EMEWS Dec 2000

EMEWS is the newsletter of the East Midlands Orienteering Association.

Editorial address: John Cooke, 5 Pembroke Close, Tamworth, Staffs. B79 7YB. 01827 61663

COPY DATE FOR NEXT ISSUE:

15th February 2001

Contributions are always welcome but especially on 3.5" IBM PC format discs or by email. Please use plain ASCII text for email -I know your latest version of Word produces superb presentations, but I cannot always read it! Please send printed copy if possible, and check the arrival of email.

Chairman's spot

I would like to thank the membership for their trust in electing me as your chairman and look forward to your continuing support during my period in office. Our constitution allows for the retiring chairman to remain on committee for one year and I have invited John Woodall to do so and he has happily agreed to make his experience available to us.

I should like to comment on this new style EMEWS. Unfortunately we have not found a volunteer to take over from the Bedwells as editors and compilers but John Cooke who produces an excellent quarterly newsletter for LEI has agreed to have a go at creating a regional letter on the back of his own. It will come out during December, March, June and September. Deadline for any material for inclusion will be the 15th of the preceding month and material must be in electronic form.

There were no nominations for the position of Vice Chair at the AGM and I would invite all members to give some thought as to whether they would like to put themselves forward. The role involves very little work other than attending a few meetings a year but gives an insight into the workings of BOF and developments within the sport. If any volunteer then finds the position satisfying and would wish to put themselves forward for the position of Chair in three years time, when I have to relinquish office, they would by then be well qualified for the role.

Looking further ahead, we as a region, have undertaken to run day 2 (Sunday) of the 2003 JK and are looking for an organiser, planner and assistant planner(s). These would of course have to be very experienced orienteers for what is effectively a National event. The Organiser would not have to carry out many of his usual functions as the overall event co-ordinator will presumably be dealing with entries, signing, parking, permissions, facilities etc. but our official would have to pull together and supervise the teams needed to run the event on the day. It may well be that the best way would be for DVO for example, to find the start team, NOC the finish officials, LEI the results team and LOG to assist wherever needed but this would need to be agreed between our organiser and the clubs in the region.

As the event is being held in the Lakes some lengthy travelling is unavoidable but all expenses will be covered and we will try and ensure meetings are held when it is a realistic possibility for our nominees to travel.

If you feel up to any of these roles and would like to put your marker on such a high profile event then please let your club delegate know. Before anyone needs to make a definite commitment we will establish exactly what the roles entail.

Returning to matters closer to home, we have now finalised our Galoppen programme. Unless anything crops up to prevent any venue putting on the event and providing the necessary courses this years league will comprise the following 11 events with the best 5 scores to count.

Fineshade, Longshaw, Twyford Woods, Sherwood Pines, Walesby, Ratby Woodlands, Holmbrook, Bestwood, Gracedieu, Byrons Walk and Bourne. I look forward to seeing you at as many of these events as I can get to. We will aim to have the results completed and award the prizes at the Bradgate Park event in May.

We also have a number of night events in the calendar and hope to pull them together into a night league.

We are once again running our competition inviting submissions of development or promotional schemes seeking a grant to assist funding. These should be innovative and original and will have a better chance of success if they have any regional impact and involve taking the sport into new areas or to new populations. We are no longer restricting it to one per club and any grouping of members are welcome to submit their ideas to be in the hands of the EMOA before the end of May. All schemes should have reasonably detailed costings and the amount of any grant will be decided by the executive committee when they judge the entries. If in the view of the committee, nosuitable scheme is put forward, then the award will be held over but if more than one scheme seems to merit support then the award may be split. Successful applicants will be asked to periodically report to us on the progress of their idea.

I am pleased to report that we have now purchased electronic punching equipment, a co-ordinator has been appointed and club representatives are being trained in it's use. It should start appearing at events early in the new year.

