Check out our Getting Started guide for an introduction to the sport. Then learn more about the club, what it has to offer, particularly for juniors, and how to become a member. If you still have questions, feel free to contact us.
SOC Saturday 2 will be take place at Lakeside Country Park, Eastleigh on 23rd October and we need an Organiser for the event.
Please contact the Fixtures Secretary if you are able to fill the role.
The weather was very kind and gave us a warm, sometimes sunny day to enjoy this small area. Norman Wilson planned three interesting courses including an "Odds and Evens" score. A few runners on that course made some errors in their sequence of controls and that mixed up the results quite nicely! Congratulations to James Crickmore and Mike Frizzell who both scored maximum points. They took the controls in slightly different order proving that this format on a small area can still provide a good bit of choice for the top runners. It was also great to welcome some newcomers to the sport and we hope they enjoyed their run and will be back for more!
Helen Wheelwright provided some coaching for youngsters with a cone exercise that was enjoyed by all those who took part.
Thanks to Norman for planning and Julia for her assistance before and on the day. Thanks also to all the helpers: Andy Nash and Rob Finch for control hanging; Mary and David Nixon for running the start; and Robbie Berryman and Mark Light for control collection.
A special thank you to Weston Shore Infants School for allowing us to use the school grounds.
The results are on Race Results: race-results.info/live/2093/
Pete Davis
Organiser
Last Sunday was the South Central Orienteering Championships at Hambleden. As Southampton (and our wider area) is in the South and is Central, so our club members were competing across their various age classes for the SCOA Championships. Full results are available on the Thames Valley Orienteering Club website: https://tvoc.org.uk/results/chiltern-challenge-2021/
Well done to the following SOC members for their great results in the Championships (medallists):
M12 Duncan Currie 1st - a massive 11mins 6s ahead of second place!
M21 Tom Bray 2nd - a mere 1:55 down on the winner
M45 David Currie 2nd - not quite as good as his son, but still good
M65 Julian Hartwell 2nd - our Chair leading the way!
W14 Emma Currie 2nd - another top Currie family result, is it nature or nurture?
W21 Clare Leveridge 3rd - a recent SOC recruit & showing us what she can do
W40 Christine Currie 1st - an even bigger Currie result with a big win
W55 Bernie Newitt 2nd - another closely run 1:54 down on the winner
W60 Jane Morgan 1st - just edging the win by a tiny 11s!
W70 Barbara Davidson 1st - with an orienteering hole in one!
W70 Mary Nixon 2nd - completing the SOC 1-2 on W70
For the rest of us, we enjoyed a run round the slopes of Hambleden while trying our best to avoid the extensive stinging nettles! My legs were tingling the rest of the day. We were also rewarded with an amazing amount of red kites flying over the car park and some people even reported seeing some wallabies out in the woods! Who knows what you will see when out orienteering?
Reminder: you have 2 days left to do the MapRun at Stoke Park Woods. The next big competition is the British Middle Champs Saturday 5th June at the technical Summerhouse Knotts in the Lakes. 6 club members are making the journey up. The maps will definitely be worth a look.
