FVO Compass Sport Cup winners 2016

Forth Valley Orienteers sped to success in the 2016 Compass Sport Cup final in Tankersley, South Yorkshire, defending the UK's premier prize for club teams. And the victory was all the sweeter in that it was scored on the home patch of perennial Compass Sport challengers, South Yorkshire Orienteers.

The win took FVO's winning streak in the Compass Sport competitions to ten, with the 2015 and 2016 Cups adding to the Trophy, which was dominated from 2006 onwards. The Cup success is all the more remarkable in that FVO is still eligible as a club with a membership lower than 125, to compete in the Trophy for "Small" clubs.

Overall class victories were secured by Graham Gristwood (Brown), Dan Stansfield (Short Brown) and Lizzie Stansfield (Orange Women), but there was success in all areas of the team, with each and every of the nine classes contributing points to the winning total.

The winning mentality was built on the solid foundation of the Mens' Elite (Brown) team, which captured three of the top four places in the class. However, the result was in the balance until the last minute, with South Yorkshire holding a narrow lead after the conclusion of the senior classes. An excellent back-end showing from the junior and veteran classes outscored the hosts in the run-in, and was sufficient to see the cup heading backup the M1 once again.

FVO point scorers on the day were:

However, in a real team effort, there were many others who, without scoring points for the total, denied them to the opposition with strong runs on what was regarded as a tough technical course.