Dartboard- 6 May 2023

Dartboard

Issue 4 May 2023

Race Analysis

Editorial

Welcome back to the May edition of Dartboard. Over the last month, DFOK members have ventured to the Lake District to take part in the JK Orienteering festival and we also held our final KOL of the 22-23 season!

Planning O events

The Joydens Woods KOL event was the first event I had ever planned. It was in late August that I was told that I would be planning DFOK’s final KOL event of the season. Not knowing how long it would take, I began to create preliminary courses immediately. This may have been slightly early, however, it meant that in the build up to the event, I wasn't rushing around without any time to do anything. Despite having to move the start and finish a few times due to a change in event centre, the whole planning process was fairly straightforward thanks to the wonderful software, Purple Pen. On the Day, I had to get up at 6am, to begin putting out controls with my dad and Andrew. We got this done in good timing and had plenty of time to set up other things like the start boxes. The first start went off at exactly 10:30am!

During the event, I had to correct the positioning of one control and also rescue one which had been thrown down a hill by an ‘aggressive lady’, who was complaining that it is illegal to run on bluebells! Luckily, she had moved on by the time I had arrived.

Having clocked up 25km on the day, I was suitably exhausted, but it was well worth it! There is a sense of achievement when you see everyone return back (mostly) happy!

The overall planning process has helped me to improve as an orienteer, as now I can spot planner’s traps on courses and identify what skills they are trying to test with particular legs.

I am extremely thankful to Andrew for supporting through the planning process and giving me advice whenever I needed it, and to my dad for driving me to Joydens on 3 occasions over the last 9 months. And of course to the DFOK members who gave up their time to help out before/ after their runs!

Lastly, I wish everyone the best in upcoming races and hope to see you all out and about at events!

Luke Bennett (Editor)

Luke and Kevin at the changeover at the BOC Relays

Photo: Wendy Carlyle

Ignorance is bliss. Until you are lost on the sloping woods of doom wondering a) where is my next control? b) where am I? c) why am I here? d) is it rude to just ask somebody where I am? On top of this, if I miss my footing on the edge of this crag I’m traversing, I’ll be falling for some time. And it will hurt. A lot.

This is my 5th JK, (would have been 6 but for the cancelled event in 2020) and I absolutely love these events. Great atmosphere, excellent courses with tonnes of athletes of all abilities buzzing around. Wouldn't miss them for anything.

I’m always excited at the start of every event. I know these 2 days will be tough (the sprint in Lancaster Uni on Friday had gone reasonably well). I’m at the start of the middle event at High Dam. I’ve asked for advice from many orienteers, and I know this will be tough. It’s sunny and still, a perfect day to get lost in the forest. Which I do almost immediately as I veer off line on the way to the first control. There are no paths on the map. Well one, but it’s of no use. Terrain goes from hilly to marsh, to forest and back to hill. I finally get lost in a marsh, I’ve made a parallel error and I’m in the wrong marsh. I’m just not translating what I see on the ground to what is on the map. I relocate finally and continue on, missing the next obvious control, I veer way off line for the next one, but get better with the next two. Climb up a steep hill in search of a gap in a wall, mistake a crag symbol for a wall symbol and just run around confused. Go down the hill, relocate, back up the hill I go. Nail the control, then punch the wrong penultimate control as I was distracted by others and didn’t bother checking the control code. Argh

I finish with a little sprint, and don’t even know I’d been disqualified until an old SN mate messages me to commiserate (he’s a proper orienteer who understands forests with no paths!)

Oh well, Sunday can’t be worse. Can it? I set off to the start calm and serene, relaxed and ready for whatever I’ll face. Well, I wasn’t expecting the sloping woods of doom, that’s for sure

Made the first 4/5 controls, not smooth, but I found them. Next control was a platform, in an area with about 10 platforms, all at different heights. With the help of an old running mate (who has taken an hour to find his control) I find the control and set off for a long leg along the side of the rocky and twisty steep slopes. Miraculously I find the

next control straight away, and head off (bearing, counting steps). My next control is less than 50 metres away, but I can’t find it for love nor money. I m going round in circles. It doesn t dawn on me that the control is 30 metres below my position, I was hunting about up high.

At the next long leg, I got lost again, just lost confidence, not sure which marshy opening I was in exactly. Sat under a large crag, miserable and lost. Another chap was there, taking a breather. He took one look at me and understood my plight. I was an inexperienced Southern orienteer lost in some of the most technical hills in the U.K. He pointed our position on my map. Of course, that’s where I am. I’m under the largest crag in the slope. I was less than 50 yards from my control I finish the event, tired and a little disheartened. My SN mate had had a great run. Grrrr.

I want to be like him, my SN mate. I’ll be visiting the north again and again, until the sloping woods of doom look like a London Park event! Then I’ll be a proper orienteer…

Meet the members

Dan Youster

Next Issue: Andrew Evans

When and why/how did you start orienteering?

