Latest News: 2007

Come and enjoy the CEILIDH, Hot Pot and Bar social event on Sat Feb 2nd 7.30 to 11pm at the Kirkland & Catterall Memorial Hall, Churchtown nr Garstang. Tickets are 10 pounds adults and 5 pounds juniors, available at all of the next few events. At the New Year Cracker and Bolton street events look for Dawn Lock. They will also be available at the Club Handicap and Social on Jan 12th. If you can't get to any of these events, tickets can be obtained by post from Dawn Lock at 7 Sefton Court, 44 North Promenade, Lytham St. Annes, FY8 2NQ, with a SAE and cheque made out to "SROC". For further information contact Dawn on 01253 721514 or by email. Club members will have priority but please invite friends and family as well. See the fixture list for more detail.

The Tim Watkins Trophy (Blodslitet) event at Whitbarrow Scar on March 1st is still short of helpers. Most urgently required are First Aiders to work in 2 groups. Additionally there is a need for a further 4 volunteers for misc jobs not requiring any special skills or experience. These would be ideal for new club members to get more involved with running an event. If you are able to help please contact Peter Knott (assistant organiser) 01772 683072 asap.

Final details for the 7th New Year Cracker have been posted to the fixture list, or straight from here. To save time at registration why not complete a registration form and bring it along with you? There is one on the final details, or you can download a page with three on here. Please note, the organiser requests that you should share transport wherever possible as there is limited parking available.

Any club member wanting to join the SROC team for the CSC qualifier at Frodsham Hill on 13th January needs to contact Sarah Watkins as soon as possible as entries have to be in by Friday 21st December. Note that all entries have to be through the club (no individual entries) and there will be no entry-on-the-day.

Don't miss out on the marvellous woodland which forms a large part of the brand new map of Roeburndale, to be used for the New Year Cracker on 1st January. Further images, all taken yesterday, may be viewed in the gallery.

The coveted Blackpool Tower Trophy, traditionally fought over at the nearest Street League event of the season, has been awarded this year to Quentin Harding. The rules state that the highest rate of scoring (points per hour) on any course, and corrected for age, wins the trophy; except that no-one may win more than once in their life! So congratulations to Quentin, enjoy it for the next 12 months or so as it will never be yours again! The league scores have been updated after five events, half way through the season.

The club handicap will take place on Barrowfield, Brigsteer near Kendal with the social afterwards in the popular Victoria Institute, Caton. The mass start will be at 1.30, and anyone attending must contact Jon Carberry to make sure that a map awaits them. Full details are on the Fixture List.

If you ran at Blackpool and wondered where the Nashes were; never fear, they just ran on a different night! The results page now has their scores added. If ever you can't make it to a Street League you can contact the organiser to obtain a copy of the map, and time yourself on another night. You must return your answer sheet before the next event, and you are not permitted to score more than the winner on the night!

A good turnout on a lovely night for orienteering in the familiar setting of Beacon Fell, with the added advantage of having the luxury of a cosy visitor centre as HQ. Results, including Winsplits and Splitsbrowser, are accessible from the results page. You may also draw your route using RouteGadget.

There is already the nucleus of a team signed up for the Compass Sport Cup match at Frodsham Hill on 13th January. See details on this message board thread. To ensure that we move forward to the final we need more people to contact Sarah Watkins before 21st December. Everyone can join the team, even if you don't expect to be in the top few on your course. You will still help by reducing the scores of runners from other clubs. This year we are reinstating subsidised runs: you pay only 3 pounds for seniors and 1 pound for juniors. So come on and let's see South Ribble in the final where we belong!

Results, RouteGadget and Organisers' comments can now be access via the Street League results index. Please add your route, it makes for useful comparison when there are several others to look at. Remember to add your name and time taken (in the format mmss) before saving.

League score tables after event 4 have been added, accessible from the Street League Index, or directly from these links: Raw scores Age adjusted.