For those of you who occasionally attend our committee meetings in whatever capacity I am pleased to advise that with effect from our next meeting we have a new venue. You will no longer have to suffer the impact of those metal chairs or the interruptions of other groups sharing the facilities and hopefully our new location is easier to access.

We are returning to accommodation at The Red Lion in Kegworth where committee meetings for the British Championships were held. They now have an entirely separate upstairs committee room with a small kitchen facility and this venue is only a mile off the M1.

Roy J Denney

Chairman

MINUTES OF THE 36th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE EAST MIDLANDS ORIENTEERING ASSOCIATION HELD AT CHILWELL OLYMPIA ON TUESDAY 17th OCTOBER 2000

Present : T. Donaldson (NOC), R. Shooter (DVO), M. Godfree (DVO), M. Gardner (DVO), P. Hubberstey (NOC), J. Dalton (NOC), P. Olivant (NOC), H. Hodkinson (NOC), M. Lucking (NOC), M. Napier (NOC), R. Barnes (NOC), E. Williams (LEI), V. Johnson (DVO), R. Alderson (NOC), R. Denney (LEI), A. Hawkins (DVO).

1. Apologies for absence : Apologies received from R. Macdonald, I. Whitehead, J. Woodall, D. Olivant, H. Rice, H. Palmer, T. Spalton, P. Leake, C. Phillips.

2. Minutes of the 35th Annual General Meeting. These were accepted as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

Proposer E. Williams

Seconder M. Lucking

3. Matters arising from the minutes.

Item 8 ( Electronic Punching ) has been brought to fruition, thanks to some hard work by the Treasurer in getting the Lottery Grant, and from Ernie Williams and his sub-committee. The equipment, SportIdent, has been selected, ordered and delivery is now promised within 4 weeks. It is hoped to trial it at DVO's Drum Hill event.

4. Chairman's Report

I very much regret not being here to give the report personally, but have to attend, in my role as BOF Chairman, the Sun Best of British Awards. I also have to apologise for the change in date of the AGM. I was uncertain that all members had been properly notified as required in the Constitution. It was most remiss of me not to have checked earlier.

My Chairman's report this year is in fact a report on my full 3½ years in the Chair. A period which started with BOC97, which I still contend was a super event, and finishes with EMOA agreeing to assist NWOA with JK2003. We have had good orienteering throughout my time ; well organised by East Midlands Clubs, and well attended. The professionalism of our clubs was epitomised by the difference between the chaotic East Midlands Championships, run for us last year by a West Midlands Club, and the subsequent Midlands Championships a few weeks later, run impeccably by the East Midlands, where the prizes were even given to the CORRECT persons by 2.30pm.

We have had full fixture lists in the past years and have a good one for the coming season. Having said that I do appeal to Clubs to get fixtures properly registered as early as possible. Our fixtures list for the coming year has looked quite thin because events were not registered - the unfortunate result of this is that the events do not get as much publicity as they deserve- Come on, Clubs. While on events I would like to thank Roger Williamson, or rather the Williamson family, for their sterling work organising and scoring the Galoppen. I, like so many more, thoroughly enjoy the competition and am spurred on to better performances. (Unfortunately at the first Galoppen event this season I left the Start exactly 180 degrees in the wrong direction for Control 1 - Good start !!! ).

During the period of my Chairmanship I have not succeeded in increasing membership, one of my main aims, but I believe we have stemmed the losses, and some types of membership have increased in the last year. I also believe that there has been no drop in participation; the numbers in the woods at the weekends has remained constant. Our big success, however has been to obtain a substantial Lottery grant to help us purchase electronic punching equipment. A working party, chaired by Ernie Williams, did a very detailed analysis of the available systems and recommended SportIdent. We have now ordered sufficient equipment to run a full badge event, but unfortunately the suppliers have let us down on delivery ( see item 3 above ). No doubt the Treasurer will update you on the latest situation in his report.