I attended my first event towards the end of 2020, in Czech Republic. It took a few years for Zuzana to finally persuade me to give it a try, and I absolutely loved it. It was also quite a challenging environment for a first event, with some tricky rock formations to navigate around.

Where’s your favourite area to go orienteering?

The Kokorinsko region of Czech Republic with huge sandstone rock faces to climb around is certainly an area I will never forget. In the UK, my favourite orienteering area is Friston Forest, near Eastbourne.

What’s a funny/embarrassing moment from an event?

At my first event in Czech Republic I set out in cargo trousers, wearing a jacket and a backpack with a bottle of water and other bits and pieces in it. I soon realised why everyone dressed so aerodynamically and with as little extra weight as possible. I felt a bit silly afterwards!

Do you have any hobbies or do another sport?

Now that the weather’s cheering up I’ll start doing a bit of cycling and the occasional jog around the neighbourhood to keep my fitness up. I enjoy Geocaching, which shares some similarities with orienteering.

What advice would you give to a newcomer?

Take your time on your first run. If you rush into it you will likely make mistakes. I would also say not to buy all your kit

right at the beginning, but to add to your collection gradually as you work out what works best for you.

What's your biggest achievement / proudest moment?

I’d say doing the three days in a row in Czech Republic, each around 6-7km, finishing within the time limit and not coming last on the final day!

What DFOK member would you like to see interviewed in the next edition of Dartboard?

Andrew Evans

SE League Monthly Round up

By Keith Parkes

For the 9th event at Balcombe, DFOK had a good turnout of 19 runners, but unfortunately had 3 mispunches or retirements, so not counting. Even so, we came away with 842 points and achieved 3rd position in the top Division.

This has kept us in 4th position overall, behind SO, HH and SLOW who are all relatively large clubs compared to us, earning us 26 points. With one race left, we stand a good chance to keep to our 4th place and remain in Division 1 for next season, which would be a first for the club in many years!

DFOK’s own league table is also attached for the 9 events showing Andrew Evans remaining in top position on points.

The last SEL event of 2022/3 is coming up on 14th May at Eartham Wood near Arundel, which is quite a distance to travel from the SE, but the last chance for our members to get into the top 10 of those eligible to earn a buff!

It will also be a chance to enjoy the rest of the afternoon at Bognor Regis or Littlehampton by the seaside, which is only 20 mins away by car!

A list is attached showing the number of SEL events attended by members, ranked in points order.

Orienteering in Czech Republic!

By Dan Youster

This year, Zuzana and I were excited to attend

“Easter in the Rocks Easter”, together with Zuzana took place over the Easter weekend. It was a three-day event consisting of sprint, long distance and middle

The event was held near a small village called Kozly, in the rocky sandstone region of Northern Czech Republic. The event centre, or

“Competition Centrum biggest I’ve seen. A row of food stands serving traditional fast food with a dedicated seating area, and then a great selection of Orienteering traders from neighbouring countries, from which you could buy pretty much anything you might need.

We both bought a new pair of shoes on the second day, which were a perfect fit. I also bought a thumb compass that is much quicker at locating North than my previous one, plus some running glasses, new gators and even a pack of I Love Orienteering playing cards!

There was an entire village of team tents scattered around, from all different European countries, then there was the main event tent, first aid tent and even a day care for kids with a mini orienteering course!

As for the actual runs themselves, we both opted for the T6 category, which meant we weren’t running with our allotted age group and each run would be approximately 6km in length. I knew I wouldn’t have the stamina to run with my age category, so I figured this was the most sensible option.

The first race was an eye-opener for sure. It was a 1.2km walk to the start, which involved two very steep descents and subsequent ascents. This was definitely a sign of things to come. The course was mainly runnable pine-style forest, with lots of valleys and rivers running through it. Towards the latter half of the course, I started to see the sandstone rock formations. A particularly notable leg was from 2 to 3, which involved

and descent. When I finally arrived at the checkpoint, I could see it up towards the top of a rock that must have been a good four or five storeys high, if not higher. Climbing up to that was quite a challenge!

I finished last on this course, tracked 8.4km and it took me 138 minutes!

The second race was the most challenging of the three. There was a bus taking competitors on a tenminute drive to the start, and then another bus bringing us back to the Event Centre from the finish. The buses were running every 10 minutes, which must have taken some organising! This was the middle-distance event and had some of the steepest climbs. There was a very long leg over to checkpoint 7, with two very steep climbs on the way to it, and a final one to reach the checkpoint. 7 to 8 was manageable, staying along the top of the sandstone cliff, but then getting to 9 involved quite a scary climb down and then another brutal climb back up! This day had an added pressure as there was a time limit of 120 minutes to avoid disqualification, but thankfully I made it back with 8 minutes to spare!

