OCTAVIAN DROOBERS RETAIN NEW YEAR’S DAY TROPHY

The New Year sporting calendar got off to a great start for Octavian Droobers Orienteering club.  Walton Chasers staged the annual New Year’s Day West Midlands Inter-club Laurie Bradley Trophy on Cannock Chase, near Hednesford Camp. The course had 30 controls strategically placed, around mainly mixed woodland and parkland with some steep wooded slopes to test the orienteers to find as many as possible within 60 minutes.

To defend the title club captain, Alistair Powell, led a good team with 25 across all ages counting toward the winning total of 5400 points ahead of the host side Walton Chasers 5020 and 3rd placed Wrekin Orienteers 4700. Top scorers with 300 points each, finding all 30 controls within the 1 hour time limit, were Oliver Lunn M16, Barry Elkington M60, Alistair Powell M40 and Felix Lunn M16.

Alistair Powell, club captain, was presented with the trophy, on behalf of the club, and Felix Lunn and Oliver Lunn jointly received the best male junior trophy.

Competing away in the sunshine in the Gran Canaria 2017 international event, Sophie Kirk W21 was 7th and 4th respectively in the Long and Middle distance events in her age class. The courses took place high up on the mountains and down on the coast alongside a volcano and across sand dunes.