Stock Hill - Comments

Comments from the organiser, controller and planner are now available.

Stock Hill - More Results

String course results and WinSplits are now available.

Stock Hill - RouteGadget

The map and courses have now been uploaded to RouteGadget. You can trace your route on the map, compare your route with others or replay the race as a mass start. Why not give it a try? For instructions, click on the 'Help' link in the top right corner of the RouteGadget window.

Stock Hill - Provisional Results

Provisional results (including SplitsBrowser) are now available. WinSplits, RouteGadget, string course results and officials' comments to follow.

Gare Hill (BOKTrot) - Final Results

The results have now been declared 'final' by the organising team. The only changes since the last update (provisional, revision 1) are:

• Missing BOF membership numbers have been uploaded to the BOF ranking list system.
• Colour standard times have been added.

Competitor age classes and BOF levies

Please will all helpers involved with electronically entering competitor details at BOK events, ensure that they include each competitor's age class, to ensure the correct calculation of BOF levies by the BOK treasurer. Many thanks.

ASO and Adams Avery Relays, Ashton Court - Sunday 1st July

The flyer for the ASO and Adams Avery Relays is now available. Enter as a team (of three runners) or as an individual (you will be allocated to a team of the organiser's choosing). Entries must be received by Tuesday 19th June. The entry form for the Adams Avery Relay is here; the entry form for the ASO Relays is available on the ASO website.

Summer Informal at Warmley Forest Park

This is Dudley`s report on the Summer Informal at Warmley Forest Park on Wednesday 30 May 07.

WARMLEY FOREST PARK WEDNESDAY 30 MAY 07

Approximately 32 people (lots of pairs, parents and grandparents) attended on what turned out to be a reasonable evening for the weather. Early starters managed to get round even the Blue course without getting rained upon. I was surprised at how far some people had travelled (Wells and Warminster of particular note (maybe the affiliation with ‘W’). It was also great to see at least seven people had cycled to the event. Competitors were fairly evenly split between the three courses; yellow, light green and blue. I innovated with the blue and included a run to another small area (Rodway Hill) to get the length and avoid having to circumnavigate WFP and Siston twice. P.S. SW433245 is in fact the ‘Merry maidens’ stone circle near Boskenna (you had to be there to know!!)
Thanks to Katy (control setting and collection), Anne and Gill for helping on the night.

Dudley

Report on Summer Informal in Leigh Woods

This is Pete Maliphant`s report on the Summer Informal event in Leigh Woods on Wed 23 May 07.

LEIGH WOODS INFORMAL EVENT. WEDNESDAY 23 MAY 2007

More than fifty people enjoyed a warm summer evening in Leigh Woods. Whether this high turnout was due to the weather or the promise of no steep hills, I’m not sure. The forest was generally runnable still, though the undergrowth grew rapidly in the previous fortnight.

Our aim was to provide some enjoyable courses with plenty of route choice and some fun elements. A ‘draw your route on’ exercise at the finish revealed a pleasing diversity of routes on Blue 4-5 and 8-9. Quite a few people found the flat forest with a dense path network more difficult than expected. The number of unmarked and often changing mountain bike paths do cause problems, but if you use pacing and some rough compass, everything on the map is in the right place!

David and I had added the unorthodox option of a Spectating control, with a two minute pause to sketch the view of the Suspension Bridge (pen and paper provided). This worked brilliantly with 15 BOK artists leaving a sketch for us to collect afterwards. (See picture). We didn’t realise that Rolf Harris was a club member and Rachel can claim her prize next time she sees us.

Many runners commented that they had never seen this view, so it was good to find a less-known corner of the woods. Several deer were also spotted.

The junior turnout was low, suggesting Neil Cameron’s words at the Annual Dinner were right and the club does have to do something more, or perhaps different, to get more juniors to join in.

It was great to see a good turnout from the recently reformed University (UBOC) club. Clubs like SYO have benefited significantly for many years from having a strong university club and as an ex-UBOC, ex-SHUOC and ex-SYO member, I hope that BOK can benefit from, as well as help, a resurgent student orienteering scene.

Thanks to everyone for turning up, to Katy and Anne Donnell for their help on the day, and to younger son Ben for helping plan and tape control sites beforehand.

Pete and David Maliphant

Report on Summer Informal on the Downs

Richard Nuell`s report on his Informal event on the Downs 16 May 07.

THE DOWNS WEDNESDAY 16 MAY 2007
As usual, it was a pleasure to organise and plan one of the BOK evening informals. I now find it more fun to plan events like this where some flexibility is allowed, provided the courses are of an acceptable standard. It is no secret that I always aim to put on something a bit different (remember the BOK LONG-O in 1997 which included Purple and Black courses?). This year, I opted for Yellow, Red and two "Street Score" courses; sorry, no Blue or Green but I feel there are not enough safe, technical bits on the Downs for such courses. Red courses tend to be treated as a joke because they are much less technical, and are always disregarded when results are analysed, but I think most people who did my course (5.0k) had a good challenging run and enjoyed themselves - that's the important thing for me. I was particularly pleased to see so many University students taking part, it being so near to their halls of residence. The Red course enabled them to get a feel of simple orienteering prior to trying the more usual technical courses in weeks to come. My only regret was that, as I was collecting in controls, I wasn't around when people doing the Street Score finished as I was keen to know how they got on; it certainly took me some hours when I checked it all but I am not a fast runner!
Thanks to everyone for coming and to Anne Donnell for her help on the day.
Richard Nuell

BOK AGM/Social - 21 Sep 2007

The BOK Committee is pleased to announce that the Annual General Meeting will once again be held at the Youth Hostel, 14 Narrow Quay, Bristol on Friday, 21 September 2007 at 19.30 hrs. This will be followed by a buffet supper prepared to the same high standard of previous years. More details will appear in the July edition of BOK News.