I would now like to mention two more general points. First, BOF Restructuring. I know this has caused some concern in the East Midlands, but I assure you that as long as we find we need an area Association and a newsletter we will have one. The fact that Restructuring has hit a snag which may delay or change the proposals means that, in my opinion, we will see little change in English Association status for some time. Which brings me to my second point. It is essential that we find an editor for EMEWS. This is the lifeblood of the Association and we will need EMEWS for the whole of the foreseeable future. Volunteers please. Urgent.

Now to today's Agenda. I recommend you to accept the Treasurer's Report. Bob Alderson has been most assiduous in his duties and has managed the accounts well. Thank you, Bob. I also recommend you to accept the amendments to the Constitution- they are mainly a tidying-up process which will make the Constitution that bit more definitive. Lastly I support the Budget proposals which our Treasurer will put forward. They have been scrutinized by the Executive Committee and they will balance without the need to raise either subscriptions or levies.

I have enjoyed my time as your Chairman and I am sorry to be vacating the post. However, with my BOF responsibilities taking up so much of my time perhaps it is a good job I am going - not many Chairmen miss their AGM ! I believe I am leaving the Association in safe hands and I wish the new Chairman well. Please support him as well as you have supported me. I have told him that I am prepared to continue as a member of the Committee if you wish me to be. I would try to be of some assistance.

Finally I thank all members of the Association who have helped me so much over the past 3½ years. It is invidious to mention names, all committee members have been so helpful, but I must mention Roy Denney. He has been such a support as Vice-Chairman and has put so much effort into the Development Plan and on the National Forest Committee. I would also like to mention the Secretary, who really does the work ; was Neil Addison, now Andy Hawkins; the Treasurer, who keeps us solvent ; was Catherine Hughes, now Bob Alderson; and the EMEWS editor, who keeps us informed and entertained ; was Mike and Liz Godfree, and then Dai and Karen Bedwell. Thank you all for doing my work for me - it was truly appreciated.

I am genuinely sorry not to be with you tonight. It is not a 'diplomatic' absence to avoid difficult questions; I wish I was there to field them. My trip to London will only have been worthwhile if tomorrow you see me in the Sun, or on TV, collecting a prize and getting national publicity for Orienteering.

Sorry if you feel that I have gone on for too long, but I considered you deserved a full report in my absence.

5. Treasurer's Report

Thanks to Steve Wright for 'independently examining' (used to be called auditing ) EMOA's and EMOA Junior Squad's Accounts. The funds show a healthy balance as at 30.6.00, and have almost broken even for the year. The final accounts for the year ended 30.6.00 were circulated and accepted.

Proposer: M. Godfree Seconder: M. Napier

6. Amendments to the Constitution.

6.1 That Section 5.5 be amended to read :

"The Executive Committee shall ensure that an Income and Expenditure Account and Balance Sheet is prepared each year that fairly represents the financial transactions of the Association for the year and the balances held at the Balance Sheet date, and that these shall be seen by an Independent Financial Examiner who should express an opinion in writing as to whether they represent a true and accurate picture."

Proposer: R. Denney Seconder: E. Williams Carried unanimously.

6.2 That Section 5.6 be amended to read :

"The Independent Financial Examiner shall be a person with experience in financial matters and shall not be a member of the Executive Committee of the Association. The Independent Financial Examiner shall not be involved in or associated with any significant financial transactions with the Association and should be from a different Club to the Treasurer."

Proposer: A. Hawkins Seconder: E. Williams Carried unanimously.

6.3 That Section 5.7 be amended to read :

"The Independent Financial Examiner shall, each year, be appointed for the current financial year at the Annual General Meeting, and may have been nominated by the Executive Committee. The Independent Financial Examiner may only be removed from office by the members of the Association at a General Meeting although the Executive Committee shall be able to fill any vacancy that arises during the course of the year."

Proposer: A. Hawkins Seconder E. Williams Carried unanimously.

