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CAPTAINS CORNER
OD finish in 2nd place in the
2009 CSC Final
So 2nd place for OD for the second year
running. Thank you to everyone who turned out for the club and helped
us put 2175 points on the scoreboard (compared with 2262 for SYO in 1st and
1956 for BOK in 3rd place). This result means we have
been 1st or 2nd in each of the last 6 years - which is pretty impressive
stuff. You can find the results at http://www.leioc.org.uk/
Top performances came from Sheila Carey
and Matt Elkington (both 100 points), Jo Haliday (98), Dan Haliday, Sue
Bicknell, Matt Halliday and Harrison McCartney (96), Iain Embrey,
Jess Halliday, Sophie Kirk and Hamish Rogers (94).
Special thanks to all those who came
from far afield to run for the club - remember you may be eligible for
a travel allowance (as previously communicated), in which case it is now
time to apply.
I made 3 predictions before the event: (1) SYO would win, (2) OD would be
second, (3) HOC would be in the top 5. Unfortunately I didn't place
a bet or I would be somewhat richer tonight........
Congratulations to SYO for their victory
today and also to HOC, who were amazingly making their 1st appearance in the
CSC final. Hopefully this was the first of many for them.
Thanks to everyone for paying their
entry fees and SI dibber hire fees. I have now closed the accounts on
this event.
I have a load of maps from today that I
shall take to upcoming events but if anyone wants their maps passing on
differently, please email me.
The next club event is the Yvette Baker
Qualifier at Hay Wood on 15th November.
Andy
Sunday 27th September 2009 and OD win the Peter Palmer Relay Trophy at Sutton Park, Birmingham for the first time ever. We have previously won the age handicapped Joan GeorgeTrophy but today it was the real thing. A marvellous achievement to add to our Juniors list of successes. We now hold both the Yvette Baker Trophy and the Peter Palmer Relay Trophy at the same time - so very well done to ALL the juniors who ran at Sutton Park.
OD fielded 3 teams, which was more than
any other club managed. That meant I could not put out the strongest
possible first team because of the need to juggle names to make up 3
viable teams, each including juniors who were prepared to run the night and
dawn legs. Several juniors who did not run in the first team had
justifiable claims for inclusion which is why I want to thank them all, even
if they were not in the winning team this time. Added to this
I wanted to make the other 2 teams eligible for the Joan GeorgeTrophy which
meant the combined age of the team had to be 90 or less.
Here are the teams as they eventually ran:
All 3 teams finished, with no retirals or
disqualifications which is a result in itself. Matt Elkington got his
team off to a great start and was the first Droober back, closely followed by
Will Gardner with Matt Morris not too far behind. Without these guys
running in the dark, and our second leg runners (Robert Gardner, Helen
Elkington & Alastair Gardner) running the dawn leg we could not put 3
teams out, so a big thank you to them for making it possible.
I want to give a particular mention
to Ali Gardner, Harrison McCartney and Matt Halliday. Ali was
press-ganged into running the Dawn leg for his team at the last minute; and
despite being apprehensive about it he got the job done, so mega-thanks
to Ali. Harrison was asked to run the 6km long last leg (Green) for his
team and gave his all. He was absolutely exhausted when he
finished but you wouldn't have known it as he steamed over the finish
line, so a massive pat on the back to him too. And what can you say
about Matt Halliday? He went out in second place behind MDOC (last
year's winners and favourites again this year), something like 5 minutes 11
seconds adrift. By the spectator control he has reduced the deficit to 2
minutes 20 seconds but with only 2.3km to go. When he was pre-announced
as being in the lead the tension went up another notch. Shortly after,
he burst into the final approach with no-one in sight behind him, and crossed
the finish line with well over 30 seconds to spare. That capped a great
day for us.
I want to commend all the juniors
for their exemplary behaviour throughout and to thank my fellow team leaders,
Alan Halliday and Ali Oliver for sleeping (sort of) in a sports hall full of
juniors and for ensuring everyone got to the start / change over area on time. Thanks
also to Sian & Richard Gardner, Chris Morris and Mel Elkington for running
the relay change-over and finally to Mel for delivering all the pizzas.
