Race the Abbeys brings sunshine to the Inter-Club Championships
Having picked the Jedburgh Race the Abbeys event as the June portion of the Inter-club Championship, we were not expecting Roxburgh Reivers to have organised the weather as well. It was a great weekend of fabulous weather, glorious backdrops to the orienteering round Kelso and Jedburgh and the planners had provided us with some amazing courses which tested how well the brain reacted when an orienteering challenge was combined with the warmth of summer.
For the elites the courses had been planned by two of the WOC 2024 planners to allow them to see how they work and for those watching there was the opportunity in Jedburgh to see them run through a spectator control and off out onto the course again. Some great results with Yannick Michiels of Belgium and newly retired GB athlete Alice Leake of AIRE Orienteers (Airedale, Wharfedale, Leeds and Bradford) taking the top spot on the podium but Grace Molloy and Chris Smithard of Forth Valley Orienteers (FVO) close behind in silver and bronze respectively.
Club runners were treated to some tricky courses where, with the A68 passing through the middle of the map and providing an uncrossable feature, runners had to navigate back and forth through the various underpasses and contend with the streetscape and narrow alleys of Jedburgh’s historic centre. It was easy to loose seconds. Full results and lots of pictures can be found on the Roxburgh Reivers website
In the Inter- Club Championships, the performance of FVO in the Scottish Individual Championships (May 27th) combined with the Jedburgh event on Sunday has meant they have consolidated their lead in the Senior Large Clubs category with Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Club (ESOC) lying in second and Moravian Orienteering Club (MOR) in third. Inverness Orienteering Club (INVOC) in fourth and Interlopers Orienteering Club (INT) in fifth are scoring more points per run but MOR are managing to get more counting club member running out to maintain the advantage.
In the Senior Small Clubs, Edinburgh University Orienteering Club (EUOC) have the lead with, the Glasgow clubs, Clydeside Orienteering Club (CLYDE) and St Andrew’s Orienteering Club Glasgow (STAG) lying close behind in second and third respectively. CLYDE again are scoring more points per run but have fewer counting runs. With the summer months upon us and students potentially away or turning over does this give CLYDE and STAG the chance to snatch the lead?
The FVO Juniors are following the senior’s lead by holding the top spot in the Junior Large Clubs category with MOR in second place and ESOC in third. Again, MOR, East Lothian Orienteers (ELO) in fourth place and and INVOC in fifth place are scoring more points per run but the greater numbers of counting FVO runners is making the difference.
For the Junior Small Clubs category, it is Ayrshire Orienteering Club (AYROC) leading the pack with Tayside Orienteering Club (TAY) close behind in second (again more points per runner) and Loch Eck Orienteering Club (ECKO) in third.
With the next race being the Sunday 30th July and the first Day of the Scottish 6 Days in Moray will this mean that the northern clubs can use their home advantage to rise up the ranking? A full breakdown of the current state of play of the Inter-Club Championships can be found using the following link
Scottish Inter-Club Championships July Results
Thank you and well done on two great events to all those involved in the planning and organising of the Race the Abbeys Events.