Southdowns Orienteers Forums

Southdowner

2010-07-20T19:05:04Z

I would like to get the Southdowner to the printers so that Sue can collect from printers before the Lakes 5 day. To do this I will need to have all Officials reports and articles before the 9th August. Thank you

Summer activity holidays in The French Alps

2010-07-15T11:34:45Z

Just in case you have not decided what to do with your Summer holidays yet, “Summerzest” may interest you.

Summerzest is run by Jenny who is one of the ski instructors I met when I was skiing in la Plagne in January.

They have just come up with a special promotion for a weekend activity break from 12th-15th August to include the following:

Running At Altitude
Alpine Long-Weekend
August 2010
€199 per person!*
12th-15th August

Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, 3 course evening meal + wine + coffee.
Airport transfers from Geneva/Lyon
http://www.summerzest.co.uk
jen at summerzest dot com

Tel: +33 643 645 554

*Price based on a minimum of 5 people booking together, flights not included

Thursday: Arrive midday/early afternoon, transfer to chalet. Short run around village before evening meal.
Friday: 5/10k run in the morning and opportunity to sit in the sun in the afternoon or try something new!
Saturday: 10k/20k run.
Sunday: Relax and recover! Opportunity to try other alpine activities.
Leave Sunday afternoon/evening

Easyjet flies from Gatwick to Lyon and if you’ve got some airmiles you can use them up!

The run lengths can be tailored to suit so if you feel like doing longer runs then it is up to you.

I am considering getting a group together for this long weekend of both running and orienteering friends so if anyone is interested then please contact me: jannion at me dot com

Summerzest’s full range of holidays can be found on their website.

On another note, if you are going to la Plagne, Val d’Isere, Courchevel or Meribel next ski season and need a ski school then try http://www.oxygene-ski.com.

Next Club Meeting - Friday 16th July

2010-07-12T09:12:12Z

The next Club Meeting will be held on Friday 16th July at 8.00 pm until about 10.00 pm. It will be held at 138 Cuckfield Road, Hurstpierpoint.
Decisions regarding the club are made at these meetings. Please attend if there is anything you would like discussed or if you would like to contribute to the running of the club.
If you have items for the Agenda please send them to myself or Jennie Warner.

slindon

2010-07-09T21:22:51Z

Having spent the lunchtime and part of the afternoon in a sunny pub garden, being plied with wine at my departmental leaving do, I can’t say that I was quite in tip top condition for running at Slindon yesterday! i think my subconscious orienteering skills definitely came to the fore as I occasionally broke into a gentle jog head, high bracken in places added to the fun.

It was a lovely evening to be out so many thanks to Simon and helpers for putting it on and to Neil for nagging me to go!!

Original Mountain Marathon (OMM) 2010

2010-07-04T11:49:01Z

I’m looking for a partner willing to risk doing the Long Score course with me at the end of October.

I’m 59 and have done many OMMs and other mountain marathons over the past 10 years and previous.

Any offers?

O Shoes needing a new home

2010-07-05T18:08:07Z

I have two pairs of VJ integrator shoes size 5, one pair with metal studs and one with rubber. One pair has one missing insole - I expect one of the dogs decided it was better stored somewhere else rather than happily drying in the sunshine!!

I haven’t worn them for ages, they’re too small for me but they are in pretty good condition, so if you have any youngsters fast outgrowing their current O shoes you are welcome to have them!

Contact me via this post or via email: jannion at me dot com

Withdean Park-O

2010-07-04T07:01:30Z

What a little gem of an area and of a course. I’d run through the area in the past whist the children were training at the athletics stadium but hadn’t appreciated the complexity of the detail within. Probably because I always ran it west to east where the dominating feature is a big hill. One of the great aspects of the Sprint Course was that I never really noticed this hill until very close to the end - very clever Tim. Based on my previous,oxygen-deprived, memory of the area I was concerned that it wouldn’t be good enough for an event but as we all saw it most certainly was.

Changing tack it is often rumoured that proper elite orienteers don’t actually race that often but use many of the events that they participate in to practice specific skills. Those that know me will know that I’m not one to take a competitive event lightly - however because of certain circumstances at this event I thought that I’d try something different. That was navigating around the course without once looking at my control descriptions. Straightforward in principle, you run to the centre of the circle and punch the control that is there. In reality of course it depends a lot of the quality of the map, the correct positioning of the control and the state of the competitors mind. Well I have to report that the first two aspects seemed spot on - but the third let me down. On finishing I was concerned about controls 7 and 9 - I was never completely in control in the flower beds and could have been 20-30m out had there been other controls nearby. As it was it was number 11 that let me down. My excuse is as follows: I entered the wood quite early (by the seat) and the wood was quite thick and so my speed dropped - consequently when I reached a (not the) flag it seemed that I had gone an appropriate distance. In fact I had punched 101 some 30m too soon. I then failed to realise that I was punching the same control again for control 20.

I would certainly recommend trying something like this - it made the course just that little bit harder and hopefully honed a few skills. OK I ended up at the bottom of the results list but was pleased with my sub 20 minute run and have been trying to convince myself that personal satisfaction should be more important than winning. I’m a hard one to convince though.

Childs sunglasses found at Withdean Park

2010-07-03T15:13:18Z

A pair of black childs sunglasses were handed in at Withdean Park this morning - if they are yours, or your childs, I will take them to the next event at Great Walstead School on Saturday 10th July.

Alternatively, please contact me from the Contacts page, reply to this message or pm me.

Many thanks,
Ali

Change of Next Club Meeting to Friday 25th June

2010-06-15T08:05:42Z

I have received a number of requests to change the date of the next meeting.
I can now confirm that this Friday’s meeting is therefore cancelled.
The next Club Meeting will now be on Friday 25th June at 8.00 pm until about 10.00 pm. It will be held at 138 Cuckfield Road, Hurstpierpoint.
Decisions regarding the club are made at these meetings. Please attend if there is anything you would like discussed or if you would like to contribute to the running of the club.
If you have items for the Agenda please send them to myself or Jennie Warner.

3-in-1 Oldhouse & Tilgate 20 June 2010

2010-06-23T11:26:32Z

Many thanks to organiser Ian Curtis and his team of planners, controller and other event officials and helpers for another successful 3-in-1 event.

The field at Greentrees Farm hadn’t been the original first choice of parking (It had been hoped to park on the Tilgate side of the competition area, but a suitable event centre area with permission proved to be elusive), but worked very well in the end. As is often the case: location of the car park had a major influence on course starts and finishes, but we were still treated to three sets of courses with only a small amount of shared terrain. The most inspired aspect of this years event for me was the combination of Oldhouse Warren and Tilgate Forest: it provided good variety on the courses and the dead path run across the bridge over the railway between them didn’t feel at all excessive.

The long standing annual 3-in-1 has something of a cult following for many orienteers in the region (not just from our own club) and some people travel not inconsiderable distance to take part. It looked like this years event should have satisfied the 3-in-1 aficionados very well. Well done to all concerned!

Event Results and Officials Comments are: HERE

Peter