I hope some juniors reading this will
be motivated to collaborate in writing a review of this event
showing it from their point of view, perhaps with more emphasis on the orienteering
aspect and on the social side?
Andy Emmerson
The
table below shows the other team events in the run up to Christmas (not many
shopping days to go now).
The
two schools events are not “O” club events of course, but a large contingent
of Droobers will be involved. Here’s
hoping both Henry’s and Kenilworth School have great success.
If any other OD schools are involved please let me know so I can follow
them as well. Compass
Sport Cup Final – 18th October (This is a repeat of part of the June Captain’s Corner but it’s
still relevant.) The Compass Sport Cup Final is at Fineshade Woods near Corby on 18th
October. The Grid
Ref SP 979983 is on the A43 about 7 miles south of Stamford.
The area is a mixture of native hardwoods forming part of the old
Rockingham Forest and newer Forestry Commission plantings.
Entry
fees are Seniors £11.50 and Juniors £5.50.
The organisers recognize this is expensive but have been hit with large costs that are
beyond their control. We need everyone to turn out for the club to maximize our chances
of returning the trophy to OD, where it has rested so happily for 3 of the last
4 years. The more people we can
flood the event with the greater our chances of winning classes and pushing
pretenders from other clubs further down the results table. Final
details are expected early in October but I would like to know now who is
available so I can start plotting. Therefore
would you email me with your
availability for this competition ASAP please? Email
me at odcap@octavian-droobers.org
Yvette
Baker Trophy – Qualifier – 15th November – Hay Wood There
is good news about this event and there is less good news. First
the good news: the competition area is Hay Wood, a really nice OD area that many
of you should be familiar with. And
for anyone who can’t get the hang of those wiggly brown lines on a map,
don’t worry, Hay Wood is as flat as a hedgehog that chose the wrong time to
cross the road. Now
the less good news: this event clashes with the DVO district event on
Eyam Moor near Chesterfield, which is now an
Interland selection race. There are other selection races so it may not be
essential for those juniors hoping for selection to attend it but I would not
expect any junior to pass up the opportunity if they felt it was right for them.
This may
of
course jeopardise our progress but I think we should manage
even without some of our star turns. I
am interested to know which juniors should be available for the YBT qualifier
and which ones may go to Eyam Moor. To
repeat, there is no pressure or expectation to turn out for the YBT event but
please let me know your intentions, to odcap@octavian-droobers.org
Results from the West Midland Relays 10
Droober teams took part in the West Midland Relays on the Long Mynd on September
6th. The day was
overcast with a chilly, blustery wind that had the club tent shaking and
straining at its pegs. We contested
8 classes and came away with 6 victories plus one second, one third and one
fourth place; so a very good showing once again. The
winning teams were: Mini
Relay – Ella-Rose McCartney, Sophie Oliver & Aimee Morse Junior
Boys – Guy Ross, Alastair Gardner & Hamish Rogers Intermediate
Girls – Helen Elkington, Amy Oliver & Emma Kettley Open
Women – Harriet Batten, Lesley Ross & Jo Halliday Veteran
Men – Barry Elkington, Andy Emmerson & Richard Gardner Ad
Hoc: Ben Ross, Tony Feltbower & Penny Oliver Thanks
to all the Droobers who supported the event and to Wrekin for staging it.
At
the prize-giving Brenda Morgan, the WMOA Chair, extolled the value of this event
as a great introduction to relay running for people before they are plunged into
the British and JK Relays, and urged WM clubs to keep on staging this event
(preferably in its usual June slot). I whole-heartedly concur with this
sentiment – long live the West Midland Relays!!! Thanks Andy
Emmerson Contacting
the Captain As you will see in the November Droober magazine when it
comes out, I have written a job description for the club captain so you know
what to expect (and what not to expect) from me. I have also written a
plea for people to tell me how I can pass information out to them most
effectively. If anyone reading this does not already receive news emails
from Peter Guillaume, can you please contact me (and copy Peter) with your
email address or let me know I can best get information to you for future team
events and relays etc.? You can email me at odcap@octavian-droobers.org
phone me on the number in the Droober, or find me in event car parks in a grey Seat
Alhambra FV56 HNE. Andy Emmerson OD Captain
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