The Beechenhurst area seems to be just forest but is really a complex industrial landscape…with trees! Coal mining over hundreds of years has left spoil heaps, complex contouring on the disturbed ground, old railway lines, and fenced off pits, which planner Mike Forrest made great use of. Although not the original intended area (Gare Hill on the Somerset/Wiltshire border, which fell foul of permissions issues), Beechenhurst gave some challenging, if muddy and slippery, courses, which most people seem to have found both challenging and enjoyable. ‘The Glade’ at the northern end of the Beechenhurst Lodge, a permanent Forestry England site was used for the Arena and the finish run-in. It makes an excellent base for the final and helped create the big event atmosphere the organising team were after. An advantage of the later date this year was that the bracken had died down well, aiding runnability, off the slippery and wet path network. It is one of the best areas available to BOK and using the permanent FE site allowed courses to visit parts of the area not used in major events in some years. Thanks are due to Chris Johnson of BOK for many hours of revision and update on the map and to David May of SLOW, our Controller for advice and guidance.    

The planned-for numbers were considerably exceeded, so parking (always to be shared with the public) and pressure on facilities became a problem. A considerable team of BOK parking marshals, based across three parking sites, helped by more volunteers from NGOC fitted everyone in. The rain was the silver lining on our parking black cloud, as the general public mostly stayed away. Organiser Richard Rossington would like to thank everyone who attended for rallying round to car share, park off-site or come by coach. He is very grateful.

Images above: Louise Adams W21 Interlopers retaining the female Golden Boot - Peter Guillaume presenting for CompassSport; Swansea Bay celebrate their close CSCF '23 Trophy win.

The weather cleared just in time for the prize giving, held against an array of club banners, where the two Golden Boots (awarded for the fastest split from final control to finish) were won by Louise Adams (W21, Interløpers) and Dylan Jenkins (M16, South Yorkshire). The Golden String was won by Oliver Puschmann (M10, Northern Navigators). The Compass Sport Trophy, for clubs with 125 or fewer members, was won by Swansea Bay (SBOC). They have achieved 2^nd and 3^rd places in past years. This is their first win, with 1281 points - one point more than last year’s winner - Edinburgh-based Interløpers. The Compass Sport Cup, for larger clubs, has featured South Yorkshire, Forth Valley and this year’s organisers Bristol in various combinations on the podium. This year South Yorkshire secured a hat-trick of successive wins, with the excellent score of 2419 points. Forth Valley were in 2^nd place (2345 points) for the 3^rd year with BOK in 3^rd.

Results

Results from the Compass Sport Final can be viewed via the BOK website. Results and Routegadget can be viewed here.

Congratulations to the top scoring teams and all who took part in the event this year!

Compass Sport Final 2024

The Compass Sport Final 2024 is back in its normal October slot. It will be hosted on Sunday 20 October by Pendle Forest Orienteers. The qualifying rounds for the Compass Sport Final 2024 are on Sunday 18 February 2024.

An invitation to take part has been sent to club captains. Please contact csportcupcoordinator@btinternet.com for entry information if required.

The events are at Helsington Burrows - Kendal, Esher Common -Esher, Gilling - Helmsley, Cannock Chase - Cannock, Birnam Hill - Birnam, Bere Wood - Bere Regis and King’s Forest - Bury St Edmunds.

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Learn more about Bristol Orienteering Klub and their upcoming events via their website. Follow this link for a summary of the Compass Sport 2023 Final warm-up event, as written by Andy Stott of North Gloucestershire Orienteering Club.