News
Archive of News and Information stored under the News category.
Sad news about Jaquie Drake
The club was saddened to hear of the passing of Jaquie Drake, who for many years had been our membership secretary. Alongside her husband Peter (former club chairman), Jaquie ran the SI and entry / results service at all SO events for very many years. We send our condolences to all the family.
Peter is organising a get together at Barcombe on the afternoon of Saturday 20th June to remember Jaquie and says anyone who remembers Jaquie will be very welcome to attend. He would really enjoy catching up with everyone.
In order that Peter can gauge how many need to be catered for (there will be outside caterers) please could you email him at the earliest opportunity at [email protected] if you wish to attend. Peter will then email back those who have contacted him with all the details nearer the day.
SO Success at the British Champs
One individual champion, two relay championship trophies and three other podium places marked a successful weekend in South Wales for Team SO. Gold to Roger Maher, our M60 team (Chris/Neil/Alan) and our Short Open team (Darrell/Ben/Nick). Silver for Darrell and Bronze for Ruth and our W50 team (Anna/Jill/Julia).
Run SussexThe Urban Orienteering Series 2026
This summer, Southdowns Orienteers invites you to a weekly series of top-quality urban orienteering events. Akin to the London or Brighton City Races, we will have mapping to the ISSprOM (2019-2) International Specification at 1:4,000. The 8 events are listed below and will be hosted by Euan Marsh, Edward Lines, and Robert Lines.
Euan and Ed have spent the winter months mapping, and the series will take participants to the most interesting urban areas in Sussex.
Spring club nights 2026
Spring club nights return on Tuesday January 13th. 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.
Emma and Roger crowned British Night Champions
The rain held off and the stars were out for a fantastic night of racing at the British Night Championships at Egypt Woods, near Burnham Beeches in Bucks. Navigating alone through forests at night demands endurance and composure. With visibility reduced to a narrow beam of headtorch, a moment's hesitation, or over confidence can lead to costly errors.
Emma Chapman and Roger Maher held their nerve to claim top spot in the W16 and M85 races respectively. Roger is a seasoned Champion and has won many different disciplines. For Emma, who has medalled five times at British Champs competitions this was a special achievement, as it was her first time on the top spot in an individual competition.
Club competitions 2026
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.
BCR video and photosRe-live this year's Brighton City Race Weekend
Check out the video on YouTube by Alex Lines, plus photos from the 3 events.
Post your routes, view the maps and courses, and see where everyone else went on Routegadget.
Latest issue of Southdowner
Check out the most recent edition of the Southdowner magazine, for all the latest club news; complete with articles on mapping, getting to know fellow club members, comprehensive Junior news, competitions and so much more.
Now available online at: https://www.southdowns-oriente...
Prizes at the Brighton City Race
This year we have unique prizes for the M/W winners of Course 1. Beautiful hand-crafted special edition 'Brighton City Race' orienteering zip bags are being produced by our very own Sewing Bea – Bea Waters. There are also medals for the top 3 finishers in each class and prizes for all juniors.
Sign up for the race and enter Men's Open or Women's Open to win the O kit.
Virtual Orienteering
During Covid times many clubs, including SO, set up a number of so-called virtual courses which club members could do on their own using the MapRun app. Instead of finding control flags participants used the GPS facilites of a smartphone or smartwatch to confirm that they had reached the desired locations. The courses that we set up are still available to use and links to them are listed below. In some cases the course may have expired - if you come across any of these please contact the club captain who can reset them.
Autumn Club Nights 2025
Autumn club nights returned on Tuesday September 30th
We meet as a group at 6:30pm each Tuesday although we hope to make most of the activities available online to attempt at your leisure. Courses will be saved in the Club Night folder on MapRun (UK/Sussex).
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.
Brighton City Race Weekend 20-21 December 2025
This year’s Brighton City Race weekend will be bigger and better than ever:
- 3 national ranking events
- 2 newly drawn (and one updated) maps
- 1 spectacular night out in Brighton
- All events easily accessible by public transport
The 2025 Brighton City Race is a National Event and will be the final round of the UK Urban League.
Assembly will be at the Brighthelm Centre, a new location for the race in central Brighton. It’s a larger venue with better facilities and is just a 2-minute walk south from Brighton Station.
Emma and Jane claim Silver at the British Sprint Champs 2025
Congratulations to Emma W14 and Jane W65 who held their nerve on two really challenging Sprint Orienteering courses to claim Silver at the British Sprint Champs.
The event was staged around the complex architecture, aerial walkways and stairs of University of East Anglia in Norwich. Many competitors struggled to figure out which level their control was on, but got a bit more into the map after the heats! Take a look at Routegadget here and see if you can work it out!
Roger Maher wins Bronze twice at World Masters Orienteering Champs in Girona
We’re incredibly proud to announce that Roger has won two bronze medals at the World Masters Orienteering Championships in Girona. The event took place in Girona, Spain from 8th to 15th Aug. After a strong performance in the sprint qualifier — finishing 4th and just 6 seconds off 3rd place — Roger powered through to take 3rd place in the sprint final the following day.
On Tuesday, Roger qualified for the Forest A Final, and went on to also claim bronze in the Forest Middle Distance. What a brilliant achievement! Check out full results and event info here: www.wmoc2025.com