Course for Planners

Pat Grenfell writes:
A course for would-be planners will be held on the afternoon of Saturday 28th March. Please phone me on 0117 9683881 for details.

January Committee Meeting Minutes

A summary of the minutes of the committee meeting held on 22nd January 2009 is now available.

Compass Sport Cup - Start Times

Start Times for each Course are now available on the DEVON website, together with final details for the event. Start Times listed by Club will also be available shortly on this website via the Hot Links. If you have any queries, please contact Chris or Helen Kelsey. Please also remind others to look at the website. Good luck for Sunday.

Lyncombe Vale - Officials' Comments

Officials' comments are now available. There are also some photos, courtesy of Josie Turner and Nick Ajderian.

Lyncombe Vale - RouteGadget

The map and courses of the Lyncombe Vale district event have been uploaded to RouteGadget. You can trace your route and compare it with the other competitors. There is some help and a test event if you'd like to practice before drawing yesterday's route.

Course 1 corresponds to the White Course and Course 7 to the Brown.

BOK Success At British Champs

Congratulations to our class winners at the British Championships: Mark Saunders 1st in M50L, Dave Parkin 1st in M75L, Isla Simmons 1st in W18L and Pat Grenfell 1st in W80. There were also a number of other highly placed BOK runners across the classes, including Anne Donnell 2nd in W75L, Clive Hallett 3rd in M45L, Dudley Budden 3rd in M65L, David Maliphant 4th in M18L, Alice Bedwell 7th in W45L, Jo Foster 8th in W50L and Michael Hallett 8th in M12A. In the FCC/UK Cup, Tim Britton finished 20th and Mark Bown 23rd. BOK also had success at the relays, with 2nd places for both our M40 team (Ifor Powell, Phil Murray and Clive Hallett) and our W40 team (Jackie Hallett, Jo Foster and Alice Bedwell). Not to be outdone, our Junior Adhoc team of Shona Simmons, Jess Benjamin and Ella Milne also gained a podium place in 3rd. Photos to follow shortly.

Lyncombe Vale - Provisional Results

Provisional results (including Splitsbrowser, WinSplits) are now available. RouteGadget to follow.

Silk Wood - Final Results

Colour standard times have been added and the results declared 'final'. Details of the SWOA Colour-coded Award Scheme can be found on the SWOA website - to qualify for an award you must achieve the standard time on the same colour course at three events in a two year period.

Compass Sport Cup Qualifier - Sunday 15th March

Date and venue now confirmed as 15th March at Bullers Hill, Exeter. Event details are on the DEVON website. Start times for BOK runners will be available via the BOK website shortly.

If anyone else wants to run (particularly juniors), please let Chris or Helen Kelsey know as soon as possible. We can't guarantee a late entry, but we can ask.

Stock Hill - Flyer

A flyer for the local event at Stock Hill, Mendips, on Sunday 5th April 2009 is now available.

Purdown - Results and Comments

Results and organiser's comments are now available, together with the final BOK Saturday League tables.

Annual Dinner & Awards - 15th May

This year's BOK Annual Dinner & Awards Ceremony will take place on Friday 15th May at the Hilton Hotel, Bradley Stoke. Further details and booking form (will also appear in the next BOK News).

SWOA News - Committee Meeting Minutes

The minutes of the SWOA committee meetings held on 1st October 2008 and 3rd December 2008 are now available on the SWOA website. The latter includes a copy of the SWOA Development Plan.

BOK Teams for British Relays - Provisional

Provisional BOK teams for the British relays will be available via the Hot Links shortly. Let your Klub Captains know if there are any problems or you have suggestions for amendments.

Orienteering Participation Survey - Email

Club members who have received an email from Ipsos MORI about a participation survey on behalf of Sport England can rest assured that the communication has been authorised by British Orienteering. Read more.

Compass Sport Cup Qualifying Round - 15th March

After some debate following the change of date of the SWOA fixture from 29th March to 15th March, it has been decided to nominate the SWOA (DEVON) event at Bullers Hill near Exeter on 15th March as our first choice. Although this date clashes with some other running events in the region, there are also club member commitments on the 29th March. While the date and venue are still provisional subject to confirmation by the CSC co-ordinating team, it is likely that we will be given our choice. So please get your entry forms back to your Klub Captains as soon as possible, but also keep an eye on this website for any changed information. The entry form will be available shortly from the Hot Links.

