Newstrack January 2002

Editor: Graham Johnson, Telephone: (01773) 824754 e-mail: Gmjandfam@aol.com

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Thoughts from the Chair

Many of you will now be aware of the sudden and tragic death of Karen Jackson. The Jackson's joined DVO about 5 years ago and since then Karen has had an increasing and growing role across all the activities within the club, making many friends along the way.

Karen was a regular at our Wednesday night training runs. She organised, planned and controlled events; joined in at the Bar-B-Q and other socials; toured with the club to Scotland and the continent; wrote contributions to NEWSTRACK and was a member of the fixtures sub committee. Last February she was presented with the DVO "Personality of the Year Award" having found time to slip in Matthew's birth between Badge Events and Circuit Training. As a competitor Karen was just regaining her form achieving an impressive Gold Standard on both days of "MDOC's Twin Peaks" event last September and being selected to run for the club at SYO's Inter Club Competition in November.

I thought that the service in Ockbrook All Saints church justly celebrated Karen's life and her commitment to work, sport and family. The service was attended by many of Karen's DVO and EMOA friends, and to me it seemed to capture her character and determination.

I have two vivid memories of Karen which I would like to share.

Eighteen months ago I had the job of coordinating a number of applications to become grade 3 controllers. Becoming a controller isn't particularly hard but you do have to be nominated and present evidence of an event you've organised, an event you've planned and that you've passed the controllers course. Usually pulling this information together is like getting blood out of a stone but not so in Karen's case. I phoned her on the Thursday night and on Saturday morning the Postman delivered Karen's letter with all this information neatly set out. Like everything else that she did for the club, Karen just got on with it in her usual calm, quite and efficient manner.

I've run with Karen many times on a Wednesday evening, more often during the summer months where my knowledge of these lesser used venues compensated for Karen's greater speed, and chatting together I was always impressed by her awareness and perceptiveness of the strengths and weaknesses of orienteering. And I felt that she had a lot to offer in seeing us through these. I'm reminded of one particular summer run where quite a group of us set out to follow a new route. Initially we kept together but eventually we started to spread out a bit as we found our own pace. It was at this point that we realised we only had one map between us and this was held by the man at the back. Now, I was prepared to drop my pace to that of the pack but Karen was keen to get as much out of this training session as she could and her answer to this problem was quite simple. Whilst we all plodded across the fields Karen just ran around the edge!

I'm sure many of you will have your own personal memories and, like myself, be grateful for the time Karen shared with us. We offer our most sincere condolences to Andy, Nicola and Matthew.

On the 28th November it was announced that DVO had achieved third place in the Sports Club of the Year award. This award, given by the Foundation for Sport and the Arts at the annual conference of the Central Council for Physical Recreation, is a competition open to all sports across the country in which clubs are nominated by their governing bodies. This year BOF nominated both CLOK and DVO. Our success in coming third out of a total of 80 nominated clubs is due to DVO's commitment to the development of the sport and in particular taking orienteering into schools and other groups. Our thanks go to all those people within the club, BOF and the other organisations who have made this happen. We are currently working with Derbyshire County Council in the "Active Sport" programme and to facilitate this the club has created two new roles on the committee. These are Club Development Officer - appointed to Ranald Macdonald, and Club Junior Development Officer - appointed to Val Johnson.

You should by now have received your BOF membership renewal for 2002. Amongst the many pamphlets included in this years renewal is one promoting National Orienteering Week (NOW) during June 8th - 16th 2002. The pamphlet sets out the reasons as to "why" there is a NOW and seeks your thoughts on how to introduce more people into the sport and what type of event could be put on to help this. So, if you have an idea for introducing people into the sport please let me or any of our committee know. We can then act, and share, your ideas within the Club, Region and BOF.

And finally, may I offer warm congratulation to Michelle and Andy Mackervoy on the birth of Peter James. His name is already down for one of Val's junior training courses.

See you out there.

Robert Shooter, Chair, Derwent Valley Orienteers

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It is inevitable that this edition of Newstrack is overshadowed by Karen's death.We all have our own special memories of her.

Almost the last time I saw Karen was at the Elvaston Castle Night event. As I got out of the car to look for Registration. I saw a figure surrounded by people. As I approached I could see that it was Karen single-handedly registering competitors, taking money, distributing control descriptions, dealing with enquiries, calling out start times and, for all I knew, recording finishers too. Just a couple of these activities conducted simultaneously would have driven ordinary mortals to distraction, but Karen just dealt with them without fuss in that unflustered, matter-of-fact manner that was her trade mark.

Like Robert, I too will remember and miss Karen's company, brightening otherwise bleak and dark Wednesday training runs. Outwardly demure, she was actually fiercely competitive, and what set out as a plod round the roads inevitably ended up as a competitive race as Karen gradually increased the pace, and I vainly fought to keep up.

I am grateful too to Sal Chaffey for sharing the following with us:
We first met Karen when she was feeding Nicola before going on a Wednesday run from the Buckleys'. At the time, I was expecting Zoe, and it made me think that it was possible to mix motherhood and running. Since then, we shared the pleasures and frustrations of orienteering together many times. We made a good team in the relays, me 'in the pack' on first leg, Ann Marie keeping it together and Karen maintaining our position. Through this combination, we had several good results on Women's Short:

JK 99 Sussex, 3rd
BOC 2000 Herefordshire, 1st
JK 2000 Schiehallion, 1st
White Rose 2000, 2nd
As families, we had - and will continue to have - many good days out together. We wish Andy, Nicola and Matthew well in the months ahead.

