Club News news@octavian-droobers.org
MAJOR SPORTING EVENT COMES TO WARWICKSHIRE
It has been two years in the planning and Octavian Droobers Orienteering Club are delighted to have received 1300 pre-entries to the Warwickshire Orienteering Weekend (WOW). The weekend of urban and cross country adventure racing comprises the Rugby Town event on Saturday afternoon 25 March and Bentley Wood, Atherstone, on Sunday morning 26 March. To daye there have been over 14,000 hits on the WOW webpage.
Both events have been awarded national status with Rugby declared a UK Orienteering League and UK Urban League event and Bentley Wood, also a UK Orienteering League, junior selection race and Midland Championships.
The club will be welcoming orienteers from 75 clubs from right across the UK, including Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and overseas from Germany, Sweden, Czech Republic and China. Entrants, male and female from 8 to 85 years will be competing on a wide range of age related distance and newcomer courses.
Rugby Urban Event
With approximately 500 entrants it is believed that this will be the largest urban event ever staged outside of London. Rugby town was selected as the ideal location for this weekend of orienteering due to its great accessibility and sporting history. Phil Kirk, organiser, says that the event could not have been held without the great support received from Rugby Borough Council, Leisure Centre, Rugby Athletics Club, Lawrence Sherriff School, local businesses and especially St Cross Hospital. The hospital has allowed full access to their site and grounds, which it is believed is a first for orienteering.
The arena is at Rugby Athletics Track and opens at 12.30pm. Visitors are encouraged to come along to watch and find out about the sport. There will be limited entry on the day, subject to map and start time availability.
Around the town numbered control points will be placed at 70 varied locations, including significant features such as statues, trees, fences, benches etc. A specially drawn, very detailed, large scale map, showing all streets and buildings, covering 2.5 sq.km of central Rugby, with Lawrence Sherriff School in the middle, has been produced. These will be issued to each competitor, along with electronic timers at pre-allocated start times, from 12.30pm until 3pm. Seven age class courses, for experienced orienteers, newcomers and juniors, have been planned and the longest course is 7.2km (Mens Open), with an expected run distance of 10km to visit 31 of the controls in numerical order.
Among the many visitors, we are pleased to announce that the Mayor of Rugby, Councillor Sally Bragg, will be attending the event and Rugby’s Member of Parliament, Mark Pawsey, is also planning to join us to experience orienteering. Several British Champions and orienteers who have competed for GB, England and Scotland will be running.
An event of this scale could not happen without the help from 50 club members who have been organising, mapping, and planning courses. The club looks forward to a great day of orienteering in Rugby on Saturday.
Bentley Wood, Atherstone, Event
Over 800 competitors have already pre-registered to orienteer around the parkland and beautiful woods at Merevale Hall, a private estate. Organiser, Bob Brandon, is delighted with the local support from Atherstone Town Council, North Warwickshire Borough Council and the many businesses in the town who have offered additional parking. Merevale Hall Estate owners have been very accommodating giving the club a superb location for the Arena and to allow full use of the woods to provide some great cross country courses.
There are 18 different distance courses to suit all ages and abilities, including newcomers and very young children. Start times are from 10.30am until 1pm and entry on the day is available subject to map and start time availability. The longest course, suitable for experienced orienteers, is 11.5km with 360 metres of climb and the shortest course is 1.6km, ideal for young juniors 10 years and under. A large-scale map and electronic timer will be issued to each entrant at the pre-allocated start times. Help on how to orienteer, read the map, use a compass and the timer will be given to all newcomers.
Competing will be many orienteers who are British Champions, and those who represent GB, England and Scotland around Europe and the World. There will be a prizegiving ceremony to present the new 2017 Midland Champions with their trophies at 2.30pm.
YVETTE BAKER QUALIFYING ROUND RESULTS
The junior team travelled to Baggeridge Park, near Dudley, to compete for a place in the national final of the interclub Yvette Baker Trophy. It was a first time for several of the very young team and a great experience. They lost to Deeside Orienteering but are expected to qualify to go to the final to represent West Midlands in Druridge Bay later this year.
The junior team results: on the Green 4.6km course Felix Lunn was 2nd in 33.59mins, Oliver Lunn 5th in 38.22mins and Oliver Flippance was 6th in 39.18mins. Jacob Oxtoby was 4th on the Light Green 3.6km course in 44.15mins, John Cherry 5th in 45.46mins, Florence Lunn 6th in 51.53mins, Nathan Chapple 7th in 52.05mins, Pippa Smart 8th in 52.21mins and Tabitha Lunn 10th in 64.19mins. On the Orange 3km course Luke Cherry was 2nd in 35.29mins, Peter Markham 3rd in 35.32mins, Josie Smart 6th in 46.51mins and Thomas Chapple 8th in 48.28mins. Lewis Oxtoby won the Yellow 2.3km course in 18.52mins, Emily Knox was 2nd in 20.19mins, Giacomo MacGibbon 3rd in 26.32mins, Sebastian MacGibbon 4th in 29.44mins, David Knott 5th in 31.09mins and Shane Creedon 6th in 31.59mins. Tilly Flippance was 4th on the White 1.6km course in 26.33mins.
OD students competed in the annual British University and Colleges Orienteering Championships held at Wharncliffe, Sheffield. Julie Emmerson came 4th in the Womens A class talking 52.04mins on the 6.6km course with 250 metres of climb. Matt Elkington was 5th on the 10.6km, 406 metres of climb, Mens A class in 65.36mins, and Nathan Lawson was 11th in 68.08mins. Stephen Elkington was 4th on the Mens B 6.6km course in 64.42mins. In the relays Matt helped his team from Sheffield University to 2nd place and Nathan to 6th place while Harrison McCartney’s team from Oxford were 7th. Julie’s team from Durham were placed 9th.
Other results: at Hugset in South Yorkshire Bruce Bryant was 5th on the Blue 4.1km middle distance course in 45.16mins. John Bowman was 4th at Rushmere Country Park, near Leighton Buzzard, on the Short Green 3.7km course taking 50.26mins and young Max Straube-Roth was 1st on the white 1.6km course in 15.26mins. At Westonbirt, Bristol Orienteering event, Barry Elkington was 6th on the 7.7km course in 53.14mins and Mel Elkington 9th on the Orange 3.4km course in 47.01mins.
21st March 2017