Club Weekend, Gower 15th-17th June (Update)

Chris Kelsey has updated his original news item about the Club Weekend - please click on Captains' Message in the Hot Links section to see the update.

Mountain Bike Orienteering - Saturday 23rd June, Ringwood

Wimbourne Orienteers (WIM) are staging a mountain bike orienteering event on Saturday 23rd June 2007 at Moors Valley Country Park, near Ringwood. Entry is free, but there is a charge for car parking. Full details on the WIM website.

Leigh Woods Summer Informal - Wednesday 23rd May

Pete Maliphant writes:
"Wednesday's informal at Leigh Woods has, as well as a Yellow course, slightly short, fast Green and Blue courses. A large OOB area in the north has given the rare chance to provide courses on Leigh Woods without the usual grotty undergrowth and near vertical climb somewhere. The vegetation is growing fast but courses should be runnable with route choice decisions. We're also laying on some short sprint exercises which can be done solo, or more entertaining, in pairs with each person going in opposite directions. Brunel fans should also watch out for the Spectating (rather than Spectator) control!"

Cotswold Way Relay - Saturday 30th June

Ashley Cooper writes:
"The Cotswold Way relay is on Saturday 30th June. As usual I will enter some (hopefully at least one!) BOK team. For those of you who haven't done the event before it is an excellent day out and a chance to explore the Cotswold Way. Briefly, the event covers the whole of the Cotswold Way in a series of 10 races, each stage starting with a mass start (a team is thus 10 people running one leg each). The race starts at Chipping Camden in the early moring and arrives at Bath abbey 12 hours or so later. Each stage is a different length and amount of climb - details can be found at: http://www.cotswoldwayrelay.co.uk/"

"Could you let me know as soon as possible if you would like to run, and if you have a preference for a stage. Note there is usually an unseemly rush for the shorter stages! If you definitely don't want to run can you also let me know to prevent arm twisting/pestering."

Gare Hill (BOKTrot) - More Photos

A new album, Gare Hill (ASO Championships), is now available in the gallery. Thanks to John Lewis for the photos and for arranging parental permission to publish.

SWOA News - Committee Meeting Minutes

The minutes of the SWOA committee meeting held on 18th April 2007 are now available on the SWOA website.

Summer Informal Events - Coaching

Jackie Hallett writes:
"There will be a coaching clinic at the following events: May 23rd, 20th June, 4th July. Advice will be offered to anyone who wants it to improve their technique."

Gare Hill (BOKTrot) - Provisonal BOF Ranking List Scores

Provisional BOF ranking list scores, courtesy of Christophe Mutricy, are now available on the BOF ranking list website. Please note that a small number of competitors have not been considered in the calculation of badge times or ranking list scores because they are not recognised as being BOF national members - see the results page for details. Queries about the badge times or ranking list scores should be sent to the e-mail address shown on the event webpage.

Gare Hill (BOKTrot) - Provisional Badge Times

Provisional badge times, courtesy of Peter Foster, can be accessed from the results page.

Blaise Battleships - Sunday 15th July 2007

Fancy trying something different? This "Mental Racing" event is a 7+ mile run around the Blaise Castle estate, during which competitors have to solve puzzles in order to gain time bonuses. Organised by EventHead.

Gare Hill (BOKTrot) - Comments

Officials' comments are now available.

Dorset Coast Path Relay - Sat 7th July

It's time to get another BOK team together for this year's outing. For those unfamiliar with the event, it's a relay race from Lyme Regis to Studland Head. Teams may have as many or as few runners as desired and changeover points can be anywhere on the course. It is suitable for runners of all ages and standards as there are numerous opportunities for both long and short legs and the race is normally won by means of tactical 'sprint' teams helping out on the hills. Last year the race included an age-related handicap class and BOK finished joint 1st in this with the South West Junior Squad. In previous years BOK has also been overall winner. The event is held to raise funds for the South West Junior Squad and normally attracts between 5 and 8 teams from local orienteering clubs. It's always a fun and sociable day out, with magnificent Dorset coastal scenery. If interested, please contact Chris or Helen Kelsey. Further details can be found here or via the Wimborne orienteering website.

Weekend Roundup - 28th-29th April

Yet another sunny weekend - how long can this last? Good, varied and physical orienteering was enjoyed at BOK's Regional event at Gare Hill. Matt Jeffery won JM2, John Grenfell-Shaw, George Hurford and Luke Grenfell-Shaw took the top 3 places in JM3, Ben Maliphant won JM4 and David Maliphant finished 2nd in JM5M. For the girls, Jess Benjamin and Jessica Milne won JW3 and JW4 respectively, with Rosemary Hurford 3rd in JW5S. In the senior classes, Pete Maliphant was 5th on a fairly competitive M50L, Trevor Griffiths finished 2nd in M55L and Jenny Grenfell-Shaw was 3rd in W40L. The event ran very smoothly thanks to the organising team and the usual efficient squads of helpers. Full results are available elsewhere on this website.

On the Saturday, Mark Saunders and Chris Kelsey enjoyed fine conditions for the Sugar Loaf fell race, where Mark finished 1st vet 40. This is an excellent race, with a meandering route up the hill from Abergavenny followed by a delightful direct descent, mostly on grassy paths.

Looking forward to next weekend, good luck to everyone who has entered the British Championships at Pwll Du. BOK relay teams are now on the website and Clive Hallett has kindly volunteered to coordinate registrations and late team changes on the day as the Kelseys won't be there.

Website News - Holiday Events 2008

We now have a Holiday Events 2008 page, where you can share your plans for orienteering holidays next year. Please contact the Webmaster if you would like to have an event added. First up is Jonathan Hurford who is offering to coordinate accommodation for O-Ringen 2008. The Holiday Event pages for 2007 and 2008 are accessible from the Hot Links section near the top of the homepage.

