30th June 2004 : North Downs Relay

GO managed a solid 2nd place in the annual North Downs Relay held on Saturday 19th June. This year 6 teams contested the pilgrimage and GO improved on last years 3rd place, but in a slightly slower time!! Despite the team being slower overall, Tom Mendum sliced a whole second from last years run to set yet another new record time on leg 8 ... well run Tom. Next years race will as always be in June, so make a note in your diary now and lets see if we can win this "it's not a race"!! next year.

Leg	Starts At	km	Record	GO Team	GO	Position	SLOW	CROC/LOK	SAX/SN	LV/TAD	Canterbury
			Time		hh:mm:ss	on Leg	hh:mm:ss	hh:mm:ss	hh:mm:ss	hh:mm:ss	hh:mm:ss
1	Dover	11.2	49.23	Keith Tonkin	0:53:07	1	0:58:49	0:55:59	1:00:21	1:08:51	0:55:59
2	Castle Hill path & road jn.	13.3	53.49	James Crawford	1:06:35	1	1:16:04	1:12:53	1:15:20	1:15:35	1:28:00
3	Stowting (The Tiger)	10.5	46.51	Gary Simmons	1:10:00	5	0:51:54	1:20:00	1:00:33	0:56:55	0:52:46
4	Wye (Level Crossing)	11.0	40.49	Jeremy Wilde	0:48:53	2	0:48:44	1:16:00	0:52:46	1:02:16	0:52:26
5	Charing (A252 Jn)	12.3	50.56	Peter Clement	1:05:42	5	1:01:09	0:56:47	1:09:51	1:04:20	0:58:51
6	Hollingbourne (X-roads)	16.7	76.30	James Cunnane	1:55:00	5	1:26:46	1:44:10	1:45:38	1:29:14	1:55:00
7	Bluebell Hill (Picnic site)	8.0	28.26	Linda Pakuls	0:40:24	4	0:37:30	0:40:54	0:41:34	0:38:55	0:40:00
8	Medway Bridge W (Car Park)	13.2	54.44	Tom Mendum	0:54:43	1	1:27:00	1:09:26	1:37:00	1:09:33	1:09:26
9	Vigo Inn (X-roads by pub)	14.7	64.35	Mike Elliot	1:24:38	3	1:03:48	1:48:00	1:16:17	1:48:00	1:38:00
10	Dunton Green (Rose & Crown)	9.8	44.14	Jennifer Thomas	1:05:05	4	1:07:00	0:52:42	1:17:00	0:53:15	0:53:16
11	Betsom Hill Farm (road X-ing)	11.0	49.47	Dave Bateman	1:25:00	6	1:06:38	1:13:00	1:00:13	1:11:43	1:00:34
12	A22 (footbridge East Side)	11.5	46.33	Mark Smith	0:54:04	4	0:53:08	0:50:27	1:04:46	0:49:56	0:57:12
13	Reigate Hill (Car Park)	11.8	46.41	Ben Smith	1:00:26	3	0:56:16	0:58:50	1:01:27	1:05:57	1:11:00
14	Stepping Stones (West side)	15.0	61.22	Alastair Doyle	1:10:07	3	1:07:36	1:08:03	1:16:14	1:19:40	1:36:00
15	Newlands Corner (road X-ing)	12.4	47.54	Peter Nicholls	0:50:18	1	0:59:40	0:56:06	1:22:00	0:59:40	1:10:40
16	Puttenham ( by Car Park)	10.6	44.25	Jenny Nicholls	0:54:43	4	0:50:00	1:06:00	0:52:25	0:57:42	0:52:25
	Farnham (A31)	193.0			17:18:45		16:32:02	18:09:17	18:33:25	17:51:32	18:11:35
				Team Positions :	2		1	4	6	3	5

17th June 2004 : GO AGM ... Saturday 26th June 2004

Invitation ......

Guildford Orienteers Club Summer Social and AGM - 2004

Were you at Pewley Down last year? .... Remember what a fine day it was?

The 2004 event is at the Blackheath Village Hall (GR030462) on Saturday 26th June 2004. Signed from the A248 at Chilworth Station and the B2128 just north of Wonersh.

Arrive between 10:30 and 11:00 and leave by 15:00 (the AGM will be at 14:00).