Full details are on the fixture list, but remember the early start times: 5.30pm to 6.30pm. For newcomers to night O, this is a good area on which to start. The event is being organised with minimal person-power. If you are able to give a bit of help (e.g. at Registration or collecting controls) Glenys would like to hear from you.

RouteGadget is now ready for you to add your routes for Wednesday's street event. We are trying a slightly different way of setting up the event this time, which considerably reduces the time taken to set up but requires a little more effort from you, the users! All you have to do extra is to type in your name and time taken, when prompted. The drawing of your route works exactly the same. Any problems should be emailed to Chris Roberts

Congratulations to Zoe and Katrin Harding of Lancaster Girls' Grammar School who have both been selected for the Junior Girls select team for next year's ISF World Schools Orienteering Championships in Edinburgh. This follows from their excellent performances in the recent BSOA Championships and World Schools selection races. Full details of all the selections are on the BSOA website.

Results for the latest street league event are now available via the results index. Routegadget will shortly be available. The next event is at Blackpool on 12 December, when the coveted Blackpool Tower Trophy will be contested!

This popular race, named after its founder the late Tim Watkins and inspired by the original Blodslitet in Norway, returns to the Lakeland fells in March 2008. On-line entries are now open, and full details may be found on the Blodslitet home page.

The weekend of 17&18 November saw two major competitions held at opposite ends of the UK. The Veteran Home International at Pitlochry was won by England, including SROC stars Julian Lailey 1st M60 and Quentin Harding 2nd M45. Full results are here. Meanwhile in Dorset the British Schools Orienteering Championship was beset by bad weather, and results are still provisional on Sunday evening. There were some strong performances by SROC juniors and Chris Nash won B8 running 5.4 mins/km! Katrin Harding finished 2nd in G10, Zoe Harding was 4th in G8 and John Ockenden was 4th in B9. There was also a World Schools selection race on Saturday, in which Matt Nash finished 5th on M14 and Katrin and Zoe were 2nd and 4th respectively on W14, so perhaps we may look forward to sending some club members to the World Schools next year (in Scotland). BSOC results are here, or view the BSOA website.

A second training session to cater for newcomers (adults and juniors) will be run at Beacon Fell on 8 December, from 10.30 to 12.30. Anyone wishing to attend should book a place with Martyn Roome. All are welcome!

Results for the latest street event are now available on the results page. RouteGadget is also set up for this event. The results for event 2 at Lancaster have been updated to include two self-timed runs on later nights. Remember that if you cannot make the night of the event you are allowed to run on a later night as long as it is before the next event and with the proviso that you cannot score more than the winner on the actual event night.

Club statistician Bob Nash has been scouring the results and rankings tables to produce the latest tables for all the various year-long club competitions. These may be viewed via the Results Index. See also Bob's notes on the tables. Any comments or suggestions from members on how to score Juniors or Adults for next year should be emailed to Bob or posted on the message board to allow comments from others.

The Compass Sport Cup (inter club competition) is taking place early in 2008! The event will be held at Frodsham Hill, Cheshire, on Sunday 13th January. The key to winning is to get the maximum number of club members out, so the club needs YOU. Based on our 2007 performance, we have a good chance of making it through to the final if we can secure a good turn out.
It is hoped to organise a minibus for the day at a reasonable cost. Please let Sarah Watkins know if you would be interested in using the minibus by Monday 19th November. Also contact Sarah to let her know whether you want to be entered for the event.

The North West Junior Squad does a great job of developing our juniors and has an impressive record of success at national and inter-regional level. The squad is run by volunteers and its expenses are funded mainly from its members and fund-raising activities. You will probably have enjoyed a cake or two at the NWJS stall at many events. Now we offer you the chance to support the NWJS by ordering a personalised keyring for only one pound! More details are here, or contact Karen Nash.

Tables for event 2 and totals to date have been added to the Street League results page.

Results for the latest street event are now available on the results page. RouteGadget is also set up for this event.

