Forty members of SYO braved the long drive to Pippingford Park (and the appropriately named Windy Ridge) in Sussex yesterday to take part in the CSC Final against 9 other clubs from across the country. 

Pippingford Park is a Mole Valley major event favourite having been previously used for the British Night Champs in 2014 and the JK relays in 2017. The area offers varied terrain comprising of wooded valleys and well contoured heathland. Early starters were hampered by bracken and heather but the courses soon sped up with some very quick times posted as the event progressed. Courses were enjoyable and although not particularly technically challenging, plenty made mistakes. A late surge of good results saw us race up the leaderboard into a surprise second place behind Forth Valley Orienteers and ahead of Southdown Orienteers. 

Well done to everyone that competed - you all made a difference - but particular congratulations to our 25 scorers: Pippa, Nick B, Amanda, Alex C, Peter G, Mary, Kim, Dom, Lucy, Martin, Conrad, Charlotte, Pete T, Charlie, Freya, Aidan, Imogen, Alex E, Colin S, Pauline, Mark C, Richard, John, Tom and Sam C.

Next year the final is at Sutton Park on 18th October - put the date in your diary; we need to win that trophy back from Scotland!

The Home Internationals for orienteering are held in September and October, with the relay and individual competitions taking place over 2 days. 

The Senior Home Internationals for M/W20s and 21s were held in early September on complex sand dune areas in South Wales. Nick B and Cat were both selected for the English team and helped England to a 9 point win over Scotland.

Next up was the Veteran Home Internationals for M/W35 to M/W65. This time the English team travelled to Scotland. The six SYO team members selected all performed strongly. On the individual day on the Pentland Hills Kim took 1^st place on W40, Amanda (W45), Lucy (W50) and Nick B (M45) all took 2^nd place and Rachael and Andy P were both 3rd on W35 and M40 respectively. England delivered excellent results over the 2 days resulting in an impressive win overall by 57 points!

The final Home International competition was for the juniors in the M/W14, 16 & 18 age classes, which this year was held in Northern Ireland. Jamie was the only SYO representative but he had a super run to finish 2^nd on the individual day. Unfortunately despite some very good English performances, Scotland’s particularly strong showing in the relays ensured the win for them overall.

Forty seven SYO juniors travelled to Heaton Park in Manchester on Saturday 12^th October to compete in the British Schools Score Championships. The sun shone, which was lovely for spectators and competitors alike and made a decent change to many recent events! Competitors had 45 minutes to find as many of the 30 controls had they could. Four juniors, including SYO’s Euan and Dom, managed to score the maximum 300 points in the time allowed. The SYO juniors all excelled themselves with 19 individual medal wins! Congratulations to:

Y5 Boys - Will P 3^rd
Y6 Girls – Charlotte 1^st, , Ellen 2^nd
Y6 Boys- 1^st Oscar, 2^nd Jake
Y7 Girls – 1^st Anna
Y7 Boys – 1^st Robbie, 2^nd Joseph, 3^rd Ben A
Y8 Girls – 1^st Freya, 2^nd Ciara
Y8 Boys – 3^rd Isaac
Y9 Girls - 2^nd  Millie
Y9 Boys – Sam T 1^st, Ben T 2^nd
Y10/11 Boys – 1^st Euan, 3^rd Olmo
Y12/13 Girls – 2^nd Alex E
B12/13 Boys – 3^rd Dom

There were also excellent results in the team competitions. In the primary competition Nether Green won the primary boys while Hunters Bar took 2^nd in the primary boys and 3^rd in the primary girls. In the secondary competition, High Storrs won the lower secondary girls and lower secondary boys competitions. Visit the SYO Facebook page for more photos of the event.

Next up is the British Schools Champs on Sunday 17^th November in Black Park near Slough!

At the end of September eachyear the country's best juniors gather for a weekend of fierce competition at the Junior Inter-Regional Championships, which this year was hosted by SYO. An amazing eighteen SYO juniors (out of a possible 24) were called up to run for Yorkshire.

The individual day was held on Cowm's Rocks - a brand new orienteering area behind the Snake Pass Inn. This was always going to be a physical and technical challenge but even more so in the brutal conditions experienced on the day! True Yorkshire grit showed through though with some excellent results by SYO juniors. Congratulations to Imogen for winning W14 and for Jamie taking 3rd on M14. There were also very well-deserved top 10 positions for Euan (4th M16), Alex C (4th running up on W16), Freya (5th running up on W14), Alex E (8th W16) and Dom (10th M18). Well done to Dylan, Ciara, Sam T and Claudine for making their Yorkshire debuts and to Max, Sam C, Isabelle H, Conrad, Sam D and Will G for also performing well for the team - you all made a difference and helped Yorkshire to a tie on 2nd place with North West after day 1.

