SOC Coaching Activity. Saturday 1st February.  From 10:30 - 12:00.

Location: Busketts, New Forest

Parking: Bartley Cricket Pitch Car Park

Nearest Post Code: SO40 7GN

There will be something suitable for all standards including juniors/beginners of yellow standard and up.

SOC Coaching is free to SOC members. Cost £1 for non-SOC members.

If you plan to attend please contact Kevin Bracher  (k.bracher1080ATgmail.com)

This is the first of three coaching activities planned for the next few weeks: 01/02/20 Busketts, 15/02/20 Rufus Stone and 07/03/20 Millyford Bridge. More details on the follow up activities will follow.

Why not come along to hone and practice your O Skills?! Anyone who can offer help supporting these activites putting out kites and or shadowing participants, please let Kevin know at the email address above.

Organiser: Kevin Bracher

Coach: Kevin Bracher, Colin Hicks, Helen Wheelwright

This is the start of a semi-regular series of articles to help you get to "Know Your Clubmate" better in a format shamelessly stolen from CompassSport magazine. It's fitting that we begin with our Chairman, Julian.

Name

Julian Hartwell

Age Class

M65 - just promoted and can't decide if I'm ready for it!

What other orienteering clubs do you belong to or have you previously belonged to?

Southampton University and Mole Valley - both many years ago.

When did you start orienteering and how?

At Southampton University with encouragement from Gerry Barrell and Lubor Velecky.

How often do you go orienteering?

As often as possible! Twice a week isn't unusual.

What do you enjoy about orienteering?

I'm tempted to say the hot bath afterwards, but there's more to it than that. I'm competitive for sure, so that's a big part of it, but I also enjoy running and being in the countryside. I find maps fascinating too.

What is your favourite SOC area and why?

Well it's got to be somewhere in the New Forest. Bramshaw (used for the Classic last November) was pretty good wasn't it?

What is your favourite orienteering discipline/distance and why?

Conventional line courses because, like others I suspect, I just want to be told what to do and get on with it. I also like the sense of a journey. And long courses because they give more time to recover from errors!

Car parking or controlling? What's your favourite orienteering volunteering?

I've done a fair bit of organising - the more you do the easier it gets. I have planned as well, but only for a few low key events. I'd like to do more planning when I have time.

What is the high point of your orienteering career so far?

Well that has to be running for England in the Interland last year. A fantastic experience which came out of the blue.

What other countries have you orienteered in?

New Zealand and France. The less said about New Zealand the better - who would have guessed you need a different compass in the southern hemisphere?

What training do you do?

I try to go out for a run a couple of times a week - obviously orienteering counts.

What one piece of advice would you give other orienteers?

Contact lenses are better than glasses - but either is better than pretending you can read the map OK when you can't!

What keeps you busy when you're not orienteering?

I do a fair bit of target rifle shooting, mostly on the open ranges at Bisley in the summer months - so it goes well with orienteering. And I have a small dinghy I keep at Warsash Sailing Club. Oh, and mucking about in the river outside our house in Cheriton!

What book are you currently reading?

In Your Defence by Sarah Langford - a fascinating insight into the world of a barrister doing criminal work.

Anything else you'd like to share with your clubmates?

As chairman I love to get feedback from members. Please tell me what you want from the club and we will try to provide it.

Coming up on Saturday 29th February is our Middle Distance Level D event at Mark Ash Woods in the New Forest.  Colin Hicks has planned some excellent courses to help sharpen skills required for fast, accurate orienteering over shorter distances.

We need volunteers please for the usual range of jobs (assembly, registration, first aid, control hanging etc.) so please let me know if you are interested in helping and whether you have a preferred job, and / or preference for helping early / running late or vice versa.

…and don’t forget….it’s half price entry fee for helpers!

Thanks 

Lisa lisajames(at)nhs.net