THE WRITE TRACKNewsletter of

Issue 2014/4 December 2014

EditorialAs we approach the close of the year, here is another Write Track offering. We hear fromyoungsters setting out enthusiastically on their O-journey and seniors returning to the sport.Night-O, Urban-O, Pre-O and Classic-O are all represented. We seek your views on the futureprogramme of the club and look forward to a series of frequent local events in the Spring anda showpiece urban race in Newcastle in the summer. Success is celebrated in the form of theawards made at our ceremony in October. Peter Firth

Noticeboard

World Orienteering ChampionshipsScotland, more specifically the area around Inverness, will host this prestigiousevent (31st July to 7th Aug.) in parallel with the Scottish Six Days week (2nd - 8th

Aug.). Newcastle and Tyneside Orienteers have offered their help, possibly asarena assistants at the Opening Ceremony on the Saturday afternoon(1 st), so ifyou possibly can, please let Patrick Smyth know of your availablility.

Headquarters AddressBritish Orienteering have moved their headquarters up the road to:Scholes Mill, Old Coach Road, Tansley, Matlock, DE4 5FY phone: 01629 583037

Newcastle Quayside 12 th July 2015In 2015 in Newcastle the club is to host an urban event which is gaining prestige status, being included as a UK orienteering league fixture and an Urban League event.

Tell us your preferences, pleaseAs a help to forward planning, your club committee has initiated a survey of members, copiesof which are to be found on the club website at the address below.We can only accurately assess the opinions of the club membership if everybody is preparedto spend a few minutes in completing and returning this, please. http://www.newcastleorienteering.org.uk/docs/questionnaire.html

MembershipUnless your membership is automatically renewed by Direct Debit, membership renewals for2015 are now being handled by British Orienteering via their website or the above phone.

Return to Orienteering after 25 years – The Urban WayNow which way does the map go, which way is north, and what the hell doesthat symbol mean and, of course, which way do I go to the first control?

Pretty straight forward for those of you who have been orienteering on aregular basis. But to one who has not touched a compass or a map in angerin quarter of a century – pretty daunting and a little nerve racking!

I chose the NATO Killingworth urban event to try my luck. Oh dear! I hadforgotten that as a New Town there were so many paths and back alleysand very intricate detail to comprehend, let alone navigate and, needless tosay, the planning by a certain Patrick Smyth.

Seventy nine minutes of fumbling and bumbling aroundand with the aid of some help from a concerned local -yes I did get all the controls eventually and in the rightorder. I met the Hippos 3 times and many dead endpaths and alleys along with many bemused localresidents, who were wondering what had happened to

their town and trying to fathom out what all these strange Lycra cladpeople with maps in hand were doing.

The cronky knees ached and the aged body ran out of steam a few timesbut Hey! I enjoyed it and loved the technical brainwork required to navigatesafely and accurately.

Some months later and with Otley, Northallerton and the impeding event atBrandling Park, my times are improving and I can’t wait for the next year'surban events……. when as a result of reaching the ripe old age of 65, I will beable to run more sensible length courses.

It just goes to show that anyone can do it!

If you think you are too old then think again!

I have one more problem to overcome – I will be running the same coursesas my wife, so this could bring some interesting discussions.

Brian Davies

Puzzle Corner

Can you identify from which of the club's maps this extract has beentaken? Answer on the last page

Thoughts from my first season orienteering

I started orienteering early this summer and have really enjoyed it as a far more interestingand mentally challenging alternative to simply running. At first I ran orange courses, but haverecently tried light green, which I would like to do some more of. Recently I tried out nightorienteering at Newburn and Rising Sun, an interesting change because I rely a lot on sightwhen orienteering, so in the dark I had to depend a lot more on estimating distance andwatching for small details within the beam of my torch, which I think helped me develop myorienteering skills. I would recommend giving night orienteering a go because it provides anew challenge and helps develop skills in a different environment.

Roxanne Siadat

Christmas Quizfrom Jeremy Lakey

Northumberland place names in the form ofInternational Orienteering Control descriptions.They may be a bit cryptic. Answers on the last page. No peeking yet!

1: 2: 3: 4: 5:

6: 7: 8: 9: 10:

British Schools Championships 2014.

These were held in Temple Newsham Park near Leeds on the 16th November. 6 junior members travelled down to compet on a very fine day on a very wet and muddy area.

Good results were achieved in very competitive classes.Hannah Brown 22nd from 38Alex Hare 19th from 44Aoife Lakey 20th from 31Harry Boyles 27th from 66Josh Boyles 21st from 50William Lamb 14th from 21

Well done to all juniors.

John Crosby

Wanted Column

The club equipment officer is seeking some tent pegs to go with the Club Tent, and also a fewfor pegging down start box tapes. If you have any spare pegs (about 9” long ideally) no longerrequired and would be willing to donate, please get in touch with Patrick Smyth. Thanks.

