Kilnsey is complicated for other reasons.  We learned at JK 2016 that relying on a field for parking in March/April is not a good idea.  Emergency arrangements were needed just before that event when it was clear that a nicely sloping parking field with top access and a lower exit used for maybe a thousand cars for the Kilnsey Show in the summer would just be too wet in March/April.  Threshfield Quarry is massive and can swallow up lots of cars on hard ground.  But it means a long walk to a start and from a finish.  It was thought that this would put a lot of people off, though in the end it didn’t.  Cars for the event easily fitted into the quarry with hardly any hold ups even though much of the parking near the quarry entrance was initially taken up by Fellsman Hilke competitors returning from their event.

Kilnsey South rises to 450m.  With a north wind and rain it can be a serious concern.  Competitors were warned when the event was first advertised that a waterproof hooded top might be compulsory.  A few days before the event all competitors were informed that such tops would be compulsory.  It was very cold on the day when the start team went off to set up and early starting helpers went off at 10 o’clock.  Later starters were a bit luckier.

The area is used for farming sheep and cattle.  This gives two problems.  There are lots of walls and fences to keep the animals where they should be, and where would the animals be on the day of the event?  To a non-farmer, the latter seems simple, but farmers often don’t know where their animals will have to be, as it depends on the weather, the progress of lambing and so many other jobs that have to be done.

Yorkshire Dales walls and fences are big and they need big stiles to cross them where there are no gates.  Competitors on the longer courses were treated to a variety of ladder stiles, milk crate steps, a crawl through and a specially built step stile near the end capable of taking 700 plus competitors at a rate of 4 or 5 a minute.

The highlights of the day came as the first competitors returned smiling and giving very positive comments about their courses and the arrangements.  At the same time the weather started to improve.  And then when it improved further the ice cream van started doing business and it was warm enough for competitors to be standing around looking at results and discussing their courses.

CLARO is a small club and this was the biggest event the club had ever taken on.  Some much appreciated help came from elsewhere, but members rose to the challenge and did an excellent job on the day.  For the rest of the year the club will revert to hosting evening and family events with regionals in June and September.  This will be a relative rest before helping with the JK in 2025.

Northern Championships 2024 results. 

Kilnsey planner Vicky Bailey's perspective

Planning on Kilnsey was a challenge for all the practical reasons Mike has mentioned, but also because as planners we had two hard acts to follow in the shape of 2016’s epic acts-of-God JK and AIRE’s sunny summer special in 2018. It seemed appropriate then that our event served up something in between; on the day, a moderately grim start melting into a modestly mild finish; in the lead up, a catalogue of every other available weather, never friendly enough for shorts but nothing so hostile that it saw us off the hill. No sun, no hail strikes, but come the day: a sunburst of primroses.

With the assembly area already fixed we were limited with how much we could vary from AIRE’s event, which had used the same quarry for car parking. Early efforts to find a novel start location were quickly abandoned – you didn’t want a longer walk to the start, did you? But for the finish we gambled on a short walk back to assembly for the fun of a combined finish with the White and Yellow courses in the caravan park. This also left us with a little more length in the courses, which meant a better share of Kilnsey proper for the shortest senior courses before the inevitable march off the hill. For the longer courses, Mike and Chris’s efforts with permissions and crossing points opened up access to additional areas not used since the JK – a big help for keeping things fresh. Planning tactics evolved over the thrashing-out process. Our early strategy of avoiding long legs crossing the walls resulted in somewhat bland Middle-style courses that lacked “story”. In the end, using the walls to set up macro route choices provided better structure, and made for some entertaining post-race analysis on Routegadget. Every crossing point was worth it, Mike, honest!

The most memorable part of planning at Kilnsey has been the efforts undertaken by so many volunteers to overcome its challenges. Fathomless feats of endurance and ingenuity! An alphabetised schedule of animal-dependent crossing point logistics. A 60kg sheep-proof control marking solution! Dauntless control collectors taking on longer loops than their original courses and a map layout for every permutation of scale and paper size. The amount of time and care that goes into these events is in equal parts scary and inspiring. My tip for anyone considering taking on something similar is to get yourself a co-planner. Find one who always finds time to be slightly less busy when you are super busy; who has a seemingly exhaustible supply of patience, and a very good recipe for flapjack – then no amount of trans-Pennine weather tantrums and late-night PDF checking can get you down for long!

David Williams, the planner, identified a possible field for the arena, which we had never used previously; the field just to the south of the one we eventually used.   This allowed him to use the best of the area. He structured the courses Jan–March 2023 at the same time coordinating with Tony Thornley producing the completely revised map off new LIDAR data. By this time a year ago to allow review in competition condition the courses were more or less fully planned and controlled. Having had input during April 2023 from David Bowman assistant planner and Mark Garside (WCH) controller. Subsequently courses and map were given constant minor amendments and updates to take account of the storms, wet conditions and middle distance RWT rule changes.

The parking field has become a regular for us over the past 15 years, when we hold Regional events at Danefield.  We knew it was well drained.  It has coped admirably with the cars for all previous events.  We’ve checked it regularly throughout this very wet winter, and never had any doubts about it coping, despite having to accommodate three times the number of vehicles we have previously.  It meant quite a long walk to the arena, but we knew it was 100% reliable.

