SW Relay series, up to 2016
In the later seasons, under the captaincy of Chris Hasler, we performed very well in some hotly contested series. Despite obtaining the services of some of our best runners on several occasions, the unerringly consistent Wessex proved impossible to dethrone.
Agonisingly for us, even when Wessex had an off year, Wimborne suddenly produced a strong team.
Roll of honour
See the SWOA website for:
| Winners | Runners-up | 3rd | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Wessex (WSX) | Quantock (QO) | Sarum |
| 2015 | Wimborne (WIM) | Quantock (QO) | Sarum |
| 2014 | Wessex (WSX) | Quantock (QO) | Sarum |
| 2013 | Wessex (WSX) | Sarum | Quantock (QO) |
| 2012 | Wessex (WSX) | Sarum | Wimborne (WIM) |
QO's Richard S, Simon B and Gavin C, winners of Hardy Relays
2016 - always the bridesmaids?
The series winners were determined much later than usual. QO needed to win comfortably over Wessex in the last relay on a September Monday evening in Dorset but Wessex won. We did manage to secure the runners up spot for the third year running, finishing one point ahead of Sarum. Our previous visit to Dorset saw us beat the champions at their own event, the Hardy Relays at Upton Country Park. Earlier, we had taken three teams to Bristol's Adams Avery relay at Dyrham Park.
Winners of North Wilts' trophy, Lydiard Park, Swindon
2015 - strong team unlucky
Bolstered by new "signing" Gavin Clegg from the dominant South West relay team Wessex Raiders, QO started confidently, winning the first relay in a country park in Swindon. Wimborne then posted three straight wins and despite taking full points in the last relay in Devon, we trailed the Dorset outfit by four points on the final leaderboard. The crucial event was the penultimate one in Wessex's Hardy Relays, where we were winning but unfortunately one member had to return to punch a control he had missed. Link: Chris' cunning plan at Canford
2014- always second best
A win over Wessex in the Devon relays at the end of the season was mere consolation as they had beat us in each of the first five relays. The Dorset club's formidable team of Gavin Clegg, Dale Paget and Roger Crickmore had effectively wrapped up title with two relays to go.
Adams Avery winners 2010
2010- Adams Avery win
A rare win* in Bristol's relay! BOK can usually be counted on to field strong teams in their own relay. Besides, the seemingly omnipotent Wessex Raiders were there. Captain on the day Jim Mallinson was the hero, with a brilliant run on the final leg. The rest of the team was Brian Pearson and Jeff Pakes, who wrote a report for the QuOnicle here.
* the records are incomplete but our last confirmed win was in 1991
Mike Crockett with Devon OC's Byfoot Trophy
Credit: Mark Lockett
2008 & 2007 - series champions
QO won the series in both these years, before handing the baton over to Wessex, who then won six years in a row. The last of these victories very nearly didn't happen...
In 2008, we needed to score on the last relay on a hot day in Hethelton, Dorset to achieve a series win, but a debutant relay runner (me) made this difficult when he lost his dibber while running the first leg! The dibber had been straggling precariously by a piece of string from the map and come loose. After frantically retracing steps to search for the dibber, he borrowed one off a family of orienteers and completed the course. The missing dibber was later found and results stitched together from the chaotic sequence of dibs and printouts. Remarkably, we finished second on the day and clinched the series win. Writing nearly 10 years on, this is the final time the series trophy left Dorset.
Brian Pearson was the captain in these years.
Jeff Pakes
Previous years
QO apparently had a very successful relay team for many years, consisting of Bill Vigar, Sue Gard, Mike Crockett (pictured) and Jenny Tennant.
Amongst other successes, in the decade between the mid 90s and mid noughties QO our teams won the Devon Relays' Byfoot Trophy (pictured) many times.