Following the individual competition the teams transferred to an overnight stay at Kingswood Outdoor Centre near Doncaster. Warm showers and food were followed by the prize giving for the individual and then a ceilidh just to ensure everyone was thoroughly worn out!

Relay day dawned and it was still raining torrentially, although spirits seemed to be high as the teams arrived at Tankersley. There were some excellent relay performances, particularly Imogen, Alex C and Evie (from AIRE) taking the win in the girls relay! There were other notable performances from Dom and Sam T who brought their teams up 5 places and Freya who took her team up 4 places; although all our juniors performed well to help Yorkshire to 3rd place in the relay competition. Overall, over the 2 days competition, Yorkshire finished in 3rd (just six points) behind the North West in 2nd and Scotland in 1st.

A massive thank you to all the volunteers who completed some very long shifts in cold, wet conditions over the 2 days but particular thanks to Jacky for organsing the overnight accommodation, Pete for managing all the SI, Charlie and Dave P for planning, Amanda and Mark C for organising, John (DVO) and Tony (AIRE) for controlling and Pauline for her role as weekend co-ordinator. 

Check out the photo album for the weekend on the SYO Facebook Page.

After 5 hours of minibus madness, music and MacDonald’s we arrived at the home of Winnie The Pooh for a quick stretch of the legs in the ‘Enchanted Forest’ before heading across to Michael Hall School the venue for this year’s Peter Palmer Relays.  The evening consisted of volleyball, basketball, burgers, a quick look at the arena, a football match against Cumbria and Sweden, and then a few hours’ trying to sleep on the gym floor before the 5.00am start of the race.

West Cumberland were the pre-race favourites having won for the last 3 years and despite losing all but one of last year’s team they still had strength throughout including three W18s on the Yellow course!  Octavian Droobers also had an experienced team as did local club Southdown Orienteers and this year two Swedish clubs sent strong teams as part of an exchange with their Tio Mila relay.  With lots of keen youngsters, SYO opted to spread experience more widely managing to field three teams in the main 6 person overnight race and 2 teams in the DayBreak relay. 

The Killer Bees had the slower of the two gaffles on the first leg and lost touch with the pack in the bracken filled forest section coming home 9 minutes down in 10^th place but ahead of the Swedish team OK Linne. Dom ran an excellent race to bring the team back into contention in 3^rd place but still 10 minutes down on West Cumberland and Southdown who suspiciously had been given the same gaffle throughout! The last leg proved decisive for West Cumberland pulling away to take the win while Southdown just managed to hold on to 2^nd place in a sprint finish with OK Linne. The Killer Bees slipped back behind the Swedes but with strong runs from Freya, Anna and Euan managed to hold on to 4^th overall and crucially 1st place in the Joan George handicap class for the 4^th year in a row! 

Matthew coped brilliantly with the challenge of the first leg bringing the Bumble Bees back in 11^th place and Sam T, Oscar and Jamie all picked up places to bring the team back in 5^th place and 2^nd in the Joan George class beating all the other second teams. The Wanna Bees finished a very creditable 10^th place out of 18 teams with Conrad and James having particularly good runs. In the DayBreak Relay the Bees Knees and Worker Bees teams battled it out in the middle of the pack until the last leg when Robbie put in the 2nd fastest time to move from 6^th to 3^rd place and sneak a podium position. 

Saxons Orienteering Club delivered a great event including a proper DJ with dry ice, and a magnificent setting bathed in early morning sunshine with medals, trophies and chocolate on board we piled into the minibuses for the long but not quite as loud trip home to Sheffield.

Many thanks to Jacky for managing the teams, Nick for commentating and writing the race report above and Jacky, Dave, Nick and Rob for driving the mini-buses. Next year’s Peter Palmer Junior Relays take place during the weekend 12 - 13 September in the Lake District on WCOC home terrain! 

This summer saw over 100 of our members travel north to Strathearn to the biannual Scottish 6 days competition. The first day was held in the super tough terrain of Auchingarrich. SYO got off to a fabulous start with 18 podium positions. There were wins for Will P (M10A), Freddie (M10B), Charlotte (W10A), Anna (W12A), Robbie (M12A), Alex C (W14A), Cat (W21E), Lesley (W50S) and Peter G (M70L). Freya (W14A), Stanley (M10B), Andy P (M40L), Nick B (M45L), Charlie (M50L) and Lucy (W50L) all took 2nd place; while Lawrence (M10A), Max (M16A) and Jamie (M14A) all picked up 3rd place positions.

