The middle distance was swiftly followed by a big climb this weekend!
Well some may say that the best things come in small packages and perhaps the same could be said about this weekend as it certainly packed a big punch, with the Scottish Middle Distance Championships counting towards the Scottish Inter-Club Championships on Saturday swiftly followed by the 2nd Compass Point Scottish Orienteering League event of 2023 on Sunday. Add to that the convergence of lots of students from as far afield as Cambridge for the 2023 BUCS individuals and relay orienteering event meant lots of excitement!
Forth Valley Orienteers (FVO) held off the weather on Saturday to take us to Beecraigs Country Park near Linlithgow for the Scottish Middle Distance Championships. Full results can be found here with a full list of the Scottish Middle Distance Champions
The start may have been muddy but there was plenty of variety and the abundance of students made for a great atmosphere. The selection of cakes being sold certainly seemed to go down well with all in attendance!
The Scottish Middle Distance Championship was the third of the monthly events which form the Scottish Inter-Club Championship. This month’s results can be found on the Scottish Orienteering Championship’s page and using this link here
In the Senior Large Clubs division Forth Valley Orienteers have taken back the lead from ESOC with Moravian Orienteers (MOR) not far behind in third. In the Senior Small Clubs Division Edinburgh University Orienteering Club took full advantage of having all their members out this weekend to take the lead from Clydeside Orienteering Club (CLYDE) but Roxburgh Reivers are again lying a very close third. It will be interesting to see whether EUOC can keep up the momentum.
In the Junior Large Clubs, FVO again took advantage of the home turf on Saturday to retain their lead with this time the MOR juniors stealing a march to take second over ESOC and East Lothian Orienteer juniors in fourth. In the Junior Small Clubs Ayrshire Orienteering Club (AYROC) are leading the way from Roxburgh Reivers juniors.
As the event drew to a close the students took off for an evening of entertainment but there was time for medals to be handed out for those who achieved the podium place in the Scottish Middle Distance Championships.
Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Club (ESOC) certainly provided a very different challenge on Sunday and whilst we knew that there were a few contours on the map it still came as a bit of a shock to some legs after Saturday’s event.
They were two very different areas but for those that took their time to raise their heads the views over Edinburgh were amazing and some even found time to visit some livestock!
Some of those competing found the quickest way off the hill was on their bottoms and there were plenty of squeals of excitement as the more adventurous slide past the more tentative descenders. Once at the bottom, with some army exercises ongoing the question posed by some was whether the runners moved faster once they saw the soldiers because the sheep didn’t seem too bothered!
A report on the student activities at the British Universities and College Sport Orienteering Event will follow shortly.
Thank you to all of the volunteers from FVO and ESOC who made the event possible. In particular, a huge thanks to Jen Leonard and Ben Stansfield for organising and planning and to Dave Summers (INVOC) for controlling Saturday’s event. For Sunday our thanks go to ESOC members Roger Scrutton for organising, Alison O’Neil for planning and Colin Eades of Interlopers for controlling the event.
Have you signed up to the April event of the Scottish Inter-Club Championship being held by CLYDE on 2nd April and is actually the Scottish Sprint Championships?? Link to entries and the details of the event can be found on CLYDE’s website