Races 3 and 4 in the UK Orienteering League season were hosted last weekend by Octavian Droobers (OD). First up was the Rugby Urban event on Saturday, which used a variety of terrain including various parks, the town centre and a hospital towards the end of most courses.  Rugby Athletics Club was the event centre, meaning that competitors could warm up on the track and spectate the last few controls around the track in the spring sunshine.  As well as being a UKOL race, this event was also part of the UK Urban League, and as a consequence, it attracted competitors from all over the country.

On Sunday the competition moved to Bentley Woods just on the outskirts of Atherstone. It was the Midlands Championships, which for the Elite Age categories was a Middle Distance race, and for all other categories (Juniors and Veterans) a Long Distance race. The sun shone again, and competitors could be seen over the last 500m of their courses as they streamed down the hill into the arena.

Several competitors managed to achieve a win in both races within their UKOL age class - well done to Alison Sloman (W80), Peter Gorvett (M70), Steve Whitehead (M65), Ruth Rhodes (W75) and Alison Simmons (W60).  For Alison Sloman, that now makes it 4 wins from 4 UKOL races!

In the clubs competition, the Midlands clubs were well represented last weekend, and have moved up the rankings. The top 5 clubs at this stage of the season are now:

This season the UKOL will be competed over 20 races between now and November, with the winners determined by the sum of their best 10 scores from the 20.

Individual scores.

The next 3 UKOL races are over the Easter Weekend, at the JK Festival events in the south of England.

Item posted by Martin Ward