Gare Hill (BOKTrot) - RouteGadget

The map and courses have now been uploaded to RouteGadget. You can trace your route on the map, compare your route with others or replay the race as a mass start. Why not give it a try? For instructions, click on the 'Help' link in the top right corner of the RouteGadget window.

Gare Hill (BOKTrot) - Provisional Results

Provisional results (including String Course, SplitsBrowser and WinSplits) are now available. Any queries about the results should be sent to the e-mail address shown on the event webpage. RouteGadget, BOF Rankings and Comments to follow. Photos.

Gare Hill (BOKTrot) - Lost Property

Lost at the BOK Trot:

• Black fleece jumper, medium, make of Haggar
• Sweatband, white with blue stripes

Information to Ashley Cooper or the Webmaster.

Website News - Routegadget

There is a new feature on the website to analyse your course and see how others used different route choices.
On the RouteGadget page, you can trace you route on the map, compare you course with others or replay the race as a mass start.
At the moment, there is a test event where you can practice the route tracing and the district event of February at Worlebury Woods.
You'll be able to trace your route at the BOKTrot soon after the event.

Lost at JK Relays - Black OMM Fleece Top

If anyone picked up a lightweight black 'OMM' fleece top (last seen in or near the BOK tent after the JK relays), please contact Duncan Milne (not Duncan Innes as previously reported).

JK Roundup 6th-9th April

Apologies for a rather belated review of BOK achievements at the JK. It will surely be remembered as a magnificent weekend, blessed by superb weather on all four days. BOK members played key roles in the staging of the event, with Mike Forrest as overall coordinator, Alan Honey as planner of the Sprint courses and Mark Saunders, Alice Bedwell and Charles Daniel as planners for the individual days. Many others put in a lot of hours on the organisational side, particularly Dave Urch and Margarette Parker as joint Organisers on Days 2 and 3 as well as the large contingent of car parking helpers and volunteers for other assorted tasks.

The Sprint day at UWE was probably a novelty for some and proved very popular with those taking part. The elite runners showed the rest of us how it should be done and the finish 'arena' provided an exciting finale for spectators, with ex-BOK Oli Johnson finishing 2nd in the Open class. Ifor Powell was the highest placed current BOK member in the Open. Other notable performances included David Hunt (16th in the Mens Vet), Keith Jones (9th in the Mens Super Vet), Rowena Johnson (15th in the Junior Women) and the trio of Jamie Hayward, Lee Turner and Ben Kelsey (29th, 31st and 34th respectively in the Junior Men).

The individual days in the Forest of Dean were also very enjoyable, with the planners giving us excellent and varied courses in good, runnable terrain. Congratulations to our podium finishers - Luke Grenfell-Shaw 1st on M14B (winning by nearly 20 minutes); Jessie Benjamin 2nd on W14B; Clive Hallett 1st on M40 (despite nursing an achilles injury that prevented him from running in the relays!); Andy Creber 2nd on M45S; Denis Hamment 2nd on M80; and both Pat Grenfell (1st) and Anne Donnell (3rd) on W75. Jackie Hallett just missed out despite a good run on Day 3, finishing 4th overall on W50L.

The Relay day at Caerwent army camp provided a different but equally enjoyable challenge, although the courses used less of the fast and potentially confusing central camp area area than expected. But there was plenty of opportunity for mistakes as some of us found to our cost, even at the final controls in view of the spectators! A last minute re-shuffle of the teams to replace Clive reduced our winning potential, but the BOK Bullets (Ifor Powell, Charles Daniel and Mark Saunders) still managed 3rd place in the M120+ class. Other strong performances from our 19 teams included BOK Bongos (Jenny Grenfell-Shaw, Pat Grenfell and Alison Simmons) and BOK Beetles (Helen Kelsey, Anne Donnell and Rachel Dennis) - 9th and 10th respectively in W165+.

A great weekend of orienteering. Full results for all four days are here.

SW Galoppen Series - Final Scores and Prize Winners

The final scores and prize winners for the 2006/2007 South-West Galoppen Series have been published on the SWOA website.

Gare Hill (BOKTrot) - Final Details Updated

The junior late entry fee for regional event courses has been corrected to £4 (was £5).

Wanted - Runners for British Relays 6th May

We are short of one M/W 60+ and also need one person to complete a Womens Short team. Volunteers please to Chris or Helen Kelsey.

KERNO Galoppen, Penhale - 15th April

Pete Maliphant writes...

Whilst the rest of the country basked in sunshine and unseasonally high temperatures, Cornwall was cool and foggy initially for the final Galoppen of the season. Heavy rain on Friday and more rain overnight Saturday meant there were some puddles in the dunes and water in the "lakes" in the centre of the map - the first time I've seen this.

After the JK the previous weekend few orienteers made the long trip west, but those that did enjoyed the usual high quality orienteering and challenging navigation that Penhale and KERNO provide, centred on the holiday camp. Everyone made mistakes (even Clive), the trick was keeping them small...........! BOK featured strongly in the results, with top performances from:
Brown: Clive Hallett, finishing second to Ben Chesters and so just missing out on the Brown Galoppen title
Blue: Pete Maliphant (1st) getting the better, this time, of Andy Creber (2nd) Jackie Hallett (3rd) and David Maliphant (7th)
Green: Ben Maliphant (2nd) on his first ever Green course, with Rachel Dennis 4th and Robin Walker 9th
Yellow: Michael Hallett (3rd)

The shorter courses only had a handful of competitors on them, which was a shame, especially as they were planned almost entirely within the holiday camp area rather than on the empty dunes, and well-suited to younger runners and the less-experienced. The appearance early on Sunday morning of numerous controls all over the camp site, certainly puzzled some of the many holidaymakers staying at Penhale.

