Closely run

Will we ? Won’t we ? That has become the familiar pattern for 2021 so we were delighted when Forth Valley Orienteers (FVO) agreed, at very short notice, to host the British and Scottish Relay Championships for 2021.

A beautiful day dawned allowing for an exciting event with some closely fought races between Juniors and for those contending the Men’s and Women’s trophies.

Fairy Knowe and Doon Hill provided a high quality technical challenge with generally good conditions underfoot despite the deluge the day before that threatened to swamp the start area!

The first two places for the Juniors (MW44 – combined age of competitors male or female) were hotly contested with just 22 seconds separating them. FVO’s appropriately named ‘Young Bloods’ took first place closely followed by INVOC’s ‘Ospreys’. For the younger teams, MW36, the tables were turned with the INVOC ‘Eagles’ getting the better of FVO’s Flying Juniors.

The Men’s race was dominated by FVO Flyers who romped in with a comfortable four minute lead over the EUOC Legends 1 and 2. However the EUOC Legendesses fared better with the first team having a significant 10 minute lead over their second team and FVO settling for 3rd place.

Whilst there were no teams from beyond Scotland participating, the strength and depth of both FVO and EUOC is considerable and they would fare well against a larger field too. It was great to see a healthy representation of juniors from a number of clubs including ESOC, INT, INVOC, and TAY. Relays provide an exciting way to engage young people though not all enjoy the tension that can surround relays and even the best in the world can and do mis-punch under pressure!

Thanks as always to those behind the scenes who make these events happen. It was lovely to see so many smiling faces cheering on all competitors in the autumnal sun of the Trossachs. Scotland at her best.

Full results available here