Bring ready-to-eat food and drink - sorry no BBQ facilities but there is a kitchen with microwave and kettle ... there will be strawberries - crop permitting!!

There will be activities for those who want to get exercise on the common. Bring appropriate dress (shorts/tee shirt would be fine, trainers or studs) - there are no brambles or rough woods but there might be shin-eating heather, although most of it is out of bounds because of nesting birds.

Some activities are team based and are better with children. If you have any spare children please encourage them to come. They will be returned.

Some activities can be done sitting down inside the hall with a nice cup of tea and biscuits - tea, coffee, soft drink, biscuits, home-baked cake, all provided free.

There will be prizes!!

The Club Champions will be presented with trophies and medals.

The AGM will be held. Approval is needed to formally adopt the new Club Constitution and the Safety Policy.

Do come.

22nd May 2004 : GO Club Championships

The 2004 Club Championships were held in conjunction with the CompassSport Cup event on Star Posts on the 14th March, and some worthy Club Champions came to the top of the pile on the day. Overall Club Champion for 2004 is Keith Tonkin who continues in his winnings ways to retain the title for the second year. The ladies champion again this year is Linda Pakuls who again managed to hold off the challenge from Christine Kiddier. In the Junior ranks we have two new champions as we have included all of the courses this year. The 2004 girls champion after an excellent season is Katherine Nicholls, whilst George Simmons who has also had some very good and consistent results over the last couple of seaons won the boys title in a close race with David Abrams. Well done to all of our GO Club Champions for 2004. Full results will appear in the next AllGO.

12th May 2004 : David Abrams selected for U14 tour to Lagganlia ...

Congratulations to David Abrams on his selection for the U14 summer tour to Lagganlia. David will be representing the SEOA along with 3 other SEOA Juniors. Well done David and we all look forward to hearing all about it later in the summer.

9th May 2004 : British Relay Success and GO/SLOW Junior Coaching Day ...

Last Monday (3rd May) a team of old Gophers (Peter Nicholls, Riatsala Elyod and Keith Tonkin) enjoyed the sweet taste of victory again by winning the M45 British Relay title ahead of HH and SLOW. The race was pretty close and tense at times, but the old lags held on to win by 4 minutes to make this the 8th British title for GO in 15 years. The other GO team in M45 (James Crawford, Mark Smith and Gareth Davis) were not that far back in 7th place after a blistering first leg by James who always seems able to perform really well in Relays ... well run chaps.

Not to be outdone the ladies W45 team of Christine Kiddier, Jenny Nicholls and Linda Pakuls were a fantastic second hehind SLOW. Well done ladies and bad luck on not lifting the trophy this year. I have every confidence that you will be victorious before too long.

This Sunday (9th May), Peter Nicholls master-minded the GO/SLOW Junior ... and not so Junior training session on Puttenham Common, and despite a spot or three of rain early on an excellent day was had by one and all. We would all like to say a big thank you to Pete who did all of the hard work to make this event happen ... well done Pete. Several more experienced seniors were also on hand and helped with the training, so a big thank you to you all for giving up your time to help. I think that everybody had a very useful session and we can look forward to some good results in future years from our blossoming crop of juniors in both GO and SLOW.

Future training sessions are planned for later in the year so check out the GO and SLOW web pages for details.

23rd April 2004 : GO/SLOW Junior Coaching Day - Sunday 9th May, Puttenham Common ...

Date .... Sunday 9th May 2004
Time .... 10:00 - 14:00
Venue .... Puttenham Common - Eastern ( Top ) Car Park - Grid Ref 919462

This is a GO/SLOW training day and it is intended primarily for Juniors and beginners but there will be some limited exercises for experienced orienteers as well. The exercises can be tailored to match the people who want to come. You can be shadowed by more experienced orienteers or just talk to a coach after each exercise. This is a good chance to talk to people about the areas you want to improve. Members who would be happy to help train beginners would be most welcome!

Puttenham Common is a well contoured and generally runnable area with plenty of excellent terrain to enjoy. It is also a good spot to relax, enjoy the views and have a picnic, so bring the family, some food, drink and a Frisbee ... you should enjoy the day!