Last year by March the original assembly field was in prime condition.  This year we did a final check three weeks before the event, just before the map proofs were ready to be printed.  There was a strong chance the field would never drain sufficiently to take vehicles and 900+ pairs of feet.  This was when our brilliant hosts, Sue and Howard Cliff really came into their own.  They suggested we use the paddock and agreed to build us the bridge across the ditch leading to it.  It proved the best of arenas.  The grass didn’t cut up, and it was more compact than the original field which doubtless helped create the splendid atmosphere of the event.

The change of assembly field resulted in a few slight last-minute adjustments to the map, but did not affect the planning of the courses apart from the run-in.

We were able to pull the event off just using Aire members, which made recruitment and organising a good deal simpler than is often the case for a Major event.  From what I saw and heard on the day, all the teams did a pretty seamless job. 

At Danefield we were delighted to hear so many compliments about the courses and the organisation.  The rain held off, although a little more sunshine and a warm wind from the south would have been appreciated. I guess you can’t have everything.

We were pleased to see that both Rob and Lindsey King’s String Course and Maze were well used.

Results from the British Middle Championships 2024. 

Aire’s next large-scale events are the Sprint and Urban events in Leeds on 6–7 July 2024.

And the Dales Weekend in the Malham area on 14–15 September 2024.

Senior Squad

British Orienteering will identify a senior squad for the coming season in the Autumn of the previous year. The squad will be selected by the Selection Panel using the following criteria.

Athletes selected to the squad will be a senior in the following season and fulfill at least one of the criterion identified below:

Selected to represent GB at World Orienteering Championships or World Cups the past season
OR
Two individual top 20s or one individual top 10 or one relay top 3 at the Junior World Championships in the last 3 years
OR
Projected selection based on the results of the named races in the selection policy

Athlete Awards

In addition to the senior squad, British Orienteering will invest funds directly into potential medal-winning athletes using a system of athlete awards. The Selection Panel will be responsible for selecting the recipients of these awards. These awards will recognise both individual and relay medal chances. Athletes considered to have individual medal chances will receive a higher award than those athletes considered to be critical to relay medal chances on a ratio of 2:1 based on available funds. No athlete will receive both awards. The criteria below will be used for selecting recipients. The criteria indicate a minimum level of achievement and the selection panel will make the final decision.

Individual Podium

Athletes who have achieved a top 6 individual position at World Orienteering Championship or World Cup in the past 2 years. The panel believes these athletes represent the best opportunity for an individual British medal success in the next 2 years.

Relay Podium

Athletes who have achieved a top 4 relay position at World Orienteering Championship or World Cup in the past 2 years. The selection panel believes these athletes are likely to be serious contenders for relay medal success in the next 2 years.

The following process will be implemented:

• British Orienteering confirms budget for athlete awards in September
• Athletes selected by Selection Panel in Autumn for an award to be made in January of the following year
• Athletes notified of award and accept by supplying their performance plan for the year
• British Orienteering announces award recipients and distributes funds directly to the athletes

In 2018 this will be a one-year fund commencing on 1^st January. The intention is that from 2019 athletes will be identified on a WOC cycle, i.e. every two years with funding paid in January each year. However, this will be reviewed during the first year of implementation and regularly following this to ensure the process and timescales are appropriate.

Competition

British Orienteering will continue to make selections for all competitions where Great Britain are represented. For all World Cups and World Orienteering Championships, British Orienteering will cover the following costs:

• IOF Athlete license
• Event accreditation
• Event entry fees

Athletes will be required to fund all remaining costs including travel and accommodation.

For all World Cups and World Orienteering Championships, British Orienteering will identify a volunteer Team Manager. This role will coordinate the GB team attendance at competitions aiming to provide, as far as possible, a stress-free competition experience for the team. This includes providing the following functions for all team members:

• Booking and organising accommodation
• Booking and organising internal travel
• Coordinating external travel
• Organising entries
• Acting as team manager and liaising with competition organisers
• Competition based selection decisions (this may be delegated to the Technical position where attending)
• Organising media reports at competitions
• Logistics coordination at competitions including internal travel, food, and training

Athletes wishing not to utilise any or all this service will need to liaise directly with the Team Manager to clarify what support they would like and if this will be available within the team logistics. Where necessary British Orienteering will process payments for team logistics on behalf of athletes and claim funds back via invoice.

In addition, at World Cup 1 and World Orienteering Championships British Orienteering will recruit two additional support volunteers.

Technical – This role will provide coaching/mentoring for athletes that want it whilst at the competition as well as support training and logistics. They will have a knowledge and experience of international orienteering as either an athlete or coach.

Medical - this role will provide medical advice and support to the team whilst at the competition as well as support training and logistics. They will have a qualification in physiotherapy or medicine as well as a knowledge and experience of international orienteering as either an athlete, coach or support team.

British Orienteering will pay expenses for the volunteer support team identified for each competition. This will include travel, accommodation, and sustenance specifically related to the competition.

Squad Support

In addition to the support for competition listed above British Orienteering will identify a volunteer Squad Manager to support the athletes to prepare effectively for competitions, access appropriate training opportunities and identify support services that they may require. It is expected that this position is fulfilled using the phone and electronic communications with any face to face communication coordinated to fit with personal travel.

Role descriptions for all 4 voluntary positions are available below.