Member News
A very warm welcome to new members Timotei Anton, Kim, Kate, Athelen, Owen and Edan Haywood, Joe Judge, David Lovatt, Haruki Moore, Ian Moore, Lewis Stonehall, Joshua Tarbutt, Matt Tooke, Rory Wall and Lisa Watts
Good luck to our juniors who travel to the Lakes this weekend to compete in the Peter Palmer Relays. Good luck also to Chloe, Laura, Cat, Euan and Jonny who will be running for England at the Senior Home Internationals.
Congratulations to Peter Gorvett who won M75 Gold in the sprint at the World Masters Orienteering Championships in Finland. A fantastic achievement!
Remember to check out our website for reports on club achievements including Croeso prize winners, Saturday Series medallists and the SYO juniors winning the Yvette Baker Trophy.
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CSC final - your club needs you!
It is time for us to try and retain our Compass Sport Cup title for the 4th time in a row! Details of the event can be found here.
For the unitiated, the Compass Sport Cup is an interclub competition. Different age classes run specific courses. The easiest course for juniors is the orange. If you're new to the club and you're not sure whether it's for you, please email Pauline for advice.
The Final is at Holcombe Ranges, (between Bolton and Blackburn) on the 20th October. We want as many people as possible to attend! Every person there is important, as even those who do not score for SYO can push the counting members of our opponent's teams down. We need everyone, from juniors who can run an Orange, all the way up to our SuperVets on Short Green.
To Enter, head to the SYO Teams Homepage. Final Date for entries is 18/09/2024. SYO are subsidising entries so it will be £12 for adults and £5 for Juniors. There is also a White and Yellow course for younger family members (which is not part of the competition) - there is a space on the Google Form to enter this.
Details of the course your age class should run can be found on the CompassSport Cup Rules page here
Any questions, please contact captain Chris Williamson
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Wednesday Evening Event - 11th Sept
Our next WEE is a at Herringthorpe Valley Park. This area has not been used for orienteering for many years and now has a brand new map. We have the normal 4 courses on offer - yellow, orange, green & blue. More details available here.
You need to enter in advance for this event via SYO Entries - there's no entry on the day. Entries close Monday 9th September.
Please email Pauline if you can help. We need a couple of people on start and some control collectors. No experience is required and volunteers get a free run.
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Cowms Rocks Regional - 22nd Sept
We have a fabulous orienteering event on offer on Sunday 22nd September at Cowm's Rocks on the Snake Pass. Cowms Rocks offers excellent technical orienteering on a moorland peat plateau. There are sloped areas with a wealth of contour details as a result of erosion and landslides.It is aimed at experienced orienteers and fell runners with strong navigation skills and will appeal to those who enjoy a good run in the hills! Due to the nature of the area, there are only technically challenging courses available (short green to black). Details of the event can be found here.
Entries are open on Fabian4. Please enter by Sunday 15th September to take advantage of lower entry fees.
As usual volunteers are crucial to enable this event to go ahead. Please enter on the Fabian4 by Sunday 15th September using helper code SYOHELPER to receive a 50% discount. Non running helpers are also very welcome, please email Colin Drury.
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2024/25 Saturday Series
The 2024 / 25 Saturday Series kicks off in Endcliffe Park on 21st September. Details here.
The Saturday Series incorporates a schools' league and adults' league. Your best 5 events count. The series ends with a prize-giving finale. Participation is recognised with prizes for those that attend all 9 events and certificates for those that attend 5 or more! The flyer with all the dates for this series can be found here. Details of the series are on the South Yorkshire Orienteers Facebook page - please share! Or if you are able to take some flyers into your child's school or the local library etc, please let Pauline know.
As usual we expect the series opener to be very busy. Please volunteer by emailing Pauline if you can help for an hour or so. Helpers get a free run.
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Event Officials
We are so grateful to all those that take on the main event official roles (organiser, planner & controller) at our events. It is great to see that we have officials in place for the rest of 2024 so we are now looking to fill roles in 2025. Please take a look at the programme of events here and email Susan if you can fulfil one of the roles.
Upcoming positions that we particularly need to fill soon are:
Sun 12 Jan - Greno Woods Regional - organiser & controller
Wed 15 Jan - Old Grindstone, Crookes - organiser
Sat 25 Jan - Hesley or Scholes, Regional Night - organiser, controller & planner
Wed 26 Feb - The Edge - Organiser
Wednesday and Saturday events are ideal for first time planners and help and mentoring will be provided. Wednesday event organisers are required mainly "on the day" as most of the "in advance" jobs are done for you - risk assessment, entries, website details, finding helpers etc so this is an easy way to get involved in organising.
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Volunteering
If taking on an event officials role is a bit of a big step, then please consider helping on the day at one of our events. Orienteering needs lots of volunteers and its a great way to give something back to the sport and get to know other club members. You don't need to be an experienced orienteer to volunteer and we will train you in whatever role we ask you to undertake. We welcome offers of help from our juniors as well as adult members. Depending on the event, helpers get a free or discounted run. You will see requests for help in all event details - you will be welcomed with open arms if you sign up!
