AIRE and CLARO look forward to seeing you all at the British Middle Championships this coming weekend. 

You have entered in greater numbers than we anticipated, but we have adapted to cater for you all as best we can.  Both Danefield and Kilnsey Moor is a lovely places in the Spring sunshine and we really hope the weather is kind so that you can enjoy it at its best.  The technical woodland of Danefield is in sharp contrast to the fast open areas of Kilnsey.  You should enjoy some great orienteering on both days.  Str8 compasses is sponsoring a lot of prizes for the Northern Championships and the British Middles so run well and good luck.

Start times and final details are published, maps are printed and lots of equipment is ready to move.  No controls are out yet, but we have been busy at Kilnsey as you may be able to see from a picture.  There are a variety of crossing points on Kilnsey Moor – many of you will only encounter this one.  There are no stiles to cross at Danefield you’ll be relieved to know.

We will be able to accommodate you all in the parking areas for both events, but as always, it would help if you car shared as much as possible.  The Danefield field has remained in good condition throughout the winter, but as some rain has been forecast over the coming days we will have some tracking available.  Kilnsey has the delight of hard standing in the quarry.  We can’t promise that you will keep your feet dry, but at least cars should not get stuck in the mud as might have happened at some recent events.  We’re hoping that’s true for Danefield.  Definitely true for Kilnsey!

Anyone wanting to carry a club tent to Danefield, could reduce the distance to carry the tent by 800m by using the drop off point suggested in the event details.  It would need to be a rapid drop-off as there are often no parking bays available. They are all quite uneven, and the road is very narrow.  To get back to the parking field it is best to not attempt a 5 point turn but to drive in an anti-clockwise route with LH turns for 2.5k to get back to the parking field.  This should take no morfme than 5 minutes.

Have a great weekend.

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Full details on the British Middle Championships are available via this link. Visit the CLARO website for more details regarding the Northern Championships. Good luck to everyone taking part!

As agreed at the AGM 2023, from 1 May 2024 British Orienteering would like to offer an exclusive part-year Membership to new members.

New members are individuals who have not been members of British Orienteering in any of the previous four calendar years.

Part year membership fees 2024

Seniors – £10

Young adults – £7.50

Juniors – £3.00

Families – £25.00 (all members must be new members and not on the database to take up this offer).

No memberships will be merged with existing memberships.

Please note from 1 January 2025, any “new” members will need to renew their membership for 2025.

Find out more about how to join online today. 

The GBR teams for the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC) and the European Youth Orienteering Championships (EYOC) are announced.

The JWOC races are in Plzeň, Czechia from 1 - 6 July and the EYOC races are in Szczecin, Poland from 21 - 24 June.

All named athletes are selected to all disciplines at each competition.

In alphabetical order of surname, the JWOC team is:

Non-travelling reserves: Adam Barrie and Emma Crawford

In alphabetical order of surname, the EYOC team is:

Mike Hamilton, Chief Executive, is to retire from British Orienteering after 11 years.

In the 11 years with British Orienteering there have been many significant changes both in the sport and in the organisation. Within the sport, the growth of urban and sprint events from international to local level has broadened the appeal to a range of people living in cities and urban areas, the technology has revolutionised the sport with electronic timing, now at almost every event. Mike led the change from a large council to a board of directors and consistently ensured that British Orienteering has kept pace with good practices expected of all governing bodies of sport.

Mike has worked tirelessly over his time at British Orienteering and will be missed. He announced his intention to retire at 1^st June and has agreed with the board to operate part time for an extended period of notice whilst a suitable replacement is found.

Judith Holt, British Orienteering chair thanked Mike on behalf of the board and membership:

“Mike has worked with energy and passion to support the development of the sport of orienteering, in particular in developing policies and practices which, while often unnoticed by the average competitor, are critical to enabling us to continue to run our sport. He has been an inspiring leader and has built up an enormous breadth of knowledge about the management and governance of orienteering; many people in the organisation will sorely miss being able to turn to him for answers.

Thank you, Mike, for your dedication to orienteering for the past 11 years and your organisational legacy. We wish you well in your retirement.”

Mike’s contribution to British Orienteering was recently recognised by the Sport and Recreation Alliance who following a nomination by the board awarded him the Emeritus Award. The award which has been in existence for over 10 years is presented to an individual for their life-long or sustained service to grassroots sport and recreation.

The British Orienteering Board Directors have confirmed that a recognition of Mike’s contribution to the sport will be made at the Association and Club Conference.