Dartboard 4- MAR23

Dartboard

Issue 4 March 2023

Victoria 2026: P9

World Mountain Running: P10

Where are all the Juniors: P16

Editorial

Team DFOK will be in action this month at the Compass Sport Cup heats on 12th March at Worthlodge. We have a very strong team with 39 runners and it would be great to get to the final for the first time! We will be competing against GO, HAVOC, LOK, MV and SAX.

Sustainability in Orienteering

On the whole, orienteering is a much more sustainable sport than other sports, but this is not to say that we cannot go the extra step to protecting our environment when we attend events.

The first, and probably the biggest issue is that most events are in remote locations and so it is necessary to drive to an event. At regional or national events there can be over 400 cars coming to events which has quite a considerable impact on orienteering’s carbon footprint. To limit the amount of cars that come to events, we could use public transport where possible and at remote events, try to car share with other club members or friends! Not only is this a sustainable way of traveling to events, it can also be a social occasion. Not only this, new areas with limited parking facilities can be used for events as there is a much lower demand for car parking.

Next, event organisers and planners can ensure that control descriptions are printed on the back of old or unused maps. This ultimately reduces paper consumption during an event.

This is often overlooked when reading final details or safety notices etc.. But before turning up to an event, we can ensure our shoes are as clean as possible. This is because when we get mud on our shoes and don’t clean them before going to another forest, we risk carrying diseases from one place to another. It is just like picking up a virus from someone, not following proper hygiene and then passing it on to someone else. There are some cases in the UK where whole forests have been cut down due to disease. To prevent cases like this, we could all spend an extra few seconds after an event getting as much mud off our shoes as possible!

Finally, we could hold charity orienteering events to raise money for environmental charities or supporting tree planting organisations.

These are all very little things, but big things come from people coming together to make small changes! By following these few small steps, we are one big step closer to making orienteering a carbon neutral sport!

Luke Bennett (Editor)

DFOK members at the Icenian sprints in Cambridge

Message from the Chair

Dear members,

I hope that everybody is in good shape and in particular the 39 Dartford Orienteers that will join the Compass Sport club competition on 12 March at Worth Lodge. 39 runners is our largest cohort ever and we have a good chance to win the qualification and go to the final. Even Rachel and Joel are coming from Sweden to make sure that we maximise our chances! The rules are that only the best 10 runners will count, which means that our 5 best runners should run safely to get 99/100 points each (no mispunch please!) and the other 34 still great runners should run fast and take risks to have a chance to be in the top 10 (if you get lost, this will be forgiven). Wear your DFOK vest as Tina will make another great reportage! Good luck to all!

We have already two teams signed up for the BOC Team Relay competition at Hambleden on Sunday 26 March. If you would like to join, please come forward as soon as possible (captain@dfok.co.uk). Also there will be a Team Relay competition on the last day of the JK event, please come forward if you would like to join.

Finally do not forget the KOL event this Saturday at Lullingstone; the lavender fields will not be in flower yet, but the views are great and Richard has made fantastic courses!

Antoine (Club Chair)

Antoine in action!

BOC Nights 2023

Well done to all DFOK members who took part in this years BOC Nights!

Moors Valley Country Park

Course 7/8

Scale 1:10000

Contours 5m

Meet the members

David Dawson

Next Issue:

When and why/how did you start orienteering?

In 1993 after about 3 years going running to get some exercise as my children were getting older. After one muddy run in the rain, I found a map of the POC at Crystal Palace Park. I tried it out and soon joined Croydon Orienteering Club (CROC).

Where’s your favourite area to go orienteering?

I have not done many events outside the SE in recent years and never done well enough to really have a favourite. In the SE it is perhaps Long Valley, which is largely open with a variety of terrain.

What is your first (and/or favourite) event that you planned?

The very first event I planned was part of the CROC O-Fest in 1995 at Croham Hurst. This had 2 courses in 4 different areas on the same morning. The next year we used 8 areas, with some people going to them all.

After working with planners at other “Badge” events (now Level B), I planned one at Long valley in 1999. Since CROC merged with DFOK in 2007, I have planned a Level B event almost every 2 years. Since 2017, I have been a controller, which uses many of the skills needed by a planner.

What advice would you give to a newcomer?

Get stuck in and enjoy yourself.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced whilst planning or organising?