Day 2 saw us transfer to the new area of Edenchip – the mix of open fell and woodland and less technically challenging terrain providing a sharp contrast to day 1. SYO's early start block in the tough terrain meant podium positions were harder to come by today. However there were still some excellent performances with wins for Freddie (M10B), Charlotte (W10A), Robbie (M12A) and Nick B (M45L). Finlay (M10B) and Jenny J (W40L) took 2nd place; while Jamie (M14A), Alexandra (W14B) and Mary (W21E) all gained 3rd place.

I’m sure many competitors will agree that day 3’s Dundurn and Cnoc a’Mhadaidh provided a superb day of competition - technical terrain, challenging courses, a fab arena and glorious weather! SYO members continued to perform magnificently with 15 top 3 positions. Well done to Freddie (M10B), Nick B (M45L), Charlie (M50L), Tim T (M55L), Charlotte (W10A), Cat (W21E), Jenny J (W40L) and Lesley (W50S) who all topped their classes. There were 2nd places for Lawrence (M10A) and Dave P (M50L), while Freya (W14A), Euan (M16A),Will (M10A), Stanley (M10B) and Andy P (M40L) all finished 3rd.

Day 4 of the Scottish 6 Days provided a complete contrast to day 3, with fast runnable open fell and easy navigation. SYO didn't fare quite so well results wise as the previous day, although there were still 9 podium positions to celebrate. Well done to Freddie (M10B), Tim (M55L), Charlotte (W10A) and Nick B (M45L) who all finished in 1st place; while Stanley (M10B), Anna (W12A), Jenny J (W40L) and Lucy (W50L) all finished 3rd.

Day 5 saw us return to the classic orienteering area of Craig a Barns - a super technical and physical Scottish forest. Despite an early start block there were some good results with Nick B (M45L), Charlie (M50L), Cat (W21E) and Tim (M55L) all finishing their courses in the fastest time. Laura (W35L) and Robbie (M12A) finished in 2nd place and Lucy (W50L) and Stanley (M10B) came 3rd.

The final day saw the introduction of a middle race for all but the shortest courses. Grandtully provided beautifully runnable and surprisingly technically challenging (particularly without a compass) terrain. Surprisingly SYO picked up the least number of podium positions on this day (clearly we love a bit of grot!). Well done though to Brian who picked up a win on M75L, Tim T (M55L) and Dave P (M50L) who both took 2^nd position and Jamie (M14) and Andy P (M40L), who took 3^rd.

Prizes are presented to the top 3 overall in each class, with the best 4 out of 6 races counting. SYO managed an excellent 11 podium places overall. Congratulations particularly to winners Freddie G (M10B), Nick B (M45L), Charlie A (M50L), Tim (M55L) and Charlotte (W10A) – that’s double the number of winners we had in 2017! Well done also to the other podium finishers – Will P 3^rd (M10A), Stanley 2^nd (M10B), Robbie 2^nd (M12A), Peter G 3^rd (M70L), Jenny J 3^rd (W40L) and Lesley 3^rd (W45S).

The SYO Saturday Series is designed to introduce newcomers of all ages to the sport of orienteering. There are courses to suit all abilities and anyone can come along - just turn up between 12.20 and 3pm and have a go. The series also incorporates the Sheffield Federation of School Sports schools' league. There are 9 league events over the year followed by a fun event and prize giving. The league is open to Y3 and above and there is even now an adults' league; won this year by SYO's Paul Norman!

The new series kicks off on Saturday 21st September at Endcliffe Park. More details here.The other dates are:

Sat 5th Oct - EIS, Olympic Legacy Park
Sat 23rd Nov - Shirebrook Valley
Sat 11th Jan - Whirlowbrook Hall
Sat 8th Feb - Botanical Gardens
Sat 14th Mar - Norfolk Park
Sat 18th Apr - Parkwood Springs
Sat 16th May - Millhouses Park
Sat 6th June - Graves Park
Sat 11th July - Prize giving

We have hundreds of printed flyers if you would like some to give out at a community group or your child's school or you can download a copy here.

The series culminates with a fun event and prize giving. Prizes are awarded to 1st 3 in each age class and there are also team prizes and school prizes. We even reward attendance with a prize for those who attend all 9 events. We celebrated the end of the 2018/19 league with a score event and prize giving at Millhouses Park at the end of July. Well done to all the prize winners - the overall winners are listed below, full list of results here. Thanks to Richard Baxter for the photos.