NW Night league events confirmed so far: MDOC 10 November at Piethorne, SROC 15 December at Beacon Fell, PFO 19 January at Tockholes and SELOC 16 February venue TBC. If you are at all interested in night orienteering please contribute to this recent topic on the message board.

Thanks to lensman John Denmark we have some images from Sunday's event at Helsington. If you have any pictures that you would like to share in our gallery from this or any other event please email them to the webteam. We have now added the Controller's comments for this event.

SROC members perform at the OMM

The weekend of 27 & 28 October saw the 40th time this event, now the Original Mountain Marathon (formerly the KIMM), has been run. A group of SROC stalwarts ventured north to the Lowther hills and braved some mixed weather conditions on this arduous two-day event. Some fine performances were recorded and we must congratulate Sean Bolland running with his brother Brendan who were 1st on the Elite course, and Quentin Harding, paired with his brother Kevin, who finished 9th overall and 1st Veterans also on the Elite course. Sue Harding and partner Kate Ludley were 1st females on the C course while Karen Nash and Rowena Browne were the highest placed all-SROC pair, coming 32nd overall on the A course and 1st Female Veterans. Full results may be viewed here and a race report is on the Sleepmonsters website.

Roy McGregor has added his organiser's comments, and the colour standard times for each course are now available via the results index. Please read the comments if you were one of the people who let us re-use their map, or if you have any lost property.

The loos turned up after all! A great day's orienteering was had today at Helsington. Results are now here. RouteGadget is ready to roll here. Please post your comments on the event and your run on the message board.

We've been caught short as the portaloos have not arrived as expected. We are trying to make alternative arrangements at short notice. We suggest that you make use of public conveniences before you arrive. The nearest are in Peppercorn Lane in Kendal. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Further details of this event have been added to the fixtures list, and may be accessed directly from here.

Individual unadjusted and age adjusted points for the first Street League event have been added to the results index. Points are calculated by comparing raw points per hour scores with the highest scorer on the night, who is given 100 league points. The age adjusted score takes into account the expected relative speeds based on age, and hence allows fairer comparisons between runners of different ages.

A reminder to all those planning on coming to the Helsington Barrows event this Sunday: BST ends at 02.00 on Sunday morning so you can have an extra hour in bed!

Despite some brilliant individual performances a depleted SROC junior team unfortunately failed to qualify for the YBT final at the Borderliners event on Sunday. WCOC and LOC were the successful clubs. Let's hope for a closer venue and a stronger turnout from the team for next year. Results may be viewed here.

The club is organising a training session for all, but especially those newly starting out in the sport. This will be at Lancaster University, 12.00-14.00 on Saturday 10 November. See further details on the fixtures page. Contact Sue and Martyn Roome if interested.

A lovely evening for running and a record turnout, including many new faces, made for an auspicious start to the 07-08 league on Wednesday. Results and Organiser's comments are here, and don't forget to add your comments to the message board, and your route on RouteGadget.

Here is a taster of the next SROC weekend event on the fast limestone grasslands of Helsington Barrows near Kendal. There will be a full range of colour coded courses, plus a string course. Details are on the fixture list.

What is it about Williamson Park that makes it always rain when we are there? Answers on the message board please. Results including RouteGadget are accessible from the O-zone results index, and some photos are in the Gallery.

Event 4 in the Lancaster O-zone is on Saturday 13 October in Williamson Park. This is the final scoring event in the league, best three scores to count. All are welcome and there will be White, Yellow and Orange courses plus a mass start butterfly loop race, which may be run separately if preferred. Start times are 12-2pm and full details may be found on the O-zone website - follow the link on the right of this page. Prizegiving for the series will be held at the final event at Helsington Barrows on Sunday 28 October.

