Podium’s for South Wales Orienteering Club Members on a very successful final individual day of the JK Orienteering Festival at Pwll Du near Blaenavon. Alice Bedwell won the overall Women’s 60’s and Rhys Manning was third in Mens 40+, well done!

The outstanding result of the day was the effort from the SWOC team who planned fantastic courses and organised the logistics of today’s event, along with all the volunteers without whom this event could not have taken place.

Thank you Anne, Lawrence, Andy, Kevin, Jane and Pete.

Finally for the use of Pwll Du our thanks go to:The Duke of Beaufort Estate, Walters Mining and their tenants, Blaenavon World Heritage Site Commons Management Group, Blorenge Commoners, Garn-Er-Erw Welfare Hall AssociationFor parking:Walters Mining, Mr Alan Llewellen, Coity Farm, Blaenavon & Pontypool Heritage Railway Centre @pbrailway , @rhymneybrewery , Torfaen Council

JK O Festival Day 1 Round Up – Swansea Uni Sprint

A beautiful sunny day in Swansea was enjoyed by the SWOC members who ventured west for the first day of competition at #jk2022 Fast running and no mistakes were needed to get near the top of the results with the best orienteers from the UK and abroad competing this weekend.

Tomorrow we move north to the edge of the Brecon Beacons for a middle distance race on the disused spoil tips of Clydach Terrace.SWOC Results – well done everyone!

W21 elite – Clare Dallimore 13thW open – Saskia Jones , 8thW open- Keira Hinshelwood, 28thW55 – Annemike Silk, 46thM16 – Andrew Raven, 32ndM18 elite – Christopher Raven, 31stM21 elite – Quinn Silk, 80thM open – William Parkinson, 24thM35 – Mark Ponsford, 8thM35 – John Seaward, 16thM50 – Anthony Raven, 80thM60 – James Clemence, 10thM60- Adrian Moir 56th

Thank you for organising @orienteeringswanseabay

South Wales Orienteering Club are delighted to announce that our summer Park Series is returning on Wednesday evenings throughout the summer months.

There is no set route, you will need to find your way between a series of checkpoints shown on the map. With three course distances to choose from there is something for everyone. You can walk or run, on your own or as a team/family. No experience required, help is available for beginners.

The short and medium courses are always traffic free within the parks suitable for under 16’s. The long option (~6km) ventures into surrounding streets, how far you run/walk depends on the route you choose – the fastest runner doesn’t always ‘win’!

Entries are open via Fabian4.

11/05/2022 SWOC Park Series (1) – Llandaff Fields
25/05/2022 SWOC Park Series (2) – Llanishen Park
08/06/2022 SWOC Park Series (3) – Cosmeston
22/06/2022 SWOC Park Series (4) – Heath Park
06/07/2022 SWOC Park Series (5) – Forest Farm
20/07/2022 SWOC Park Series (6) – Cefn Onn

This event has been rescheduled to run on 2nd April.

All entries have been carried over to the new date.

If you can’t make the new date we are offering full refunds until midnight on Sunday 6^th March to anyone who thinks they will be unable to attend on the new (provisional) date.  To cancel and receive a refund:

1/ Click the link here to view your entry details.

2/ Select the event on 2nd April, Scroll down to the cancellation section at the bottom and press the “Confirm Cancellation with Refund = XX” button.

If we find we have to move the date again, then a further full refund period will be offered.