Finally special mention should be made of Kate Maliphant, who has allegedly spent longer finding (and not finding) Penhale's controls over the years than most of us. Having been disqualified for missing a control on Light Green, she went back out to successfully complete the Green course as well just for fun!

Full results here.

Gare Hill (BOKTrot) - Final Details

Final details and control descriptions for the regional event at Gare Hill on Sunday 29th April 2007 are now available on the event webpage.

Annual Dinner (11th May) - Booking Deadline

Members are reminded that bookings for the annual dinner should be sent to Sally Thomas by Monday 23rd April. The booking form was included with the last issue of BOK News.

Mike Nelson - Message from Mary

I would like to thank all of you who sent me, Jenny, Robert and Julie so many cards and letters, the messages on them were such a comfort. We will miss Mike so much but we have lots of wonderful memories and we are so proud of him.
Kind regards, Mary Nelson.

BOK Achieves Clubmark Accreditation

Celia Watkinson writes:
"Bristol Orienteering Klub is pleased to announce that it has been awarded Clubmark accreditation in recognition of its excellent work with young people. Clubmark is awarded to clubs who ensure that they provide a quality, safe and enjoyable activity for young people. The club has met minimum operating standards in four key areas:

• Duty of Care & Child Protection
• Coaching & Competition
• Sports Equity & Ethics
• Club Management

The award allows Bristol Orienteering Klub to use the Clubmark logo on its publicity material and will help in marketing the sport to young people, schools and parents. Many thanks to all the club members who have contributed towards the achievement of the award by ensuring good policies and procedures are in place and that young people continue to experience enjoyable orienteering through activities such as Junior Coaching days, Avon Schools events and regional/national competitions."

Website News - Mailing List

We now have an 'opt-in' mailing list, the BOK Bulletin. Subscribers to the mailing list will receive an e-mail reminder a few days before each BOK orienteering event. The service is mainly intended for non-members (who only visit the website occasionally), but members are welcome to subscribe if they feel it will be of use. Sign-up to the list here.

BOK to Feature on Radio Bristol

Tune into Radio Bristol at 08:37 on Friday 6th April to hear an interview with BOK members Stephen Horton, Alan Honey and Ian Cawley. The interview takes place at UWE, venue of the JK Urban Sprint later in the day.

Questars Adventure Race Success

Ashley Cooper and Pete Foster were part of a team that finished 2nd in the Masters Vets class, and 13th overall, in the first Questars adventure race of 2007 held on 31st March in the New Forest. This was a 6 hour a score event involving trail running, mountain biking and kayaking. Full results and details of forthcoming Questars events are here.

Weekend Roundup 1st April

Many BOK members enoyed fine sunny weather, and long but fast courses, at the Wessex Galoppen held at Rushmore near Shaftesbury. Jessie Benjamin finished 3rd on Orange and Ben Maliphant continued his success on Light Green, winning by 5 minutes. David Maliphant arrived too late for a Green map (which might have been a problem had he not already had a good lead in the Galoppen table) and ran Blue instead, finishing a very respectable 7th. Other successes on Blue were Pete Maliphant (1st), with Nick Dennis, Trevor Griffiths and David Palmer not far behind in 4th, 5th and 6th places respectively. Alison Simmons finished 22nd and first woman. Clive Hallett could only manage 3rd on Brown, more than 3 minutes down on Ben Chesters - so the pressure's on for the last Gallopen at Penhale! Full results here.

Weekend Roundup 24th-25th March

There was a reasonable turnout from BOK at the SARUM Saunter Regional event at Grovely Woods near Wilton on Sunday 25th. Matthew Jeffery won JM3, with little sister Abigail also winning JW1, closely followed by Niamh O'Sullivan. Matt Lyle won JM5L, Clive Hallett finished 2nd on M21L, as did Jackie Hallet on W21L. Other notable performances were Trevor Griffiths (1st on M55L), Gavin Clegg (3rd on M50L), Helen Kelsey (3rd on W50L) and David Hunt (4th on M45L). Full results here. On the Saturday, Chris Kelsey enjoyed fine sunny conditions for the Llanbedr to Blaenavon fell race, finishing 2nd vet 50.

British Relays - Final Reminder

If you wish to enter for the British Relays at Pwll Du on Sunday 6th May, please send your entry form to Chris & Helen Kelsey now - entries received after Easter are likely to be too late. An entry form can be found in BOK News and in the Hot Links section of this website.

Club Weekend, Gower 15th-17th June (Update)

For this year's Club Weekend, we intend to take advantage of the Mid Summer on Gower events to get together with Swansea Bay Orienteering Club on the weekend of 15th-17th June. There are 3 events planned for the weekend, a Friday evening event at Llanmadoc Hill, a Welsh league event on Saturday at Broughton Burrows (which will also be used by SBOC for their club championships) and the popular 2x2 relay event on Sunday at Whiteford Burrows. Further details on the SBOC website. We aim to share camping with SBOC, with the traditional socialising activities including a barbecue and hopefully rounders on Saturday evening. The event campsite will be at Kennexstone Camping Site, just east of Llangenith a few miles from each of the events. This site should be quieter and more sheltered than Hillend. Bookings can be made online, although those wishing to stay for only 1 night may have to telephone or book on arrival. So that we can have some idea of numbers and ensure adequate camping space together, please contact Chris or Helen Kelsey as soon as possible to indicate an interest. Please note that pre-entry is required for the 2x2 relay.

