Summer is Just Beginning
After two weeks of delightful weather, it’s almost safe to say that Scottish Summer has arrived! Come rain or shine, the action-packed orienteering calendar continues unabated. Let’s delve into the exciting activities and achievements that have taken place in and around the sport so far this Summer and get excited for upcoming Summer events.
The first Friday of June must be a lucky date to hold an event as nobody can remember a year it rained at the annual Scottish Schools Orienteering Festival! This year the event was held at Callendar Park, Falkirk with over 340 pupils attending. The carnival-like atmosphere, good weather and enthusiasm made it a great event.
Sunbathing before the awards ceremony at the Scottish Schools orienteering festival
Later in June orienteers Kris Jones (FVO) and Sasha Chapelin (INT) won Great Britain a gold medal in the Short Trail Race in Austria at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. Well done Kris and Sasha what an achievement!
Sasha on the far right and Kris centre right
June has also spoiled us with some fantastic events! Among the highlights were the Race to the Abbeys, an urban event spanning two days, organised by the Roxburgh Reivers in Kelso and Jedburgh. The Jamie Stevenson trophy which is an inter-club junior competition. This is a key highlight in any junior orienteers calendar. Well Done to the Forth Valley Juniors for claiming the Jamie Stevenson Trophy!
Our Jamie Stevenson Champions 2023- FVO
June also saw the end of the 6 week Orienteering Edinburgh series. Orienteering Edinburgh was held in collaboration between the Edinburgh clubs to attract newcomers into the sport. It was great to see people who had tried orienteering for the first time at Orienteering Edinburgh attend their first Sprintelope this week. The plan is to run another series of Orienteering Edinburgh in the Autumn.
Orienteering Edinburgh in Action
Some Scottish clubs sent teams to Jukola. Jukola is an annual orienteering relay race held in Finland. It is one of the largest and most prestigious orienteering events in the world, attracting thousands of participants from across the world. Well done to Edinburgh University, Interlopers and Forth Valley for sending teams to Jukola. It is great to see Scottish representation abroad.
Team FVO about to embark on a night of orienteering
June has been a fantastic start to Summer 2023! There have been lots of achievements and activities all the way from grassroots to elite level. Summer is just beginning and we have a lot to look forward to! In July there are large international fixtures including the Junior and World Orienteering Championships. Locally, our clubs are busy organising Summer activities. SOLWAY and AYROC both have BBQs planned and GRAMP have been running their annual Summer events series in and around Aberdeen.
A Summer highlight in any orienteers diary is the Coasts and Islands and the Scottish 6 days! Masterplan Adventure are planning and organising the Coasts and Islands which is a week long event along the West Coast of Scotland. Entry is now full for the Coasts and Islands however you can still enter for the Scottish 6 Days. The Scottish 6 Days Orienteering is a must-attend festival of orienteering, and the largest of its kind in the UK. Held every two years, this event is the perfect opportunity for both seasoned orienteers and families looking for an exciting outdoor adventure. This year the 6 Days are along the picturesque Moray coast which has fantastic forests for orienteering.
Lossie in Moray. Beautiful runnable Forest!
Culbin
Some of our elite athletes have a very exciting start of August planned. The senior team representing Great Britain at the upcoming World Orienteering Cup Round 2 in Liberec Czechia has been selected. Congratulations to Grace Molloy, Rachel Brown, Jo Shepard, Josh Dudley, Peter Molloy, Freddie Carcas and Chris Smithard for being selected. This event presents a valuable opportunity for British Orienteering to showcase a sprint-focused team. Its a busy period for the Scottish and British elite teams as they also have the Junior and World Orienteering Championships in July!
We have so much to look forward to this Summer! It is great to see so much has happened already this Summer in such as short period of time. The sunny Scottish weather doesn’t last for long but as a sport we certainly make the most of it!