Windy Tramore

A big thanks to John Casey for organising the Munster League event held at Tramore on Sunday 7th June. Full results are posted on the IOA website. There was a small but elite turnout for the event. Thanks also to Laura for looking after Upload and Download.

Shamrock O Ringen

The June Bank Holiday was a busy one for club members in the sunshine of Killarney.

The Irish Sprint Championships were held at Ross Castle. It proved to more of a Short O than a Sprint O... more technical than expected in places. Well done to Laura Cox who finished 2nd in W18 and Ian McHardy who finished 3rd on M35. I was pleased with 5th on the highly competitive M45 class despite some early errors.

The full 3 day event started with Black Lakes on Saturday. The most notable performance was Brid Casey who won the W35 class by over 8 minutes. There was an excellent 2nd place for Sue Pim (W65).

Day 2 was at Crohane Mountain where Sue Pim (2nd) and John Casey (2nd in M40) were the best Wato finishers.

The final day was a Chasing Start at Torc, Muckross. The handicap was worked out so that the order of finishing was the final finishing order... i.e first past the line!
Robert Pim won the M12 class as he was the only finisher. Well done for completing all three days in a variety of terrain. Sue slipped to 5th in very hot weather conditions.

Thomas Callery (5th) and Ian McHardy (6th) competed for the honour of best Wato M21s entrant. Nigel Pim put behind some tough days to finish 3rd on the final day in M35.

On a personal front, I was delighted to finish 6th on the M50 class. At Black Lakes, I was close to giving up on the first control and finished 17th. Day 2 was an improvement with 9th place, 2nd of the Irish. At Muckross, I had a steady run to finish 1st of the Irish over the line, an improvement of 11 places.

SE Spring League results from JFK

Rhododendron in full blossom...the summer is on it's way.

A family day out...you are never too young!

Thanks to Angela and Laura for help with registration and download.
Full results are loaded to the IOA website

The Sprint O format at the JK

The most obvious feature of this map at the 2009 JK Sprint held in the centre of Newcastle is that the main road, the A1 runs right through it.

Even when I had finished, I am not certain that I took the right route choices over and under the roads. The key though is to make the decision and stick to it. You cannot afford to change your mind or stop and think.

The scale is 1:4,000 which means that 1cm on the map represents 40 metres on the ground.

3 controls...just under 2 minutes, not bad....next 5 controls in the top 30, just under 8 minutes gone...no time to look at the pretty flowers...quickest leg 10 to 11 in 5th fastest time...slight pause in decision making, 58th on the short leg around the tennis courts to 16...another half minute error by taking the wrong way over the motorway to 17 (78th place on the leg)...steady in the next few legs around the university buildings....final flourish, 9th fastest 22 to 23 and 3rd fastest on final sprint to the finish line. They always say that if you are fast at the end, you have left something out on the course!!!

End result: 3 minutes 33 seconds behind the leader in 37th place (out of 105 competitors) in the M50 course.

Permanent Orienteering Courses, Part 2

In drawing up a template for the setting up and use of POC's (Permanent orienteering courses) I visited and evaluated one the exisiting POC's in Ireland. Sean Cotter has done excellent work in producing maps of 4 parks in Cork City. Maps can be downloaded in pdf format with or without control sites marked on them from the Cork City Council website. The parks that have been mapped are Clashduv, Glen Amenity park, Marina and Murphy's farm.

I looked at Marina which was mapped in 2006 to see what we could learn from it. Our understanding of POC's has moved on since this map was made.

I visited all of the control sites.

What marking is used to indicate the control site?

In this case red and white paint with two letters and the number corresponding to the control marked on the map. The problem is that these weather and in many cases I found it hard to distinguish the letters and number.
What constitutes a good feature to use?

The feature has to be permanent yet allow the user to identify a range of standard features used in orienteering.

Fence corner

Park bench

Metal Post

Concrete post

A tree number sign...a red and white equivalent may be the easiest to maintain and replace.

Who will maintain the control sites?

I spoke with the new Sports Development Officer with Cork City Council who stated that it was the responsibility of the Council worker in that park. I found 3 control sites missing.

A new bridge but the original marker is missing (or else I could not find it)

What features can be highlighted?

The line of the old railway is an attractive feature of this map.