Harvester Relays 2nd-3rd June

This year’s Harvester relays will be held in the excellent terrain of Penhale Sands, Cornwall. The Harvester is a night/day relay event for teams of 7 (Class A) or 5 (Class B). The event will start after dusk (around 2200) and continue into the daylight hours of Sunday morning. Teams nominate themselves for one of the various trophy competitions, which include age-related handicap categories. Further details are available in BOK News and will also be on the Cornwall Orienteering website. If anyone is interested, please contact Chris & Helen Kelsey who are happy to co-ordinate entries and bookings for camping within Perran Sands Holiday Park. The closing date is 14th May, so please let them know by the end of April.

JK Sprint in Bristol - Publicity Opportunity

With nearly 1000 runners expected, including some of the top athletes from the UK and abroad, the JK Sprint at the University of The West of England on Friday 6th April represents a good opportunity for BOK to get some publicity in the local media. Plans are afoot to approach BBC Points West, BBC Radio Bristol, The Western Daily Press, The Bristol Evening Post, The Bristol Observer and Venue magazine. If you can think of any other outlets we should be considering, or would like to help in any way, please contact the Webmaster.

OCAD Course - Saturday 31st March

This Saturday's OCAD Drawing and Planning Course is well subscribed but there is sufficient room to take at least four more people. Contact Dudley Budden if you're interested.

Forest of Dean Trails Half Marathon

Peter Foster writes:
"The Forest of Dean Trails Half Marathon saw several BOK runners partaking in good running conditions. The majority of BOK runners finished in under 1 Hour 50 minutes. In addition to the trio pictured (David Palmer, Phil Warry & Jo Foster), there was also Colin Welch, Nick Dennis, Anne Palmer, Dave Andrews and there may have been others - apologies to any I have missed."

Forest of Avon - Community Forest Path 24-Hour Challenge

Chris Bloor of Town and Country Harriers is trying to interest the Forest of Avon team in producing a 24-hour challenge, similar to the Lyke Wake Walk in Yorkshire, based on the Community Forest Path around Bristol. The two challenges are very similar in length (40 miles for the LWW and 45 miles for the CFP). If you have already completed a circuit or are interested in the idea, please contact Chris on 0117-962-4088 or via the BOK webmaster.

Walcombe (CS Cup) - Comments and Photos

Officials' comments are now available. A set of photos has been added to the gallery.

JK2007 Entry Deadline - Friday 23rd March

The third and final deadline for entries to the JK2007 International Festival of Orienteering falls on Friday 23rd March. This year the event takes place in Bristol (at the University of the West of England), the Forest of Dean and near Chepstow. Enter via the JK2007 website.

Interland 2007 - Belgium

Congratulations to our BOK representatives who helped England to victory in this year's Interland competition in Belgium on 18th March. Jackie Hallett won the D50 class and Clive Hallett and Dale Paget were 3rd and 8th respectively in the H40 class.

Compass Sport Cup - BOK Through To Final

BOK are safely through to the Compass Sport Cup final, scoring 2444 points against DEVON's 1458. However, DEVON also qualify as 2nd place club due to the fact that BOK finished in the top 3 in last year's final. The qualifying round was very unbalanced this year, with only 2 clubs competing in the Cup at BOK's Walcombe event, while other events had up to 8 clubs competing - the fairness of this has to be questioned. The rules meant that DEVON only had to turn up to qualify and they fielded a team of less than the permitted maximum number of scorers, giving BOK an easy ride. Congratulations also to SBOC as winner of the Trophy competition at Walcombe and to SWOC who qualify on account of SBOC's result in the final last year. Full results for the Walcombe event are available elsewhere on the BOK website.

Many thanks to all of you (more than 70, including 22 juniors) who turned out to run on what was forecast to be a very cold day indeed. In fact, although the wind was strong and bracing (particularly for the start and parking squads), the previous weekend's mud had disappeared and the sun shone until the end of the event - it was only the control collectors who had to brave the hail, snow and thunder at the end.

The final (organised by NOC) will be held near Mansfield on 14th October and we can expect somewhat stiffer competition! It would be good to arrange a club weekend away for this if we can find suitable accommodation - and we'll need as many of you as possible to try to improve on our 3rd place last year. So please put this date in your diaries now.

Walcombe (CS Cup) - Updated Results

The CS Cup/Trophy individual and team scores posted within the last hour have been corrected. If you have previously viewed them, please use your browser's refresh function to be sure you are looking at the most recent version.

Walcombe (CS Cup) - Provisional Results

Provisional results (including SplitsBrowser and WinSplits) are now available. Any queries about the results should be sent to the e-mail address shown on the event webpage. Photos and comments to follow.

Website News - Send us your Photos!

The website is slowly but surely building up its photo gallery section. It would be nice though to have a few more people contributing. The main gallery page now includes some notes about how to submit your photos. If you need help, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Klub Kit - Tops Now Available

Jackie Hallett writes:
"The new order of tops is in. I am afraid we are not at the compass sport cup match as we are on the England trip but we shall be at the SARUM event next Sunday or people can contact us at home."

Mike Nelson - Funeral Arrangements

Mark Selley writes:
"The funeral will take place on Monday 19th March at 12.30, at Bristol South Crematorium. The family have requested no flowers and any donations to be kindly made to either St Peter's Hospice or Marie Curie Cancer Care."

Walcombe (CS Cup) - Updated Start List

An updated start list for the CompassSport Cup 1st Round event at Walcombe, Wells on Sunday 18th March 2007 is now available on the event webpage. Katy Dyer writes: "Even late entries have now closed so this should be final."

Warmley Forest Park - Comments

Comments from the Organiser, Controller and Planner are now available.

Mike Nelson - Sad News

Dave Urch writes:
"Mike Nelson passed away peacefully on Saturday morning after a long illness. Mike has been the backbone of the Klub for many years and we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude for all he's done for us. Most importantly however he was a tremendous human being and he's left a bank of fond memories. Our deepest sympathies go to his wife Mary and daughters Jenny and Julie and son Robert. We will let you know details of the funeral arrangements in due course."