 

Shining Cliff Badge Event – 3rd March 2002

 

Please pre-enter this event rather than use up the scarce entries on the day.  Entries to me using a Standard Entry Form or equivalent details (don’t forget to include your e-card number).  I will sort out a start time based on when you are helping – offers of help to Viv Macdonald on 01629-734307.  Entry is half price for helpers, remember to deduct the value of any vouchers from last year’s cancelled event that you enclose.  The full fee is seniors £6.50, juniors £2.50, family £15.50, e-card hire 75p.

Mike Godfree 

 

Sports Club of the Year 2001

 

Did you know all this is happening in your club?

 

Derwent Valley Orienteers was awarded third place in the Sports Club of the Year Award 2001. The award was made by The Foundation for Sport and the Arts, funded by the football pools firms, at a dinner as part of the Central Council for Physical Recreation’s National Conference on 28 November. As well as a splendid plaque the Club received a cheque for £1,000.

We were surprised to reach the last three - out of over 80 nominations - given that Walton Chasers won the award a couple of years ago. The winners were a surf life-saving club from North Devon, with second place going to a sports club for the disabled based in Windsor and Slough. Eight members of DVO – the Godfrees, Johnsons, Macdonalds and Shooters - attended the dinner, representing some of those most actively involved in the activities which were recognized for the award.

The nomination, together with that of CLOK, was made by BOF and we are grateful for their recognition of what we have been doing over recent years as part of our Development Plan. This includes extensive mapping of schools, old coal mining areas and the Royal School for Deaf in Derby. Further maps have formed part of our Urban Orienteering programme which also recently won us a £500 grant from EMOA. We have also been active as part of the Derbyshire and Peak Park Sport and Recreation Forum and hope soon to achieve Active Sport status, which will see us receiving additional funds for training courses for coaches, instructors, organisers, mappers, etc.

For those who are not aware of what the Club has been doing, the following are some of the questions on the nomination form and responses:

 

1. How do you endeavour to ensure that your club represents all sectors of the community?

DVO membership and events covers the whole of Derbyshire excluding the High Peak district in the north-west. In general, we try to provide an inclusive, accessible range of activities that appeal to children who like taking part in a sometimes muddy activity, families who can participate together or on their own courses, and to adults who want an individual challenge as well as fun.

 

Some examples of our attempts at widespread representation include:

·         Our schools league is open to schools from throughout the county

·         We advertise our events in local newspapers, on local radio, at sports centres and other public places

·         Our work with Derbyshire and Peak Park Sports and Recreation Forum has increased our access into schools as well as the events put on by the forum.

·         We always publicise details of public transport to events on flyers

·         We offer reduced rates for students

·         Attracting women who return to sport after having a family

·         Work with, for example, Parkwood, a special school and day centre for disabled children

2. Please give examples of the range of activities offered by your club designed to increase membership.

DVO is as much interested in participation as in increasing club membership. Participants in a schools event or ‘Come and Try It’ may remember in 5-10 years’ time their experience and come back to the sport, perhaps as a way of introducing children to an outdoor sport or finding a physical outlet that accommodates all levels. Numbers at some of our events will far exceed membership, partly as a result of competitors from other clubs, but also a significant number of ‘independents’ – local people who just turn up to take part. 

 We provide a full range of orienteering events, including:

·         Widely advertised ‘colour coded’ events where competitors enter a course of the length and difficulty which suits their ability or level of fitness.

·         Local events designed to introduce newcomers to the sport with a lot of support to take them through the procedures and encourage them.

·         ‘Street O’ activities – for which the Club recently received an award from the East Midlands Orienteering Association for our Urban orienteering development programme – to provide an opportunity for orienteering when the countryside was closed by foot and mouth disease but also to encourage runners to try the sport.

·         Schools league, mainly at our smaller events, and all participants are able to apply for the national navigation awards

·         Participation in the Derbyshire Adventure Youth Games, which saw over 360 school children of all ages take part.

·         At most events we would provide a ‘string course’ suitable for children as soon as they can walk – and even before, on a parent’s back!

·         Introductory and coaching sessions for teachers, youth leaders, uniformed organisations

·         Weekly club training (Monday and Wednesday running, Friday circuit training)

·         Social activities including a club dinner, weekends away  (both in the UK and abroad), bowling

·         Footpath relays, a long footpath run and ‘Bike O’

·         Subsidised entry to the two big relay events of the year – the JK and British Orienteering Championship – and provision of transport to the CompassSport Cup

 

3. Please give details of courses available to your members

 

·         Coaching and instructors courses

·         Course planners and event organisers

·         Mapping courses

·         First Aid

·         Controllers course through the East Midlands Orienteering Association

·         Other coaching courses made available through the local authority, etc.

 

4. Describe any links you may have with schools and other agencies within your community

·         We are active members of the Derbyshire and Peak Park Sport and Recreation Forum and have close working links with the County Outdoor recreation Officer

·         Links to schools through the schools league

·         Involved with 1 Sports College (Anthony Gell School, Wirksworth) providing training for all PT staff to become instructors and attended meetings with another school applying for Sports College status.