In Hand (25th November)

Type Size Number

Short Sleeve S 2

XL 2

Long Sleeve M 2

XL 3

Badges Lots

Club Kit

We still have ‘o’ tops available from Carole Firth: (carole@ssdcentre.f9.co.uk).They can be long or short sleeved as listed and cost £24.

We also have 4 blue hooded fleece tops at £24 (1 youth XL and adult 1S 1M 1L)

and a lightweight M rain top (no hood) at £32. If interested ask to try on.Other tops have been sent back for restyling so details of these will be put on the website whenthey are available.

Christmas Party

Tuesday16th December 2014

at the West Moor Community Centre, West Moor.(Benton Lane, West Moor, NE12 7NP)

(The short stretch of road linking Great Lime Road, West End to A189 roundaboutS.E.of Gosforth Park)

From 7:00 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.Cost Seniors: £7.00 Juniors £4.00 Under 10s free

BuffetNo bar ~ Soft Drinks available.

You may bring your own alcohol.)

Usual games and quiz questions

Please book your places before. Wednesday 10th December to(Please state if vegetarian)

Margaret Crosby:~~crosby.margaretAThotmail.co.uk

Club Awards 2014

Congratulations torecipients of the awards

presented on October 15th

John Moore Trophy for service to the club

Joshua Boyles

Ruth Fletcher Trophy Katherine Crosby

Knightsbridge Trophy Patrick Smyth

Mapping Award Fred Miller Killingworth

Planning Award George Hare Slaley Feb 14

Club Champions

Junior Men Ben Sanderson Junior Women Hannah Brown

Senior Men David Smyth Senior Women Kirsty Davies-Walters

Veteran Men Andy Green Veteran Women Katherine Crosby

Super Veteran Men Patrick Smyth Super Veteran Women Tricia Davies

Ultra Veteran Men Andrew Nicoll Ultra Veteran Women Helen Rafferty

Highest Placed Members in the Ranking List

Patrick Smyth

Most Improved Performance

Andy Green (Senior) Harry Boyles (Junior)

Acorn Award Ben Sanderson Oscar Sanderson Roxanne SiadatKian Sadat

Tree Award Rebecca Green Ben SandersonOscar Sanderson

Roxanne SiadatKian Sadat

Copse Award Zoe Jenkins Joe Green

Wood Award Thomas Athey Michael Athey

Forest Award Alexandra Hare Oliver Wright William Lamb

Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team's Cleveland Survival: Sat. 28th March. (note a change of date from that shown on some entry forms.) Online entries will be available,via their website <http://www.clevelandmrt.org.uk/events.php>A friendly event open to runners and walkers based on an orienteering course of about 26miles to be completed within a 12-hour time limit with checkpoints identified by grid referenceand description. Your aim is to visit each checkpoint in the order given on the route card.Most checkpoints are manned by Search and Rescue personnel with drinks available at some.

Precision ‘O’ (Trail ‘O’)I was pleased to see an increase in the numbers trying out Pre ‘O’ at Jesmond and hoped youenjoyed the challenge. Some of the controls were straight forward and some gave a degree ofdifficulty. The two main controls that competitors had problems with were numbers 3 and 6.Both had four kites.

Number 3 was building SW corner. The A,Band C kites were discarded as they were onthe Northern parts of the building. The terrainat a first glace gave the D kite as the correctanswer. If you looked closely at the map youcould see the boulder symbol at the end ofthe building symbol. This showed that therewas a bit of wall detached from the mainbuilding. This was where the kite was hung. Byshowing the line of vision from the viewingpoint to the SW end of the building you gotthe impression that the kite was hung there.So the correct answer was Z meaning no kitewas correct.

If you moved back down the path, the boulder and the kite became detached from the main building.

Number 6 was a different type of problem and this was todetermine where part and side of the spur were separated.You have no edge on a spur. The A kite was on the Spur Wside and the B kite was on the SW side of the spur - in thecorrect area but down from the top. The D kite was on the topof the spur but on the S part. This left only the C kite which wasthe correct answer. The main tip is to determine where thecentre of the side of the spur was using the contour. Anotheris to look at other features like trees and bushes to determinethe correct location.We hope to have more Trail O at events for you to practiseand have a full event next Summer.

John and Margaret Crosby

Newcastle and Tyneside OrienteersOrienteering Night Owl Series 2014 – 2015

11/12/14Cramlington Urban 15/1/15Lower Ouseburn

19/2/15Tyne Riverside, Prudhoe 28/2/15British Night Champs

13/3/15Silverlink --/--/--Northern Night Championships

Christmas Quiz: [1] Cragside [2] Wall [3] West Woodburn (west charcoal burning site)[4] Ford (path/river crossing) [5] Bywell [6] Middleton [7] Haydon Bridge [8] Bridge End[9] Housedon Hill [10] Twice Brewed Puzzle Corner: Newburn