6.4 That in Section 6 'General Meeting' an extra item, 6.6, be added:

"The retiring Treasurer shall produce, as guidance to the members of the Association at the Annual General Meeting, a projected budget covering the likely income and expenditure of the Association for the following year and proposed levels of event levy for that year. The levy will be voted upon by the members present who may offer amendments to the suggested figures."

Proposer: R. Denney Seconder: E. Williams Carried unanimously.

7. Election of Officers.

The new Chairman, Roy Denney, was elected unopposed.

Proposer : E. Williams Seconder : R.Barnes

Secretary, Andy Hawkins, and Treasurer, Bob Alderson expressed their willingness to continue in their roles.

Proposer : M. Napier Seconder : R. Shooter

There were no nominations for either Vice-Chairman or Editor of EMEWS, and clubs were exhorted to try to find volunteers for these key positions.

The other officers agreed to continue in their roles :

BOF Council R. Barnes Coaching H. Palmer Fixtures I. Whitehead Mapping M. Godfree Schools P. Olivant Technical E. Williams

Proposer : R. Shooter Seconder : P. Hubberstey

Interim arrangements for EMEWS, prior to finding a volunteer, were discussed.

8. Independent Financial Examiner

Steve Wright (NOC) expressed his willingness to act again in this role for next year, but the meeting felt that, in accordance with change to the constitution 6.2 above, we should try to find someone, if possible, from outside NOC ( i.e. from a different club to the Treasurer ). Suggestions/ volunteers please.

9. Budget and subscription rates for 2000/2001

The budget, as provided by the Treasurer, was discussed, along with the financial implications of committing a large sum to the purchase of electronic punching equipment, and how this money would be repaid by clubs, either in a lump sum or as they 'hired' equipment.

Event levies and membership fees for 2000/2001 are unchanged, but the Treasurer foresaw a probable need to raise them next year as they have been unchanged for five years.

10. AOB

Ray Barnes volunteered to be EMOA's representative on the English Orienteering Action Group, but urged members to continue to pass on to him their views on the Restructuring issue.

Electronic Punching Comes to the East Midlands!

As I am sure that some members of the East Midlands have discovered, the EMOA is now the proud owner of a complete set of Sport Ident (SI) Electronic Punching (EP) equipment.

Thanks to the work, in the first instance of the Sub-Committee appointed by the EMOA Committee, who surveyed and investigated the possibilities of EP and recommended the purchase of Sport Ident, which was then followed by Bob Alderson being instrumental in EMOA being awarded a Lottery Grant from Sports for All, which was then followed by a decision by the Committee to add to the grant from EMOA funds to enable the purchase of a wider range of equipment, and finally back to the Sub-Committee who, aided in their deliberations by Michael Napier, completed their work by making recommendations on the training of nominated Club members, hire costs and arrangements and the storage of the SI equipment. James Allen of DVO, a member of the Sub-Committee, has volunteered to act as the EP Co-ordinator for the next twelve months.

To all of them we must say a very big 'Thank You' for making EP in the East Midlands a very real actuality rather than a hoped-for possibility.

For those who have yet to make themselves familiar with SI, you will need to use an SI ecard instead of the traditional paper or tyvek control card. The SI ecard is a very small plastic item (65x18x7mm) containing a chip which you attach to your finger by an elastic band (adding a wrist band through the smallavailable hole gives you added security and makes it less likely that you will lose it in the undergrowth!).

You will either have to hire an ecard at Registration for a small sum of 50 to 75 pence or purchase one from an outlet such as Ultrasport for about £14. Hired ones are blue whilst purchased ones are red. If you have your own SI ecard let Angela or Pat know at BOF Office and they will put you on a special list of ecard users as you will have a unique ecard number of either 5 or 6 digits e.g. 12345 or 456789.

