I had won my heat. The second qualification day was in similar terrain although we had 19 controls in 4.4 km. I wanted to have a clean run but did not really want to end up as a last starter as the final always has the best athletes from the qualification starting last so I tried to be steady but take a little more time. I wasn’t the fastest on the day but with both days added together was fastest overall in my heat. Many BOK runners had made the A finals which in itself is a good achievement. A rest day followed with time for some sightseeing. The final was in a different forest which has been described as Culbin with attitude. There were some denser areas of younger trees near the finish and some hillier parts but also still some vague areas. Early starters were off at 9am but unfortunately I had a 12 o’clock start as did Alice. I was pleased with my race although I felt really tired in the heat especially in the middle of the course where we had some long uphill legs. I did make a few small errors but was pleased to finish in 6th place overall. It was great to see 2 BOK people on the podium both achieving fantastic results by coming third on their courses– Alice Bedwell W45 and Anne Donnell W75.
Adams Avery & ASO Relays - Final Results
The results have been declared final by the organising team. Further comments (from the Deputy Controller) and photos (courtesy of Jamie Hayward) have been added.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Dorset Coast Path Relay - Report
Tim Britton writes:
In the absence of our Club Captains, BOK newcomer (but seasoned coordinator for the Wimborne team) Tim Britton took on the logistical challenge of arranging the 2008 BOK team.
The line-up looked promising with 15 strong runners willing and able to help carry our baton over 100km from the Devon/Dorset border at Lyme Regis all the way along the Dorset coastline to the ferry at Sandbanks, Poole.
The day dawned bright with seven teams on the start line, led rapidly down the slopes towards the Cobb by Clive Hallett. We were in the lead up the first hill, eventually being overtaken at the top by Wessex, with a team almost twice the size of ours, sprinting their baton past Mark Saunders. With their many runners punctuating the route, Wessex soon pulled ahead of the rest of the field.
A close battle up and over Golden Cap saw Tim Britton overtake the Junior Squad’s Ben Chesters, with KERNO not very far behind. Second, third and fourth places were fiercely fought-over throughout the day between us, KERNO and the Junior Squad. Mark Bown came through West Bay in second; at Hardy’s Monument we were in fourth, having lost a couple of places to the two larger teams. Tom Cochrane and fiancée Emma climbed hard along the rollercoaster cliffs behind Durdle Door, and by Lulworth Cove we had made it back into third place, ahead of the Juniors. There were five minutes separating each of these three teams at Kimmeridge Bay, with BOK still chasing KERNO.
Mark Bown ran a very fast long stretch along the Purbeck coast, claiming most of the five minutes back from his old KERNO team mates.
With most of our team waiting alongside most of KERNO to run the final leg along the sandy beaches of Studland, word came through from Swanage that only one minute separated KERNO and Mark Selley. KERNO hit the beach first, with BOK in hot pursuit, now less than a minute behind. BOK gradually gained on the KERNO front runners as the two teams fought with the wet sand and ankle-deep seaweed underfoot. Tim hit the finish line first, followed closely by KERNO’s front man, then BOK were brought triumphantly into overall second place by Mark Bown and Clive Hallett, just 26 seconds ahead of KERNO.
Thank you very much to all of the BOK team (including our two guest runners Laura and Emma) for putting in such a great effort throughout the day.
The team comprised Alice Bedwell, Mark Bown, Tim Britton (and Laura Pearson), Tom Cochrane (and Emma), Clive Hallett, Jackie Hallett, Michael Hallett, Ifor Powell, Mark Saunders, Mark Selley, Alison Simmons, John Simmons, and Phil Warry.
Full results can be found on the Dorset Coast Path Relay website.
In the absence of our Club Captains, BOK newcomer (but seasoned coordinator for the Wimborne team) Tim Britton took on the logistical challenge of arranging the 2008 BOK team.
The line-up looked promising with 15 strong runners willing and able to help carry our baton over 100km from the Devon/Dorset border at Lyme Regis all the way along the Dorset coastline to the ferry at Sandbanks, Poole.
The day dawned bright with seven teams on the start line, led rapidly down the slopes towards the Cobb by Clive Hallett. We were in the lead up the first hill, eventually being overtaken at the top by Wessex, with a team almost twice the size of ours, sprinting their baton past Mark Saunders. With their many runners punctuating the route, Wessex soon pulled ahead of the rest of the field.