At the recent Chelwood event the challenge was keeping up with the fenced animal enclosures. These were relocated at short notice, including fencing off a strip in the middle of the map one month before the event. Purple pen is a fantastic tool making the job so much easier than when it was done with paper photocopies.

If you are a risk taker, then learn from your mistakes. This may best suit a runner who can afford errors. For the slower and more cautious, then stick with the shorter courses and move on as you gain confidence. When I started: I ran green on my third event and brown on my fifth.

What’s your biggest achievement/ proudest moment?

I have won the green course a few times when “running down”. My best achievement is to put back something back into the sport by helping with events and committee work. All this being necessary for the club and the sport to happen.

David Dawson in DFOK kit

Social Media Best Moments

SE League Monthly Round up

By Keith Parkes

DFOK kept in front of Saxons at Waggoners, but GO having the home advantage came 2nd. Cumulatively though we stayed ahead of GO and Saxons.

Waggoners was a good scoring round for the Klubb, with only 17 participants, giving us our second highest scores. Andrew, Mindaugas and Mark all scored well with over 80 points, enabling Andrew to take the lead from Antoine.

The 10 DFOK members who compete at the most events in the SE League will be awarded a DFOK Buff!

Orienteering at Victoria 2026

By Luke Bennett

It is evident that Orienteering is becoming a much more popular sport. The International Orienteering Federation (IOF) recognises 76 countries who formally orienteer with some more countries that still have runners competing in some form of cross-country running with a map. In addition, over 85,000 people took part in World Orienteering Day 2022.

So, how can the sport grow more and appeal to the younger generations? Many clubs now have many forms of social media to promote younger people. In some countries, walking orienteering is a very popular option to people who would rather go for a nice walk in a park. Australia, however, have put in a bid for the inclusion of Orienteering at the Commonwealth games 2026!

There would be no doubt that it would be highly competitive, as over 20 countries recognised by the IOF, are part of the Commonwealth. Orienteering Australia have proposed; an individual, a knockout sprint and a sprint relay which would take competitors and spectators through the landmarks of Victoria.

Unlike sports like athletics, there is no stadium required to host orienteering and so costs would be kept to a minimum when finding a suitable

On the other hand, whilst orienteering is exciting to watch for people who do orienteering themselves, it isn't exactly a spectator sport, and it isn’t easy to film for live coverage on the TV. People may opt to watch the more ‘traditional’ Commonwealth Games sports such as athletics etc…

Despite this, the recent technology has allowed the IOF to show coverage of events like WOC 2022 live on TV (at the cost of a small subscription), or a few weeks later, you can watch for free on their YouTube channel. This shows that the technology is there and would just require the people to watch it.

In my (slightly biased) opinion, I think it would be a great idea to include orienteering at Victoria 2026 as it will increase the diversity of sports at a big event and will publicise the sport to a much larger pool of people who perhaps have never heard of the sport before!

Victoria 2026 could see the inclusion of Orienteering! Venue.

World Mountain Running Championships

By Holly Page

In November 2022, I was selected as part of the Great Britain team to compete at the World Mountain Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I realise this is an orienteering article, so I will keep the running part brief, but there was a lot to learn in terms of the challenges that arise when competing in foreign exotic locations!

We were immediately informed that there would be some significant challenges to competing in Chiang Mai that we would have to prepare for in advance to give ourselves the best chance of racing well. The most pressing of these were the high temperatures and humidity levels.

While many of the professional GB athletes on the team endured heat chambers on stationary bikes and treadmills, others, like myself, were trying to find a cheaper alternative to heat acclimatisation. 5-6 weeks prior to the championships, I started hitting the sauna a few times a week and slowly started increasing the time I was sat in there. I also started piling on layers to wear while training. I hated this. I dedicated an old waterproof to the cause, which is unwearable now! I was partially saved by a brief cold snap in Edinburgh, which made training in layers slightly more bearable, but after a few weeks of this I was fed up and eager to get on the plane to Thailand.

Before leaving, I also tested a few hydration tablets and gels – which I was told would be key to staying hydrated in such a sweaty environment! I was also told to keep an eye on colour of my urine whilst in Thailand to assess my level of hydration. In addition, my coach had carried out some research on the topic and informed me that I should try to consume slushies if I could while I was in Thailand, since they have both hydrating and cooling benefits.