Events Cancelled - 7th/8th February

The DEVON, KERNO, NGOC and TVOC events scheduled for 7th/8th February have been cancelled.

Silk Wood - Officials' Comments

Officials' comments and string course results are now available.

Silk Wood - Provisional Results

Provisional results (including Splitsbrowser, WinSplits and RouteGadget) are now available. On RouteGadget you can trace your route and compare it with those of the other competitors. There is some help and a test event if you'd like to practise before drawing today's route.

NGOC Event at Kidnalls - Saturday 14th March

Dave Hartley of NGOC has asked us to point out that the NGOC Local Event at Kidnalls is being held on Saturday 14th March (i.e. NOT Saturday 21st March as stated in the recent issue of SINS).

Welcome to Squad Liaison

Having handed over the task of Squad Liaison to Nick Ajderian late last year, I have written a short article to explain how the squad system came into being and what it sets out to do. You can read this article 'Welcome to Squad Liaison' via this blog and also via a link on the BOK website under The Klub.

Triple O Severn Weekend - Flyer and Entries

Dave Urch writes:
A flyer for the Triple O Severn Weekend is now available. Entries have opened on the Fabian4 website.

Blaise Castle - Results and Comments

Results and organiser's comments are now available, together with updated BOK Saturday League scores.

Triple O Severn Weekend - Entries

Dave Urch writes:
We anticipate that online entries for the Triple O Severn Weekend, including the Mike Nelson BOK Trot, will be possible on the Fabian4 website from Thursday 22nd January.

Reminder - First closing date for British Relays

If you want to enter the British Relays before the first closing date, you must e-mail your Klub Captains (Chris & Helen Kelsey) before 5pm on Sunday 11th January. The next closing date is 23rd January, which will cost you an extra £1.

Please remember also that the first closing date for the JK Relays is 23rd January.

Entry forms for both of these events are available from the Hot Links on this website.

Leigh Woods - Results and Comments

Results and organiser's comments are now available.

SWOA Galoppen - Scores Updated

Scores for the BOK Galoppen (Headless Hill, 23rd November) have been published on the SWOA website - follow the 'current season' link in the 'related pages' panel on this page.

Headless Hill - Final Results

Colour standard times have been added and the results declared 'final'. Details of the SWOA Colour-coded Award Scheme can be found on the SWOA website - to qualify for an award you must achieve the standard time on the same colour course at three events in a two year period.

Three Brooks - Results and Comments

Results and officials' comments are now available.

Three Brooks - Final Details

Final details for the Christmas Novelty Event at Three Brooks, Bradley Stoke on Sunday (21st December) are now available. Registration will be in the lobby area of Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre. The event will be signposted from the Aztec West Roundabout (junction of A38 and Bradley Stoke Way).

Silk Wood - Flyer

A flyer for the district event at Silk Wood, Westonbirt, on Sunday 1st February 2009 is now available.

November Committee Meeting Minutes

A summary of the minutes of the committee meeting held on 13th November 2008 is now available.

British & JK Relays - Early Closing Dates

Having ensured that an entry form was included in the last BOK News for the JK relays, I'm afraid we failed to notice that the British relays, to be held in the New Forest on 1st March, are also operating a phased entry, with the first closing date even earlier than the JK. So if you want to enter the British relays at the least expensive price, you must return an entry form to your Klub captains by Friday 9th January. An entry form for both the JK and British relays is available from the Hot Links on this website. Please note the different closing dates and prices for each event - we recommend that you submit your forms as soon as possible. Please also spread the word to those who may not have seen this.

Leigh Woods - Final Details

Final details for the local event at Leigh Woods on Saturday (13th December) are now available. Why not take a break from the Christmas shopping frenzy to enjoy an event that features pre-printed waterproof maps and SportIdent (SI) electronic timing?

A Paper on Event Safety by Katy Dyer

BOK member Katy Dyer has written a paper entitled "A Review of Some Aspects of Safety in Orienteering Events", which is to be presented at the SWOA Technical Conference on Saturday 6th December. The document includes 12 recommendations for improving event safety and clearing up areas of confusion in the Rules and Regulations. Thoughtful and considered comments are welcome [email Katy].

New BOK Tops now Available

Jackie Hallett writes:
If you are stuck for an idea for Christmas here is your answer. We now have a new supply of BOK tops. These range in sizes from extra small to extra, extra large. Since first ordering these tops the prices have doubled, and together with a poor exchange rate, a significant increase in price has had to be made with Adults at £35.00 and children at £25.00. We also have trousers in sizes from small to extra, extra large at a cost of £16.00. We will have the tops at all local events, just look out for our camper van.

