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Of course it’s quite handy that Catherine’s school is so close, but from the training point of view it might be better if it was further away – it only takes me four minutes to jog there. (It’s 1k, btw)
Yesterday morning I was up at 4.30 am to go and help out at the Peter Palmer Junior Relays in Sutton Park. I couldn’t find my headlight or a decent torch** so I had some fun/trouble navigating from the Start to a suitable area to patrol, but eventually I plonked myself down on a log by control 77 for a while and had a pleasant time deep in the dark, peaceful wood watching headlamps come and go. As I said to Gerry, it was like watching the Tiomila on my PC. The only thing missing were the split times on the bottom of the screen. 
In fact, it would’ve been great if there had been a camera at that spot, transmitting live pictures back to the arena (and to people at home). I imagine that these days the technology to do it isn’t so expensive, but what do I know…
Congratulations to the planners and to Gerry, COBOC, and the helpers from OD, HOC and elsewhere for a great event. The weather also helped, of course. There were 33 teams and the results show that the lead changed hands several times before OD eventually emerged victorious.
**I did have something with me that was surprisingly effective, once I’d realised. What was it? (Correct, Mrs H
Where is Warley Woods? Bearwood? Smethwick? Oldbury? Er, Warley? When I was trying to type in the address of the park on the internet yesterday, the only option that I could get to work was… Birmingham. COBOC will be relieved!
Anyway, Marti thought the park was lovely, and we had some warm sunshine in which to enjoy our runs. I jogged round the Orange in 16 minutes, trying very hard not to run. I think I need to slow down a tad – my calf was a bit sore afterwards.
I’m somewhat embroiled in a debate about how many clubs there should be in the West Midlands. At the moment there are three big clubs: OD in Warwickshire, Chasers in Staffordshire, and HOC in Worcestershire, three smaller clubs: Potoc in the Potteries, Wrekin in Shropshire, and Coboc in Birmingham, and two university clubs: BUOC and UWOC. (A few other clubs have come and gone: Wye, Solos, AOK…) Potoc and Wrekin are pretty strong for their size: they put on plenty of events and training, and organised the recent Compass Sport Cup round at Weston Heath. Coboc, on the other hand, seems to struggle to get a lot done. I’m partly to blame for this: I live in Birmingham but have always been a HOC member. (I can’t remember how I came to join HOC rather than another club, except to say that despite the existence of Coboc, HOC has seemingly always been the biggest club in the city, in terms of membership.) And although I intend to join Coboc, I have no intention of leaving HOC. HOC’s a great club: it’s got over 300 members and organises 50+ events every year. I suspect that for most people, being a member of such a club is more attractive than belonging to a small club.
What the debate boils down to is, will orienteering develop better in the West Midlands if new clubs are formed, or if the existing clubs start “initiatives” in the underdeveloped areas? One could argue that those people who say we shouldn’t start new clubs have a vested interest in maintaining/increasing the strength of their own club. But the evidence does seem to be rather on their side: small clubs struggle to keep momentum, and there is a lot of wasted energy in the duplication of committees and so forth.
My initial reaction to the growth in orienteering in schools in Wolverhampton (and elsewhere in the Black Country) was that there should be a new club. But who exactly would run the club?? And how would agreement be reached on which areas and maps belonged to whom? A better approach seems to be a MADO-style initiative. The Hartmanns started the ball rolling in Malvern about five years ago and it’s been a great success, but it’s always been part of HOC, with no prospect of it being a club in its own right.
But, then again… isn’t HOC in danger of spreading itself too thinly? What with all the other things it’s organising, how can it effectively launch a programme in the Black Country, an area where it and the other clubs struggle to muster two dozen members between them? Answers on a postcard, please. (Sacks of cash round the side entrance, ta.)
Black Country Map Racers (not a club)
Wolvo (not a club)
I met Marti in November 1997. Since then she’s watched me go off to many orienteering events. Very rarely has she been at an event, and she’s never taken part. She’s not averse to sport – she doesn’t mind cycling, swimming or running – but has avoided O like the plague. Despite the fact that our 4-year-old doesn’t come home in tears after a run round a Yellow course, Marti’s been convinced that orienteering is, to coin a cliche, a “nice jog spoiled”.
Anyway, on Saturday I was taking Catherine to Sutton Park for COBOC’s little local event, and the sun was shining, and Marti said she’d come. I immediately took advantage of this (!) and asked Marti to take Catherine round the White course (or vice versa) while I got a bit of practice in for next weekend’s cup tie by doing the Long. Marti became a bit concerned when she realised that it wasn’t a string course, but the real deal with kites and dibber and compass, but I tried to reassure her by suggesting that although the map was confusing, the kites would be visible along the paths and she would just need to decide at each one whether to turn or carry on.
It was master maps so I drew them a map and off they went. A couple of minutes later, after I’d copied my map, I overtook them and left them to their fate! As I passed Blackroot Pool I knew they must’ve done okay – someone had already been round to collect their controls – and sure enough, they the two of them were, cheering me into the finish. I did my 4.5 km in 33 minutes, and they’d done their 1.7 km in 20 minutes. Celebrations all round! Best of all, Marti’s comment was “That was easy” and she went off to run round her course again…
Marti’s orienteering phobia had its roots in her youth. As a teenager, she’d once or twice had a go at a course with a small group of girl friends, and got lost and had an uninspiring time. That reminded me of my own experiences in Hungary – I’d enjoyed the challenge and the terrain, but it was remarkable that colour-coded courses were almost non-existent, such that there must’ve been a magical process that allowed beginners to become proficient in the sport. All the events I went to were organised by age class, with a token “Nyilt” (Open) course which was probably TD4! So we are very lucky here to have a much better way of running events, and I have a happy wife!
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