Dear MLS competitor,
Please note that due to the hot weather we must highlight the potential dangers to participants at MLS events. We are trying to mitigate the risk as much as possible, but we ask that you consider the following to help us reduce the likelihood of potential heath issues:
After a break in attendance of some years, BAOC managed to field not just one but two teams in the annual Harvester Relay competition, held at Tilgate Forest on 23-24 Jun 18. This national level race, now in its 40th year, is the UK’s equivalent to the internationally renowned Tiomila and Jukola mass relay events from Scandinavia - though on a much smaller scale! The A team, comprising 7 Army-capped runners, won the Small Club category and were placed third overall on the A Course. Running the B Course, the 5-man B team, finished 11th of 23 teams.
The new BAOC O Tops have been selling very well, so much so that we have had to re-order in all sizes med & above. They are available from Allan Farrington, email allan@baoc.info, see attached sheet for details. Cost is only £25. Tight fit so order one size above your normal. Allan will also have them at all MLS events.
Further guidance on GDPR and what it means for Army Orienteering is now available in the Document section of this site - http://www.baoc.info/sites/default/files/GDPR%20Note-Jul%2018.pdf
The Army Orienteering Association (AOA) will expect AOA sponsored event organisers and other responsible officials to comply with the terms of the Data Protection Act 2018, which encompassed the EU General Data Protection Regulation on 25 May.
The Six Principles of the Data Protection Act
To allow units to plan urban courses in barrack areas where there is currently no O map the use of Google Earth sat images is possible. this simple user guide shows how to achieve this and produce scaled course maps. Version 1 dated 20 Jun 18. Error notifications to Phill Batts via coaching@armyorienteering.com.
At the MLS AGM on Wed 13 Jun it was agreed that an extra course would be added, the Short Green course would be provided at all events and is designed for the experienced orienteer who is injured and cannot run a full cse our those who want a technical challenge but not up to a full blue cse, also the Red/Long Orange course would now become an Orange cse approximately the same length as the Short Green cse (just over 3Km) but of mainly TD2 with some TD3 controls if appropriate, basically a long yellow designed for the Novice soldier orienteer to get them started on orienteering before they...
The DRAFT MLN-O League results for the 2017-2018 season are here: http://www.baoc.info/league_results/MLN/2017/MLN-2
The format of the Inter Unit Championships has been revised following the recent event and is attached . Your feedback is requested and any comments or observations should be forwarded to the AOA Chairman, Christopher.Huthwaite463@mod.gov.uk NLT Fri 29 Jun 18
A report on Army participation in World Orienteering Day on Day 1 of the Inter Unit Championships can be found here.
Photos from day 1 are available on the Pictures Page.
The administrative instruction for the above EX is now available on the Events page.
Army Orienteers leaned in to support and participate in the annual national level Jan Kjellstrom Orienteering Festival, held this year in the West Midlands.
Over 2500 civilian and military orienteers, some from abroad, took part in the four day competition which takes place over the Easter weekend each year.
The first event of the weekend was a Sprint around MOD Stafford with members of the Royal Signals Orienteering Club and local Army Cadets delivering the manpower support under the Maj Sally Calland, who was joint Organiser for the Sprint event.
Historically, attendance at the Army Individual Orienteering Championships has been particularly low each year. Had the event taken place this year, only 18 runners would have competed, which included only 1 female and no novices. There were a few late attendance requests but this would only have grown numbers by 3.
As a result, at a recent meeting of the AOA Executive Committee, it was decided to incorporate the individual championships into the Inter Corps competition each November and a proposal that develops this strand is attached.
Maj James Ballard hopes to attempt the Bob Graham Round in Aug 18 and has asked whether there are any military orienteers who have done it before and if so, would be pleased to hear from you.
Any admin instructions or contacts would also be very useful.
Please contact James directly at 2MERC-BCOY-OC at mod.uk
A BAOC member, Maj (Retd) Rob Shenton, will be running the North Pole Marathon on 8 April, raising funds for Help for Heroes. Anyone wishing to support him can do so through www.runningrob.com
The AOA have decided to swap from teaching map making using OCAD 9 to the open source OpenOrienteeringMapper software. The current version 8 (available at https://github.com/OpenOrienteering/mapper/releases/tag/v0.8.0) has functionality way beyond OCAD 9 and is completely free. The only major feature that it lacks from OCAD 11 & 12 (at £600+) is the ability to render Lidar data into contours.
Ex ASTUTE RUNNER, the Army Individual Orienteering Championships, will now be held on Sun 18 Mar 18 within the Midlands Championships event at Belvoir Castle near Grantham.
Further details are now available on the events page and online entries are open. Guidance is also now available to support ease of entry on the events page
Please ensure you enter the Army classes at the bottom of the Fabian4 site.
ENTRIES CLOSE 03 MAR WITH NO EOD FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP COURSES
AOA Sec
The Army Sport Control Board will soon be 100 years old and to mark the occasion it will be publishing a commemorative book to celebrate a century of sport in the Army.
The book cover all sports, with a small section on orienteering, which will comprise a combination of text and photographs.
Given the 1 page constraint, the article will consist of a nutshell summary of the sport’s role and history in the Army, how the club has progressed since it was founded and how many participants today.
Entries should be in no later than 8th March.
Dear Planners, Controllers and Organisers,
Firstly I would like to say thank you for your continued support to the MLS; without you it would not be possible for the MLS to cater for around 6000 entries each year during the winter season alone. A truly impressive statistic!
There is an opportunity for a Unit to gain either 600 or 400 MLS league points by just supplying manpower for access control and car parking at Longmoor on the 24th Jan 18. Bonus, if you have a controller she/he can have 100 indicidual points! If you are intereseted contact Phill Batts on either coaching@armyorienteering.com or 07733047634
