Highlights from results of the first Frolic

Frolics 2008 – final result after all 5 rounds

LOK winners!!

click here for some analysis of participation

Final position (best three out of first four events + last)	Club	Cumulative individual scores	Trophy points
1	LOK	2131	78
2	MV	1898	74
3	SLOW	2000	72
4	HH	1731	69
5	CHIG	1467	63
6	DFOK	1500	61
7	HAVOC	1105	54
8	TVOC	846	49
9	BKO	458	46
10=	SAX	1031	45
10=	SO	853	45
12	SN	338	23
13	GO	159	13

Having been joint winner in 2006 but only 5th in 2007, LOK finally managed to pull away from their rivals and take a clear first place in the 2008 Frolics. In fact, although competition was close almost to the last, LOK were never headed over the five rounds and finished up with a comfortable lead. With a home win at Alexandra Park and second place in three other events, beating SLOW to top spot on their own turf at Putney Heath was probably the decisive factor.

MV were second (as last year), with the runaway winners from 2007 SLOW slipping down to third. The ‘best 3 out of 4 plus the last’ formula in fact didn’t make much difference this year (although SAX who didn’t compete at event 5 just lost out to BKO despite scoring better in the earlier rounds). But the formula was possibly the reason for another very high turnout at Whippendell. Interestingly, the total number of runners at all five events together was almost a third higher than last year – a tribute to Frolics’ enduring popularity perhaps?

HH won their ‘home’ event, but only by a narrow margin. LOK again managed to mobilise their top stars to push HH very close, while MV kept up their challenge to the end – a very good result for a north London event. SLOW, normally very competitive wherever the event is held, were surprisingly lowly placed at 5th. CHIG also did well while TVOC also impressed on the day with their best event result for several years.

27 July – Whippendell Wood (HH)

	Club	Score (top 6 runners on handicap)	Points (for trophy)
1	HH	512	20
2	LOK	507	19
3	MV	493	18
4	CHIG	483	17
5	SLOW	429	16
6	TVOC	419	15
7	DFOK	414	14
8	HAVOC	409	13
9	BKO	108	12
10	SO	53	11
-	GO	0	0
-	SN	0	0
-	SAX	0	0

Greg Birdseye - Frolics co-ordinator

Frolics 2008 – round 4 results

20 July – Nork Park (MV)

	Club	Score (top 6 runners on handicap)	Points (for trophy)
1	MV	512	20
2	LOK	490	19
3	SO	476	18
4	SLOW	474	17
5	SAX	472	16
6=	DFOK	417	15
6=	HH	417	15
8	TVOC	263	13
9	HAVOC	211	12
10	CHIG	188	11
11=	BKO	93	10
11=	SN	93	10
13	GO	0	0

Nork Park on a sunny Sunday, a brand new area (with not too many brambles), brilliant views from the download tent over south London, and the best Frolics turn out for two years – well done MV, suitably rewarded by first place on the day at their home event!

Remarkably, the scores for the next four clubs were all within 18 points of each other – possibly no more than a few seconds per scoring runner, averaged overall. How critical might those seconds be in the final result?

SO had their best result of the season at Nork Park but, as has looked increasingly likely, the top three clubs in the overall ranking have consolidated their position.

One should of course never say never in orienteering, where complete disaster is always possible, but LOK now look in a pretty strong position with Whippendell to come. But the chasers might still have a glint of hope, since the final championship depends on the best three results from the first four events, plus the last. So wait and see until the presentation of the London bus trophy…..

Overall position after four rounds

Position after four events	Club	Cumulative individual scores	Cumulative points (for trophy)	Change in position since last week
1	LOK	2114	78	-
2	SLOW	2045	73	-
3	MV	1766	72	-
4	HH	1448	63	-
5	DFOK	1335	61	-
6	CHIG	1172	57	▼ 1
7	SAX	1099	56	▲ 1
8	HAVOC	893	53	▼ 1
9	BKO	411	44	-
10=	SO	800	34	▲ 1
10=	TVOC	427	34	-
12	SN	338	23	-
13	GO	159	13	▼ 1

Greg Birdseye

Frolics co-ordinator

Frolics 2008 – round 3 results

13 July – Alexandra Park (LOK)

	Club	Score (top 6 runners on handicap)	Points (for trophy)
1	LOK	582	20
2	HH	513	19
3	SLOW	497	18
4	CHIG	429	17
5	MV	361	16
6	HAVOC	262	15
7	DFOK	249	14
8	SN	245	13
9	BKO	134	12
10	SAX	68	11
-	TVOC	0	0
-	SO	0	0
-	GO	0	0

Yet another sunny day for the LOK Frolics. Alexandra Park is always going to be rather more straightforward than, say, Addington the previous week and some fast times were recorded on the day. And on their home turf LOK pulled out all the stops, with no fewer than 22 runners on the Frolics course (- good job the competition’s forbears in their wisdom decided that only a maximum of 6 can count for the trophy!); HH were not far behind with 18 runners, and perhaps not surprisingly these two clubs filled the top two places. But as always SLOW (the sleeping giant?) were not far behind.

