For longer than most of us can remember ELO have put on a fun orienteering event between Christmas and New Year. As well as finding the controls there has been a puzzle to add to the challenge. A mass start, a social gathering and a lively prize giving have made up for a great way to work off some of the Christmas excesses.
This year’s Festive Frolic at Vogrie on Saturday 28th December continued the tradition in grand style. The Score course was a fair test for all and the Rainbow bonus was an extra challenge for anyone with spare energy.
Huge thanks to Sheila and her family for all their work on devising, planning and presenting this special event.
Event Report
What a lovely place Vogrie is! I hope you all enjoyed your visit. Many thanks to the Rangers for giving us permission to hold our event.
Vogrie was closed last Saturday because of high winds so I was greatly relieved that the weather for the event, and for putting out the controls the day before, was very pleasant.
Apologies to those who lost time searching for control 29/189 which was found somewhere near 28/188. It had been moved some time after being checked around 9:30. I can only think that someone from the stables did not like it close to the horse field and hopped over the fence and took it but at least had the decency to dump it where we would find it.
Many thanks to those who helped, including Murray for help in putting out controls; Pete and Jamie on set up and control collection; David and Hanne on control collection; Jonathan on dibber issue and Andrea and Tim on computing. It would not have happened without a huge input from Robin, with additional help in many ways from Kirsten. Santa Panda enjoyed his view of people running hither and thither from his viewpoint between controls 2 and 4.
Thank you to whoever picked up the dropped compass and handed it in at download. The owner is very grateful.
Robin has added the following note about the results:
“There are lies, damned lies and … Festive Frolics results. The version available now has changed from what some of you saw earlier. We have gone through the splits printouts. Some of you missed partial rainbows and some of you claimed rainbows that included a control you had already used in another rainbow (often control 5). Control 30 was missing from your totals (my mistake in programming it). We haven’t verified the songs titles, although whether black is one of the colours of the rainbow is open to debate.
Sorry about the queue to submit your bonus claims. We have already thought about how it could be streamlined for another time (if we ever do it again!!)”
Sheila
Results
- Simple results are here.
- Routegadget allows you to plot your route, either by hand or by downloading a gpx file from a watch or phone and to look where you and others went.
ELO Club Championships 2024
Saturday 9th November at Vogrie
ELO’s club championships for 2024 were held in combination with Interlopers staging of the Scottish Score Championships at Vogrie on Saturday 9th November. Last year’s overall champions, Joel and Emily Atkinson, were both absent at other events so there was a chance for new names to shine.
Congratulations to all of our ELO champions for the coming year …
- female club champion – Kirsty McArthur – a new champion – with Vik Baillie very close behind
- male club champion – Evgueni Chepelin – a previous champion – with Robin Strain close behind
- junior W14 and M14 – Jonah Henderson
- junior W12 and M12 – no competitiors in this category this year
- junior running Yellow – W10 and M10 – Magnus Madhra with Magnus Baillie close behind
Trophies will be ordered and presented at a future event – hopefully at the Festive Frolic on 28th December which will be held at Vogrie again.
Congratulations also to three club members who became Scottish Score Champions: Felix Remai, Robin Strain and Sheila Strain. Kirsty and Evgueni each came 3rd in their respective categories.
Read morePlanning and Organising in 2025
We are working on an exciting programme of events for 2025 but none of these can happen without planners and organisers!
Don’t worry if you haven’t planned or organised before because you will be able to work with an experienced mentor offering advice and guidance.
In particular we need planners and organisers for these sort of events…
- Larger events attracting orienteers from all over Scotland and the UK:
most suitable for slightly more experienced planners who would like to plan an event with 7 or 8 courses. Organisation has slightly more to do than a Saturday event so we would like to be able to assign 2 organisers (and 2 planners) to each of these events so that there’s not too much for any one person to do. - Monthly Saturday events featuring classic cross country orienteering
suitable for both experienced and newer planners and an ideal introduction to organising an event. - Sprintelopes are lightweight urban orienteering events taking place on Wednesday evenings in spring and early summer
an ideal introduction to planning a low key event with just three courses.
Levenhall Links
Saturday 26th October 2024
Event Report
Thanks for coming along to Levenhall Links and enjoying some autumnal East Lothian sunshine. It was the perfect conditions for some runners courses round the old ash lagoons in Musselburgh.
Many thanks to the volunteers, particularly those who were there at the bitter end collecting controls and to our planner Jeff Hodgson and the organiser Duncan Edmondson!
It was super to have refreshments afterwards and there was a lovely buzz of conversations both before and afterwards. Hopefully all our members who were helping / running in other events across the country this weekend had an equally enjoyable time.
There were a couple of hitches today but we hope they didn’t spoil the day for those affected – runners on Orange and the earliest starters on White. Orange, control number 5 wasn’t correctly located and one of the route choices in appeared to be more runnable on the map than it actually was on the ground. To be able to compare overall Orange course runs more easily we have removed control 5 from the overall results. The route choice analysis on Routegadget still includes this control so you can see how others approached it.