Now the nights are getting darker, our gym sessions are starting again - the first being this Wednesday 10th October, as usual at Broughton High School (just off the A6 at Broughton crossroads, north of the A6/M55 junction). Note we are in the gym there, not the sports hall. Sessions start at 7.00pm, and finish about 8.30pm when we go to the pub. They are a mixture of stretching, jogging, circuit training and practice map reading exercises, finishing with a game of basketball (well, it bears a resemblance). All activities are of course optional and can be done at your own pace. This week we hope to kick off with a bleep test (if you don't know what that is come along and find out!). A good chance for children to test their parents. See you there!

A reminder for any juniors wishing to take part in the YB trophy preliminary round at Faulds Brow, Caldbeck, on Sunday, 21st Oct. Contact Quentin Harding immediately as entries need to be submitted in the next week .

A selection of pictures from Saturday's Eaves Wood event are now available in the photo gallery section.

Another fantastic day with unbelievably good weather. Competitors are advised that ticks have been found on competitors who were at Eaves Wood today, please inspect yourself carefully and take appropriate action if necessary. Results, RouteGadget etc are now accessible from the O-zone results index.

Another great turnout, some returning for another week and others for their first ever event. Results are here. To analyse your performance, take a look at the Winsplits or Splitsbrowser links, then draw your route on RouteGadget.

As an experiment we have set up RouteGadget for the Westhoughton Street League event. If this proves successful it will be used for all the Street League events, and should be a useful tool to see how the winners do it! If you are having trouble getting on with RouteGadget please look at this forum topic. Have a look there anyway and add your comments on this event.

Thanks to Ed Mellor of SELOC we had an extra event ahead of the Street League proper, which starts on 17 September. With the added attraction of a new area, and running in daylight for part of the time, there were quite a few takers. Who will be King or Queen of the streets this year? Results are here.

Details for the SROC night event at Beacon Fell have been updated on the fixtures list. Note that start times will be from 5.30-6.30pm, i.e. earlier than advertised previously. This is because we have access to the Visitor Centre only until 8pm. Course closing time will be 8.30pm

Further details for the district event which will be held at Helsington Barrows on Sunday 28 October are now linked from the fixtures page, or direct from here.

We have added a useful link to a website which displays all the events in your area, based on the postcode which you enter. The data draws on the BO official fixture list, so can only show events which are included in that list. You can use it to find the nearest event to you in the next few days. The link will always be at the top of the fixtures page, but you can try it now by clicking here.

RouteGadget has now been set up to include the Lancaster University O-zone event. Draw your route and compare it with others, then rerun your race using the animation feature.

Witty, amusing or just plain crazy suggestions for a caption to the picture on the right should be mailed to the webteam. Relatives of the depicted persons are positively encouraged to respond!
This competition has now moved to the message board.

Missed out on the Lancaster University event? Wish you were still running round the Technical course? Then visit the gallery.

Lancaster University's Sports Pavilion was almost over-run by orienteers at the first O-zone event today. Many beginners turned up, having seen the advertising in local press and shops. Thanks to a good turnout of SROC helpers they all seemed to enjoy their experience, and many ran 2 or 3 courses. The final mass start butterfly loop race was a fitting end to the day for those who still had energy to spare. Results are now posted here.

SROC were well represented at last weekend's events in the Dales. Day 1 at Attermire was a national Event and the Northern Championships. We now have six Northern Champions! Helen Ockenden W10, Zoe Harding W14, Katrin Harding W16, Karen Nash W45, Quentin Harding M45 and Julian Lailey M60. Days 1 & 2 times together decided the Dales Trophy winners. Helen, Zoe, Quentin & Julian added this trophy to their haul. There were some other notable performances by club members. Full results are here

Our club secretary Karen Nash showed a clean pair of heels to the rest of the ladies to win the 55th Lake District Mountain Trial last Sunday. This event is similar to one day of a mountain marathon with the course only known to you after you start and requiring both fell running and orienteering skills. Karen won her 20km course with ~2000m of climb in 4 hours 8 minutes. Sue Harding also took part and finished 13th. Quentin Harding was 10th on the mens course that covered 28km and had 2700m of climb. Results are here.

