Southdowns has eight new South East Long Champions

Congratulations to all SO members who took part at the Blackheath and Farley Heath SE Long Distance Champs in the Surrey Hills on 2nd February 2025.

Eight of our club members became South East Long Distance Champions in their age categories. They were Mark Johnson M10, Ben Chapman M16, Nick Jarvis M21, Kenny Leitch M60, Roger Maher M85, Emma Chapman W14, Anna Chapman W50 and Jasmine Bennett W70. Six SO members won silver medals and four won bronze medals. Read on for more info about the courses and the medalists.

Emma, Julia & Will selected for the England Team

Congratulations to Emma Chapman, Julia Jarvis and Will Heap who have all been selected to run for England at the Interland Cup 2025 on 2 March in Steenwijk, Netherlands. The Interland Cup is England’s only international competition outside the British Isles. England competes annually in this six-cornered match against two Belgian teams (Flemish and French speaking), the Netherlands, the French Ligue des Hauts de France de Course d’Orientation (LHFCO) and Luxembourg . The competition is truly a team effort spanning age groups from M/W14 to M/W60+: 42 team members in all.

Club competitions 2025

It's that time of the year when the club captain has to start sorting out entries for the various interclub competitions that are taking place in the first half of the year, namely the CompassSport Cup heat, the JK Relays and the BOC Relays. As in previous years I will be taking entries via Racesignup, please use the links below since these will not be visible on the Racesignup home page.

Spring Club Nights 2025

Spring club nights returned on Tuesday January 16th. Courses have been risk assessed according to this document.

We will meet as a group at 6:30pm each Tuesday although we hope to make many of the activities available online to attempt at your leisure. Courses will be saved in the Club Night folder on MapRun (UK/Sussex/Club Nights).

Please sign up using the Strawpoll and indicate (when appropriate) whether you would like a map provided (cost £1) or are happy to print off your own.

Start the New Year with a new membership

We've just updated the membership information on our website. In addition to Family, Adult and Junior membership, British Orienteering (BOF) have introduced a new Young Adult category for 21 to 25 year olds. See more here.

Senior: £29
Young Adult: £19
Junior: £10.50
Family: £65.50

Read more about the benefits of membership.

SO members win more medals at SE Middle Distance Champs 2024

Congratulations to everyone who took part at the SE Middle Championships which were held on 22 Dec 24 at Newlands Corner.

There was a festive feel to the event with lots of competitors wearing tinsel or festive outfits and the top three were awarded with medals. SO had another successful event with 12 medalists, including some first time medalists.

Check the list for the winners.

SO XMAS Score Winners 2024

Congratulations to the SO Xmas Score 2024 winners:

• Elizabeth Brown Memorial Trophy – Kenny Leitch
• W14 - Emily Waters
• W18 - Emma Chapman
• W Open - Samantha Martin
• W50 – Julia Jarvis
• W65 – Chris Jepson
• M14 – Christopher Warner
• M18 – Ben Chapman
• M Open – Ali Masson
• M50 – Joe Barrett
• M65 – David Young

Well done.