Headless Hill - Updated Results and Officials' Comments

Updated results (revision 1), string course results and officials' comments are now available.

Headless Hill - RouteGadget

The map and courses of the Headless Hill Galoppen have been uploaded to RouteGadget. You can trace your route and compare it with the other competitors. There is some help and a test event if you'd like to practice before drawing yesterday's route.

Course 1 corresponds to the White Course and Course 7 to the Brown.

Reports from the OMM

This year's OMM (Original Mountain Marathon), held over the weekend of 25th/26th October in the Lake District, hit the national headlines when the event had to be cancelled due to atrocious weather conditions.

Read what two BOK teams made of the weekend's events:

• OMM Report by David Palmer
• OMM Report by Chris & Ben Kelsey

Headless Hill - Splitsbrowser and Winsplit

The splits for the BOK Galoppen are now on Splitsbrowser and Winsplit Online.

Headless Hill - Results and Photos

Provisional results are now available. Event photos (on PicasaWeb): album; slideshow. WinSplits, Splitsbrowser and RouteGadget to follow.

Headless Hill - Final Details

Final Details are now available for the BOK Galoppen event at Headless Hill, Forest of Dean, on Sunday 23rd November.

Compass Sport Cup Final

Apologies for not putting something on the website earlier, I missed the moment due to being away and then it seemed too late...

Anyway, as most of you will already know, BOK came 5th in the Compass Sport Cup Final held at Sutton Park on 19th October. We fielded a team of 67 runners, fairly well balanced across the classes, but nevertheless lacking some of the strength and depth we enjoyed for the Qualifying round, particularly in the younger age groups. The competition was as tough as expected, and our Juniors faced a particularly tough challenge against some very talented opposition, many of whom were competing at levels below their normal standard, resulting in some very fast winning times. Congratulations to SYO for winning the Cup, also to FVO for retaining the Trophy. Many thanks to everyone who turned out to support the Klub, hopefully everyone enjoyed the day out in fine surroundings and relatively fair weather. Full results here. A report will also appear in the forthcoming BOK News.

SWOA Technical Conference - 6th December 2008

SWOA will be staging a Technical Conference on 6th December 2008 at Millfield School. The conference is aimed at a broad audience including controllers, planners and organisers. Attendance is free for SWOA members. Full details are now available at the SWOA website.

SWOA News - AGM Minutes

The minutes of the 2008 SWOA AGM have been published on the SWOA website.

Bristol Long-O - Results Update

The results have been updated - mainly to resolve issues relating to a missing control. WinSplits are now available.

Leigh Woods - Final Results

Colour standard times have been added and the results declared 'final'. Details of the SWOA Colour-coded Award Scheme can be found on the SWOA website - to qualify for an award you must achieve the standard time on the same colour course at three events in a two year period.

Worlebury Woods - Comments

Comments from the organiser are now available on the event results page.

September Committee Meeting Minutes

A summary of the minutes of the committee meeting held on 18th September 2008 is now available.

Membership Database

BOK Membership Secretaries, Mark & Jenny Selley, write:
It's that time of year again - every current member should have or will be receiving their renewal notices from BOF shortly. As all renewals are through BOF now, it is important that you ensure that all the details they hold for you are correct and if they have any outdated information please can you let them know.

We try to keep accurate records of your addresses, emails and telephone numbers, and of course use these in the annual membership list, but this is based on the BOF information.

If you notice some of the information held by BOF is not correct, please do let them know or let us know so we can at least ensure our database is accurate.

Bristol Long-O - Officials' Comments

Comments from the organiser, controller and planner are now available. We hope to be able to publish updated results later this week.

Bristol Long-O - Results

Provisional results are now available.

Bristol Long O - Final Details

Final details for the 'Bristol Long O' on Sunday 26th October 2008 are now available on the event details page.

Compass Sport Cup Final - Start Times

BOK's start times for the Compass Sport Cup Final are now available on the website via the Hot Links. Final details of the event are also available from here.

Those travelling by coach should by now have received an e-mail asking you to choose which of the 3 pickup locations you will be using - Nailsea, Bristol Grammar School or Bradley Stoke. Please let your Klub Captains know as soon as possible.

We have 67 runners. Thank you for your support and we look forward to an enjoyable competition on 19th.

