We don’t really get time to learn about various aspects of orienteering other than attending the monthly informal events held on a Saturday. So it was great to come along to the first training event of 2011 held jointly by PFO and SELOC to give us some hints and helpful tips for when we are competing in larger and even regional events.

We arrived at Tockholes for training, gathering with fellow SELOC and PFO members, young and more senior. It was a very cloudy and cool morning but no sign of the rain or wind that we experienced back in October at the regional event. Ten minutes of warm-up exercises soon blew the cobwebs away.

Our first orienteering masterclass, delivered by Hamish, was to recognise and use ‘Attack Points’ when trying to get to control points. The rest of the morning was spent putting theory into practice with several courses of four to six controls to negotiate mixed in with some detailed compass work.

Dinner time was a welcome break from the hectic learning, map reading and running around of the morning. Then it was time to warm up again. We began the afternoon session with a masterclass on ‘Aiming Off ` which was quite useful to learn about because rather than relying on being exact with your compass bearings when aiming for a map feature, by aiming off to one side of the feature that you want to get to, you know which way to turn after reaching a point on the map that indicates when you have to aim more accurately to the feature. This lesson was incorporated into another course. By the time we had finished this exercise, we were all ready to go for a rest (or nap) but Hamish had other ideas. We were split into teams of three and made to do a relay over two courses.

It was a really good day in which we learnt a lot so a big thank you to Hamish for the training, Jim for setting out and bringing in the control points (oh and making up one of the relay teams) and to Caroline for help and organising us all during the training. Adam would also like to thank Caroline for his chocolate for getting round three courses with Dad.

Hamish has promised that their will be further training events this year through to the summer, probably held at weekends, we will definitely try to come to all of them.

Therese, Joel and Adam Thetford

Last Tuesday saw us return to Tockholes for another excellent Junior Training Day organised by Hamish. Although not as windy as at October's Regional Event, the weather was a bit murky and drizzly, and the rain at the weekend had left the ground nice and soggy, so everyone had a good excuse to get really muddy!

There was a good turnout from adults and juniors eager to get out and about at half term. We spent the morning running a few short courses which were aimed at improving our use of attack points. After a brief lunch break, we worked on using compass bearings to approach controls, and also on "aiming –off" methods. We then ran a course that was designed to allow us to practise our new-found skills, as it gave us the opportunity to use all the techniques we had been looking at during the day. Finally, we had a relay race, during which teams of three competed against each other.

We all had a really enjoyable day, and I got so muddy that my Mum had to line my seat with bin-liners before I was allowed in the car!

Another dull day, weather-wise, cold, dark and very cloudy and every so often threatening rain which in the end did not materialise. This was our second big event outside the normal SELOC area (not counting Tockholes and Watergrove) and was a chance to improve our skills without feeling the pressure of competition for our club. Therese was going all out for a Light Green to improve her skills and Joel was happy to do Orange. Adam was excited and had been all week because this event had a string course and this was his first. Mum would keep an eye on him while he did this. Dad was undecided which course to do but in the end opted for the Light Green course, this proved fortuitous but he didn’t know until after he had finished. We think he chickened out of the Blue course because he didn’t want to take two hours to finish and come last!

As we arrived, we met Pete and Lisa Kidd, who had been roped into helping by their friends who were organising the event. Lisa told us she was going to do her first Light Green. Since there were two starts at opposite ends of the forest, Dad and Therese went one way, Joel, Adam and Mum went the other.

The Light Green course started downhill and then flat but after Control 3, a significant climb to Control 4 was encountered. The first five controls were re-entrants and this was a good course for Therese to find out what they were. Some accurate compass work was needed on the detailed parts of the course where you could not tell whether contour circles on the map were high points or low points. The best part about it though was beating Dad.

Adam meanwhile was experiencing the String course which did not involve any paths whatsoever. Mum said he insisted on following the exact line of the string whether that took him through holly bushes or puddles. He proudly showed his punched map to anyone who would look.

The Orange course was quite a challenging map and did involve at one point following a path which suddenly changed into a lake, wellington boots would have been useful here. Most of the course was spent going uphill and this led to a rather interesting downhill slide to the finish from the last control point. Joel took his time and concentrated on his map reading skills.

Mum found out from one of the LOC Mums that the area was difficult and that a lot of people had dropped down a level so we were pleased with our efforts and Dad was relieved that he had chosen to do the Light Green. Thanks to LOC for organising a good event.

Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with a trip to Bowness and a hot chocolate…. Mmmmmm!

Therese and Joel Thetford