·         Mapping of about 20 school grounds throughout Derbyshire

·         Permanent course at local Scout campsite using extract from our map

·         Derbyshire Countryside Service and the National Trust have both asked us to put Come And Try It (CATI) events in their annual programmes

·         Working with Dale Primary School (inner city) and Grassington Promary School (deprived ex-coalfield area), overall winners and ‘fair play’ winners from the 2001 Derbyshire Youth Games

·         Maps for Royal School for the Deaf and other special schools

·         Aiming for Active Sports partnership status

·         Joint working with Chesterfield Borough Council to establish permanent orienteering courses at Poolsbrook and Holmebrook Valley Country Parks

 

5. Describe any successes in attracting grants and/or sponsorship

·         Awards for All grant for laptop computer and printer and schools mapping and coaching to support introduction into schools

·         Grant from Bolsover District Council to map Poulter Country Park, a reclaimed opencast mining area

·         Grant from Derby City for inner city permanent orienteering courses

·         Award from East Midlands Orienteering Association for Urban Orienteering developments

 

6. Please give details of the successes of teams/individuals in membership. If your club is not of a competitive nature please give details of any significant achievements.

The Club has had many successes over the years including many British Champions (both individual and relay), in the annual CompassSport Cup competition and as members of the British and home nation orienteering squads participating in World Orienteering Championships and the World Cup Orienteering

·         3 current members of the British squad  - Kim Buckley, Alistair Buckley and David Godfree - learned and developed their orienteering through DVO and maintain individual or family links with the Club.

·         Kim Buckley competed in the World Orienteering Championships in 1999 and 2001 as well as in the World Cup and other representative competitions.

·         The Club has 7 current East Midlands Champions

·         2 members recently competed for England in Germany – in men’s 16 and women’s 55 – and one in the Veteran Home Internationals in women’s 55.

·         Our women’s short open relay team came 2nd in the JK and 1st in the British orienteering Championships in 2000.

·         Many Club members achieve progression awards

·         At a recent National event – the first since the start of foot and mouth disease – the Club had 4 class winners

7. Please give details on why your club would benefit from the prize money and outline how it would be spend should it win the title of Sports Club of the Year

The Club would use the prize money to provide further support for the implementation of its Development Plan, which focuses on widening participation in the sport and providing support for individuals to improve as orienteers.

Specific aspects would include:

·         Hiring transport to take young people and instructors to events, particularly from areas such as NE Derbyshire where car ownership is well below the national average

·         Putting on more courses for club members and buying in coaching and other expertise

·         Training for leaders/teachers/recreation and leisure staff to facilitate orienteering locally

·         Further investment in maps and mapping

·         A colour laser printer to provide updated maps more regularly

·         Further investment in Sport Ident electronic equipment to reduce the workload on volunteers

·         Provision of map shelters or pre-marked maps at local events

·         Lightweight stiles to enable larger areas to be used even when walls intervene

 

8. How would you generally describe the impact of your club on the local community?

 

Being a county-wide organisation the Club operates in a variety of environments, including the more deprived mining areas of Bolsover and East Chesterfield, inner city/town areas in Derby and Chesterfield, and more isolated rural areas.

 

Some specific examples include:

·         Four of our permanent orienteering courses are on old coal-tips giving local areas a real asset for generally deprived local communities where young people are unlikely to be able to experience orienteering anywhere else

·         All permanent orienteering courses give schools, youth groups, etc. the opportunity for outdoor activity at times which suit them

·         Schools work, including the schools league and teacher/leader training, ensures a good, positive experience of orienteering

·         Club events provide income to local farmers and campsites who provide access to their land as well as car parking

·         Various youth groups and uniformed organisations use our permanent courses and attend events

·         The Club carries out an environmental audit of all its areas to ensure that there is minimal impact on the areas used

 

Ranald Macdonald, Vice-Chair and Development Officer, DVO

E-Punching Training For Officials

 

Do you know how to check if an electronic control is sleeping, awake or dead?  Do you know how to programme one?  Why do all our events now only have control codes between 101 and 180?  Should we have a punching start, a punching start with allocated times or a timed start?

 We have successfully run a session for the helpers working in the download tent so that James and I don’t need to be at every event.  Now a session more geared to planners and controllers, but also of interest to organisers is required.  Names to me please so I can confirm a date.

Mike Godfree 

 

ATTRACTING NEW ORIENTEERS  - Stuart Swalwell

I encouraged 4 runners from the Ashbourne Running Club to take part in the recent Carsington event. We started off with a “group run” around the area - an explanation of basic features on the map and on the ground from me, but not for too long. Runners want to run!! So we interspersed theory with bursts of running. This seemed to keep up the interest. After an hour or so they felt able to tackle a Yellow course. Apart from one runner who made a 180 degree error at one checkpoint, and took some time to realise what had happened, everyone got round in a respectable time.

So what did they think? They were impressed with the organisation, particularly the e-punching. Nothing like this in running circles (a couple of weeks before we had competed in the High Peak Relay but it took hours to learn about individual leg times – most people had gone home before they were announced – now if they had had e punching!).

They were surprised that they could only recognise a handful of competitors. Clearly orienteers and runners do not mix.

From my point of view, it was really an eye-opener to see, from the beginner’s perspective, how complex and complicated it is to take part in an O event. Escorting these runners around - buying maps, filling in a form (what do I put in this box?), hiring an e card, finding the Yellow master map and copying controls down, checking the map corrections, holding on to the description sheet, clearing the e card station, explaining the start procedure including why is there a single flag stuck in the ground near the start. I was glad to get them on their way!

