SLOW picked up another trophy at the 2017 Southeast Relay Championships on a scorching hot Sunday in June, with good performances across the four categories. The Handicap Trophy was won by SLOW’s Tom Davies, Pete Huzan and Don McKerrow, in a close competition that saw them less than 90 seconds clear of second place after 90 minutes of running.

SLOW also picked up podium finishes with both teams in the Men’s Open, and second place in the Women’s Open. SLOW’s junior team of Anja Lund, Olin Davies and Jemima Hayward-Bhika (pictured) picked up a creditable sixth place in the face of a very strong showing from Guildford Orienteers who fielded six teams. Notably SLOW junior Jamie Lund ran in the fourth Handicap team.

Southdowns Orienteers hosted the event at Capite Woods in West Sussex. Despite the compact area, the club set challenging courses with a good run in for finishers to be cheered on by those that were able to brave the heat in the full sun.

Full team results are available from Southdowns’ website, with SLOW’s team performances below:

• Handicap Team 1 (1st place): Tom Davies, Pete Huzan, Don McKerrow
• Men’s Open 1 (2nd place): Matthew Schepisi, Paul Couldridge, Michael Crone
• Women’s Open 1 (2nd place): Heather Findley, Fiona Tam, Dorte Torpe Hanson
• Men’s Open 2 (3rd place): Yordan Kolev, Angus Lund, Ed Catmur
• Women’s Open 2 (5th place): Chris Robinson, Nicky Adams, Heather Walton
• Handicap Team 2 (5th place): Andy Robinson, Charlie Turner, Mathieu McGuire
• Handicap Team 4 (9th place): Keith Davies, Richard Catmur, Jamie Lund
• Handicap Team 3 (n/c): Duncan Grassie, Ginnie Catmur, Andy Robinson

Pictures courtesy of Fiona Tam (shown finishing and about to hand over to Dorte Torpe Hansen) and Keith Davies (junior team).

Esher Scouts Orienteering Club, affiliated to South London Orienteers, has continued its run of form in 2016 by winning the Surrey Schools & Youth O-Festival. The competition was organised by Mole Valley Orienteering Club and held on Monday 27 June in Norbury Park, across the River Mole from Box Hill south of Leatherhead.

The two courses – Yellow and Orange – were more challenging than the team were used to and vegetation was particularly high after the recent rain. However that didn’t hold the team back.

William from Hinchley Wood won the Yellow course by 40 seconds, with Idris also from Hinchley Wood, in fourth place. Their younger siblings Cai & Bronwen and Harry & Nicholas finished as pairs in eighth and ninth place.

Oxshott Scouts and SLOW members Thomas, Benedict and Sofié secured fifth, sixth and eleventh places on Orange respectively.

Despite fielding a relatively small turnout, and with everyone still in their first year of orienteering, Esher Scouts took first place with 72 points ahead of George Abbott School with 65 points and Tormead and Boxgrove in joint third with 63.

Esher Scouts won the Southern Navigators’ 2015-16 Saturday Series earlier this year, and is looking forward to building on these good performances with the existing members and hopefully some newcomers in the coming season.

SLOW is hosting a junior orienteering event with Sheen Shufflers at Barn Elms Playing Fields in the early evening of Friday 15 July. If you want to find out more about orienteering, please contact Teresa Turner, membership secretary, at .

Esher Scouts Orienteering Club have won the Southern Navigators’ 2015-16 Junior League. This is the first time that the club – associated with South London Orienteers – has won in the thirty years of the series. The win is particularly notable as the trophy has been shared between two schools for 19 of the last 20 years!

The team of scouts from ten groups in the Elmbridge District of southwest London had wrapped up the competition ahead of the final round, but individual trophies were decided at the final event, with three going to orienteers in their first season.

Thomas – SLOW’s reigning junior champion – and Benedict from 1st Oxshott came second and third respectively in the B7 class for boys in year 7 and under. Thomas had led the competition for much of the series, but was narrowly beaten into second place by winner Hamish by only five points out of nearly 800.

Idris from 1st Hinchley Wood won the Alex Lane trophy for most improved runner during the series, and achieved fourth place in the B7 category, meaning ESOC took second, third and fourth places.

Special mention should go to William from 1st Claygate who missed out on third place in the B8/9 category by one point, to Nathan of 1st Oxshott who was competing for his school Claremont Fan Court rather than ESOC.

Over 30 scouts turned out during the course of the series. The scouts’ orienteering will continue with a set of one-off events through the summer and the Saturday series will resume in September.

Photos courtesy of Clinton Askew, Oxshott Scouts