The 2007 AGM was held on Wednesday 12th September in the usual place - the Senior Common Room at Furness College, Lancaster University. Most of the club officers continue in post, however we do need a new club equipment officer, to take over from John Denmark who has resigned after several years of sterling work. Some photos have been added to the gallery

SROC took a record two teams down to this junior night relay near Northampton on Sunday 9th September. Great achievement of 12 people finishing without a single misspunch, and for the two teams coming 8th and 11th in the Joan George Trophy. Thanks to Steve McLean, Bob Nash, Rowena Browne and Helen Selby for helping. Results for this event can be found on the EmitUK website

Tradition dictates that we should have an extra street league event before the new season starts, so we are pleased to announce that SELOC will be hosting just such an event on a brand new map: Westhoughton. This will be on Wednesday 26th September, so if you get there early enough you will hardly need a head torch! Full details are on the Fixture List.

As September is upon us, the Wednesday evening runs return this week. Runs start promptly at the stated time, so please try to turn up 15 mins beforehand.
Venues:
Weds 5th Sept - Pendle, from the Nick; 6:45 start
Weds 12th Sept - Lancaster University, Pavillion car park (1st left on the approach road from the A6) NB 6:30 start - AGM is in Furness Common Room at 7.30. Bring something for the Jacobs Join afterwards.
Weds 19th Sept Glasson Dock - meet main car park; 6:45 start

Co-ordinator Martyn Roome will confirm the future dates soon. Contact him with any questions.

Several SROC members did well at the White Rose multi day competition held over the Bank Holiday weekend. Maurice Collett and Dave Roome were 1st in M75S and M21L respectively. In 2nd place were Ben Selby (JM5S), Chris Nash (JM4) and the 48- relay team. Karen Nash came 3rd in W40L. Photos have been added to the gallery.

This link will take you to thousands of photos taken by professional photographers at the Scottish 6 Days. You can search for yourself by bib number or time of run.

View this TV clip to see how the media view orienteering. Can you spot any SROC members?

Thanks to the Nash family for some more pictures, now added to the Oringen 2007 and Spey 2007 albums. Click on “Photo Gallery” on the menu bar above to view these.

You may have noticed that this page has changed! As part of ongoing efforts to improve the site, there have been a number of modifications today. The front page has been redesigned to accommodate a blog-style news page and the fixtures page has moved to php format. Both these changes will make it much easier to maintain and access the site; this should help keep the site fresh and up-to-date going forward. Please be tolerant of any glitches over the next few days whilst it settles down! If you spot a problem or a possible improvement, let the Webteam know and we will try to sort it out.

The SROC forums have now been live for several weeks, and there are some interesting topics emerging. Have a look now, and add your comments on a proposed club trip to BOC 2008 or say what you thought about Spey 2007. There is a special forum for junior members, and private committee and event organiser forums*. These become more useful as more members join and start to post topics and replies, so don't be shy - we want to read your comments!

*To join a private forum, first register on the message board, then email the Webteam with a request to join whichever forum you are interested in.

Just a few photos to whet your appetite. If any member would like to add their pictures to the gallery, just email them to the Webteam. Suggest your own captions if you don't want the webteam to think them up!

A large percentage of SROC's membership travelled to Scotland and enjoyed some excellent orienteering at Spey 2007 which concluded yesterday. Overall top 10 places were earned by: Daniel Selby (6th M10A, 3rd day 1), Chris Nash (5th M12A, 3rd days 2&6, 2nd day 4), Matt Nash (3rd M14A, 3rd days 3&4, 1st day 6), Quentin Harding (3rd M45L, 2nd day 3), Julian Lailey (10th M60L), Dick Collins (3rd M60S, 3rd day 1, 2nd day 2), Maurice Collett (3rd M80, 3rd days 1,2,3&6, 2nd days 4&5), Helen Ockenden (2nd W10A, 3rd day 2, 2nd days3,4&6, 1st days 1&5), Sophie Roberts (3rd W10A, 2nd day5, 1st day 2), Annie Ockenden (5th W10B), Katrin Harding (5th W14A), Rebecca Quickfall (9th W16B), Cath Wilson (2nd W21L, 3rd day 6, 1st days 1&5), Karen Nash (7th W45L) and Sue Harding (9th W45L). Congratulations to all of them, and especially to Maurice and Helen who both placed in the top three on all six days. Full results are on the Spey 2007 website. Why not discuss the 6 days on the SROC message board?

