Contents
Semi Editorial
Following on a Committee decision, the next edition of PE (August 2000) will be the last - more on that next time. This is just a news sheet which I hope clubs will be able to distribute to the majority of their members before 24 June (NOR Short Race) / 25 June (EA Junior Team Relays).
Just a reminder about the Junior Inter Regional Competition, to be run on 1 July at Beeston Regis and on 2 July at Brandon, using EA's own brand-new Millennium Awards e-punching equipment (see Chairman's Chat). There will be an opportunity to run the Individual courses on 1 July after the juniors have finished, using our new e-punching. The relays in Brandon on Sunday (Starts from 10:30) should be really exciting. So come along and cheer on the Junior Squad that everyone is talking about after their success last year. See you there.
Ursula Oxburgh (WAOC)
next/last copy date: 7 July 2000
Chairman's Chat
Having just returned from the British Champs in Herefordshire, which was held over the sunniest weekend of the year so far, I realised that once again we are heading into the summer season for orienteering.
As you will see from the fixtures list there are as many events during the summer as the main season. Locally we have the mini series of Short Races, unfortunately by the time you receive Points East the first two events will have taken place. The last event will be NOR's UEA and Earlham Park event on 24 June. This will be followed with a barbecue/picnic. Hopefully you will have been to the first events but please give the Short Races a try.
As you are aware over the past year EAOA have been making a bid for funding for electronic punching through the National Lottery, I am pleased to inform members that we have been successful in obtaining the full amount of funding for which we applied (£4697). This is mainly due to the hard work of Andrew Cordle but I am sure that several other members have assisted him, thank you to them all.
This money together with a further £2000 from EAOA funds, £600 from the Junior Inter-Regional event and £1600 which all EA clubs have agreed to loan to EAOA means that we will have an excellent electronic punching system in the region. This system will be a major advantage for Badge events and larger BOF events and I am sure that it will encourage more competitors from other regions to come to our events.
It will also available to clubs for colour coded events and I am sure that they will find that it has several advantages, such as reducing manpower on finishes, producing rapid results without card checking and enabling smaller areas to be used without having to resort to 2nd Master Maps.
Your first chance to use the Sport-Ident system will be at the WAOC relays in Mildenhall North on 25 June and there will be another chance a week later at the open event to be held at Runton Woods immediately after the individual event of the Junior Inter-Regional Champs on 1 July.
Returning to the British Champs, and having run in Herefordshire, I am convinced that East Anglia has areas as good as or even better than this year's event. I strongly disagree with the last editorial in Points East as I feel that EAOA should be able to put on a quality British Champs and that we should be positive in trying to secure it in the event calendar in future years. I accept the committee's decision to withdraw our initial offer to host the 2003 British Champs due to uncertainty about land permissions for suitable areas but that should make us even more determined to find a suitable area in the future.
I believe that we are able to put on the British to a tighter budget than anyone else and prove that the cost of the British Champs weekend can be kept to a reasonable level and that the event fees do not have to keep on rising.
Finally, good luck to all the East Anglian juniors who are competing at the JIRC on home ground. I look forward to hearing that you have been even more successful this year. Hopefully you will enjoy error-free runs in sunlit forests.
Enjoy your summer orienteering, whether it is at the Welsh 6 days, the White Rose, the Junior Inter-Regionals or any of the region's local events.
Tim Eden (NOR)
East Anglian Short Races 2000
Three clubs are holding short races this late spring/early summer. The formats differ slightly, but all should offer head-to-head racing in the final.
Why not give them a try - you can enter one, two or three events, and choose a length and difficulty to suit. There will be mementoes for the best overall performances on each course over the three event series.
Apologies to Andrew Cordle, who has co-ordinated these Short Races and who sent me this information, for forgetting to include it in the last Points East (ed.)
WAOC Relays and East Anglian Junior Relays
These will be held at Mildenhall North on Sunday 25th June.
Come along and try EAOA's new SPORTIdent electronic punching. These will now be traditional 3-leg relays, to practise e-punching for the Junior Inter Regional Relays on 2 July. Overprinted maps will be bagged.
Relay A will have Orange (~2.5km), Yellow (~1.5km) and Light Green (~3.5km) legs and will incorporate the EA Junior Team Relay competition.
Relay B will have Light Green (~3.5km), Orange (~2.5km) and Green (~4.5km) legs.
Pre-entry is essential for competitive EA Junior Team Relay teams and very strongly advised for all.
More details can be found on the WAOC website.