Continuing our focus on major events planned for the first four months of the new year….

Jan Kjellström International Festival of Orienteering 2022
Friday 15 April 2022 - Monday 18 April 2022
South Wales

The Welsh Orienteering Association is hosting the JK 2022 and looks forward to welcoming orienteers to South Wales for four days of exciting orienteering over the Easter weekend!

Let's hear from the Organisers of the JK 2022 about what competitors can expect from the JK 2022 event...

DAY 1 - Friday 15 April 2022:  Sprint event at Swansea University

"Swansea University is set in rolling parkland overlooking the majestic sweep of Swansea Bay. The terrain comprises Swansea University's Singleton campus as well as the ornamental gardens and open parkland of Singleton Park. The area is set on a gentle slope and has a good mix of old and new buildings, landscaped areas, and the ornamental garden features an intricate path network.

Courses are planned by two of the UK's best Orienteers in Megan Carter-Davies and Ben Mitchell who will bring their experiences of sprint competitions at the highest level to the courses here in Swansea."

DAY 2 - Saturday 16 April 2022:  Middle race at Clydach Terrace
"Middle Distance will be held at Clydach Terrace, to the north of Brynmawr, the highest town in Wales at the Head of the Valleys.

The area, known locally as The Patches, is the site of abandoned 19th-century ironstone workings characterised by a large number of finger-shaped tips. The detailed contoured hillside, combined with open moorland and few paths will provide testing terrain for navigation at speed.

The nearest suitable parking is remote from the competition area, on the Rassau industrial estate. Buses will be provided for the 10-minute journey to and from Brynmawr school, adjacent to the area and which will be the location for the event centre and facilities."

DAY 3 - Sunday 17 April 2022:  Long race at Pwll Du

"Pwll Du is located to the southwest of Abergavenny and to the north of Blaenavon in the borough of Torfaen (tourist information). It consists of open upland terrain lying between 400 m and 500 m on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The technical challenge here was created by a vast amount of historic surface mining (coal and limestone), which has left a legacy of intricate contour detail.

There are many spoil heaps and other distinct earthworks, but equally as many less distinct features. The mapping ensures that the mainland features stand out and are not lost in less distinct map clutter. Most landforms have been represented using contours with some generalisation so that the map is as clear to read as possible.

The majority of the area has been mapped as rough open. This is generally very runnable with some denser heather in the east. In this area in particular there are large areas of bare mining spoil which offers good to very good running. The area, particularly the spoil heaps, is used by motorbikers. Many of their less obvious tracks, as well as other animal tracks through the terrain, have not been shown on the map.

The area has been used for several major events, including the British Individual and Relay Championships in 2007, Croeso 2008, JK 2014 Relays, VHI 2018."

DAY 4 - Monday 18 April 2022:  Relay at Caerwent

"The area is a challenging mixture of many terrains and unusual features. Overall visibility is quite high and runnability very quick.

The basically flat ex Ordnance Depot is largely a mixture of open and semi-open. It features a multitude of buildings, metalled roads, fences, ex-railway lines, banks, and ditches. Many buildings are obscured by the surrounding high blast banks. Much of this area is grazed by sheep, but there are also local areas with impenetrable bushes that will impede progress and with bracken that will not. In contrast, the surrounding woodland is mostly deciduous, on a slope, and runnable."

Entries are open and full details about the JK 2022 can be found here.

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British Orienteering would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to the Welsh Orienteering Association and to all the Organisers and surrounding clubs for all their efforts and hard work in pulling this event together for us to look forward to in April 2022.