Primary School - Nether Green
Secondary School - High Storrs

G4 Team - Dobcroft
B4 Team - Nether Green
G5 Team - Hunters Bar
B5 Team - Nether Green
G6 Team - Dobcroft
B6 Team - Hunters Bar
G7 Team - High Storrs
B7 Team - High Storrs
G8/9 Team - Tapton
B8/9 Team - High Storrs
G10/11 Team - High Storrs
B10/11 Team - Penistone

G4 - Imogen, Ecclesall
B4 - Lawrence, High Storrs
G5 - Ella, Hunters Bar
B5 - Oli, Nether Green
G6 - Anna, Dobcroft
B6 - Robbie, Nether Green
G7 - Freya, High Storrs
B7- James, High Storrs
G8 - Imogen, High School
B8 - Conrad, High Storrs
G9 - Carys, Notre Dame
B9 - Euan, High Storrs
G10 - Naomi, Home Schooled
B10 - Max, Tapton
G11 - Alex, High Storrs
G12 - Isabelle, Notre Dame

On Sunday 7th July our 50 strong team of juniors travelled to Sandringham, home of the Queen, to compete in the final of the 2019 Yvette Baker Trophy. 

It was an early start from Sheffield but the coach made good time and by 10.30am the team were setting up camp in the assembly field ready for the competition. While the juniors chilled and prepared for the races with nail and face painting, the adults rushed straight to the start to complete their runs prior to the start of the competition. Sandringham is a lovely woodland with very little bramble cover but the heavy rain followed by warm sunshine over the past few weeks has provided very fertile conditions for bracken growth! What would be a very easy control normally is significantly harder when you need to navigate your way through head high bracken and a number of the adults recorded some rather long times! At least we could console ourselves that we were creating elephant tracks for the juniors!

Our first juniors started just after 12.30 and it wasn't long before our yellow runners began streaming confidently into the finish, followed shortly by the first of our orange runners. As time passed we had lots of yellow, orange and even green course finishers but no light green competitors! Eventually though, to our relief, they started to return. The light green course was incredibly challenging in the bracken and early light green runners did not have the elephant tracks that the green competitors had. Towards the latter end of the competition the times speeded up thanks to the early runners forging the trails to the controls!

By 2.30pm all our runners were safely back and there was just time for ice-cream before the start of the prize giving. The Shield competition for smaller clubs was won by SOS with PFO in 2nd and HOC in 3rd. Then it was time for the trophy results......HH were announed 3rd in with 862 points, SO in 2nd with 880 and......for the 3rd year in a row.....SYO were announced as champions with a score of 897 (out of a possible 899)! 

As soon as the prize giving was over we bundled onto the coach for the long journey back to Sheffield. However, the celebrations continued on the coach with lollipops (thanks Dave) and the purchase of a new club mascot - Billie the Bee!

Congratulations to our 9 scorers:

Isabelle H - green girls - 100 points
Imogen - light green girls - 100 points
Freya - orange girls - 100 points
Charlotte - yellow girls - 100 points
James - orange boys - 100 points
Caspar - yellow boys - 100 points
Euan - green boys - 99 points
Anna - orange girls - 99 points
Freddie E - orange boys - 99 points
Ella (yellow girls) and Isaac (yellow boys) also scored 99 points but we did so well their scores weren't needed!

However, a huge well done must go to the whole team because even if they didn't score directly for SYO they helped push down the score of our competitors. Perhaps the most impressive statistic was that we didn't have a single retiral or mispunch and every single junior completed their course! 

Thank you to all the parent supporters and particularly team captain Jacky. Next year's final will be held in the South West on Sunday 5th July 2020.

SYO juniors picked up plenty of silverware at the recent Yorkshire Schools Champs held at Canklow near Rotherham. Congratulations to the medal winning club members:

Y4B - 1st Maxwell, 2nd Lawrence, 3rd Will P
Y5G - 1st Penny, 2nd Alice, 3rd Ellen
Y5B - 1st Oscar, 2nd Oli, 3rd Jake
Y6G - 1st Anna, 2nd Margaux
Y6B - 1st Robbie, 2nd Ben A, 3rd Toby
Y7G - 1st Isabelle, 2nd Ciara, 3rd Ruth
Y7B - 1st Isaac, 2nd James, 3rd John
Y8/9G - 1st Imogen, 2nd Millie, 3rd Alexandra
Y8/9B - 1st Euan, 2nd Matthew, 3rd Conrad
Y10/11G - 1st Isobel, 2nd Naomi
Y10/11B - 1st Max, 2nd Will G, 3rd Sam D
Y12/13B - 1st Dom