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.

British Orienteering is now once again asking people to nominate inspiring individuals and clubs for the annual Volunteer, Club and Mapping Awards.

The awards have become a highlight of the British Orienteering calendar as a way of recognizing the good work of volunteers and clubs who make orienteering happen across the UK.

These awards present a valuable opportunity for volunteers to be honoured for their work to our sport.

Nominations are now open for the 2018 awards which recognise volunteer contributions to orienteering over the last 12 months in 2017.

The winners will be announced at the British Orienteering’s 2018 Annual General Meeting on Friday 30 March at Stafford in the West Midlands.

As in previous years, there will be 5 categories, spanning all aspects of orienteering.

Nominees can include a young volunteer who has shown dedication and commitment to the sport, a club that has shown an outstanding contribution to the provision and development of orienteering, or a volunteer who has given countless hours to helping their individual club be its best.

Each year we have received many nominations, and we are now asking you to make sure that there are just as many this year. Nominations can come from individuals, clubs and mappers or anyone who knows someone who is doing great work to develop the sport.

You can nominate in the following 5 categories.

Club of the Year Award

Is your club an important part of the local community?

• Providing opportunities for everyone to experience high-quality activities at all levels of your sport or recreation?
• Demonstrating a commitment to the development of participants as well as coaches and volunteers?
• Taking an innovative approach to the promotion of the club?

If your club can answer “Yes” to the above, why enter your club into the British Orienteering Club of the Year Award?

Get the national recognition your club deserves.

Nomination Forms are available here.

University Club of the Year Award

Introduced in 2009 by the Development Committee, this annual award recognises the efforts of University Clubs in the development of participants as well as coaches and volunteers. The award is also to show appreciation for the University introducing and providing a gateway to the sport to their students.

Which University Club do you think deserves national recognition for their contribution to the provision and development of orienteering?

Nominate a University Club for this award today!

The University Club of the Year nomination form can be found here.

Young Volunteer of the Year Award

Originally piloted in 2009 following a Development Committee review.

This annual award is for a volunteer, under the age of 25, who has demonstrated a commitment to supporting delivery of orienteering activity with passion, energy and enthusiasm.

Who do you think deserves to get national recognition for their contribution to the sport of orienteering? Nominate today!

The Young Volunteer of the Year Award nomination form can be found here.

The Silva Award

In 1983 SILVA (Sweden) AB decided to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the first Silva compass by establishing an annual award within each IOF member Federation.

The awards were to enable Federations to honour those who have contributed in a special way to the development of orienteering. With the assistance of SILVA (UK) Ltd this was interpreted, within the UK, as being a person or persons who have made a very significant contribution to orienteering over a period of years, with an emphasis on ‘field' activities rather than committee work.

Nominees for this award may not be active or retiring members of the British Orienteering Board, nor part- or full-time employees of British Orienteering.

All members can nominate someone they believe has made a significant contribution to orienteering through ‘field’ activities.

Who are you going to nominate?

The Silva Award nomination form can be found here.

The Peter Palmer Coach of the Year Award

Coach of the Year award is looking for coaches who demonstrate success in one or more of the following areas:

• Engaging new people in orienteering
• Improving the performance of orienteers
• Mentoring and developing other coaches

Who do you think deserves national recognition for their commitment to coaching orienteering?

The Coach of the Year Award nomination form can be found here.

Nominations are strongly encouraged for all the above 5 award categories.

The closing date for nominations for these awards is: Friday 16 February 2018.

All nomination forms are to be submitted by emailed to info@britishorienteering.org.uk

For more information and to see the lists of all previous winners for each of these award categories here.