Warmley Forest Park - Results

Provisional results (including string course results, SplitsBrowser and WinSplits) are now available. Comments to follow.

Walcombe (CS Cup) - Start List

The start list for the CompassSport Cup 1st Round event at Walcombe, Wells on Sunday 18th March 2007 is now available on the event webpage.

Website News - Headlines from British Orienteering

A new feature on the website is the "Headlines from British Orienteering" section on the front page. This is updated automatically from the web feed published by the British Orienteering Federation (BOF). Clicking on a headline shows the full text of the news item on the BOF website. A consequence of this innovation is that we will generally not include BOF news/appeals in the BOK news section, so please get into the habit of checking the BOF headlines as well.

Weekend Roundup 18th Feb-4th Mar

A belated roundup of BOK activity over the last few weekends. Several members travelled to the Wimborne Winter Warmer Regional event at Ibsley on 18th Feb. Notable results included double 1st places on M21L and W21L for Clive and Jackie Hallett and 1st places also for Matt Lyle (JM5L), Katy Dyer (W55L) and Anne Donnell (W75L). Jo Foster finished 2nd on W50L and John Parker was 2nd on M70L. Full results here.

A few members made the journey to Surrey for the National Event at Whitedowns on 25th Feb. Clive and Jackie again won their classes, but this time M40L and W50L. Ifor Powell was 3rd on M35L. Full results here. Closer to home, DEVON's Long-O at Woodbury was unfortunately cancelled due to insufficient entries, but John Higgins was able to enjoy the Short course. Even closer, Chris Kelsey was BOK's representative in the Quantocks fell race, organised by Tom Gibbs. On Saturday 24th, there was the usual good turnout from BOK at the Western Night League event at Minchinhampton Common near Stroud. Results here.

The wet and windy weather on 4th March did not put everyone off, with a few stalwarts even doing the SOC Long-O (though not the longest course). David Hunt finished 6th on the 15.4K Dark Brown, with Dave Palmer 10th and only 10 minutes slower. Chris Johnson finished not much later in 16th place. The Kelsey family chose something a bit shorter and more local with the Butleigh multi-terrain race. Runners at the Western Night League event at Ashdown Park near Swindon on the Saturday evening will hopefully have enjoyed much better conditions, finishing a few hours before the spectacular lunar eclipse.

Walcombe (CS Cup) - Final Details

Final Details for the CompassSport Cup 1st Round event at Walcombe, Wells on Sunday 18th March 2007 are now available on the event webpage.

Holiday Events 2007 - Where are you Going?

Take at look at the Holiday Events page to see where BOK members will be competing this summer. If you would like to share your plans, please contact the Webmaster.

Website News - Partners

You may have noticed that we now have a 'Partners' button in the website navigation panel. This takes you to a page where we feature organisations with which we have website partnership arrangements. Essentially this means that we carry permanent links to our partners’ websites and we occasionally feature our partners’ events on the front page of our website. In return, we expect our partners to give BOK a similar amount of coverage on their own websites. These cross-site links should also help our search engine rankings.

JK2007 Entry Deadline - Wednesday 28th February

The second deadline for entries to the JK2007 International Festival of Orienteering falls on Wednesday 28th February. This year the event takes place in Bristol, the Forest of Dean and near Chepstow. Enter via the JK2007 website.

Gare Hill (BOKTrot) - Preliminary Details

Preliminary details for the BOKTrot regional event at Gare Hill, Frome on Sunday 29th April 2007 are now available on the event webpage.

Quantocks Fell Race - Sun 25th Feb

For those of you not going to the National event at Dorking, an alternative might be the Quantocks fell race - a pleasant 7 mile course starting and finishing at Holford and taking in some of the best parts of the Quantock hills with 1900ft of ascent. Start is at 1200, entry on the day, car parking and registration at Holford Green near Nether Stowey (ST154411). Limited parking so please share transport.

Missing Control Stake Foot Levers

Dudley Budden writes:
"Speaking to Ashley Cooper it seems that of the original SIX 'control stake foot levers' that were produced to help push the aluminium stakes into the ground, only ONE now remains with the equipment. Would anyone who has inadvertently retained one please return it or contact Ashley a.s.a.p."

Committee News - Event Entry Fee Policy

BOK has decided to charge standard rates at most of its events in 2006/07. These will only be varied when there are exceptional costs such as high land access charges.

Weekend Roundup 10th-11th Feb

BOK members were widely dispersed this weekend, participating in the Walton Chasers Regional event at Sherbrook, the Welsh League event at Draethen, the QO Forest League event at Ham Hill and the British Night Championships at Sheringham near Norfolk (it took a while to track everyone down!). Isla Simmons won Light Green at Ham Hill and Dudley Budden won Blue at Draethen, with Clive, Jackie and Michael Hallett finishing 1st, 6th and 2nd on Brown, Blue and Orange respectively - a particularly good result for Michael on what must have been one of his first Orange courses. Our M/W75 classes were well represented in Light Green, with Denis Hamment, John Grenfell and Anne Donnell finishing 5th, 6th and 8th. At the British Night Champs, Mark Saunders and Alice Bedwell won M45L and W45L, with Ifor Powell 4th in M21L.

Looking ahead to next weekend, there's the Wimborne Winter Warmer Regional event at Ibsley Common on Sunday 18th. There's also BOK junior training at Cannop Ponds on Saturday 17th - please contact Jackie Hallett if you want to go but haven't already told her.

Walcombe (CS Cup) - Preliminary Details

Preliminary Details for the CompassSport Cup 1st Round event at Walcombe, Wells on Sunday 18th March 2007 are now available on the event webpage.