Worlebury Woods - Final Details

Final details for the local event at Worlebury Woods on Saturday (11th October) are now available.

Leigh Woods - Officials' Comments

Comments from the organiser, controller and planner are now available. Detailed results and organiser's comments are also available for the Club Championships. A few more photos have been added to the album on PicasaWeb.

AGM - Minutes

Minutes of the AGM held on 10th September 2008 are now available. Username and password required (as printed in BOK News).

Leigh Woods - RouteGadget

The map and courses of the Leigh Woods event have been uploaded to RouteGadget by Christophe Mutricy. You can trace your route and compare it with the other competitors. There is some help and a test event if you'd like to practice before drawing today's route.

Leigh Woods - Results and Photos

Provisional results (including Splitsbrowser and WinSplits) are now available. Also Club Championships results and event photos (on PicasaWeb). RouteGadegt to follow.

Club Championships - Start List

The start list for the Club Championships is now available. Please note that there is 'no entry on the day' for the Championships (this is however available as usual for the district event within which the Championships are incorporated). A prize giving will be held at 1pm in the assembly area.

Club Championships - Entry Deadline

Entries for the Club Championships at Leigh Woods on Sunday 5th October must reach Neil Connelly by Monday 29th September.

Headless Hill - Flyer

A flyer for the BOK Galoppen event at Headless Hill, Forest of Dean, on Sunday 23rd November 2008 is now available.

Three Brooks, Bradley Stoke - Comments

Comments from the organiser are now available. Photos on PicasaWeb [album; slideshow]. Articles about the launch event can be seen on the Bradley Stoke Journal and Bradley Stoke Matters websites. Read more about the Three Brooks permanent orienteering course.

Wimborne Galoppen - Sunday 14th September

After so much summer rain, we were fortunate to enjoy fine weather at Wimborne's event at Turf Hill. The Galoppen season got off to a competitive start, with Ben Chesters trimming 13 seconds off Clive Hallett's time to win Brown, and Mark Selley putting in a good performance to finish 6th, two places ahead of Charles Daniel. On Blue, David Hunt was 2nd and 5 minutes ahead of Andy Creber, while Charlotte Daniel finished just over a minute ahead of Jackie Hallett. Isla Simmons excelled herself by finishing 5th overall on Green, one place ahead of SARUM's Alice Butt. Matt Jeffery was 3rd on Light Green and Michael Hallett 5th on Orange. Full results here.

Yvette Baker Trophy - Sunday 14th September

Despite some excellent results from the small group of BOK Juniors who ran in the Yvette Baker Trophy at Wimborne's event last Sunday, SOC were represented in greater numbers and scored 894 points against BOK's 792. So thank you to all our Juniors who competed and well done to SOC for going through to the final.

Compass Sport Cup Final - Sun 19th October

The Compass Sport Cup Final will be held at Sutton Park on Sunday 19th October. BOK can look forward to strong competition, so we need as many members as possible to represent us. Please put the date in your diaries now and let’s see if we can field a strong team to improve on our 3rd place of 2 years ago – or perhaps even win it.
To make the day more of a Klub outing and social event, we’ve organised a coach for the day. With a small BOK subsidy, and also making use of the extra cash we inadvertently collected from you at the Qualifying Round, you should find the cost of transport quite attractive. The event is pre-entry only via your Klub Captains and an entry form is available via the Hot Links on this website. Please indicate on this whether you would like to take advantage of the coach. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis, so get your entries in fast to avoid disappointment. You can give your forms to Chris or Helen Kelsey at the Caddihoe Chase.

Please note also that we've been advised that there will be another event in Sutton Park on Saturday 18th. Competitors for the Compass Sport Cup Final must not participate in that event.

Ashton Court - Organiser's Comments

Comments from the organiser are now available. Katy has also written an account of the BOK interview on BBC Radio Bristol.

Bristol Half Marathon Sunday 14 September 2008

Grant Floyd says:
"I am a BOK member, and I have an entry for the Bristol 1/2 Marathon on Sunday 14th Sep 08, sadly I am not going to be able to run it, and would like to recoup some of my costs and make sure it is used. Is there a way of letting the whole club know this is available (for only £15!!), via a user group or the website?"
If anyone is interested, please contact the Secretary, Robin Walker, via this link to the Bristol Orienteering website ASAP. Thanks

BOK Members Interviewed on Radio Bristol

BOK members Katy Dyer and Anne Donnell were interviewed on this morning's Weekend West programme on Radio Bristol. Katy and Anne chatted with presenter Ali Vowles about orienteering in general and were also able to advertise today's 'come and try it' event at Ashton Court. You can 'listen again', until 12th September, using the BBC iPlayer. The orienteering chat starts 1 hour 17 minutes into the programme (you can use the +15 button to get there quickly).