Will they come back? Yes, I think so if I am there to help them. We may well go to Cannock Chase in January. I am hoping there will be a Red Course – long but simple course - that is what runners want. If they enjoy Red courses, then they may move on to something more difficult. Hopefully, we will form a Group membership of DVO in the near future.

 So this group of newcomers were looked after by a club member. But what about the family that arrives for the first time? For me, it is imperative that our Enquiries desk (Viv and Ranald’s van) is well positioned and signposted and that there are sufficient helpers. We probably only get one chance with newcomers. Take care of them and they could be hooked. 

 Stuart Swalwell

 

ACTIVE SPORT  - Val Johnson

Over the last six months or so, some members of the DVO committee have been involved in numerous meetings with Derbyshire and Peak Park Sports and Recreation Forum (DPPSRF) aimed at developing the club.  We recognised that we needed the backing of such a forum if the sport was to develop within Derbyshire. It was at these meetings that Active Sport was first mentioned and, with the help of Andrew Kelly (English Development Officer) and Pete Coddington (DPPSRF), Orienteering has been approved as one of the sports to be included in Derbyshire in the second phase of this national scheme.

I’m not sure that I totally understand the working of the programme but here is a potted attempt at an explanation and some of  what it means for the club.

What is Active Sport?

Active Sport is a five year development programme which began in early 2000, originally targeting nine sports.  Its main aim was to build on the good practice that was already going on to help young people get more out of their sport. It is a co-ordinated national programme that is delivered at a local level by clubs.

How it works

Sport England is working with 45 Sports Partnership Areas that cover the whole country.  Each partnership has a full-time manager to run the programme. These partnerships agree with Sport England which sports they will support and promote within their partnership area. A detailed sport-specific framework to guide the local programmes is produced by the partnership in conjunction with the sports governing body and submitted to Sport England for Lottery Funding.  The framework is then used by the local clubs to develop their provision of good quality coaching, competition and participation opportunities for young people in their area.

 What does it mean for DVO?

Coaching 

a) existing coaches will be given the opportunity to develop their coaching skills further with the provision of courses not only in Orienteering but encompassing wider sport coaching skills.
            b) provision of courses for members wishing to start on the coaching ladder.

This should mean better quality coaching and more coaching opportunities, not only for club members but also for young people just beginning the sport through  for example school involvement.  It should also give us the means to bridge the gap that exists between school and club and hopefully lead to greater participation not only from the juniors but also their families.

Event Officials – it will enable us to provide more training session for members who wish to become involved in event organisation (planners, organisers, mappers and sport ident operators for example).     

This should mean more willing volunteers and better quality events, perhaps even more low key beginners’ events tied in with coaching opportunities, which in turn will give newcomers to the sport the chance to compete and develop their skills and sustain their interest, leading, in the long run, to greater involvement.

How many of these courses are organised depends upon demand (see other articles in Newstrack).

The club now has the means to develop but there is only a limited amount that a small number of people can do, we need you to volunteer your support, however small, and help to the club and ultimately the sport. You will not be expected to go it alone and you never know, it may turn out to be fun.

Contact Val Johnson, Mike Godfree or Ranald Macdonald and do it now!

A Comparative Approach to Registration at an E-Punching Event

You have now either have been put off by the pompous title – in which case you won’t have read this far and I can say what I like about you – or you have resigned yourself to reading a long, turgid and boring article.  Well, in fact, it’s not that bad – I hope.  All I am trying to do here is to comment on one particular aspect of the increasing use of e-punching at events.  We have now reached the point where e-punching is the norm for even modest colour-coded events  - I can’t remember an event since the summer not using it – and the fears of expensive disappearances of equipment have not been realised so far.

Inevitably with the introduction of new technology, there has yet to emerge a uniform approach to organisation of registration for these events.  I was struck by this point when entering my last three events of 2001: DVO, WCH and MDOC.

There are essentially three stages to this process in DVO – buy a map and collect a registration form, complete it and hire a e-punch if necessary, enroll for a course and go to the start to wait for a vacant slot (OK, that’s about five but you get my drift)

 

Both WCH and MDOC give you a registration form on entering the car park, in exchange for your 50p.  This is then filled in before buying a map.  I think that this works much better, particularly at WCH where the advance info included a map indicating the whereabouts and distance to the start, a common favourite at enquiries.  If introduced at DVO, this would mean newcomers would have all the necessary information before starting a procedure which may be straightforward to old-handers, but can be downright confusing to novices.  It would also mean that the form would be completed at the beginning of the process in the comfort of the car rather than halfway through, potentially in the pouring rain.  We were very fortunate at Carsington.

 Space prevents me from enlarging upon my second point – I prefer pre-allocated times to arriving on spec in the hope that the queue is not long.  This caused problems on Green at Carsington, and the annoyance of those affected would have been exacerbated if the weather had been bad and/or there had been a long walk to the Start.

 Unrelated point: cost of entry for 5 member family at WCH - £12.50.  Equivalent cost at DVO - £7.00.  Aren’t we generous?

