Thousands are set to be welcomed to Southern England for the Jan Kjellström International Festival of Orienteering this Easter weekend (19 to 22 April 2019).

The event is open to top International elite athletes who will be competing for top medal positions.

The event is also looking to attract and encourage families and individuals of all fitness levels and abilities from across the country to take part and soak up the festival atmosphere of the event this year.

The full programme of this year’s UK Annual Orienteering Festival includes:

Three of the four competition areas over the weekend are very close together near to Farnborough / Aldershot. The Long-distance race on the Sunday is near Newbury (an easy hour’s drive away).

Friday’s Sprint race and Saturday’s Middle-Distance race are IOF World Ranking Events. In addition, all three individual days will form part of 2019’s UK Elite Orienteering League and the UK Orienteering League. All four days will use Emit touch-free punching.

There will be Trail Orienteering (TrailO) taking place for Paralympic competitors. The JK2019 TrailO will also be the first British events ever to be part of the European Cup in Trail Orienteering.

Orienteering is a family sport as well as for top international competition. There will be taster courses suitable for beginners of all ages and abilities.

The JK event is named after Jan Kjellström (born 1940, died 1967) who was an orienteer from Sweden who played an important role in the development of the sport of Orienteering in Great Britain. Kjellström, a son of Silva compass founder Alvar Kjellström, travelled to Great Britain to promote the sport. There, he helped to accelerate developments in orienteering competition, mapping and coaching.

Di Smith, JK2019 Event Coordinator, said: “We are looking forward to welcoming top International athletes as they compete for the top medal places across the weekend. We are also looking forward to seeing many families and individuals taking part, with courses planned to suit all ages and fitness levels.”

Jennie Taylor, Communications Officer at British Orienteering, said: “This event generates a real boost to the local economy with people travelling from overseas and across the UK to enjoy top quality orienteering.”

Orienteering is an outdoor sport. The aim is to navigate in sequence between control points, using a map, and decide the best route to complete the course in the quickest time. The sport of orienteering is for everyone at different entry levels.

The organising team are looking forward to welcoming competitors to some great terrain. You are encouraged to be part of it!

For more information and to enter visit the JK website.