Steps are another which are useful especially in Street O events.

What possible dangers are there?

This is not a great location for a control site...look at the second step...this is just beside the river Lee!

This is an interesting placement on a metal box attached to a bridge.

Another thing to look out for...are there any roads (no matter how small) to cross? This one beside the river Lee was crossed several times.

Munster Schools results

Full detail of all schools events will be found on the Irish Schools Orienteering Blog

The mind plays funny tricks

Thanks to Eddie from CNOC for the photo


Last weekend, Laura and I competed in the Leinster Championships in Rossmore forest, close to Monaghan town. This is an excellent map with plenty of intricate detail.

Running in the M50 category, I started confidently, taking the first 7 controls without any great difficulty. Contouring around a small drumlin to the 8th control I made a 2 minute error of judgement as I misidentified the track I was seeking. Picked up speed again to hit 9 to 13 without too much difficulty. The next leg gave a route choice to the east or west of a lake. I chose the eastern route as the person ahead of me had gone for the western route. Along a fence in an area of small deciduous trees, crossed the fence at the corner, small area of low brambles, out on to the path. Headed north along the path, past the end of the lake and then blip....! I reached the edge of an open area where I had planned to head into the forest...but what's that in the distance? Tents, people running, Irish flag....oh no, I have somehow got back to the finish!?

Retraced my steps to where I had left the forest and met the track...15 minutes later I decided to continue on and try the route I had intended all along...I had been right...the mind plays silly tricks! Annoyed, I ran fast to make up time...16 to 21 and the finish no problem. Then, second place by 9 seconds! Oh, what might have been.
Full results on the IOA website

Laura and I in a group photo for runners up.

Results, results and more pix

A big thank you to Norman, John and Kevin (and anybody else who lent a hand) for running the event at Glenpatrick. The picnic afterwards was the highlight for some in the pleasant spring weather. We even have a volunteer to map the area to include the recent changes!
Click here to get detailed results.
Another excellent event was hosted by CNOC on the new map produced by Pat Healy at Kilmore Quay. The club was well represented at this Leinster League event as the results and photos show. Have a look.
Brid Casey (representing the club for the first time!) was placed 2nd on the Green course with Nigel Pim in 9th place. Liisa Honkasaari and Laura Cox made it a 1,2 on the Light Green Course with support from Angela Cox (6th) and Sue Pim (7th). Jonathan Pim came a close 2nd on the Orange course while Robert Pim had the misfortune to mispunch. Yours truly found the 11km Brown course enjoyable but a tad long!

The Munster Secondary schools has been changed to April 2nd to facilitate schools in Junior Certificate exams.
The next Munster League event is due to be held at Breeda wood south, near Tallow on Sunday 29th March.
Our next club event down for 26th April will be at Kennedy Park instead of Glenpatrick.
The short break is due to Easter, the Munster league event and the schools events.

POC's

POC's refer to Permanent Orienteering Courses not to Pat O'Connor! On a recent trip to Aberdeen, I visited Duthrie Park to see how they had set up a POC. This set of photos is to give people the idea of POC's. They can be set up in any park or local woodland and can be used at any time by schools, families,etc.

They may need to be chained to a tree if there is a risk of vandalism...
Markers can be screwed to a gate or fence


Markers can be up a tree or at ground level....

Sample of map available from the Aberdeen City Council

May be on a short post

A plaque that is being proposed for Irish POC's and which would be easy to replace. May not be suitable for all locations. Used in Cork City.

And another one from Sweden (thanks to DH)

Knockanaffrin Results

Waterford Orienteers hosted a very successful orienteering event at Clondonnell woods at Knockanaffrin in the Comeragh Mountains on Sunday 15th February.
The numbers were boosted to 120 participants by members of the Irish Junior Squad and their mentors plus a contingent of Defence Forces orienteers.
Full results and splits can be found on the IOA website

Thank you in particular to Norman and Elizabeth Storey, Jana and Angela Cox who helped organise the event.


