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Share  Tweet Friday 8th February 2019

EUOC’s Big Weekend 2019 was another great success!

Laura King, Big Weekend Coordinator 2019 reports:

"Over 600 of you flocked to the city of Edinburgh for three fantastic days of racing. The WOC 2022 embargo did not stop us putting on some great, technically challenging courses that took you into some parts of Edinburgh that the Big Weekend had never visited before.

Friday evening saw many competitors fighting with the night around Calton Hill thanks to Sasha Chepelin’s devious planning. I hope you all got the chance to take in the city’s lights from this fantastic vantage point as well as the light display that was conveniently being held on the columns of The National Monument of Scotland.

Saturday’s assembly was based in a new venue, The Dean, which I’m sure you’ll all agree was a fabulous building. Thanks again to Jonathan Molloy and Erskine Stewart’s Melville Schools for giving us access. This put us in the perfect location to get the best out of the area, Dean Village and the West End. Callum White did a stellar job of trying to disorientate you in the labyrinth that is Dean Village, with some courses visiting it twice at two different map scales! Then there were the different levels at the exchange. Those who assumed they knew it too well, and didn’t pay attention to the map extracts carefully put together in the final details, fell into the trap of the building works that added another dimension to the already complex levels.  Thanks also go to The National Gallery of Scotland for allowing us to locate the start in their grounds, which was essential to planning junior courses that avoided main roads but still got to experience the complexity of Dean Village.

Burns Night was celebrated the only way we know how, with a lively ceilidh courtesy of Kylestrom Ceilidh Band and a fudge-filled prize giving thanks to our sponsors, Fudge Kitchen Edinburgh. The Haggis was addressed by EUOC’s very own Daniel Stansfield before being shared with all our hungry guests.

We returned to Holyrood Park for the last day of racing. Emma Wilson put on some fantastic courses that made the most of the very enjoyable but windy Arthur’s Seat. Competitors were challenged by some cracking route choices which were interspersed with sections of weaving in and out of the gorse on Whinny Hill, as well as some good healthy doses of climb.

Thanks go to our captain Tim Morgan for helping out with anything and everything, our big white van man, Mr Ali Masson, for driving around Edinburgh all weekend with a semi-swollen knee. Thank you to ESOC and Interlopers for allowing us to borrow all the necessary equipment to run the event, and of course, Robin and Sheila Strain for all their SI wizardry and help year after year. We really couldn’t put on an event like this without you. I’d also like to mention all the members of Edinburgh University Orienteering Club who braved the cold to hang controls, help Robin with download, man the enquiries tent or run the start. You all helped make this event happen and I’m sure you’ll benefit from the weekend’s profits through our all our training trips.

Thank you to everyone who came to support EUOC’s Big Weekend. We hope you had a wonderful weekend in what is probably the best city in Britain, and have already begun planning next years trip!"

Photo credits:  Steve Rush (BOC), Lucia Parga (EUOC),  Lindsey King (AIRE).

 

British Orienteering would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers from the clubs for supporting this event and making it a great weekend for all to enjoy in the city of Edinburgh.

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