Although Day 3 was by no means easy, it was the easiest run of the three as there were fewer brutal ascents and descents than on the other two days. However, I wasn’t quite prepared for the 2km walk to the start! There was one particularly long leg from 3 to 4, with some challenging contours along the way. The area surrounding checkpoint 8 was crammed full

of checkpoints, so there were a lot of people walking around scratching their heads, trying to locate the one they needed and not keep returning to the same incorrect checkpoint multiple times, which I’m told happened to Zuzana! On this run, I didn’t come last, which I was quite proud of!

After the event, organisers took time to thank Zdenko Prochazka who founded and has organised the event as Director for the last 25 years and is retiring this year. Zdenko is a relative of Zuzana’s, so we met up with him for a quick chat. It was very interesting learning how the location for the event is determined two years prior, and that it was June/July 2022 that the event planning started. The first task was to get all permissions sorted for the event, and then by

December 2022 all courses had been finalised. The tags for each checkpoint were put in place two months prior to the event, so it was then just a matter of adding all the sticks on the day prior, and then the kites and control boxes were added two hours before the start of the event. A team of at least 10 people worked together to achieve this.

The idea of “Prague Easter” came from the demand from countries such as Sweden and Norway, who at this time of the year are still covered in snow, and elite-level competitors are keen to attend a substantial orienteering event in a neighbouring country over the Easter weekend. Zdenko decided that by hosting this event, it would not only be popular for Czech competitors, but also competitors from many other countries. In the earlier years, Zdenko would also organise sightseeing trips and other activities for competitors visiting from abroad. The role of Director has now been passed on, and we all hope the event continues for many years to come!

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Race Analysis

By Luke Bennett

Different orienteers will analyse their runs in different ways. From the people who have a brief discussion with other competitors, to the crazy athletes who complain and dwell over a 5 second mistake they made by being a few metres off an attack point. Sometimes during race analysis, we can be too harsh on ourselves or we can not address the correct problems. In this article, I hope to explain a few different types of race analysis and how I find them useful.

The first analysis method is simply looking at Routegadget and comparing your legs and how much time you lost. If you double click on your name, Stats from your event appear and tell you how much time you lost on each leg. I find this quite interesting as it pinpoints exactly where you lost time.

Picture– Did you have a picture in your head of what you would see along the way. When orienteering, collecting features are reliable when taking a compass bearing as they tell you exactly where you are and roughly how far you have left to go. Having a mental picture of what you should see a long the way makes it easier to identify these features when you run past them.

The CAR part of the mnemonic is more in depth about the actual descriptions of the control and the techniques you used to get there.

Control– Did you know the control details before you got there/ before leaving the previous one. If you know the control code then the risk of mispunching is almost irradicated. More specific to urban races, knowing the descriptions of a control can affect whole route choices. For example, if a control is on inside corner of a wall, you might only be able to access it by going one way. Checking your control descriptions is so important as it can reduce time loss through approaching a control from a direction where you can’t actually access it.

Attack Point– Did you use a big or obvious feature to safely guide you into the control? Just taking a bearing to a small boulder In the middle of white forest will most likely go wrong, unless your bearing is spot on (mine aren't usually)! Instead, you could use a clearing/ path which Is 30 meters to the south of the boulder as an attack point as it is hard to miss on the ground and it will guide you into the control safely and you will know where you are.

PDP CAR

I believe this is the most effective form of race analysis. It is quite time consuming but If you really want to go in depth into every leg, then it is very helpful. PDP CAR is a mnemonic that refers to the different things that should be going through your head when running a leg.

Plan- When you left the control, did you have a clear plan of where you would go or did you just run off in any direction. This is a common mistake when you just want to get going on your next leg (and I am very guilty of this sometimes) however, it is important to slow down and make sure you have a clear plan before you set off.

Direction– Were you going in the right direction? Or did you make a 180 degree error etc? when you do this analysis for every leg, if a theme emerges that you seem to be going off in the wrong direction more often than not, then maybe you should look to spend more time taking an accurate compass bearing or making sure your map is orientated.

Route- Did you plan the route? Could you have had a better one. In the heat of the moment, it can be hard to pick the better route. Sometimes after a race it is obvious which way was quicker, however, if you know what your strengths are, it can be easier to plan your route. For example, I am good at reading intricate contour detail, so if that is the case, I would usually choose the most direct route through the intricate contour detail as it is shorter and quicker. However, I am not so good at accurate compass bearings, so in an area of flat white forest with no catching/ collecting features, I would be more likely to choose the path route as that would be quicker for me even though it’s a bit further.

When you do this analysis, write ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for each of the points, and over a few legs or even events, you may start to see a pattern emerging. If one mostly is ‘no’ then you may want to think about it more in your next training session/ event.

These are only two forms of race analysis and there are so many more methods out there, everyone is completely different so it is fine If not every analysis method works for you.

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. Eachmonth, there will be a ‘photo ofthe month’ andwillbeenteredintothe ‘photooftheyear’ competition!

Chair–

Mapper–

Club Contacts

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