Best 4 results

Pos	Name	Cardiff Bay	Rhiwbina	Newport	Crickhowell	Heath	Llandaf North	Whitchurch			Best 4
1	Richard Edge	480	340	350	600	440	380	510			2030
2	Richard Cronin	520	410	450	0	530	460	500			2010
3	James Clemence	0	390	430	0	510	460	520			1920
4	Gary Davies	450	0	380	0	470	0	510			1810
5	Dafydd Trystan Davies	340	330	0	0	440	310	440			1550
6	Matt O'Keefe	0	0	0	0	530	460	530			1520
7	Duncan Innes	350	0	290	470	360	310	0			1490
8	Clare D	0	0	0	0	470	460	520			1450
9	Marcus Pinker	430	400	0	0	500	0	0			1330
10	Ellie Clemence	190	290	320	0	390	0	0			1190
11	Alice Bedwell	0	330	0	550	0	310	0			1190
12	Wells Steffan	410	0	0	0	430	340	0			1180
13	Tom Foord	0	0	0	600	0	0	520			1120
14	Nathaniel Palmer	340	350	0	0	430	0	0			1120
15	Camilla Brueton	300	290	0	0	370	0	0			960
16	Jeremy Dickson	0	260	0	0	340	0	330			930
17	William Parkinson	0	190	0	0	290	0	420			900
18	Mark Ponsford	420	0	0	0	0	460	0			880
19	Mulcahy Ian	460	410	0	0	0	0	0			870
20	Christine Farr	0	200	0	0	0	290	370			860
21	Rachel Haigh	0	130	0	0	270	110	340			850
22	David Walker	0	220	220	0	400	0	0			840
23	Matt Whipple	0	0	330	0	0	0	500			830
24	Andrew Roberts	0	240	0	0	0	230	360			830
25	Zoe Pelech	210	0	0	0	0	280	320			810
26	Mark Saunders	0	310	0	480	0	0	0			790
27	Da Powlesland	0	0	0	0	0	220	480			700
28	Christopher Morgan	0	0	0	0	340	0	340			680
29	Tessa Lewis	0	0	0	410	0	240	0			650
30	Peter Ribbans	230	0	0	400	0	0	0			630
31	Huw Treasure	0	0	0	560	0	0	0			560
32	Graham Tough	280	0	0	0	280	0	0			560
33	Lorraine Kelsey	0	0	0	300	230	0	0			530
34	Alan Pucill	0	0	0	480	0	0	0			480
35	Richard Munn	0	0	0	0	470	0	0			470
36	Jack Reddaway	0	0	160	0	300	0	0			460
37	Lucie Parkinson	0	0	0	0	0	0	450			450
38	David Hunt	430	0	0	0	0	0	0			430
39	Rich Carr	0	0	0	0	420	0	0			420
40	Stuart Lewis	0	0	0	0	0	410	0			410
41	Sam Deeley	0	0	0	0	0	390	0			390
42	Robert Haddow	0	0	0	0	0	0	390			390
43	Jill Manning	0	0	0	390	0	0	0			390
44	Sophie Pooley	0	0	0	0	0	380	0			380
45	Leon Hughes	380	0	0	0	0	0	0			380
46	Ian Moran	380	0	0	0	0	0	0			380
47	Michael Darke	360	0	0	0	0	0	0			360
48	Mark Stodgell	350	0	0	0	0	0	0			350
49	Simon Baines	340	0	0	0	0	0	0			340
50	Ray Collins	330	0	0	0	0	0	0			330
51	Chris Ashenden	330	0	0	0	0	0	0			330
52	Anne May	0	0	0	320	0	0	0			320
53	Sian Edwards	310	0	0	0	0	0	0			310
54	Adrian Moir	310	0	0	0	0	0	0			310
55	George Morton	300	0	0	0	0	0	0			300
56	Emily Lewis	0	0	0	300	0	0	0			300
57	Delyth Brushett	0	0	0	300	0	0	0			300
58	Clive Caffall	290	0	0	0	0	0	0			290
59	Rowan Phillips	0	0	0	0	0	280	0			280
60	Paul Taunton	0	0	270	0	0	0	0			270
61	James Grant	0	270	0	0	0	0	0			270
62	Dave Collins	0	0	0	0	0	270	0			270
63	Darke Simon	250	0	0	0	0	0	0			250
64	Scarlet Pimpernel	0	0	0	230	0	0	0			230
65	Ros Taunton	0	0	230	0	0	0	0			230
66	Lowri Shorrock	220	0	0	0	0	0	0			220
67	Steph Bevan	210	0	0	0	0	0	0			210
68	Max Emery	210	0	0	0	0	0	0			210
69	Dan Workman	0	0	0	0	0	190	0			190
70	Charlotte Powlesland	0	0	0	0	0	190	0			190
71	Andrew Firth	0	0	0	0	190	0	0			190
72	Richard Davies	170	0	0	0	0	0	0			170
73	H Ashenden	140	0	0	0	0	0	0			140
74	Scarlett Pimpernel	0	100	0	0	0	0	0			100
75	Merce Aloy	100	0	0	0	0	0	0			100
76	Graham Burke	100	0	0	0	0	0	0			100
77	Christine Collins	50	0	0	0	0	0	0			50
78	Emma Harris	0	0	0	0	40	0	0			40

Over 70 participants joined us at Bryngarw Country Park on a blustery Saturday morning for a “one hour challenge”. Checkpoints were scattered throughout the park with lots on the paths and a few tricky ones in the woods to test your skills.