Club Championships - Flyer and Entry Form

A flyer is now available for the Club Championships that take place on Sunday 5th October at Leigh Woods (in combination with a BOK District/ASO Event). Entry forms (PDF, MS Word) must be returned by Monday 29th September.

SWOA Website Updated

The SWOA website has been updated. The changes include:

• Final results of the SWOA Summer Relay Series
• Minutes of the 25th June 2008 SWOA Committee meeting
• New list of SWOA Controllers

BOK AGM/Skittles Wed 10 Sep 2008 19.30hrs

The committee hopes as many people as possible will come, as we have an important decision to make about future event fees which will affect everyone - see 'Why you need to come to the AGM', the BOK blog posted 6 Aug. Of course attendance at the AGM is free of charge and everyone is welcome.
The Klub's informal social get-together, which follows immediately after the AGM at about 20.15hrs, consists of skittles and a substantial buffet. The Landlord of the Ring O' Bells, Nailsea, has now given us until Sunday, 31 Aug, to give him the final numbers for the buffet, so there is still time to complete the form which came with the last BOK News. For your subsidised buffet (£6 for adults, £3 for children) you can either tranfer the money electronically to the BOK account and email me your details or send me your form and cheque, made out to 'BOK', to Tricia Walker, 18 Mulberry Close, Backwell, Bristol, BS48 3HX, Tel: 01275 462879 as soon as possible. For my email address or any other details about 10 Sep, please contact me via the above tel no, the BOK Membership list or the website.

Publicity Help Required

Jonathan Hurford writes:
I have produced a poster for the September come-and-try-it events. Could members please print-off and distribute, particularly if you live in Bradley Stoke and Thornbury. There is also an excellent colour poster [large file - 388KB] advertising the Bradley Stoke event, which it would also be good to distribute. If anyone would like copies of these documents please contact me via the publicity section of this site.

Why you need to come to the BOK AGM

BOK Secretary writes:
The new British Orienteering levies for 2009, agreed at their 2008 AGM , will have a dramatic effect on the cost of BOK events - see Mark Dyer's Treasurer's report in the BOK committee minutes of July 10th, available now on the BOK website. This will force us to increase event entry fees and these changes will need to be discussed and voted on at the AGM on Wednesday September 10th. Come along and have your say - with skittles and a buffet it will be a very pleasant evening anyway. Deadline for your reply is August 27th - there's a form in your newsletter. Don't leave it to the last minute, do it now!

Club Championships

Neil Connelly writes:
Because of difficulties in arranging the Club Championships at the usual time (July ­ to ensure brambles, stinging nettles and bracken are at their best), they will now be held on October 5, to coincide with theBOK/ASO League event at Leigh Woods. The usual accurate and fair handicapping system will be used to ensure that all entrants have the same random chance of winning.

The coincidence of the Championships and the League event may pose some logistical complications but will, however, hopefully enable/encourage more members to take part. There may even be prizes though the accolade of 'Club Champion' should be enough.

Details and an entry form will be posted nearer the date. Meantime, continue to hone your fitness and orienteering skills, and think of good (legitimate) reasons why you should receive a helpful handicap.

July Committee Meeting Minutes

A summary of the minutes of the committee meeting held on 10th July 2008 is now available.

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.

Leigh Woods - Flyer

A flyer for the district event and 2008 club championships at Leigh Woods on Sunday 5th October 2008 is now available.

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.

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.

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.

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

A total of 13 BOK members took part in the event. A full report will appear soon in BOK News. Photos from Jackie Hallett.

Adams Avery & ASO Relays - Officials' Comments

Comments from the organiser and planner are now available.

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.

Adams Avery & ASO Relays - Provisional Results

Provisional results are now available.

Adams Avery & ASO Relays - Final Details

Final details have been added to the event details page.

Purdown - Results Update

The results have been updated - mainly to reinstate runners who were affected by stolen control units. String course results and officials' comments have been added.