Both on your way out of the Assembly area on the way to the Start and at the Start you 'clear' your SI ecard of any previous control visits. When the whistle/beep at your start time goes you record that you have started by using your ecard at the master station by the start line (you can stroll to it if you want to as you only 'officially' start once you have 'dibbed'!) and upon reaching your first control you insert the small prong or 'dibber' at one end of the SI ecard into the hole in the SI control box and then, as happened within microseconds at both the clear station and the start, you get both an audible 'beep' and flashing lights to let you know that your visit to the control site, marked by an aluminium stake with control number and control box, together with a control kite, has been successfully recorded in your SI ecard.

You continue to do this at each control on the course (taking controls out of order or missed controls is, you will appreciate, recorded on your ecard!). At the Finish you must remember to again insert you SI ecard into the 'Finish SI unit' and then go to the download point (again there is no need to hurry unnecessarily as you have recorded on your ecard that you have completed the course and reached the Finish).

After the download you will then be given a complete printout of all of your controls, and the time you have taken for each leg - sometimes this is good news and sometimes not - "Good grief - did I really take 19.53 on leg 5!" is the typical cry heard next to the tent/camper van/caravan being used for the downloading team and their valuable equipment. Of course, you also get the chance to compare your speed over each leg against others on your course, either in the car park or at home when the results are fairly quickly put up on the Net!!

The very good news is that from the middle of December DVO Drum Hill events, other events in the East Midlands will begin to use SI and EP, the East Midlands Championships at Blidworth and the Midland Championships at Shining Cliff instantly spring to mind as well as the N5 and C4 at Walesby, all in the first couple of months of 2001.

My advice is that if you are a regular orienteer and have not yet purchased an SI ecard then think about it - you will certainly not regret it.

Good Luck with your 'punching' (or should that be 'dibbing'?!) when you are out in the forest and on the moors.

Ernie Williams

WANTED - orienteers keen to extend their skills into Organising, Planning and Controlling!

Yes 'O' people in the East Midlands, you have the chance to make a real contribution to the sport by attending an EMOA/BOF sponsored training course.

There is, of course, just one small snag - however keen you are your Club Secretary, and I as the EMOA Technical Committee Representative, have to be told who is interested in which course.

Even if only a handful of EMOA members would like to learn more about organising or planning C4 and C5 events or becoming a Grade 3 Controller then I can order the pre-prepared BOF Course Materials, find a venue and then we can all get on with it!

I would like to arrange at least one course in 2001 (and if possible more than one) so please get in touch with either your Club Secretary or myself and the course(s) can be up and running.

Looking forward to hearing from either you or your Club Secretary.

Ernie Williams

ON THE HORIZON

As most orienteers realise, changes are on the way in our sport but, following the recent November meeting of Technical Committee, I am able to indicate some of them, only asking you all to bear in mind that certain recommendations have still, at the time of writing, to be considered and approved by BOF Council.

By now most people will have heard that the major changes envisaged by BOF following the 2000 AGM will not now be taking place. Even so there will be changes, albeit much smaller but none the less significant for all that.

For instance it has been agreed by Technical Committee, as we in the East Midlands believed, correctly, to be the case this year at Wakerley, that the rounds of the CompassSport Cup/Trophy are to be organised as if for a Badge/Status 3 event but that the courses from A to G will still be linked to the range of colours used at Colour Coded events rather than Badge/National event age classes, so that when we travel into East Anglia for the First Round in 2001 on 18th March at Roman Valley near Colchester we will know that we will be travelling to a Status 3 event rather than one that is Status 4. The following is part of the statement being sent to organising clubs for 2001:

"A CompassSport Cup/Trophy event is a C3 event. It is not a badge event but it is of the same status in all respects. The organising club should aim to make a real occasion out of the event. It is intended to foster club spirit and be attractive both to competitors and to the hosting club to whom it should be financially viable."