Reminder - Entries for Compass Sport Cup and JK Relays

Entries for the Compass Sport Cup (18th March) and JK relays (9th April) need to be sent to Chris & Helen Kelsey by 16th February. An entry form is available here and also in the BOK News. If you use the one in BOK News, please note that the Helping column for the JK should instead be an indication of whether you prefer to run a short or long relay leg.

Weekend Roundup 3rd-4th Feb

The local ASO event at Worlebury attracted a large number of BOK members who turned out on a beautiful sunny day to enjoy courses planned by Christophe Mutricy. Ralph Eliot just managed to take 1st place on Green ahead of David Maliphant, but Ben Maliphant won Light Green, with Jamie Hayward 2nd and Isla Simmons 5th. Jessica Benjamin and Shona Simmons finished 4th and 5th on Orange and Cameron Davies won Yellow, 2 places ahead of Michael Hallett. Full results elsewhere on the BOK website.

A few others travelled to the Chiltern Challenge regional event. The Milne family had some excellent results, with Ella and Jessica 2nd on JW2 and JW4 and Duncan 6th on M40S. Tim Britton (still running for Wimborne!) finished 7th on M21L and Peter Stagg was 2nd on M35S. Full results here.

Meanwhile I enjoyed beautiful scenery and sunshine at the Long Mynd Valleys fell race - an excellent 11 mile course starting and finishing at Church Stretton and taking in all the hills as well as the valleys.

Worlebury Woods - Comments

Comments from the Organiser, Controller and Planner are now available.

Worlebury Woods (Sunday 4th February 2007) - Results

Provisional results (including string course results and SplitsBrowser) are now available. WinSplits and comments to follow. The planner, Christophe Mutricy, states that "some people on the Green course might need to be reinstated, as a control went missing".

New Procedure for Registration at BOK Events

The committee has approved a new procedure for registration at BOK events, as recommended by a meeting of interested parties held on January 19th. The key points are:

1. Download to be combined with Registration at all events.
2. BOF cards to be shown, or a photocopy provided, in order to qualify for discount.
3. No receipts to be issued but non-BOF members should be encouraged to join by the provision of an appropriate form.

Weekend Roundups 21st & 28th Jan

BOK members had some good results at Cranham Wood on Sunday 21st January, the third of three consecutive Galoppen fixtures. Clive Hallett and Alan Honey won Brown and Blue respectively. The Maliphants continued their good form with David winning Green and Pete and Ben finishing 3rd on Blue and Light Green. The Helfer and Grenfell Shaw juniors also performed well - Tom Helfer was 5th on Green with Rachel and James 3rd on Orange and White; John and Luke Grenfell Shaw were 4th and 2nd on Light Green and Orange. Full results here.

On Sunday 28th January, several BOK members travelled to the Concorde Chase Regional event at Hawley near Camberley. Clive Hallett had an outstanding result to win M21L, beating Nick Barrable by 21 seconds. Jackie and Michael finished 2nd on W35L and JM2. The Maliphant juniors again performed well, David and Ben finishing 3rd on JM5M and JM4 respectively. Other notable performances included Anne Donnell and Pat Grenfell (1st and 2nd on W75L) and Dudley Budden (4th on M60L). Full results here.

Orienteering Features in the Western Daily Press

Read Radio Bristol presenter John Turner's amusing account of his recent encounter with orienteers in the Forest of Dean, as published in the Western Daily Press on Thursday 25th January 2007.

Website News - How to get Update Notifications by E-mail

See here for detailed instructions on how to get the Yahoo! Alert service to send you an e-mail whenever the BOK website is updated.

Weekend Roundup 13th-14th Jan

Sunshine and good courses made for a very pleasant Galoppen and ASO event at Mallard's Pike on Sunday, with a good turnout. James Robinson took 1st place on White while Cameron Davies, Edward Wheatcroft, Michael Hallett and Emily Ronson finished 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th on Yellow. On Orange, Luke Grenfell-Shaw and Rachel Helfer were 2nd and 3rd; Ralph Eliot, Isla Simmons and Ben Maliphant 2nd, 3rd and 4th on Light Green. David Maliphant repeated last week's success by winning Green and Alan Honey and Peter Stagg were 5th and 6th on Blue. Clive Hallett this week turned the tables on Ben Chesters to win Brown, with Mark Saunders a very close 3rd. Full results here.

On Saturday, 16 juniors aged from 8 to 15 braved the not so fine weather at Ashton Court to take part in a junior coaching session organised by Jackie Hallett, Helen Kelsey and Jim Hayward. Many different exercises were involved, from setting the map to bearings and pacing. The day finished with a clock relay involving all ages. Everyone went home quite tired, but looking forward to the Sunday ASO event. The next coaching session is on Saturday 17th February, in the Forest of Dean – excellent preparation for the JK. Adults are welcome to come to this session, as well as juniors. Please contact Jackie Hallett as soon as possible if you would like to come.

Weekend Preview 13th-14th Jan

There's another SW Galoppen this Sunday, this time at Mallards Pike in the Forest of Dean. If that's not enough, you can also get out on Saturday evening at the Devon & Cornwall night league event at Burrator. For juniors, don't forget the BOK junior training at Ashton Court on Saturday, 1000-1230 for under 11s, 1000-1530 for others. If you want to go but haven't already arranged it with Jackie Hallett, please contact her by Friday to check whether she can take more.

Weekend Roundup 6th-7th Jan

BOK members had some good results at the DEVON Galoppen at Buller's Hill on Sunday, in particular the Hallett, Maliphant and Hurford families. Michael Hallett won Yellow, David and Ben Maliphant won Green and Light Green respectively while Clive and Jackie Hallett finished 2nd and 3rd on Brown and Blue. Jackie was just 90 seconds down on Blue winner Jonathan Hurford. Other notable results were Charles Daniel and Duncan Innes (7th and 8th on Brown), Pete Maliphant and Dudley Budden (4th and 6th on Blue) and Rosemary Hurford (10th on Light Green). The courses were enjoyable in fairly physical terrain and most of us will have managed to escape before the wind and heavier rain arrived in the afternoon. Full results here. At the night event at Leigh Woods on Saturday, Andy Creber gained most points, with Pete James, Charles Daniel and Mark Blackstone finishing 3rd, 7th and 8th respectively.

