Thursday Training: Training normally starts each Thursday at 18.45 sharp from the Royal Free Hospital Recreation centre in Fleet Road. We will wait if you let us know you’re coming but please be prompt. Contact Elaine if you are interested.
South Night Champ
SE Night Champs – Addington Hills – Sat 18th November
LOK were proud to host the South East Night Championships for 2023 on Saturday 18th November 2023 at Addington Hills. Details are available on the event page here.
Live results link https://londonorienteering.co.uk/liveresults/2023/senights/
2023-24 Street O series
LOK is hosting a Street O at Tufnell Park in North London on Tuesday 12 December 2023. Details here.
Please enter online in advance online via Fabian4. It will also be possible to pay at the event on the day, subject to a small late surcharge and subject to map availability.
This is one of two Street Orienteering (Street O) races hosted by LOK as part of the SLOW / LOK 2023-24 series (more information can be found here). These are friendly, easy events open to everyone and start and finish at a London pub. You have 60 minutes to find as many answers to a question linked to each control point marked on the map (race, run or walk as you wish).
Sun 17 Sept 2023 – British Sprint Relay Championships
Congratulations to South Yorkshire Orienteers (SYO) who are the 2023 Elite British Sprint Relay Champions!
A great selection of photographs of the day from Rob Lines (SO), and 6-minute video from Neil Brooks, the LOK Organiser.
RESULTS Routegadget
Sunday 23 July – Hampstead Heath LOK GLOSS event
The final event in the 2023 GLOSS series was organised by LOK on Sunday 23rd July.
Commentary – see below
GLOSS 2023 –18th June to 23rd July
The summer series of six events is as follows:
| Date | Venue | Public transport | Club | |
| Sun | 18 June | Gunpowder Park | Results GLOSS Scoring |
|
| Sun | 25 June | Lloyd Park, Croydon | DFOK | |
| Sat | 1 July | Nomansland | Results GLOSS scoring | HH |
| Sun | 9 July | Epsom Downs | Results GLOSS scoring | MV |
| Sun | 16 July | Streatham Common | Results GLOSS scoring | SLOW |
| Sun | 23 July | Hampstead Heath | Results GLOSS scoring |
GLOSS Series Scoring Results
Further details from the series are on the main GLOSS 2023 page.
REPORT OF GLOSS EVENT 6 ORGANISED BY LOK AT HAMPSTEAD HEATH 23rd July
Hampstead Heath is a top-notch area for orienteering and the course, planned by Richard Lloyd (LOK), made sure we experienced the full orienteering challenge of navigating through tricky woods. The smell was of proper forest. The previous day’s rain meant that the ground had some give but wasn’t muddy – just perfect. Athletic challenge was thrown in by the need to scale over large tree trunks, for example on the exit from control #5. Sunny intervals and 20c made it perfect for summer orienteering.
Thanks also to Charles Spence for organising and Simon Errington (HH) for controlling.
92 competitors completed the GLOSS course of 3.6km, 65m climb and 14 controls – 94 if you include the planner and the controller (who both also ran the Extension course). Quickest were Tim (M35) and Sarah Scarbrough (W40) of MV in 21:07 and 28:46 minutes respectively. Tim hit the sweet spot of coming in within the expected winning time of 20-22 minutes.
Unhandicapped results (thanks to Paul Todd) and RouteGadget are available on our website. You can use Routegadget to show the planner where you went and review others’ routes.
For handicapping purposes competitors are awarded points based on how well on the day they outdo their average ranking scores across all British Orienteering (BO) ranking events over the past year instead of their best six. Full details of the handicapping approach is here and the list of average scores for all BO members as at 16 June 2023 is given in the penultimate column, here. Unranked competitors are each assumed to perform at 0.95 against expectations.
Quickest on handicap ie the individual whose ratio of actual event points to expected points based on their current ranking was Bob Reed (M70) of MV with an outperformance ratio of 1.520. Handicapped results are here. Any scoring queries to Paul Todd.
6 clubs were able to field full teams with SLOW recording their second event win in a row, followed by HAVOC and HH third.
Series points are shown above. HAVOC were already unbeatable going into the final event. HAVOC thereby retain the coveted London Bus Trophy for the six time in a row: 2017 to 2019 and 2021 to 2023. HAVOC were re-presented with the coveted London Bus Trophy by myself just before 1300 – see picture. Thanks to Zbig for providing some cold bubbly (Shloer pink non-alcoholic sparkling juice drink) to celebrate the occasion!
Congratulations to that select band of competitors who made it to all six events. HAVOC had no less than 7 competitors who achieved this feat: David Float, Zbig Gebka, Guy Lidbury, Chris Prince, Jennifer Gebka, Graham Batty and Colin Jackson. In addition, David LeFevre (DFOK) and Anthony Flick (LOK) obliged for their clubs.
That’s it for this year – the 2023 series has been the first one in many years that has featured six events but as successful as ever. In the meantime if you have any comments on the GLOSS series guidelines which covers all aspects of the series including handicapping please catch me at an event or email me.
Meanwhile, LOK are organising the British Sprint Relay Championships on Sunday, 17 September 2023 at Brunel University. Full details here. Mugs emblazoned with the following logos to be won by each member of a team placing first, second and third, including Ad-hoc teams comprising of at least one woman and 2 others from any club! We are offering a matching service for those unable to form a three-person team on their own.
Catherine Galvin – 2023 GLOSS series coordinator (LOK)
Recent Results
LOK organised two events in the London parks summer series.
Lordship Recreation Ground and Downhills Park – Tuesday 13th June 2023. Event Page, Results and Routegadget
Highgate Wood and Queens Wood – Tuesday 23rd May. See the Event Page, Results and Routegadget
SE League National Event: Holmbury Hill – Sun 26 Feb 2023 Results and reports page.
Boxing Day 2022 Score Event Trent Park – Results
London Bridge StreetO Tuesday 8 November 2022 – Results (Corrected 21 November)
London City Race Weekend 2022 – Results
GLOSS Series 2022 – Results