 **************

After a long run at the Police Gym, Friday night circuit training has transferred to Milford Primary School where it will remain until its present small but select numbers increase and make this impractical.  We realised that we could no longer stay at the Police Gym when, one evening, we all turned up to find ourselves double-booked with the (Secret?) Policemen’s Ball, and all looked pretty stupid stood outside in our smelly, sweaty (must remember to wash it next week) kit, the subject of bemused and pitying looks as Derbyshire Constabulary arrived for a menu of a different kind.

 

Although, ironically, Milford can only take so many, in a spirit of equality of opportunity, I once again remind DVO that these sessions costing only £1-1.50 depending on the state of the kitty, are open to all members, regardless of sex, race, creed, weight or size, and start at around 7.00 pm at Milford Primary School.  Our esteemed Chair – more like a well-worn sofa actually, going thin in some places, well-padded in others, and with a few springs showing here and there, but that’s not his fault – is now a keen addict, as can be seen from the following piece which he has been inspired to compose

Bacon, Potatoes, Carrots and Burpees

 It was almost 6.00 p.m. on a dark evening, unusually warm for the last Friday in November.  I was crossing the drive from the garage to the house after a long week at the Widget Works.  I opened the door and entered the bright kitchen to see Gwyneth, Amelia and Lewis just setting the table.  The two children immediately called “It’s Daddy” and came rushing to give me a hug.  “You’ve timed that well”, said Gwyneth as she took the warm plates from the oven, “Tea’s just ready and we have to be quick because we’re going to the school Christmas Fair”.  “Ok” I said, “I’ll just change and come down to join you”.

 Tea was simple but delicious.  Bacon, potatoes, carrots and broccoli.  Followed by ice-cream with chocolate sauce and after that a cup of tea with three freshly baked scrumptious Welsh cakes.  “What time do we have to be at the Fair,” I asked, clearing the plates to one side.  Gwyneth, who was already helping the children to put on their coats, replied, “We have to be there in 5 minutes but you’re going circuit training at Milford Primary School”.  “Pardon”.  “Remember, last Wednesday, you promised Val you’d be there”.  “But I can’t go.  I’m too tired and too full, and why are you looking at me like that”.

 Two hours later I was watching a bead of sweat run down my shin, drip off my knee and onto my chest.  I rolled over onto my hands and knees, and my head fell forward resting on the blue mat.  More sweat ran into my eyes, making them sting and blurring my vision.  My chest ached in a search for any remaining oxygen in the room.  I looked to my left, only to see Andy in a similar position but then he hadn’t wimped out of the last exercise.  “You’ve done really well Robert, for your first time” said Drill Sergeant Johnson in a tone somewhat reminiscent of my old English master when I used to get 4/10 in speeling tests.

 I’m the last on my feet and robotically follow Val’s commands during the warm down stretches.  Changing seems just as much effort as the Burpees but without the promise of being told “that’s enough” after 45 seconds.  As I rejoin the group, Val asks “Did you enjoy that?” At least I was ready for this one, I had a well rehearsed spontaneous witty reply, which I’d carefully crafted as I’d driven up, based around offering sympathy to the Drill Sergeant’s hen-pecked husband (Ed – who on earth do you mea….oh, sorry, must dash, I’ve got the washing up to do).  I let her have it with both barrels.  “Uh!” I said.  Somehow the message got scrambled between my brain and mouth.  Worse, my primeval grunt was misinterpreted as positive enthusiasm.  “We change the exercises every week and next week I’ll have some additional leg work for you, that you can do as an alternative to exercising your arms” she chirped.  “OK Serg,  er  Val”.  She neatly took away my get out of some exercises free because of tennis elbow card.  Someone adds “Don’t worry you’ll be used to it by Christmas"

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It was almost 6.00 p.m. on a dark evening, unusually warm for the first Friday in December.  I was crossing the drive from the garage to the house after a long day at the Widget Works, mostly spent thinking about the evening to come.  I opened the door and entered the bright kitchen to see Gwyneth, Amelia and Lewis sitting at the table just finishing their tea.  The children don’t even notice me as they scraped the last remaining morsels off their plates.  “I didn’t do you anything,” says Gwyneth. “We’ve had shepherd’s pie.  I thought later you could…”, but before she finishes the kids are crying out for pudding.  I pass through the kitchen, avoiding a melee as to who gets the Hippo bowl, and my mind wanders back to last Sunday’s run at Carsington Pastures. 

 I’d spent most of the morning helping on the string course and due to the exceptional long course lengths decided to run the Green, but just before my start I bumped into Liz and Val who appeared intent to make a race of it on the Blue.  Gwyneth sniggered at me doing the Green, so I decided to upgrade to the Blue.  Five minutes later, about half way to number 1, my legs began to ache and this got progressively worse as I went round.  An embryonic thought of some form of conspiracy - Friday circuits - Val - Sunday race - Val - started to develop. “Hurry up or you’ll be late”. called Gwyneth.  I quickly pack my bag and head off for Milford.

 The school hall is already hot.  Val is writing the warm up exercises on a white board.  I chat a while but eventually realise everyone else has changed so decide I’d better too.  Orange shorts, blue T shirt white socks and trainers … trainers .. trainers!  Where are my trainers?  With all the kerfuffle in the kitchen I’d forgot to pick them up – what an excuse !  I can go home yippee!!   Oh hang on.  This isn’t a Wednesday training run and you don’t actually need trainers for circuits – drat!  I emerge to a snigger and try to recover the situation by explaining what happened and claiming the high moral ground but no one listens to me as Drill Sergeant Johnson takes command.  We’re all too soon through the warm up.  Then the Drill Sergeant spins the white board to reveal the exercises for tonight.  “Don’t worry Robert, you can repeat the leg exercises instead of the arm work”.  “Thanks!”