Tuesday evening training runs

This is just a reminder and particularly for any new BOK members that we have a Klub training run every week on Tuesdays, starting at 7.15pm. The run usually lasts an hour or so and we try to go off road as much as possible, particularly in the summer when we try to vary the location as much as possible, including places as far afield as the Mendips and Cotswolds. Its very much a social occasion, as we usually meet at a pub, so have a drink afterwards. So you can always just come along for a drink and a chat, although any continued missing of the runs will be noted!

We always meet for a barbecue - usually at someone's house - on one Tuesday in the Summer, and this year Piers Angliss has kindly agreed to do the honours, so this will be on 15 July at Portishead; if you would like to come along please could you let Piers know by the previous weekend. Please note that the first 3 runs in July have been rescheduled from the original list, so are as shown in the BOK diary on the website and not as shown in BOK News.

Adams Avery & ASO Relays - Entry Deadline

Jo Foster reports that there are currently only 17 teams entered for our annual relay event to be held on Sunday 6th July at Stock Hill. Unless there are more entries received by Sunday night (22nd June), the event may not be viable. If you are unable to form your own team, you can enter as an individual and you will be assigned to a team of the organiser's choosing. More information and entry forms may be found on the event details page.

SWOA Summer Relay Series

This year's SWOA Summer Relay Series consists of the following events:

• Sun 29th June, Hardenhuish Park, Chippenham (NWO)
• Sun 6th July, Stock Hill, near Wells (BOK)
• Sat 19th July, Haytor, near Bovey Tracey (DEVON)
• Sun 27th July, Hethfelton, near Wool (WSX)

SWOA Relay Scorer, Mike Crockett, has asked us to point out that it is a requirement for the club name or initials to appear in the team name for it to be recognised as competitive in the SWOA inter-club relay league.

May Committee Meeting Minutes

A summary of the minutes of the committee meeting held on 22nd May 2008 is now available.

Let's Get Active - Blaise Castle Estate - Sat 14 Jun 2008

Anne Donnell, Christophe Mutricy and Robin and Tricia Walker from Bristol Orienteering Klub (BOK) promoted orienteering at this event run by Bristol City Council as part of the national 'Love Parks Week'. Our SW Regional Development Officer for British Orienteering, Celia Watkinson, supplied us with 500 nationally produced colourful handouts advertising orienteering and Martin Helfer kindly overprinted the back of each with details of upcoming BOK events.

Purdown - RouteGadget

The map and courses of the Purdown event have been uploaded to RouteGadget. You can trace your route and compare it with the other competitors.

Purdown - Provisional Results

Provisional results (including Splitsbrowser and WinSplits) are now available. RouteGadegt to follow.

Bristol Rat Race 2008 - Photos

There are lots of photos of today's Bristol Rat Race orienteering stage in our PicasaWeb Gallery [album; slideshow]. The Rat Racers arrived at Purdown from about 8:30am and completed a course consisting of five controls, before cycling on to their next challenge. Our own District Event then took place from 11am on the same area.

Summer Informals at Ashton Court - Report

Gwen Tanner writes:
More than 30 people turned out in good weather for the informal at Ashton Court. It might have been more, but an accident on the M5 made it very difficult to get to Ashton Court from North Bristol. Parking was in the new Mansion House car park, which had been closed the previous couple of days! Despite this, people seemed to enjoy their runs. This was my first experience of planning/organising an orienteering event, and despite the problems, I have enjoyed it. I would especially like to thank those who helped collect the controls afterwards.

Adams Avery & ASO Relays - Entry Forms

An entry form for the Adams Avery Relay at Stock Hill on Sunday 6th July is now available. An entry form for the Avon Schools Orienteering (ASO) Relays is available on the ASO website.

Dorset Coast Path Relay - 12th July

This year's Dorset Coast Path Relay will be on Saturday 12th July. As the Kelseys will be away that weekend, Tim Britton will be coordinating the BOK team this year, so if you'd like to take part, please contact Tim as soon as possible.

WIM Furrow Hoppers Relay (16th Jun) is Cancelled

John Shucksmith (WIM) writes:
Please note that Wimborne Orienteers have had to cancel the Furrow Hoppers Relay this year.

Mike Nelson BOKTrot - Final Results

The organising team have now declared the results 'final'. Details of the British Orienteering Badge Scheme can be found on the British Orienteering website. Details of the SWOA Colour-coded Award Scheme can be found on the SWOA website - to qualify for an award you must achieve the standard time on the same colour course at three events in a two year period.