Bearing this in mind Technical Committee discussed the problem of eligibility in connection with Rule 1.5.5:

'A competitor who has trained in an area either

(i) after the area has been published in BOF fixtures lists, or elsewhere, as the competition area for an event of Badge Event status or above

(ii) knowing that it is intended to be used for such a competition

shall notify the event Organiser and shall be treated as a non-competitive entrant.'

together with Rule 4.1.5:

'At competitions of Badge Event status and above, competitors shall declare themselves non-competitive if their acquaintance with the terrain would give them substantial advantage over other competitors. Nothing that occurred more than 24 months before the date of the competition shall be taken into account.'

Put very simply, for the CompassSport Cup/Trophy competition as well as for Badge Events and above, if any orienteers have trained on the event area or have significantly surveyed the majority of the area or have mapped, planned or controlled in the area within the last 24 months then those orienteers will have to be non-competitive for that round of the CompassSport Cup/Trophy.

Another decision made, following the successful introduction this year of the new-style Ranking Lists and a detailed statistical analysis carried out by Mike Cumpstey using the results on the Ranking list for the year 2000, is to do away with the .05 weighting given to results at National Events and above. From January 1st 2001 it is intended that all Ranking events will be weighted equally.

In order to make certain events such as Nationals more rather than less attractive, having lost the Ranking List weighting, it is proposed that, again from the start of 2001, that there shall be a new competition for the M/W 35s and above who run both Long and Short courses and which will be based on the Ranking points gained at the 5 or 6 National Events held each year, the two Individual Days at the JK, the British Night Championships and the British Orienteering Championships, with an individual orienteer's best five scores from these nine or ten events to count. This new competition will join those for the M/W 18s and 20s (The Future Champions Cup) and the M/W 21s (The UK Cup) and will probably be called 'The Masters Cup Competition'.

Because of concern over some Junior courses at major events in the past couple of years, it was agreed that from the start of 2002 all Planners appointed for major events will have to undergo, before their appointment is confirmed, a 'Planning Assessment' by submitting a selection of recently planned courses for all levels of Technical Difficulty (either a range from White to Blue or an appropriate selection of badge courses) together with being asked to attend a Major Event Officials Course. In this way it is hoped that courses for Juniors at major events will be appropriate.

Partly linked to this, Andrew Kelly, the BOF English Development Officer, has for some time been concerned at the structure of the sport for Juniors and the incentives for them to improve and progress and he has finalised his proposals and is instituting a pilot scheme in the North of England. Details are in a document called 'Guidelines for planning colour coded and junior badge courses in the Northern pilot scheme' that has been sent to all Club Secretaries.

Some thought is also being given to incentive schemes such as the 'BOF Badge Scheme' and if any orienteer has any views on changes that could be made to the current scheme or has ideas on the introduction of a new scheme that could replace the existing scheme then please contact either you Club's Representative on the EMOA Committee or contact me as your Association's Representative on Technical Committee.

Finally, the slow but steady progress being made on a complete revision of the BOF Rules and Guidelines has reached the point where a first draft of the revised and updated Rules is being produced under the guidance of Simon Errington, Chairman of Technical Committee.

Ernie Williams

Halden Report

This year's M/W16 tour went off to Halden as usual, for 2 weeks of training, ending with a visit to Oslo for the Junior Norwegian Champs, and of course Tour Champs.

Most days we did a couple of courses in the morning, practising skills such as simplification, attack points, bearings, relocation, traffic lighting, fine-O and visualisation, followed by either a "fun" relay or a practise course in the afternoon.

Heather Monro and Allan Bogle both dropped in for a few days to train with us. Heather shadowed a couple of us, doing alternate legs, and also took part in two relays. Other highlights included a moose hunt (with no moose) & fircone fight, Tom Chesters & Mark Saunder.'s birthday, a hash/mudfight and Bjorne Erikson coming round to tea.