 I have to confess I didn’t work as hard as last week but luckily I somehow avoided being put on report by the Drill Sergeant.  We come to a point during the warm down stretches when the old hands call out “Don’t forget Paddy’s catch phrase!.”  Val seems to oblige. “Remember these are developmental stretches” and a titter rings around the room.  I don’t know exactly what a development stretch is and suspect that neither does any one else but they would never have the nerve to ask Paddy”.

 I arrive home about 8.30, just as the kids are going to bed.  I climb upstairs to give them a good night hug & kiss.  Back in the kitchen Gwyneth asks how things have gone?  “OK, I’m not too tired, Val didn’t work us so hard this week – but I’m really hungry, I’ve not eaten since lunch.  I fancy some of that shepherd’s pie if you could rustle some up”.  Twenty minutes later I’m sat at the dinner table eating the cheese omelet I’ve just burnt. 

**********

 It was almost 6.00 p.m. on a dark evening, unusually warm for the second Friday in December.  I was crossing the drive from the garage to the house after a long, although lighthearted, week at the Widget Works.  I put this change down to the onset of Christmas, you know; carols, holly and no Friday circuits.  It’s been a funny sort of week since for the first time in ages I’ve had two training runs in a week.  The first was a short 3 mile “fun race” organised by the chaps at work on the Tuesday lunch time.  I was soon left behind and it was only the promise of mince pies that kept me going.  But to give them their due I did get a good cheer at the finish, plenty of mince pies and a bowl full of Christmas pud.  Wednesday’s training run was unusual too for instead of the usual 25 or so people who regularly turn up for a run there were three!  So I end up running with John and Alex.  I say running but being frog marched is a better description.  But it probably did me good that is until I started brooding about circuits again.  Gwyneth and the children weren’t in, so I steal a mince pie and head off for Milford.

Once again Val is writing the exercises on the board.  Slightly different approach this week, rather than a short list we do twice, the first time changing exercises after 45 seconds and the second time changing after 30 seconds, this week we have a longer list all to be done for 45 seconds.  All the way through the warm up I struggle to decide whether we will be better or worse off.  In the end I decide we would be better off tonight.

 Despite my earlier fears of being too tired from my earlier runs, I actually find myself working hard and putting some effort in.  I come away quite pleased with myself.

*********

It was about 6.00 p.m. on the third Friday in December.  It was the start of the Christmas holidays and finally there was a chill in the air.  I had sneaked out early from the Widget Works to buy a last minute present for Gwyneth which I now had to sneak into the house.  As I opened the door the children call “Daddy” and all excitedly drag me into the lounge to show me what they’ve brought from school.  Two hand-made Christmas cards, a king’s crown, an angel and a nativity scene.  In all the excitement I am able to hide the present behind the sofa.

Milford school is all Christmassy with the hall covered in paper stars.  Joy provides some festive music and we’re off again.  First the warm ups then the exercises themselves.  Not so may this week but Dave Brodie joins the group, having jogged from home, but then he only lives 300m away.

No slacking again this week but Emily succumbs to the Christmas music and opts to skip and dance instead of running up and down the hall.  I doubt whether Paddy would have approved of such frivolity. Towards the end of the session I tire and the old co-ordination goes.  The toe taps are all a bit ragged and I end up kicking the bench rather than gently tapping it.  I realise that I need to focus on what I’m doing and put a bit more effort in.  Soon we’re doing the warm down stretches and before being cast back into the night Val reminds us all that the next session is at 7.00 on the 11th January 2002.  Just what I need after Christmas.

As soon as I’m home I must remember to ask Gwyneth to count me in for tea for the next two Fridays!

Robert Shooter

 

Perfect Day

 A perfectly decent song of course, but I’ve always found the lyrics somewhat dull and lacking in ambition.  Still when you’ve spent half your life wasted on drugs (Lou Reed, I’m talking about here, not me), then drinking sangria in the park and feeding animals at the zoo probably does represent some sort of Nirvana.  When I’m bored, then one of the games I play, after I’ve tired of ‘Top Ten Women To Spend a Month on a Desert Island With’, which isn’t often, is ‘Perfect Day’.What would your Perfect Day be?

 The beauty of the game, of course, is that, just like Top Ten Women etc., it’s always changing.  In one version, it goes something like: Morning - Come first in World Champs in Sweden (look, I make up the rules to this game, nobody said it had to be based in reality), Afternoon - Score winning goal in European Cup Final for Northampton Town (ditto) and Evening, well I’ll leave you to guess at the evening’s activities, let’s just say Uma Thurman might be in for a surprise.

 How often are you going to achieve that sort of treble?  Well, never, obviously, although I do comfort myself with the thought that the Uma soiree is the most likely event of that particular trio. No, we have to take our pleasures in lesser pursuits, only occasionally catching a scent of what might just be.  Such an opportunity came my way on Sunday, 9th December, when Walton Chasers had kindly agreed to organise the World Champs, cunningly disguised as a colour-coded event, with Dimmingsdale standing in for Sweden, and the BBC had for reasons best known to Gary Lineker, elected out of a choice of 32 matches to televise Northampton Town live, against, er, Canvey Island, standing in for Real Madrid, and, in the evening, well, we’ll move swiftly on.