A close battle up and over Golden Cap saw Tim Britton overtake the Junior Squad’s Ben Chesters, with KERNO not very far behind. Second, third and fourth places were fiercely fought-over throughout the day between us, KERNO and the Junior Squad. Mark Bown came through West Bay in second; at Hardy’s Monument we were in fourth, having lost a couple of places to the two larger teams. Tom Cochrane and fiancée Emma climbed hard along the rollercoaster cliffs behind Durdle Door, and by Lulworth Cove we had made it back into third place, ahead of the Juniors. There were five minutes separating each of these three teams at Kimmeridge Bay, with BOK still chasing KERNO.
Mark Bown ran a very fast long stretch along the Purbeck coast, claiming most of the five minutes back from his old KERNO team mates.
With most of our team waiting alongside most of KERNO to run the final leg along the sandy beaches of Studland, word came through from Swanage that only one minute separated KERNO and Mark Selley. KERNO hit the beach first, with BOK in hot pursuit, now less than a minute behind. BOK gradually gained on the KERNO front runners as the two teams fought with the wet sand and ankle-deep seaweed underfoot. Tim hit the finish line first, followed closely by KERNO’s front man, then BOK were brought triumphantly into overall second place by Mark Bown and Clive Hallett, just 26 seconds ahead of KERNO.
Thank you very much to all of the BOK team (including our two guest runners Laura and Emma) for putting in such a great effort throughout the day.
The team comprised Alice Bedwell, Mark Bown, Tim Britton (and Laura Pearson), Tom Cochrane (and Emma), Clive Hallett, Jackie Hallett, Michael Hallett, Ifor Powell, Mark Saunders, Mark Selley, Alison Simmons, John Simmons, and Phil Warry.
Full results can be found on the Dorset Coast Path Relay website.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
WMOC 2008 (Portugal)
BOK members claimed two podium positions at the recent World Masters Orienteering Championships in Portugal:
- Alice Bedwell third in W45
- Anne Donnell third in W75
Adams Avery & ASO Relays - Officials' Comments
Comments from the organiser and planner are now available.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
BOK Downs Informal Wednesday 25 June
Katy and Mark Dyer wrote:
Shortly after returning from 3 weeks in Scotland climbing Munros, we had to
come down to earth and prepare for the informal orienteering event we were
to organise on the Downs. Having planned there many times, the task was not
too difficult. However I did run round the control sites again just to
make sure all the benches were still standing and the holes in the ground
had not been filled in by the Risk Assessment brigade. All seemed well and
even the weather was going to be kind, if a little windy. Fortunately I
have experienced ‘a little windy ‘ before and packed my warm outdoor
clothes I had worn in Scotland. The plans to get the controls out and do my
teaching went smoothly and we were ready before 6pm.
Lots of people came! Many families and groups were trying the sport for the
first time. Sue Curtis brought her Guides and they had a good time too. The
sun shone and the wind blew very hard but failed to dislodge my garden
stones which were holding down all the papers. I knew I had collected the
stones from the beach for a reason. We had 4 courses: yellow, orange, green
and blue. I think there was something for everyone. Adam Potter impressed
us with his speedy zoom round the blue course and we were pleased to see a
good range of age groups. Nearly all the choc bars were used up we had so
many beginners. Anne Donnell braved the chilly wind and gave us sterling
help with the novice runners. We enjoyed putting on this event so much we
will be on the Downs again on September 6, organising a Come and Try It
orienteering event for new and fairly new comers to orienteering. Watch
the BOK web site. and bring your friends.
Shortly after returning from 3 weeks in Scotland climbing Munros, we had to
come down to earth and prepare for the informal orienteering event we were
to organise on the Downs. Having planned there many times, the task was not
too difficult. However I did run round the control sites again just to
make sure all the benches were still standing and the holes in the ground
had not been filled in by the Risk Assessment brigade. All seemed well and
even the weather was going to be kind, if a little windy. Fortunately I
have experienced ‘a little windy ‘ before and packed my warm outdoor
clothes I had worn in Scotland. The plans to get the controls out and do my
teaching went smoothly and we were ready before 6pm.
Lots of people came! Many families and groups were trying the sport for the
first time. Sue Curtis brought her Guides and they had a good time too. The
sun shone and the wind blew very hard but failed to dislodge my garden
stones which were holding down all the papers. I knew I had collected the
stones from the beach for a reason. We had 4 courses: yellow, orange, green
and blue. I think there was something for everyone. Adam Potter impressed
us with his speedy zoom round the blue course and we were pleased to see a
good range of age groups. Nearly all the choc bars were used up we had so
many beginners. Anne Donnell braved the chilly wind and gave us sterling
help with the novice runners. We enjoyed putting on this event so much we
will be on the Downs again on September 6, organising a Come and Try It
orienteering event for new and fairly new comers to orienteering. Watch
the BOK web site. and bring your friends.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
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