[This is the earliest edition that I have a copy of, and I've typed it in for historical interest. It may seem hard to believe, but the BOF subscription structure used to be even more complicated than it is now! Contact details have been removed, though at least one address is still current...]
Fixtures
Advanced info - 1978 programme.
Note to event organisers. To qualify for BOF insurance cover, events are supposed to be listed in The Orienteer. For the February edition details will have to be with Brian Razzell by Dec. 20th for him to forward to BOF by January 1st copy date. As I write this I realise my own notification for the January 29th event to appear in December edition has missed its deadline! It appears a degree of forward planning is called for.
How Much? A guide to 1978 Subscriptions
In the good old days to pay your sub. you gave a quid or so to someone you knew and that was it - you'd joined for another year. To-day it is not so simple, so get out those pocket calculators and stand by with the ice blocks because here we go...
The story begins with BOF who've decided to computerise the membership (painful) which means that members will receive renewal notices directly from BOF. It doesn't say on the form what the fees are or to whom you should send the completed form and your money to. The answer is as follows, taking fees first:
BOF fees.
--------- FULL ASSOCIATE.
---- ----------
Junior (under 19) £1.50 Free
Senior (over 19) £3.00 £0.25
Family £3.75 £0.50
Group £3.00 N/A.
East Anglian O.A. fees
----------------------
Junior = 50p. Senior & Family = 75p. Group = £1.00
Club Fees
---------
HAVOC - Senior & Family £1.00. Junior = 30p.
NOR - Families & individuals £1.00
SOS - Junior 50p. Everyone else £1.00
SUFF - Junior 25p. Senior 50p. Family & Group 75p.
WAOC - Families & individuals £1.00
WASH(WOG?) Junior 50p. Everyone else £1.00
Who to send your form & remittance to, and to get spare forms from.
HAVOC - Ray Horswill [...] NOR - Geoff Knott [...] SOS - Pauline Stevens [...] SUFF - Hugh Hutton [...] WAOC - Mrs. J. Sene [...] WASH(WOG?) Dave St. Laurent [...]
Worked examples
Example 1. The Reverend Samuel Silva and his wife and six children live happily at Steeple Bumpstead, Essex and have been members of the Essex Stragglers alias Straggler's Orienteering Society (SOS) since its inauguration. They all wish to join again so Mr. Silva completes his form and calculates his family sub. as follows:- Full BOF £3.75 plus family EAOA 75p, plus SOS £1.00. Total £5.50. Being a poor parish priest, Mr. Silva decides to save postage and bank charges by handing his form and fee personally to Mrs. Pauline Stevens. As it is not a Sunday, he hops on his bike and cycles the dozen or so miles to Sible Hedingham branch library where he knows Mrs. Stevens works and will have a date stamp conveniently handy for making his receipt.
Example 2. Miss Beverley Pfob lives with her parents at Barnham Broom in Norfolk and became interested in orienteering at school. But now she is assistant manageress at the turkey farm she finds she has lost contact with her school group but wants to keep up orienteering. So she decides on Associate Membership and her subs are - BOF junior = free, EAOA junior 50p, NOR individual £1.00. Total £1.50. Associate Membership means she can take part in events up to and including badge standard, but she doesn't receive The Orienteer. However, her boy-friend is captain of the Swaffham Sea Scouts who are full members of BOF, so she manages to see his. Beverley's grandfather goes to the same Darby & Joan club as the Treasurer of Norwich O.C., so she is able to get a spare form quite easily, and return it with £1.50 by the same means.
Who does what 1978
Cut this address list out and keep it behind the clock on your mantelpiece - there won't be another one for a year, except for amendments. Also lots of other people do things to help the sport in the region but they don't hold the official positions here presented.
Regional Controllers
Instructors
Regional Coaches
Club Secretaries
Championship News by Pugnax
With this, my last report (at least for the present), I bring the 1977 Championship year for seniors to a close. For juniors the final event is the Scottish Junior Champs near Dumfries. However, on the 25th September, the Northern Championships were staged in a part of Newcastleton and Kershope Forests to the North-East of Carlisle. The overnight camp-site was in Newcastleton a few miles over the Scottish border and even the event car park was in Scotland. Luckily the walk to the start brought everyone back over the border and the whole event took place in England.
The forests of the Northern Pennines provide the usual regimented pattern of forest roads and rides. Unlike Thetford though the trees are younger and large areas vary from slow run to fight. There are also hills to test stamina and may ditches and streams which break up the regular pattern. The day itself was overcast with intermittent heavy rain showers. Very few East Anglians competed with no results that I noticed worth recording! The results were used to provide an Inter-Regional Championship team competition. With insufficient people, no East Anglian teams were entered.
Next year the Championships will all be in the Spring and early Summer so I suggest that everyone starts training before Christmas to make the most of the shorter season - well, why not? The Midlands are being staged by the East Midlands O.A. in a part of 'Sherwood Forest'. The JK is in the Pennines near Sheffield and the season culminates with the British Championships in the lowlands of central Scotland.
Finally, did you know that 'gup' means 'Gossip' and that 'to pug' means 'To track'? And of course, 'Pugnax' is Latin for 'to fight', and it also happens to be the name of a Devonian Rhynchonellid. All very interesting I am sure but not very relevant. Good orienteering to you all in 1978.