Hi everyone. The clubs AGM took place on 19th August as arranged.
The following members where elected & re-elected an form the clubs committee for 2023
Chairman : Peter Bartlett . Secretary; Carol Taverner. Treasurer; Brian Bailey. Mapping Officer ; Christopher Pritchett. Fixtures Secretary; Glyn Williams. Event Registration; Sue Williams & Eileen Hollingshed. After the AGM we discussed the event diary to Christmas.
We have planned to stage three events this side of Christmas and will be as follows;
25th SEPTEMBER St CATHERINES DOWNS.
13th NOVEMBER St BONIFACE DOWNS, VENTNOR
18th DECEMBER GOLDEN HILL FORT, FRESHWATER
More details will follow closer to each event.
In Addition to the above. SOC are arranging an Event Safety Workshop on 9th October. Wighto members who would like to plan events in the future are welcome to attend. The club will pay any expenses incurred, so if anyone wants to take part then you need to let me know a.s.a.p For more information about this workshop contact me directly on 07870304006 or send me an email to iowkitfit3@yahoo.co.uk.
Looking forward to hearing from you & seeing everyone at the events. Peter Bartlett.
Wight Orienteers Chairman’s Report 2022
The Wighto committee have had five meetings this year to discuss club affairs. The first event after the pandemic was in September at St Catherines Downs & was offered free of charge to everyone who took part. Having a respectable turnout there, we decided that two more events should be staged prior to Christmas before making the decision whether it was viable for the club to continue. These where at Mottistone & Golden Hill Fort. The Mottistone event had been put on at short notice & despite having gorgeous autumn weather, numbers were low. This was particularly disappointing as it was Christine Summerfield’s first event as co-planner. However Mike Maliphant’s Christmas event at Golden Hill was a big success. We’d broken with the traditional Borthwood Christmas event & thankfully it paid off. We had a large turnout, a good mix of competitive runners, family groups, & enthusiastic newcomers with many in Christmas attire!! With the success off that event we decided to plan for three more events through the spring. The first off these was at St Boniface in February, Brian Bailey as planner. The weather was horrendous with rain & blustery winds, but despite this the event was surprisingly well fielded. In April the event was at Brook & Compton Downs, Steve Taverner as planner. We had a predictable turnout at this event but it wasn’t without incident. Towards the end of the event, a visiting competitor from Wimbourne had a fall & broke his tibia. Fortunately there were enough people remaining to carry him off the downs to safety but has enforced the need for a first aider to be present at our events until everyone taking part has finished. The last orienteering event was at The Needles in May, Glyn Williams as planner. It was a bright, warm & beautiful day but the turnout was very disappointing. There seems no rhyme or reason why some events are well fielded and some are not. The quiz walk at Calbourne in July completed the event diary to date.
Seven Wighto members took part in the Scottish 6 day event last August & Wighto members regularly take part in the BAOC army league which are on most Wednesdays. These events are proving very popular with all clubs in the southern region. They are well organized, easy to enter & good value for money. The list of Wighto participation is growing. Christine Summerfield has been promoting & posting club activities on face-book since the autumn & reviews & comments received are positive. Dan Williams has renewed and continues to run the clubs web-site & Frank Winter post’s our events & results by email.
I had an informal meeting in the spring with the owners of Cheverton Farm, this is the base for the IOW mountain bike centre. They are very keen for the club to survey & produce an orienteering map of the area for their cyclist’s & would grant us permission to use the area for orienteering events whenever we want to use it. I have not had the opportunity to pursue this as yet but will endeavour to organise a recce with the new committee & could possibly be the project for this winter. Organising events on forestry land is becoming more difficult, long winded & expensive. All of this year’s events have been on National Trust land being easier to organise at short notice and Gift for Nature will allow us to use Golden Hill Fort for more events. In conclusion, any land owner, that grants us permission to use their land at no cost should be greatly appreciated and excepted.
I personally believe that we should be staging more events during the winter months. An event every six weeks as opposed to an event every two months might encourage members to be more pro-active to take part, but to do this we will need more of our members to come forward & offer to plan them. I can organise an Event Safety Workshop for anyone who wants to try their hand at planning events in the future. So just let me know who’s interested and I will arrange this. In the meantime I’d like to thank all those who have participated this year, to the event organisers & registration teams & anyone who has helped in the running of the events, and to Christine, Dan & Frank for keeping you all informed of club activities.
Peter Bartlett, Club Chairman