If you are volunteering at one of our bigger events, you normally enter on Fabian4 and enter the SYOHELPER code to obtain a 50% discount. This function is only available until the first closing date so that the organiser has time to allocate roles. So, if you are intending to help, please enter early to aid the organiser!
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Club Night
Club Night sessions are proving very popular with around 90-100 participants each week. Priority is given to club members, so if you are interested in giving it a go, please email Pauline. We run a variety of groups to cater to all abilities, including 2 adult groups. The minimum age for club night is 8 years old. The provisional programme up until Christmas is:
| Wed 11 Sept |
Wed Evening Event - Herringthorpe (see website for details) |
| Wed 18 Sept |
Surprise View 6.45-8pm (bracken permitting!) |
| Wed 25 Sept |
Ecclesall Woods 6.45-8pm |
| Wed 2 Oct |
Treeton 6.45-8pm |
| Wed 9 Oct |
Wed Evening Event - Eckington (see website for details) |
| Wed 16 Oct |
Millhouses Park 6.45-8pm |
| Wed 23 Oct |
High Storrs 7.10-8.30pm |
| Wed 6 Nov |
High Storrs 7.10-8.30pm |
| Wed 13 Nov |
Ecclesall Woods, 6.45-8pm |
| Wed 20 Nov |
Wed Evening Event - Beauchief (see website for details) |
| Wed 27 Nov |
High Storrs 7.10-8.30pm |
| Wed 4 Dec |
Lady Cannings 6.45-8pm |
| Wed 11 Dec |
High Storrs 7.10-8.30pm |
| Wed 18 Dec |
Weston Park & the University 6.45-8pm |
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2024 Club Champs - Save the date!
The annual club champs, lunch, AGM and awards will be held on Saturday 14th December. Everyone is welcome and the club champs is a very relaxed handicapped event suitable for all. This year we will be using a newly mapped woodland in Holmesfield! Please put the date in your diary.
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Kit Order
It's that time of year when we put in the annual Christmas kit order!
We have a great array of club branded kit. Pictures can be seen here. Pricing below is a guide as final pricing will depend on volumes, exchange rates and duty charges.
Pricing is as follows - adult top £27, adult mesh £24, adult jacket £48, buff £6, adult vest £23, adult hoody £27, kids top £22, kids jacket £43, kids hoody £23, Long sleeved top £31, Mena hooded jacket £68, kids Mena hooded jacket £54. Size guide here.
We can also order non branded items from Bryzos such as O trousers and O socks. Check out their website here.
Please email Pauline by 1st October if you would like to order any kit. We do also have some stock items if you would like some kit more immediately.
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Event Thank yous
Since our last newsletter we have held a number of very successful events and it is so important to acknowledge the contribution of our wonderful event officials and mappers, without whom the events wouldn’t have gone ahead. So here’s a huge thank you for a job well done to:
Organiser Planner Controller
| Kelham Island |
Tim Tett |
Tim Tett |
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| Redmires |
Matt Pickering |
Oscar Peel |
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| Norfolk Park |
Pauline & Pete |
Alex Forrest |
Colin Best |
| Parkwood Springs |
Pauline & Pete |
Caspar Reynolds |
Colin Best |
| Sandall Beat |
Paul Bradbury |
Henry Marston |
Dave Peel |
| Hesley |
Jacky Dakin |
Maxwell & Kris |
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| Graves Park |
Pauline & Pete |
Paul Norman |
Colin Best |
| Rother Valley |
Hannah Woods |
Todd Woods |
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| Scholes Coppice |
Pauline Tryner |
Euan Tryner |
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| Meersbrook Park |
Pauline & Pete |
Pasco Reynolds |
Colin Best |
| Stannington |
Ben Stevens |
Adrien Gallet |
Clive Wilson |
| Walkley |
Louise Reynolds |
TimTett |
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| Forge Dam |
Pauline & Pete |
Will Preston |
Andy Preston |
| Whitwell Woods |
Alex Forrest |
Paul Norman |
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| Fulwood |
Jacky & Cinnamon |
Lawrence & Issy |
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An extra special thanks also to Ian Cooper for the numerous map updates of all these areas before each event.
Your vouchers and lottery scratchcards are on their way!
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British Orienteering Archive
The British Orienteering Archive is stored at Sheffield Hallam University. British Orienteering are looking for a Sheffield resident to volunteer as curator for the collection. Please email Pauline for more info.
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Lift whatsapp
We have a well-used whatsapp group so members can arrange lift-shares to events. If you require lifts or are happy to offer lifts, please email or message Pauline with your mobile number and we'll add you to the group.
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Children's University
South Yorkshire Orienteers are signed up to the Children's University scheme. Children can earn points competing at orienteering events and by attending club night. Please email Susan if you would like claim points for attending SYO sessions.
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Grants Policy
We aim to support our senior and junior athletes who are selected to represent their country in International competitions. The SYO grants policy can be found here.
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Social Media
Social Media is an important marketing and advertising tool and we are keen to use it for publicising the club, sport and our events. We also regularly report on events and celebrate members' achievements.We have a public South Yorkshire Orienteer's page and a separate private members group Please like our page and join the SYO group. The more likes we get on our posts, the more people see our page, so please try to engage regularly and share our posts! You can also follow us on Instagram!
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