Please e-mail if you think you will attend, or are able to help

23rd April 2004 : Win for Hugh Denton at JK 2004 ...

It looks like Hugh has inherited Tim and Kaths winning ways by cruising to a fine victory in M10B at this year JK held at Graythwaite in the Lake District. Hugh won day 1 and despite being a bit disappointed with his run on day 2 (he thought he had blown it as he told me in the Wilf's queue with a 2 minute error ... oh to make errors of that size!!), but he hung on for a very well deserved win and the first overall GO winner for some time (I think). Well run Hugh and lets hope the good form continues.

As well as Hugh's win, Tim Pugh was a very close second in M60S losing out by a mere 8 seconds ... how many places can you find those 8 seconds Tim?? Keith Tonkin had yet another outstanding run to hammer a high classed field in M45L on day 2 to win that day by a massive 2 1/2 minutes. Unfortunately a less than perfect day 1 meant that Keith could only pull up to 4th, but this was still a great result ... well done Keith.

Other Gophers also ran well with Mark Smith and Peter Nicholls seperated by 1 second for 17th and 18th in M45L, Freddie Nelson 9th in M14B, David Abrams 11th in M14A, Tim Denton 9th in M40S, Gary Strowbridge 11th in M50S, Kath Nicholls 6th in W10A, Ellie Nelson 8th in W14B, Marion Crawford 8th in W20L and Christine Kiddier 14th in W50L.

In the relays we were never in contention, apart from Christopher Nicholls who came in a splendid 3rd on the first leg of the Mini Relay, and many Gophers found the going tough and a bit unpleasant as we battled through quite a lot of rather grotty green forest, twice in many cases!!, which was a shame when so much of the area was very runnable and appeared not to be used. The junior courses in my option were also way too long and technical and would have been better if they had been a couple of km shorter. I fear planners don't always appreciate that your typical M14 running on M48- is not capable of running a 5 km Green course!! The technical nature of the area would have phased many experienced adults let alone juniors. Apart from that the day was splendid with a great atmosphere and decent weather. Well done JK2004 for a memorable and very enjoyable weekend.

1st March 2004 : 2nd place again for Keith ...

Keith Tonkin had another excellent result in the British Night Championships at the weekend, finishing in 2nd place by 56 seconds to the UK number 1 Martin Dean. Keith was in the lead during the middle portion of the race and clawed back to within 6 seconds of Martin with 2 controls to go, but sadly it wasn't to be for the second year running. Keith has been runner up now in 3 British Championship races in succession and must deserve a win soon. Well run Keith and bad luck on not getting a win this time. If you want to borrow a couple of extra candles for the next sortie at night let me know ... drip free variety of course!!

7th February 2004 : CompassSport Trophy, Club Champs, JK and British Relays ...

If you intend to take part in these competitions for GO please check out the details from this link.

Please make sure that you enter these events in good time to avoid a last minute rush for Christine.

A big well done to team Gopher for staging a splendid National Event last weekend. Despite the weather problems leading up to the event we seemed to cope ... just, and I hope most people had an enjoyable day. So well done to Mark Smith and his team for planning, David May and Charlie Turner for controlling and Tim Pugh for pulling the strings and making sure it all happened. Keep you heads down now for 2005!! Oh and a big well done and thank you to everybody who came along and raced and we hope to see you at the next GO event later in the year.

Club O Suits

I badly need a few more folk to sign up for new GO kit so that I can get an order placed. We have some young juniors who are desperate to wear club colours, but until I have a few more definite yes's I don't have enough names to place an order. So if you don't have the new kit or perhaps need a short sleeved top for the summer, please please please let me (Alastair) know asap. It won't break the bank and you will look cool .... honest!

8th January 2004 : Happy New Year ...

A happy new year to all fellow Gophers and orienteers.

Just over 3 weeks now until National Event 1 at Blackheath. If you haven't entered yet don't delay ... get that entry in!! The forest is looking good now and we can all look forward to some fast and furious racing. If you don't plan to run still come along and support the England squad as they take on The Netherlands and Belgium on home turf ... should be good. Keith Tonkin has been selected to run for England in the M40/M45 class ... well done Keith, so make sure you come along and give him your support. Do we call it an England Cap in Orienteering or perhaps a Gaiter? Food for thought!!