The British Sprint Championships 2019 - 14 September 2019

The Loughborough University campus is over 400 acres and is predominately a complex mix of residential, academic and sports buildings but does also include some woodland areas. The central campus is on the side of a ridge providing some contour detail and there are expanses of grass in various parts of the campus. The area will create fast and challenging racing that will produce worthy British Champions.

Loughborough University has been announced as “The best University in the world for sports-related subjects”, according to the 2019 QS World University Rankings. It is home to the country’s largest concentration of world-class facilities across a wide range of sports, and also to some of the country’s leading coaches, sports scientists and support staff.

Leicestershire Orienteering Club (LEI) hosted the British Championships at Loughborough University in 2013, and the organising team have been working for several months already in bringing together the event again in 2019. The event centre will be at the Edward Herbert Building, one of the main facilities buildings on the campus, and we again have use of the multi-storey car park to ease access problems. Planning has been underway for many weeks, and the morning heats area, and afternoon finals area will be on different parts of the campus. Please look out for further details on entries and the venue from the British Sprints website, which will be updated as we get nearer to the time of the event.

The British Middle Distance Championships 2019 - 15 September 2019

This year’s Middles Champs take place on Peak District moorland, featuring the intricate contours and quarry workings of Chinley Churn. The gentle western slope of the moor is very fast, while the steep eastern slope with its abundant rock features calls for careful navigation. With rivals visible on the moor, the race may feel more like a sprint than a middle distance.

The Assembly field has great views towards Manchester, as well as of the Finish and last few controls. Binoculars recommended!

Planning is going well, with courses being test-run now to make minor adjustments to climb before maps are printed in August. The top of the moor is at 450 metres, so there is no guessing what September conditions could be.

Entries for Championship courses will go live on SportIdent on April 13th, with fees as follows:

• Seniors £24, Juniors £11 (until midnight July 27th)
• Seniors £27, Juniors £13 (until entries close, midnight August 28th)

SIAC hire for the Sprints and Middles Weekend is free for Juniors who do not already own one. If you would like to take advantage of this, please reserve your SIAC when entering.

Entry on the day will be available for White, Yellow and Orange courses, while maps are available. Entries close at 1 pm.

• Seniors £12, Juniors £5