Planner’s Report
Results
- Simple results are here.
- Routegadget allows you to plot your route, either by hand or by downloading a gpx file from a watch or phone and to look where you and others went.
- Winsplits Online gives another way of comparing your times for each leg.
- British Orienteering collect results from all events and publish ranking scores for larger events.
Vogrie- Saturday 5th October 2024
Event Report
Today was an extra activity added to the club programme for the Midlothian Outdoor Festival, which is co-ordinated by the countryside rangers.
The weather was perfect and Vogrie was looking wonderful.
Well done to all the families who came along and participated enthusiastically, many for their first go at orienteering, and to Bonnyrig Scout Unit who also took part equally enthusiastically.
Lots of people also had fun in the orienteering maze. Thank you to David for setting up and running the maze, and to Neil, Vik, Dermot, Jamie, Jenny and Robin for helping put out and collect in controls, run Start, run the computers and give help to first-timers.
Sheila
Results
- Simple results are here.
Yellowcraig
Saturday 28th September 2024
Yellowcraig is a small but varied area with forest, sand-dunes and open grassland to challenge for new and experienced orienteers.
Orienteers of all abilities are welcome to join us on the day when we will have the usual range of courses and also a corridor course for training.
There will be entry on the day available – please come early to avoid disappointment!
Controller’s Report
We are sorry that there was a problem with the first control in Orange for the early starters. We should probably have voided the course and deleted all results, but we thought it was better to leave it – you know what you did.
Robin
Results
- Simple results are here.
- Routegadget allows you to plot your route, either by hand or by downloading a gpx file from a watch or phone and to look where you and others went.
- Winsplits Online gives another way of comparing your times for each leg.
- British Orienteering collect results from all events and publish ranking scores for larger events.
North Berwick Law
SUNDAY 1st September 2024
Event Report
Thanks to all those who came to compete and to the many helpers who made the event possible.
It was particularly good to see several first-time orienteers today – we hope you will join us again at our next event at Yellowcraig when we are back in our regular of the last Saturday in the month on 28th September.
Results
- Simple results are here.
- Routegadget allows you to plot your route, either by hand or by downloading a gpx file from a watch or phone and to look where you and others went.
- Winsplits Online gives another way of comparing your times for each leg.
- British Orienteering collect results from all events and publish ranking scores for larger events.
Butterdean Wood
Saturday 30th November 2024
Many thanks to everyone who came to compete – including familiar faces, comparative newcomers and the cheery Cubs who seemed to enjoy their first taste of orienteering. Thanks also to the very many helpers and particularly to Neil for planning such well-received courses which made the most of the rather restricted area of Butterdean.
Congratulations to Emily Atkinson for the fastest time on Light Green against some very strong competition.
Results
- Simple results are here.
- Routegadget allows you to plot your route, either by hand or by downloading a gpx file from a watch or phone and to look where you and others went.
- Winsplits Online gives another way of comparing your times for each leg.
- British Orienteering collect results from all events and publish ranking scores for larger events.
Whitekirk Hill
Saturday 29 June 2024
Whitekirk Hill is a relatively new area for orienteering and boasts a variety of rock and contour features on broadly open hillside with picturesque views over East Lothian.
The majority of the paths are mown strips through the grass though they appear to be more permanent and there are many informal paths around the former golf course.
Parking for the event is at the Whitekirk Hill resort and we’d encourage you to make use of the excellent cafe which is there.
As well as the “usual” Saturday courses, we are offering a “no paths” version of the Green course which will allow you to test your navigation using just the contour detail on the map. There are plenty of catching features which should allow you to relocate and the main hardcore track round the site will be included on the map. You are advised to wear studded shoes for the Green and “no paths” courses.
We have ordered plenty of maps so entry on the day will be available – just turn up!
Results
- Simple results are here.
- Routegadget allows you to plot your route, either by hand or by downloading a gpx file from a watch or phone and to look where you and others went.
- Winsplits Online gives another way of comparing your times for each leg.
- British Orienteering collect results from all events and publish ranking scores for larger events.
Prestonpans Sprintelope
Wednesday 26 June 2024
Sprintelopes are lightweight informal events featuring Urban style races around the streets of towns in East Lothian and other areas in and around Edinburgh on Wednesday evenings.
In 2024, ELO are contributing six races to the series – this is the sixth of them, around Prestonpans!
Orienteers of all abilities are welcome to join us on the day when we will have a range of courses to suit everyone including under 16s who have a course with no road crossings.
Start and finish is now just round the corner outside St. Gabriel’s Primary School, Prestonpans.
Results
- Simple results are here.
- Routegadget allows you to plot your route, either by hand or by downloading a gpx file from a watch or phone and to look where you and others went.
- British Orienteering collect results from all events and publish ranking scores for larger events.