SROC was represented at the worlds largest O event last week, the 13000 competitor Swedish Oringen. See if you can spot a selection of Nashes and Roomes in the photos, along with some other famous faces too.

Apologies to the many people wondering when the Yvette Baker Trophy North West qualifier will take place (see 29.07.07 news item below). It will be on Sunday 21st October 2007. If you want to know more about how the YBT works, visit this page on the British Orienteering website.

England selections for the Veteran Home Internationals were announced today. Congratulations to Julian Lailey, selected in the M60 class, and to Quentin Harding who is reserve in M45.

Everyone should by now have received their programs and bibs, showing start times. You should also have received a letter explaining an error with these times. This affects all bibs, so if you haven't received the letter, look at it on the Scottish 6 Days website.

It may seem a long way off now, but our Club Captain Sarah Watkins is right to give advance warning of the North West qualifier for the Yvette Baker Trophy, the national club competition for juniors. We need a good junior turnout so make sure this event is in your diary: BL District Event
Incorporating Yvette Baker Trophy Preliminary Round. Cumbrian Galoppen event at Faulds Brow. Parking at GR NY 302 407, 2km NW of Caldbeck, which is about 12 km NW from J41 on M6. No dogs on the area. Starts 10.30 to 12.30. Electronic punching. Fees £6/2.

A new website created to support the Lancaster O-zone was officially launched today, after undergoing testing over the last two weeks. Some of the O-zone pages are already linked into the SROC website, but you won't necessarily notice this as the two sites are of similar appearance. You can visit the O-zone at any time by clicking on the O-zone logo on the right.

Night Street League coordinator Glenys Ferguson has announced the dates and areas to be used for the next season of this popular series. Fuller details will follow nearer to the beginning of the series, which runs from October through to March. Look out for one or two new areas, previously unused for orienteering, plus the return of a few favourites.

New Forums Need Members

The new SROC forums are starting to be used, but they need more active members. If you haven't had a look yet, please follow the menu bar link "Message Board" above. For the benefit of SROC members who have specialist roles within the club there are also several private forums. If you would like to join the Webteam, Committee or Event Organisation forums just register as normal and drop an email to the webteam so that your name can be added to the relevant user list.

Friday, 28 December 2007

Thursday, 27 December 2007

Wednesday, 19 December 2007

Tuesday, 18 December 2007

Monday, 17 December 2007

Saturday, 15 December 2007

Friday, 14 December 2007

Friday, 7 December 2007

Friday, 30 November 2007

Thursday, 29 November 2007

Monday, 19 November 2007

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Thursday, 15 November 2007

Monday, 12 November 2007

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Monday, 5 November 2007

Thursday, 1 November 2007

Tuesday, 30 October 2007

Sunday, 28 October 2007

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Thursday, 25 October 2007

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Saturday, 13 October 2007

Thursday, 11 October 2007

Monday, 8 October 2007

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Saturday, 29 September 2007

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Monday, 24 September 2007

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Monday, 17 September 2007

Saturday, 15 September 2007

Monday, 10 September 2007

Thursday, 6 September 2007

Saturday, 1 September 2007

Thursday, 30 August 2007

Sunday, 19 August 2007

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Thursday, 16 August 2007

Tuesday, 14 August 2007

Sunday, 12 August 2007

Friday, 3 August 2007

Tuesday, 31 July 2007

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Saturday, 28 July 2007

Thursday, 26 July 2007

Tuesday, 24 July 2007

News Archive (you may need to scroll up after selecting an item)