Brown Course 7.9 km, 340 metre climb.
1. Darren Burke (Cork O) 57.24
2. Colm Hill (CNOC) 59.28
3. Conor Short (CNOC) 67.58
4. Dermot O’Sullivan (BOC) 69.04
5. Hugh Cashell (CNOC) 73.33
6. Paul Hourihan (DFO) 76.41

Blue Course 6.9km, 280 metres of climb.
1. Cillian Corbett (Cork O) 67.19
2. Willie Fitzgerald (Cork O) 68,21
3. Liam Gahan (Wato) 69.09
4. John McCullough (3 Roc) 70.48
5. Kevin Grant (Wato) 71.09
6. Brian Flannelly (Cork ) 74.09

Green Course 5.2 km, 190 metres climb
1. David Healy (GEN) 31.25
2. Eoin McCullough (3Roc) 44.27
3. Alex Simonin (BOC) 46.16
4. Brian Hill (CNOC) 47.21
5. Josh O’Sullivan-Hourihan (BOC) 49.13
6. Ruth Lynam (CNOC) 51.46

Light Green 4.4km, 125 metre climb
1. Frank O’Brien (Cork O) 46.46
2. Leslie Coughlin (MCBS) 47.24
3. Norman Storey (Wato) 52.54
4. Brendan Wall (MCBS) 52.59
5. Cliona McCullough (3 Roc) 54.09
6. Peter O’Brien (MCBS) 54.19
7. Jim Hoare (FIN) 59.10

Red Course 4.8 km, 145 metre climb
1. Darragh Lane (MCBS) 48.29
2. Eddie Hogan (FIN) 61.35
3. Mark Hoare (FIN) 61.43
4. Clodagh and Niamh (St Pauls Scouts) 67.19
5. Paddy and Donal Walsh (Fethard Scouts) 71.04
6. Tommy Gahan and Ryan Hammond (Fethard) 88.56
7. Caoillinn Brady (Wato) 93.44

Yellow Course 3.2km, 80 metre climb
1. Sean (St Pauls Scouts) 42.22
2. Jerry Sullivan 44.11
3. Aidan McCullough (3Roc) 47.10
4. Ciara Fitzgerald (Cork O) 47.52
5. Norah O’Brien (Cork O) 47.53
6. Emma Pim (Wato) 50.09
7. Sinead and Aoife (St Pauls Scouts) 52.54

SE League 5 at Knockanaffrin

..............Start times between 11 and 1.
Follow signs from Rathgormuck to Clonmel road...see map below.



..................Thanks to the Con (troller)for the Pix.

The Big Weekend

An early Ryanair flight to Edinburgh for the Burns Weekend and two days of interesting orienteering. Airport to accommodation very easy...Premier Inn at Haymarket...bus from airport stops nearby. Check in early and change for short journey to the Commonwealth pool to check in for the first event. A Street O, part of the Scottish Urban League. For those who have never tried it...you should....looks easy but mistakes can cost a lot of places.

Entered for M40+ class on the Long course. Start at one of the entrances to Holyrood park...the course winds its way through Edinburgh Southside....along streets, into courtyards, up and down stairs, around monuments and even up a spiral staircase...trying to avoid high walls that impede progress and running into pedestrians out shopping around the street corner. Local knowledge and previous experience in previous years were an obvious advantage to those who had it. Laura and I were less fortunate. I was pleased to finish the 6.3 km in 56.24 which was only 9 minutes behind the winner, 23rd out of 54 entrants in the class. Laura was happy to finish the 4.7km in 68 minutes as she is only just getting used to running the longer distances. The finish was up the steps at the Pool!

Day 2...another clear sunny cold day as we headed off to Arthur's Seat in the heart of Edinburgh. Reached the start and found a long line of people queueing to start on all the courses except the Brown. Instant decision to get my moneys worth. Certainly 1 hour and 54 minutes later I was wondering if I had made the right decision. 8 km and 750 metres of climb (320 metres more than the Blue) told the story. Some of the controls were technically quite easy but mixed in with some difficult and long legs plus the climb, this was a challenge. Looking at the results at the finish I was depressed, having been beaten by an M60. Wait, not so bad...he was the mapper! He only beat me by 6 seconds. The winning time for the record was 1 hour and 10 minutes. Once again local knowledge would have been a big help...this is an area used by people living in Edinburgh. Also used last year and for the World Schools championship recently.

I would recommend a Club trip to the event next year. It has something for everybody and oh, yes the shopping on Princes Street, the Art Galleries and Edinburgh Castle can all be squeezed in.