The overall table saw a consolidation at the top and, as can happen this far into the series, the top six clubs are starting to pull away from the rest, with perhaps the likely winners coming from the current top three. MV must still fancy their chances with their upcoming home event at Nork Park (new to everyone and perhaps for that reason less easy to predict the result?). And remember, the final result is based on best four out of the five events, with event 5 at Whippendell having to count. So, all bets are off for the moment.

See next week’s bulletin as the tension builds…..

Overall position after three rounds

Position after three events	Club	Cumulative individual scores	Cumulative points (for trophy)	Change in position since last week
1	LOK	1624	59	-
2	SLOW	1571	56	-
3	MV	1254	52	-
4	HH	1031	48	▲ 1
5=	CHIG	984	46	-
5=	DFOK	918	46	▼ 1
7	HAVOC	682	41	▲ 1
8	SAX	627	40	▼ 3
9	BKO	318	34	-
10	TVOC	164	21	-
11	SO	324	16	-
12=	GO	159	13	-
12=	SN	245	13	▲ 1

Greg Birdseye

Frolics co-ordinator

Frolics 2008 – round 2 results

6 July – Addington Hills (DFOK)

	Club	Score (top 6 runners on handicap)	Points (for trophy)
1	SLOW	580	20
2	LOK	504	19
3	SAX	480	18
4	MV	380	17
5	SO	327	16
6	DFOK	245	15
7	HH	231	14
8	CHIG	200	13
9	HAVOC	197	12
10	TVOC	75	11
11	BKO	61	10
-	GO	0	0
-	SN	0	0

Addington Hills made a very good venue for week 2 – an area perhaps not used as often as it should be. It is one of the best small areas in the south east, with varied vegetation, a surprising amount of up and down, and plenty of control sites. The weather was a bit off-putting, but Frolics numbers were not far short of the previous week.

SLOW turned up in force to an event almost on their doorstep, with a further 13 non-scoring runners; LOK were next best in both representation and scoring; and another local club, SAX, also scored well this week.

This early in the series, places in the overall table can switch around quite dramatically week by week, with some big leaps up the table and corresponding falls, and SAX in particular made a significant move up at Addington. At the top, LOK and SLOW are neck and neck after two events, and, with MV, are beginning to pull away from the rest of the field.

Further down the table there is some serious bunching developing, with SAX, CHIG and HH inseparable. How much will the positions change after Alexandra Park – a north London event? Watch this space…

Overall position after two rounds

Position after two events	Club	Cumulative individual scores	Cumulative points (for trophy)	Change in position since last week
1	LOK	1047	39	-
2	SLOW	1079	38	▲ 1
3	MV	895	36	▼ 1
4	DFOK	671	32	-
5=	SAX	564	29	▲ 5
5=	CHIG	555	29	-
5=	HH	520	29	▲ 1
8	HAVOC	420	26	▼ 1
9	BKO	184	22	-
10	TVOC	140	21	▲ 1
11	SO	327	16	▲ 1
12	GO	159	13	▼4
13	SN	0	0	▼ 1

Greg Birdseye - Frolics co-ordinator - 9 July 2008

Frolics 2008 – round 1 results

29 June – Putney Heath (SLOW)

	Club	Score (top 6 runners on handicap)	Points (for trophy)
1	LOK	543	20
2	MV	515	19
3	SLOW	499	18
4	DFOK	426	17
5	CHIG	355	16
6	HH	289	15
7	HAVOC	223	14
8	GO	159	13
9	BKO	123	12
10	SAX	84	11
11	TVOC	65	10
-	SN	0	0
-	SO	0	0

Round 1 saw a good turnout on a brilliant June morning in south London. We had a well-planned Frolics course, although some of the brambles near the start provided a rather rude awakening!

The top three were quite close – not surprisingly perhaps the three ‘local’ clubs – but there is ample room for movement over the next four weeks. Watch this space!

Greg Birdseye - Frolics co-ordinator - 3 July 2008