Eventually my countdown came to an end and I was on my way to Chiang Mai. 3 planes and some 24 hours of travel later, we had arrived and I got my first taste of the 30degree heat and 70% humidity. I didn’t find that I was sweating too badly, so perhaps the sauna time had amounted to legs of a German athlete in front of me and outkicking a Czech athlete in the final 100m to finish 16th!

The racing action was not over yet. I was also competing in the classic up and down event (10km with a 500m ascent and descent) 2 days later. Recovery was tough since there was only one full day. I had a massage from the team physio and then spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool or in bed!

Sadly, this recovery paradise came to an end and it was time to race again. We would soon see if the legs had recovered or not. This race was just as hot, humid and yet again I spotted another snake. This course was far more technical than the uphill only, particularly the decent where there were many rocks, roots and ruts threatening my ankles. Eventually I made it down in one piece and had another sprint finish to finish 8th!

Overall, I had a great time competing in Thailand and I learnt a lot about adapting to the various challenges that were put in front of me. My biggest takeaway was that having a relaxed attitude and preparing well for an event like that goes a long way to being able to perform at your best !

Holly Page in action on the steeper section

Not the kind of race profile you’d see in the South East!

UPCOMING EVENT!

Here’s a Wordsearch from Werdna. He/she has made many mistakes in his/her time orienteering and some of them are listed below. Indeed, he/she has experienced all of them but one; the additional one is thought likely to have been experienced by just one club member and is a much talked about occurrence. Yet another new mistake was the prompt for this Wordsearch puzzle, the last one on the list leading to him/her thinking he/she was going backwards with his/her orienteering.

Can you find all these words and phrases in the grid except for one of them which has been missed out? When words in a phrase are separated by a dash, the parts appear in different places in the grid.

Which occurrence did Werdna not experience and which celebrated club member did experience it?

Which word or phrase is missing from the grid?

What message do the letters that do not feature in any word spell out, read in order horizontally left to right along each row going from row down to row ?

COVERED IN MUD

DIBBING FAULT

ENTERED OOB - AREA

FELL BADLY

FELL DOWN

FELL IN POND

FORGOT O SHOES

GAVE UP

GLASSES - CAME - APART

GOT CAUGHT ON - BARBED WIRE - FENCE

GOT DISTRACTED

GOT LOST

HIT - BY DEER

HIT LOW - BRANCH

INCORRECT - BEARING

MAP TOO MUDDY TO READ

MISPUNCHED

MISREAD CD

MISREAD - SCALE

MISSED CONTROL

NINETY - DEGREES OUT

NO ATTACK POINT

NO CAP

NO CASH

NO COMPASS

ONE EIGHTY - ERROR

RAN OFF MAP

SHOE SOLE - CAME AWAY

SLIPPED ON - BLACK - ICE

WENT TO - NINE NOT SIX

WRONG MAP

If You have any suggestions for games or any fun content, feel free to email me on editor@dfok.co.uk

Race Preparation

By Luke Bennett

Race preparation in orienteering is quite often referred to by top athletes as geeking. They will outline 1 to 3 priority races that they want to perform best in and focus on preparing for those races. If the thought of preparing for important races in the hope to perform better interests you, then have a look at the following tips to mastering race preparation!

Read the details!

You would be surprised to hear how often this gets ignored. When details are released, make sure you know where the assembly is going to be, how far it is from assembly to the start, how long your course is, and roughly where finish is. From this information, you can try and plan your course and the rough route it will follow.

Geeking

Map geeking is the term used when looking back at old maps of the area and getting a feel for the way the map looks and what techniques could be useful in different bits of the map. Another important thing to do is highlighting any areas on the map that could be potential traps. In Urban areas, this could be areas with a multi-level, or intricate passageways. In forested areas, this could be intricate contours or vegetation. Maybe use Routegadget to see if people have struggled in particular areas in the past

Google Earth

Once you have established the area, you can take the ’Google Man’ for a walk. This is much easier for an urban area but In some forests or moorlands, there are a few 360 degree view pictures. You can get a feel for the terrain with these! For an urban race, you could even plan your own course there and ‘run’ it using google earth street view. If there are any tricky areas, then highlight them on your old map or online map of the area.