 This combination of events did require substantial re-organisation of the Johnson pre-event routine.  No lie-ins today, for, in order to get back for a 1 o’clock kick-off, there was no time to be lost.  We all had to be there for no later than 9.30 to ensure 10.30 starts.  So this is what it feels like to be the Godfrees.  Of course we never actually made it this early, but arriving at 9.45 was not a bad achievement, not only getting two teenage girls up and out before the sun climbed over the yardarm but also sandwiching ourselves between the Godfrees, and a car load of Bleakmans, Berwicks and Peaches.  Turning up at this hour completely widened our circle of friends, even though we were too grouchy to exchange anything more than a couple of grunts with them.

 Despite everything, I like Dimmingsdale.  Blessed with contours like Arnie is endowed with muscles and vegetation that would scar a Chieftain tank, you know exactly what you’re going to get, and you always get it.  It’s usually combined with Hawksmoor as a badge area so I was expecting some concessions in the circumstances.  In this I was certainly disappointed.  West Midlands had selected Dimmingsdale for the West Midlands Champs so my course – 7.3 km and 430 metres of climb – was a Badge course masquerading as a Brown. 

 I ensured myself an early start, set off and ran into trouble.  So much for a perfect day.  I’ve found myself doing this quite often recently, managing the first couple of controls, thinking this is not so bad and then cocking up bigtime.  Still doesn’t stop me doing it of course.  Third control in was a perfectly innocent boulder, which I duly overshot and found myself ensnared in a morass of brambles, a mess so intractable that even Steven Byers would have had difficulty in getting out of it.  Blackberry bushes and I go together like Posh and Becks, we were made for each other and each Sunday I renew my love affair with them.  Today’s encounter was so intimate that when I eventually emerged, I was approached by a concerned competitor enquiring whether I would need a blood transfusion.

 Undeterred, I set off on a path run to a crag set in another bramble patch that would have discouraged even Brer Rabbit.  On the way I caught up Alex Ross who’d taken advantage of my enforced diversion to gain valuable minutes on me.  As he hesitated, I overtook him, and plunged into the undergrowth, searching for the elusive crag.  It took several minutes for the penny to drop and for me to realise that far from learning from my mistakes, I’d merely compounded them.  By now Alex had located the control and was on his way, not to be seen again. This run was turning out to be more embarrassing than the Hamiltons.

 However this was the low point of the morning and things picked up as the terrain became more familiar.  You see, if you spend years clocking up two hour plus runs, eventually each area becomes as familiar as an episode of Fawlty Towers to which you are happy to return year after year in order to renew your acquaintance.  Admittedly this level of intimacy takes years and years of dedicated failure, but eventually you do attain a level of mediocrity sufficient to ensure that you don’t necessarily need to start at the bottom of the list to find your result. There are only so many ways you can go round Dimmingsdale, and most events take the clockwise route: you know, down the re-entrants to the road, clamber up the other side to join the path, dash along the track before contouring to the gully top or earthbank bend, it’s a routine as reassuring as visiting a favourite auntie before Christmas.

 I was still not best pleased when, having found Gully Top, instead of continuing to contour into the finish, the planner felt it necessary to send us round, then up and down, another valley before cutting short the agony, just to ensure the M21s did not go home short-changed I suppose.  The last control was a crag at the top of yet another climb, before a sprint into a field.  I have complained before about planners failing to take advantage of the freedom e-punching gives them to get the best out of an area but it does seem that one or two have been taking this to heart of late.  HOWEVER another habit that is dying hard is the belief that no event is complete without a sprint to a recognised finish.  This practice was mostly acutely demonstrated – and here I deliberately digress – at Burbage West, where there must have been getting on for half a k of downhill sprint along an extremely dodgy and rocky footpath before the finish control loomed large.  Why? What was the point of this?  There was no reason why the course could not have finished at the last control, leaving competitors to wander at leisure back to the car park, and instead, the extra ½ k could have been used earlier in the course when it could have given much needed opportunity for course variation. (Maer Hills and Hope Woodlands, both in 2000, were excellent examples of courses finishing ‘in the middle of nowhere’).

 

I rushed back to the Finish, trying desperately to convince myself that perhaps this wasn’t such a bad run after all, when who should be there to greet me but Alex, not only with a smug grin on his face but changed to boot!  I was devastated, crushed, demoralised.  It was only later that evening when I looked at the Results that I realised that the ****** hadn’t even been running the same course as me.  Of course he’d finished before me, he was running 1.6 km less! Surely there must be something in the BOF Rules – and he should know – to stop recognised Brown competitors running down and confusing, not to mention traumatising, other Brown competitors.  A man’s self-esteem could be irreparably damaged in this way.

 

No time to check results, or Val to eat her dinner, off we go, out the car park field by 12.20, on to Part 2 of the Perfect Day.  We missed the first ten minutes of the match, but frankly we should have missed the first ninety.  Sadly Northampton duly obliged the BBC by giving them the biggest rollover since last week’s Lottery Draw, ensuring that it will not be the Mighty Claret and Whites who take on Ted Smith’s Claret and Blues at Turf Moor in the next round. The Perfect Day had turned into a nightmare.  And did Uma return my calls?  Did she heckaslike.