After 1 ½ weeks of training, we went to Oslo. The Norwegian Champs were a mixed success. The Norwegians compete in one-year age-groups, so those of us with shorter (and probably easier) courses breathed a sigh of relief - only 4km of potential mistakes. For the others, it was not quite so easy, and there were lots of big mistakes. We had an amazing victory in D15, with Fiona Berrow beating all the Norwegians, and there were several other top ten places.

We certainly appreciated the food when we got back. And that's not just the quality but the quantity as well. The Norwegians looked skinny, and we seemed to eat triple the amount they did!

On the day of the Tour Champs (classic), everyone mysteriously had "injuries". The courses were 6.3 km for the boys and 4.4 km for the girls, and the winners were David and I (that's one for NOC anyway!).

I had a fantastic tour. Thanks to EMOA and NOC for their support, and also Hilary and Pauline for their coaching.

Alison O'Neil (NOC).

JHI Report

This year the Junior Home Internationals were held in the Lake District. The individual race took place on Hampsfell, an area of open and lightly forested fell, with vague contour detail, leaving room for mistakes.

The format used this year was the hagaby system, effectively a one-man relay.The courses are gaffled and the runners start together, each doing 2 or 3 laps. First over the finish line is the winner, giving an element of head to head racing. There were some unexpected results, as technical ability wasn't necessarily the defining factor! Brendan won M18, Sian was third in W14, David (M16) and Sarah (W14) were fourth, Alison (W16) fifth and Rose (W14) seventh.

That evening the ceilidh (the highlight of the weekend from the girls' point of view), prize giving and evening meal took place in Grange Town Hall.

Next day at the relays, England swept the board, winning all eight, and winning overall (surprise, surprise!).

Thank you to EMOA and NOC for their support.

David and Rose Hodkinson

Lagganlia Report

Last August, we went on the lagganlia training camp in Scotland. Arriving at Aviemore station we were greeted by a thunderstorm and it continued to rain for the rest of the week.

We trained on several areas including Docharn and Deishar, and Inshriach, an area of intricate contour detail bordering on the grounds of Lagganlia Outdoor centre.

In the Tour Champs I managed to follow my victory in the short race with last place in the classic! However Sian ran consistently well coming third both days.

We had a brilliant time and would like to thank EMOA for their support.

Sarah O'Neil and Sian Roberts.

Editorial

As Roy has mentioned in his Chairman's spot I have agreed to produce EMEWS on a temporary basis until a volunteer appears to relieve me of the task. There are several disadvantages with me producing the newsletter. The main one that affects me is that I don't really have the time. As well as working full time and producing the LEI newsletter and administering the LEI permissions I am also studying with the Open University in order to be fully qualified for retirement? The disadvantage from your point of view is that although a member of LEI I now live in the West Midlands (Hopwas Hays is visible out of our kitchen window). This means that I get to few East Midlands events as there is usually an event in the West Midlands that is nearer and probably on a new area to me.

I am also unable to attend EMOA committee meetings (distance again) .

All in all it would be far better for someone with more time who gets to more East Midlands events and could attend committee meetings in Kegworth to do the job.

Any volunteers?

John Cooke

Sports Personality of the Month

I always liked Karen and Dai's Sports Personality of the Month feature and felt that I would like to continue it. Unfortunately, as mentioned in the editorial, I rarely get to East Midlands events. I would therefore be grateful for any nominations you might have in this category .

I do however have a nomination for this month - Adrian Moir for his excellent weather forecasting which allowed the National Event at Pen-Rhiw-Wen to go ahead as planned.

For anyone not familiar with the story, Adrian used his expertise gained piloting light aircraft to predict a window of fair weather from 10am to 2pm on the Sunday in what was otherwise a very stormy weekend. Armed with this forecast the organisers decided to go ahead with the event. I can vouch for his accuracy as I had a late start and was still out there at 2pm when the weather started to turn very nasty again. Discretion being the better part of valour I decided to retire at this point.

Where is the East Midlands connection I hear you cry? Well it is a little tenuous but Adrian is the son of Shirley and Don Moir of LEI.