Understand the shape of the area

In forest/moorland races, it is very important to know the shape of the area so that you know what is up and what is down, where you would be better taking the straight route or where you would be better off contouring around a hill. This is my simplified map of Buckmore park that I drew in preparation of the KOL event there in January. I found this very useful and these were the only features I needed to get me around the map!

What features will be useful

This is possibly one of the most important aspects of race preparation. Take Shooters Hill for example, there would be no point using an indistinct path as an attack point there as there are so many little paths, it just wouldn't be a safe attack point. However, if you were in an area with very few paths, a large track could be used as a reliable collecting, catching or attack point feature. In a contour heavy area with scattered trees, using clearing probably wouldn't be reliable, but using large re-entrants or spurs would be. It is all about noticing what will stand out and be a safe feature to use during your run.

Map

My Simplified map of Buckmore Park prior to the KOL In January

Photos of the Month!

This year, there is a photo competition. Take photos at events and send them to me editor@dfok.co.uk to enter them. Each month, there will be a ‘photo of the month’ and will be entered into the ‘photo of the year’ competition!

Follow

Where are all the Juniors?

This is a section just for juniors! We will pin down a junior monthly and if any junior has a story they would like to share then please email me on editor@dfok.co.uk

Isla Findlay W10

How did you get into orienteering?

We started orienteering just after lockdown in 2021 because the swimming pool was closed and we were looking for ways to exercise – and get outdoors again –as a family.

What’s your proudest moment?

My proudest moment was when I won the silver medal for W10 at the London City Race last September. It was the first big race I had entered and there were lots of people from all over the country there. I felt really proud to do so well.

What is a funny story from an event?

It had been raining heavily before we ran at Hindleap in November. The ground was slippery and squelchy with mud. We had to run up a steep path with water gushing down the middle too. Just as we reached the top, I skidded and pushed my mum over into the mud.

What type of terrain is your favourite and why?

I like running in parkland, such as Mote Park or Chilham, because the views are amazing.

What do you like about orienteering?

I enjoy the countryside and visiting places that I haven’t been before - and winning medals!

Do you do any other sports?

At the moment, I play football and swim, as well as rugby for my school. I also have a yellow belt in karate.

What do you find most challenging?

I don’t find the navigation or running easy, but hopefully it will get easier with practice.

Isla after finishing at Hindleap

Yvette Baker

By Luke Bennett

The Yvette Baker Trophy and Shield are the premier Junior Inter-Club competitions for English and Welsh orienteering clubs. They are named after Britain's first World Orienteering Champion Yvette Baker, who won Gold in the Short Distance event at the World Championships in Scotland in 1999. The Trophy is for larger clubs, with 9 runners to count, and the shield is for smaller clubs with 5 runners to count.

In 2021, DFOK Juniors made it to the Yvette Baker final for the first time! I really enjoyed the final as it was a massive day for our club’s juniors and there was a real sense of team spirit as we achieved an amazing 2nd place in the shield competition! I think I have really benefited from Yvette baker events as in my early days, they were some of the first events that I ran without being shadowed, and of course the final in 2021 was such a special occasion!

This year, the YBT heats are set to be at Balcombe on the 19th March so it would be great to get a team together again aim for the final again!

DFOK Juniors reached the Yvette Baker finals in 2021!

Westonbirt Arboretum

GPS Luke Bennett

*Events sourced from seoa.org.uk. Correct as of 24.02.23

Chair– Antoine Pesenti– chair@dfok.co.uk

Mapper– Andrew Evans– mapping@dfok.co.uk

Treasurer– Keith Parkes– treasurer@dfok.co.uk

Secretary- David Dawson- secretary@dfok.co.uk

Membership– Geoff Goodwin- membership@dfok.co.uk

Coach- Allison Page- coach@dfok.co.uk

IT and Comms- Phillip Craven- enquiries@dfok.co.uk

Dartboard- Luke Bennett- editor@dfok.co.uk

Social Media- Tina Bennett- tbird0212@virginmedia.com

Which occurrence did Werdna not experience … and which celebrated club member did experience it?

David LeFevre

Which word or phrase is missing from the grid? MAP TOO MUDDY TO READ

What message do the letters that do not feature in any word spell out, read in order horizontally left to right along each row going from row down to row ? ANYTHING THAT CAN GO WRONG WILL GO WRONG

If You have any suggestions for games or any fun content, feel free to email me on