 

Club Captain’s Corner  -  Liz Godfree 01332-515862

 

Inter-club competition (Not the Compass Sport Cup)

 As club captain I was very disappointed with DVO’s performance.  Unlike the real CS cup which is open to all club members, as many as want to run, this was a pre-selected, pre-entered team.  Injury, on-the-day illness and unexpectedly poor runs resulted in DVO’s ignominious position of 13th out of 17 competitive clubs.

 

(Yes, it is the) Compass Sport Cup 10th March 2002

 Next year’s heat for the Compass Sport Cup is on Sunday 10th March at Thetford.  Names to me together with e-card numbers by mid-February because the event is by pre-entry only.  Unlike the “Not the Compass Sport Cup” all members may run and the best 3 on the day on each course will count.  There will be a heavily subsidised bus leaving at an early hour from Allestree, please indicate if you wish a seat.  There is a white course for EOD.

 

Relays: JK, Forest of Dean (1-4-02) & British, N. Ireland (6-5-02)

 The relays are open to everybody.  Although there will be competitive teams we are a sociable club and would like everyone to join the camaraderie of the club tent on relay day (although it can get a bit crowded if it is wet).  Names, preferences and team ideas to me by 10th March at the very latest for the JK, and by April 1st for the British.  Entries fees are subsidised by the club.

Liz Godfree

 

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Lifetime Local Members – Ranald Macdonald

 

Following many years of active involvement in orienteering at local and national level, Debbie and Roger Wilkinson moved to the Lake District earlier in 2001. The following letter and reply are self-explanatory:

 

23 September 2001

 

Dear Debbie and Roger

I am please to tell you that at our last committee meeting the proposal was unanimously accepted that the two of you be made Lifetime Local members of DVO.

 This is in recognition of the many years of commitment and hard work you both gave to the Club before disappearing off to the Lake District.  We are sure we will continue to see you on your return trips to Derbyshire and we would like you to know that your service to the Club has been recognised and valued.  We would also like to make a presentation as a token of our recognition at some convenient time.

Hope all is well with you both

Ranald Macdonald, Chair, Derwent Valley Orienteers

 

30 September 2001

 

Dear Ranald

Roger and I are please and honoured to be offered Lifetime Local Membership. I hope we will be able to come to the dinner or some other festivity next year to receive it.  Our plans for the Spring are not yet decided and we may be in Australia.

We have settled in very happily here.  We are well pleased with the local country-side.  The walking, cycling, and rock-climbing are all superb and we can be in Langdale in half an hour.  We have tons to do on the house, but we have several good rooms to live in and work progresses.  Roger is putting insulation in the roof at the moment!

Please give our regards to all of DVO. We hope to see those who around the next time we are in Derby.

Best wishes               Debbie and Roger

Thanks to DVO

Following the Club’s involvement in the Training Day and Qualifying Race at the British Schools Orienteering Championships in November we have received the following letter from Mick Lucking, the event co-ordinator:

Dear Ranald

I am writing to thank you and all the members of DVO who helped stage Day 1 of the British Schools orienteering Championships weekend.

The happy atmosphere in Thieves Wood on the Saturday morning spilled over into Sunday and helped to create a really memorable weekend for over 1,000 children.

Please pass on our very grateful thanks to all the DVO members who contributed to the success of BSOC 2001.

Mick

In particular, I think we should thank Rex Bleakman for organising the day and Christina and Paul Wright for planning and setting out the courses in Harlow Wood and Thieves Wood, as well as everyone else who helped on the day.

 

 

Local Event and Derbyshire Schools League

 

Farley Moor (Matlock) - Saturday, 19th January 2002

By car: The event will be signed from the A632 at Amber Hill, 2½ miles north of Matlock (119/SK329626). Follows signs for 2 miles to car parking which will be along the roadside.

By public transport: Bus service 157 from Matlock bus station to Farley Hill in Upper Hackney then 1 mile walk north along Farley Hill and Farley Lane. 

Cost: £1                     Registration: 10.00 – 11.00 Start times: 10.30 – 11.30

Courses: White, Yellow, Orange, Light Green, ‘Challenge’

Terrain: Recently thinned forest with good path network.

Organiser: Val Johnson 01773 824754

Planner: Mike Godfree

 

 

Bike-O (and Runners) at Hartington – 2nd February 2002

 

In conjunction with the club dinner but open to anyone, this is a 3 hour score event.  Unlike my previous efforts from Hartington, this uses a specially drawn 1:100,000 map (so it all fits on a convenient A4 sheet) in the same style as the one we used from the Bear.  Also like that one it uses readily identifiable features thoughtfully provided with serial numbers by British Telecom, the Post Office and others rather than conventional punches.  Road or trail bikes may have an advantage over mountain bikes as it is all on roads plus the High Peak, Tissington and Manifold Trails, although there are plenty of steep hills to use low gear or good brakes.  You are advised to wear a helmet (and in the editor’s case, knee and elbow pads). 

Runners can also attempt ten of the closer controls using their own 1:25,000 White Peak map.  For most of these, footpaths will be advantageous.

Mass start from Hartington Youth Hostel at 12:30.  Entry fee £2 but free to runners.  I would appreciate a phone call a few days beforehand so I can print roughly the correct number of maps. 

As there are no controls to collect in you are welcome to run/cycle it on Sunday morning instead/as well, or indeed any other time as a challenge.

 

Mike Godfree

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