BOK Member Entry Form for Compass Sport Cup & JK Relays

A BOK member entry form for the Compass Sport Cup Qualifier (Walcombe, Wells - Sun 18th March) and the JK relays (Caerwent, Chepstow - Mon 9th April) is now available. For those who haven't participated before, the Compass Sport Cup is an inter-club competition with a qualifying round and a final. In 2006 BOK finished 3rd overall and we need a good turnout in the 2007 qualifier to secure a place in this year's final, which will be held in October. The JK relay offers an excellent finish to the Easter weekend and an opportunity to participate in a different style of competition, with teams competing in various categories over 3 or 4 legs. Both of these events are fun and sociable, and are suitable for orienteers of all standards. These events are pre-entry only and forms need to be returned to your club captains by 16th February at the latest. Please tell others that the form is available on the website - we will also have copies available at forthcoming events.

Do you know of any good off-road running routes in South Gloucestershire?

South Glos Council’s Community Sports Department in conjunction with the Wild Roots project are looking to create a series of running route leaflets that take in some of our Local Nature Reserves (specifically beginning with Wick Golden Valley, Avon Valley Woodlands, Emersons Green open space, Wapley Bushes and the 3 Brooks Area). We are looking for routes that would be suitable for beginners, intermediates and advanced runners.

If you have any good ideas and would like to be involved please contact Christine Farr, Active for Life scheme, South Glos Council on 01454 868169.

Leigh Woods WNL - Provisional Results

Provisional results are now available.

Event Registration Process - Meeting

A meeting on Friday, 19 January at 19.30hrs will be held in Bristol to discuss the event registration process in light of the new BOF membership structure. It is particularly for members of the Registration Squad but anyone is welcome to come. Details from Tricia Walker tel: 01275 462879 or the BOK Webmaster via the Contact Page on the website.

Christmas Roundup & Weekend Preview - 6th-7th Jan

The Christmas and New Year period saw BOK members participating in various festive events, including the Christmas Pud race in South Wales, BOK's own Christmas event at Penpole, Wimborne's Boxing Day Canter, DEVON's novelty event at Dartmeet and the SARUM and NGOC New Years Day score events. Doubtless other members were suitably active elsewhere (the Kelseys and Fosters enjoyed a week of sunshine and reasonable snow in Val d'Isere).

Looking ahead to the first weekend of the new year, there's a DEVON Galoppen at Bullers Hill near Exeter on Sunday 7th January. Also the opportunity to warm up at BOK's Western Night League event at Leigh Woods on Saturday 6th. Happy orienteering for 2007.

Penpole - Report

Katy Dyer's report is now available.

Stock Hill WNL - Provisional Results

Provisional results are now available.

BOK Juniors 3rd in Yvette Baker Trophy Final

Our BOK juniors excelled themselves today (10th December) by finishing 3rd overall in the final of the Yvette Baker Trophy held at Cold Ash near Newbury. The competition was fierce, with BOK ending up just 10 points down on winners DEE and 4 points short of 2nd placed OD. Having tied with SARUM in the qualifier 2 weeks ago, BOK just managed to beat their rivals into 3rd place in the final, coming away with a shield to be engraved as a permanent record of their achievement. This was a great team effort, with 34 BOK juniors turning out to run for the club. As well as the juniors themselves, special thanks are due to Clive and Jackie Hallett for organising the teams so well, also to the volunteer coaches who have encouraged our juniors over the last year and to the parents who provided their support. Full results here.

What Are You Up To?

The Weekend Preview and Weekend Roundup reports are an initiative suggested by Steve Horton to improve awareness of what BOK members are planning to do or have done. To make the most of this and to broaden its interest, your club captains would like to hear from anyone intending to participate in orienteering-related events such as adventure races, MTBO, fell or trail races, road races, mountain marathons - and to let us know how you did or to provide a brief report of the event.

Weekend Preview 9th-10th Dec

This weekend sees our BOK juniors travelling to the Yvette Baker Trophy final at Cold Ash near Newbury. Their excellent performance in the qualifier at Moseley Green 2 weeks ago earned them a place in the final despite stiff competition from SARUM, both clubs finishing with equal points to go through. We wish BOK luck against the other 13 clubs.

Also this Saturday is a Western Night League event at Kidnalls, Lydney. This follows the usual format - a 1 hour score with some controls at Yellow standard for those new to orienteering in the dark.

Weekend Roundup - 03 Dec 06

BOK members travelled to 2 main events this weekend - the SYO National at Burbage Moor and the SARUM Galoppen at Everleigh.

Notable performances at the National were Clive Hallett's 1st place on M40L, Jackie Hallett's 2nd on W45L and David Palmer's 4th on M60L. Also well placed on W21E were Laura Daniel (18th), Jane Forrest (22nd) and Alice Bedwell (26th). Mark Saunders was 22nd on M21E and Charles Daniel 10th on M50L.

At the Galoppen, Alan Honey won Blue and the Maliphant family (Ben, David and Peter) all finished 2nd on their respective courses - Light Green, Green and Blue. Other good performances were from Anne Donnell (12th on Light Green), Tim Bax, Clive Caffall and Dudley Budden (8th, 10th & 12th on Blue). At least 25 BOK members took part, enjoying sunny but windy conditions.

BOK Junior News - December

Nicky's article missed the copy date for the December issue of BOK News. Read it here.