Essex Stragglers Orienteering Society (SOS)

accredited

About the club

History

The Stragglers started orienteering during season 1966/7 from a base at the Robert Beard Youth Centre in Hornchurch Essex. An invitation to tell me more prompted this informative email from Derek Keeble.

Membership

Membership is drawn from north and east Essex (the areas furthest from London) and from south Suffolk. Membership hovers at around the level that just enables us to qualify as a Small Club to take part in the CompassSport Cup (we won it in 1990, and have almost won it lots of times). We have members of all ages and backgrounds. See the Membership page for details on how you can join.

Aims and Objectives

The club's aims are to provide the best quality events on the areas available to us, to develop every member's orienteering, to introduce lots of new people to the sport, and to have fun. These objectives are described in a rather dry form in the Society's Constitution.

Each year we try to arrange -

• One Badge (Regional) event.
• One EAGAL (East Anglian League) colour-coded (District) event.
• Four or more Essex and Suffolk Schools Orienteering League (ESSOL) events. Together with our neighbours Suffolk Orienteering Club, we provide an annual series of eight local events in term time, offering courses suitable for less experienced primary and secondary students, as well as more challenging courses where the terrain allows.
• The Stragglers Relays in July. Teams of four run four yellow, three orange, and two light green courses. Beat the handicapper! Great fun! Pre-entry please.
• The Club Championships, held in the Autumn.
• New Years Day Fun Event - the Hangover Handicap. A score event with some additional rules to make life on the morning after more interesting. Great fun!
• Some introductory events in the spring and summer.
• An introductory schools end-of-year event, aimed at Years 7 and 8. This event is often our biggest event of the year
• Events with other bodies, e.g. local authority festivals of sport, scout/guide camps etc.
• Coaching sesions for our improving juniors
• Social evenings at multi-day competitions.
• The Annual Dinner/Social. This event has been held every year since 1998.

Mapped areas

Hover over the O sign for the name of the area ...

Baddow Ridge

TL780060, Conservation woodland to the north of Danbury

Broaks Wood

TL790306, Forestry Commission access woodland near Halstead.

Castle Park

TM000255, Colchester.

Chalkney Wood

TL880280, woodland near Earls Colne.

Danbury Park

TL770050, parkland and woodland in Danbury.

Fordham Hall Estate

TL928286, New Woodland Trust woodland to the west of Colchester.

Great Notley Country Park

TL734214, Braintree

Hatfield Forest

TL547203, ancient royal hunting forest managed by the National Trust, near Bishops Stortford.

High Woods

TL998271, woodland and open areas to the north of Colchester.

Hockley Woods

TQ830920, access woodland near Southend.

Hylands Park

TL680048, parkland near Chelmsford.

The Naze

TM265234, coastal heath near Walton.

Layer Wood

TL907177, Mature woodland near Tiptree.

Roman Valley and Donylands

TL986217, army training area to the south of Colchester.

Tiptree Heath

TM884148, Heathland and woodland near Tiptree.

Wivenhoe Park and Woods

TM030240, parkland (University of Essex campus) to east of Colchester, now extended to Wivenhoe Woods.

Permanent Courses

Club Champions

Mike Powell Davies Shield

for services to the club

2008	Derek Keeble
2007	Jack Isbester
2006	Lyn West

Mark Johnson Trophy

Oustanding Junior

2007	James Lyne
2006	Jo West

Stragglers' Relays Winners

Thanks to Tim Pribul of CHIG for much of this information. Let me know if you can fill in any of the missing information!

Year	Venue	Club	Team
2008	High Woods	CHIG	This Little CHIGgy (John and Carol Pearce, Ray Weakes, Tim Pribul)
2007	Danbury Country Park	WAOC	Eclectic WAOC
2006	Broaks Wood	WAOC	Jabberlets
2005	Wivenhoe Park	HAVOC	Escargots
2004	No event	-	-
2003	Walton-on-the-Naze	WAOC	Chaos
2002	Hylands Park	WAOC	Wagglers (Simon, Helen and Nicola Gardner, David Gresham)
2001	High Woods	SOS	Western front (Jo, Colin, Lyn and David West)
2000	Broaks Wood	SOS	SoSpeedy
1999	Brandon Park	CHIG	Josh and Sam Jenner, George and Tim Pribul
1998	Chalkney Woods	WAOC	Weeds Beware (Simon, Mike, Helen and Peter Gardner)
1997	Broaks Wood	CHIG	George Wormald, Carol Pearce, Josh Jenner, Tim Pribul
1996	Marks Hall	CHIG	George Wormald, Carol Pearce, George and Tim Pribul
1995	Hatfield Forest	CHIG	Helen and Carol Pearce, George and Tim Pribul
1994	Wivenhoe Park	HAVOC	Brian (Barry Straight, Robert Baker, Tony Fletcher, Claire Daniel)
1993	Hylands Park	CHIG	Ray Weekes, Jennifer Taylor, Rowanne and Tim Pribul
1992	Broaks Wood	CHIG	Tony Maycraft, Tom Edelsten, Rowanne and Tim Pribul
1991	Hatfield Forest	HAVOC	Havocets
1990	Roman Valley	CHIG	Tony Maycraft, Carol Pearce, Philippa and Tim Pribul
1989	?
1988	Baddow Ridge	CHIG	James, Carol, Helen and John Pearce
1987	Wivenhoe Park	CHIG	James, Carol and Helen Pearce, Tim Pribul
1986	Hockley Woods	HAVOC	Raleigh Rompers (Cath Shipley, Ted Stacey, Steven and David Hayter)
1985	Hockley Woods	CHIG	James, Carol and Helen Pearce, Tim Pribul
1984	Roman Valley	CHIG	Alex Kerr, Carol and James Pearce, Tim Pribul
1983	Roman Valley	CHIG	Alex Kerr, Carol, James and John Pearce
1982	Friday Woods/Roman Valley
1981	Hatfield Forest	CHIG	Alex Kerr, Nigel Burvill, Tim Pribul	(Straight relay format)
1980	Hylands Park

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Mapping based on Ordnance Survey on this site reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. © Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Licence number 100047430.