It was great to see so many happy faces and some very impressive results from many people who were trying Orienteering for the first time!

Marcus Pinker was first overall and visited all checkpoints in just under 25 minutes! Eleven competitors visited all the controls, special mention to juniors Rhys Potts and Tomos O’Connor who were trying Orienteering for the first time.

Another special mention to John Seaward who decided to compete pushing a buggy and was spotted lifting it over fallen trees to reach number 22!

Pictures from today are on the club facebook page.

Thank you to the fantastic club members who gave up their Saturday’s to help out; Christine, Duncan, Kevin, Jane, Clem, Marcus, Anthony, Christopher and Mark.

This was the first time we have used the park for Orienteering and we hope to return soon. Many thanks to The Awen Trust for permission and The Outdoors Partnership who helped us secure the funds to enable free entries for under 25’s.

Our next WOW event is at Caerphilly Mountain on February 20th followed by Llantrisant Forest on March 12th. Entries for both events are now open on Fabian4.

Thank you all for coming

Clare (Organiser)

Overall Results

Split times (what order controls were visited) click here

One Hour Challenge	60 min	26 Controls
1	8428248	Marcus Pinker	FVO Senior	260 p (24:58)
2	2049784	Duncan Innes	SWOC Senior	260 p (38:58)
3	7401200	Nick Ashby	SWOC Senior	260 p (39:37)
4	342253	Christine Farr	SWOC Senior	260 p (39:51)
5	8680544	Christopher Raven	SWOC Junior	260 p (42:32)
6	8667906	Anthony Raven	SWOC Senior	260 p (43:17)
7	8641854	Peter Ribbans	SWOC Senior	260 p (47:57)
8	439064	Jana Purklava	SWOC Senior	260 p (48:33)
9	200306	Ainis Pirtnieks	SWOC Senior	260 p (48:39)
10	439066	Rhys Potts	Junior	260 p (53:28)
11	2097497	Tomos O’Connor	Junior	260 p (54:13)
12	8190649	John van Rooyen	Senior	250 p (46:41)
13	2097485	Ian Standen	Senior	250 p (52:45)
14	2097484	Lucy Hammond	Senior	250 p (52:47)
=	9200894	Rachel Flint	Senior	250 p (52:47)
16	2097486	Caroline Tinsley	Senior	250 p (52:49)
17	2097499	Megan Dale	Senior	250 p (54:27)
18	439065	Gwen Potts	Junior	230 p (56:45)
19	2097500	Rosa &Seren	Junior	220 p (53:26)
20	2097498	Jasmine Pilbeam	Senior	214 p (60:44)
21	401394	Donnal Halloran	Junior	200 p (54:22)
22	401395	Vijay Mahavar-Snow	Junior	200 p (55:11)
23	439059	Nathan Lewis	Junior	190 p (55:59)
24	2097488	Benjamin Jenkins	Junior	190 p (57:34)
25	2097483	Daniel Jenkins	Junior	190 p (57:39)
26	2097495	Laura & Matthew Parkes	Senior	180 p (57:41)
27	439056	Lydia Orchard	Junior	170 p (55:24)
28	439057	Sioned Orchard	Junior	170 p (56:03)
29	439053	Iolo Harvey	Junior	170 p (56:23)
30	401403	Evyn Roberts	Junior	170 p (56:30)
31	439058	Lucy Orchard	Junior	170 p (57:30)
32	401409	John Seaward	SWOC Senior	170 p (57:38)
33	235542	Laura Young	Junior	164 p (60:14)
34	439055	Angharad Orchard	Junior	160 p (56:00)
35	33074	Aaditya Udiawar	Junior	160 p (58:01)
36	401401	Lathika Udiawar	Junior	160 p (58:38)
37	401399	Jack	Junior	156 p (68:50)
38	401396	Dylan	Junior	156 p (68:57)
39	401405	Kat Angell	Junior	152 p (62:03)
40	401404	Choi James	Junior	152 p (62:10)
=	439051	Katie Watson	Junior	152 p (62:10)
42	401408	Henry Angell	Junior	152 p (62:40)
43	401407	Kallie Watson	Junior	152 p (62:49)
44	439060	Iolo Morris	Junior	150 p (51:43)
45	401391	Arthur Bannister	Junior	150 p (55:11)
46	401392	Maisie Bannister	Junior	150 p (55:16)
47	401397	Ellis	Junior	150 p (69:04)
48	401410	Noah Moore	Junior	140 p (56:25)
49	439061	Ava Greenslade	Junior	130 p (50:00)
50	2097487	Gabriel Bates	Junior	120 p (50:27)
51	401411	Euan Moore	Junior	120 p (53:40)
52	401413	Oliver Jones	Junior	120 p (57:44)
53	401412	Cayden Jones	Junior	120 p (57:49)
54	439063	Isabel Burley	Junior	100 p (57:27)
55	439070	Caitlin Lewis	Junior	90 p (45:23)
56	203394	Jacob Best	Junior	90 p (58:21)
57	401398	Brandon	Junior	90 p (59:58)
58	9102792	Braydon	Junior	90 p (59:59)
59	401390	Will Lawless	Junior	68 p (66:08)
60	401389	Sam Lawless	Junior	62 p (67:20)

