Potteries Orienteering Club

Although POTOC did not win the CompassSport Trophy match at Yateholme on Sunday 16^th March, we certainly made our mark – and exceeded my expectations. We were narrowly beaten by CLARO, who have won the Trophy twice recently and are probably the favourites this year. My extraction from the results published on 17^th March on the BOF website is that the Trophy results are as follows:

CLARO   70

POTOC   67

HALO     44

SELOC    43

The CompassSport competition is designed so that all team members have a good chance to contribute to success, while still running as individuals. The great thing about this team event, is that even those who don't score points (only the two best-placed runners score), contribute by their participation and can take credit for the team performance as a whole. After all, next time it may be their turn to do particularly well. Having extra runners on a course, besides the two that will count, is an insurance policy. I think all POTOC participants enjoyed their day – helped in no small part by terrific spring sunshine.

Yateholme is technically demanding. All the senior courses (A to E) were well-planned to maximise use of the complex contours on the high moor, where it is dissected by many peat groughs with few strong features to simplify navigation. I was very pleased that all POTOC members, especially the several newer ones unused to this terrain, completed their courses – and none were out too long. I was glad to catch up with Mavis Bailey and find that she was coping well – and enjoying her day.

The juniors did us proud on courses F and G – gaining two first positions and a second. Well done Gavin and Jake Bishop, and Alice Townshend. (Alice’s friend, Liam, also won the Yellow course, but this did not count for the team competition.)

Richard Pigott and Andrew Rowe did well against stiff opposition on the longest course – even though Richard said afterwards that he’d found it rather physically demanding (more training over the Roaches needed: it’s on your doorstep, Richard). I was very pleased to get 8 points on the B course, and Paul Webster, out of training, struggled round for another point. On course C, Paul Graetz and Martin Bishop were over 9 minutes clear of the opposition to give us maximum points. D and E were our weakest courses, where we were up against teams that included younger but well-experienced opposition, and where we were less lucky on the day. Lil Bales and Alison Corbett gained us 5 points on D (leaders were W21s). Judy Douglas and Jean Rostron both had below-par performances to score four points on E (leaders were M60s and M65s).

Condolences to those who entered but could not run because of illness, injury or work: Terry Deighton, Mark Dalgarno, Barbara Farr. Also, to Nathan Townshend who lost his dibber somewhere in the peaty mud.

The full results for Yateholme can be found on the BOF website. The rules for the CompassSport Trophy are that, for courses A to G, the best two runners from each of the four competing clubs count – and score 8, 7, 6, … 1 points according to their placings. (There are rules about eligibility for each of the courses, but I had already sorted these out.)

Austin Farr