A message from the BOC23 Weekend Coordinator, Paul Fox, SCOA/SN

Entries are now open for the 2023 individual Long Distance and forest Relay championships, to be held in South Central region on the weekend of 25/26 March 2023.

The competition areas will be familiar to many, but no less enjoyable for that. The individual event is on Cold Ash near Newbury, last used for JK 2019. The undulations of the Berkshire downs are peppered with numerous features, few genuinely rough areas, and a track network which adds its own confusion in places. Arena and parking will be adjacent, with a possibility of basic on-site Saturday night camping.

For the relays we return to Hambleden near Henley-on-Thames, used for British Night Championships 2020 and JK2013. There are no nettles in March, and you can expect fast running with mostly good visibility: ideal for head-to-head racing. Add the promise of a spectator-friendly changeover area and easy parking, and you have all the makings of a great relay event.

With a few months to go the maps are undergoing final updates, and the details of arena layouts and service arrangements are being nailed down. Our aim is to ensure that you, the competitors, can have the best experience possible, worthy of a championship event. Event costs are going up but we’ve done everything we can to keep entry fees as low as we can.

You will as usual have the chance to share the forest with GBR elite athletes and absorb the big event atmosphere at two high quality races. After a few years of depleted attendance and Covid impacts, nothing would please the officials and numerous volunteers more than to be rewarded with a large entry – it makes all our efforts worthwhile.

Please remember that online entry systems will check against the membership database. Make sure you have joined British Orienteering or renewed your membership for 2023 at least 7 days before you enter the event (and allow a little longer over the Christmas holiday period when the office is not fully staffed).

For all entry and other event information please visit www.theboc.org.uk. We look forward to welcoming you to the runnable forests of southern England at a beautiful time of year, with undergrowth at its lowest and the first signs of spring emerging.