Overall results by course

Split times between controls

The day was bright and crisp and a lovely day to get out, and if you went looking, you could still find frozen puddles to crunch. Well done to everyone who came and took part in our Orienteering event at Parc Penallta. We had 81 entries plus accompanying adults enjoying the scenery of one of Caerphilly County Boroughs County parks.

Penallta was a Club local league event, but also part of our Winter of Wellbeing Series, encouraging winter activities for Children and Young people.

And we had quite a turnout of Young People, almost all new to the sport and keen to find out how much fun it can be.

We had 27 young people on the Yellow course, the majority under the age of 10 years and 21 young people on the Orange course under the age of 18 years. Special Congratulations to those that got all the controls, that is quite an achievement! For those that didn’t, don’t worry, it’s all about the challenge and we hope you had fun finding the ones you did.

Well done to Florian French who topped the Yellow course and Rosa Watts who lead on the Orange course.

For most this will be the first time they have done a colour coded course and they should take encouragement that they could manage that level of course at other locations. Our next colour coded course event is at Caerphilly Mountain Woods – look out for details.

The Green and the Blue courses involve some greater distance and higher technical difficulty and normally run by those with a bit of experience.

Well done to Hayden Griffiths who lead the Green course by a clear 10 minutes and Marcus Pinker who set the defining time on the Blue.

Thank you to Marcus, Duncan and Christine for their expert guidance and coaching to all our newcomers.

We greatly appreciate the permission of Caerphilly Parks services for permission to use the park.

We hope everyone who attended enjoyed themselves and particularly if this was your first experience, that you are encouraged to join us again where we look forward to welcoming you.

Anthony

All competitors are asked to familiarise themselves with the British Orienteering participant code of conduct available here

In line with current Welsh Government Guidance we recommend performing a lateral flow test before attending a SWOC event

South Wales Orienteering Club are delighted to have teamed up with the Outdoors Partnership to be able to offer free Orienteering events for under 25’s thanks to Winter of Wellbeing funding.

Hopefully we can get more people out exploring the great outdoors and discovering the fantastic benefits of orienteering.

The events are spread across south Wales between now and March 2022. Details for each event can be found in the events page.

You can expect a welcoming and beginner friendly event, suitable for families/kids of all ages. The beginner option (approx 2km) is always traffic free on surfaced paths. For anyone wanting more of a challenge, there are intermediate and expert courses which are further and venture off the path.

Winter of Wellbeing dates

Wednesday 29th December – Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Vale of Glamorgan

Sunday 9th January – Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil

Saturday 22nd January – Parc Penallta, Ystrad Mynach

Saturday 5th February – Bryngarw Country Park, Bridgend

Sat 12th March – Llantrisant Forest

Sat 2nd April Caerphilly Mountain (rescheduled from Feb)

All events are risk assessed and organised in accordance with British Orienteering guidelines.

60 competitors took part in our SWOC league event on Saturday 23^rd October, and it was great to see some new faces as well as many familiar faces.

Blessed with dry weather and a pleasant temperature for running everyone could enjoy the glorious mature beech forest, although the fall of autumn leaves had covered many of the footpaths !

Thanks to Ben for creating the map, Annemieke for planning and setting out some challenging courses, to Graham Tough for doing the timing, Nick Dallimore and Adrian Moir for their results and entries support and Mark, Alice and Charles for collecting controls.

We hope to see you all again at Gwaelod-Y-Garth, near Taff’s Well, in November.

Nick