2019 Club League Results

The top 10 clubs are:

Congratulations to South Yorkshire Orienteers (SYO) on winning the 2019 UKOL Club League.

All 2019 Club League Results can be found here.

2019 Individual League Results

The winners of each age class are:

Congratulations to all the above individual winners.  

All 2019 Individual League Results can be found here.

Full details of all the events and the individual and club leagues for the 2019 UK Orienteering League can be found on the UKOL website.

The 2020 UK Orienteering League Schedule of events is now published on the UKOL page on the British Orienteering website.  

2020 Schedule of Events

Best 12 scores from 23 events to count.

The first UKOL event in 2020 is the Guildford Middle distance race this Sunday (26 January).

British Orienteering would like to take this opportunity to wish all members all the very best for another fantastic year of orienteering. 

More information about the UK Orienteering League can be found here.

Above photos:  Golden Valley and Cognor Woods.
Photos courtesy of Dave Peel

Surveyed 2019 by Dave Peel of Peel Land Surveys.
Photos courtesy of Dave Peel

Entries are open.

Individual Long distance
Saturday 21 March 2020, Golden Valley and Codnor Woods
INDIVIDUAL ENTRIES via Fabian4 - here.  

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Team Relays 
Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 March 2020, Iron Hill and Parkgate Rough
RELAY ENTRIES via Fabian4 - here.  

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TrailO 
Saturday 21 March 2020, Highfield and Brookham Schools, Liphook
TRAILO ENTRIES via Fabian4 - here.

Photos above:  The Relays - Iron Hill & Parkgate Rough.
Photos courtesy of Dave Peel

BRITISH ORIENTEERING MEMBERSHIP:  Please note that in order to run at the British Championships you need to be a member of British Orienteering. If you have not already done so, now is the time to renew your membership.

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Please note : 
The first closing date for entries for the 2020 British Night Championships is also fast approaching! 
Reduced entry fees close at midnight next Sunday (2nd February 2020). 
Online entries via Fabian4 here.
Find out more here. 

The North East Orienteering Association is looking forward to welcoming all competitors to this year's JK at Stockton Riverside and forests around the North York Moors on Friday 10 April - Monday 13 April 2020.

Day 1 (Sprint) - Friday 10th April - Stockton Riverside
This is an IOF World Ranking Event
Terrain: University and college campus, and the local business area.
Entries via SiEntries here.

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Day 2 (Middle) - Saturday 11th April - Sneaton Forest
This is an IOF World Ranking Event
Terrain: Mixed forest, gently sloping, contour and rock detail.
Entries via SiEntries here.

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Day 3 (Long) - Sunday 12th April - Pickering Forest
This is an IOF World Ranking Event
Terrain: Mixed forest, steep-sided valleys, contour and rock detail.
Entries via SiEntries here.
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Day 4 (Relay) - Monday 13th April - Hutton Mulgrave and Skelder
Terrain: Skelder contains fast natural deciduous woodland, with subtle contours and few paths.  Hutton Mulgrave is mixed forest, with track system, and contour and rock detail.
Entries via SiEntries here.

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Trail Orienteering
Day 1: TempO - Friday 10th April, Tees Barrage
Location: River Tees Barrage area.
Entries via SiEntries here.

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Trail Orienteering
Day 2: PreO - Saturday 11th April
Location: Sneaton East forest.
Entries via SiEntries here.

Merchandise

Don't forget to order you JK 2020 Merchandise

All merchandise can be ordered via the Entries system. You can either order and pay at the time you enter the races, or you can edit your order sometime after entering to add merchandise (and pay for the extra cost).

JK 2020 O tops and Event Clips are available to pre-order via the Entries system - see the Merchandise page.

JK 2020 orienteering tops - £15 youth sizes, £20 adult sizes

Orienteering technical t-shirt with zip collar from Scimitar Sports. The design reflects the colours of the JK 2020 logo, and the iconic images of the Infinity Bridge by the Stockton Riverside sprint area, and the whale bones and abbey at Whitby near days 2 & 4.

Sizes available: Men's XS to 4XL, Women's XXS to 3XL, Youth YXXS to YL. For sizing information see the Size Charts.

Order yours via the Entries system up to the middle individual closing date of 23rd February 2020.

JK 2020 Event Clips - £3.50 per pack of 4.

A great alternative to safety pins to attach your bibs and use over and over again. 

No pins, no holes in clothes, no magnets, no rubbing: just a snap-together fastener that securely holds your bib in place. Use through holes in the bib on thin clothing such as a running top or thin waterproof. Made with recycled plastic. Each pack has 4 clips with the JK2020 logo and includes simple instructions for use.  For more information visit:  https://eventclip.net/how-they-work/

Order yours via the Entries system up to the final individual closing date of 15th March 2020.

BRITISH ORIENTEERING MEMBERSHIP:  Please note that in order to run at the British Championships you need to be a member of British Orienteering. If you have not already done so, now is the time to renew your membership.

Proceedings began with the Women’s race, and it was Jo Shepherd who took the first leg for Britain. After an early mistake in the green, Jo settled well, but a short forking for Switzerland meant that they had already broken clear of the pack by the arena passage, with the pack trailed out behind them. To the 8^th control, a difficult forking for both the men and the women, Norway through away second place, missing big and allowing Jo to gain more places as Estonia broke clear to join Switzerland. By the turn for the arena, Jo had clawed her way up to 10^th, as in front of her the favourites were strung out, each choosing different routes on the long leg. By the end of this leg, and as they neared the arena, it was still Switzerland in the lead, but Sweden had cut the deficit significantly, with Estonia just falling off the pace and Norway gaining time back from their earlier mistake. Jo lost time late on in the parkland, handing over to Megan Carter Davies in 13^th place.

Megan was quick out of the blocks and was already pushing through the field by the spectator control. Estonia was quick to fall off the pace in front, as Denmark and GBR worked well together, moving into 7^th by the arena. Across into the next series of controls, and the lead would change numerous times, with Sweden, Switzerland and Russia all alternating. Norway was the fastest moving team in the forest though, with Marianne Anderson recovering the lost time from the first leg well. Megan was holding her own behind the leaders and was still working well with the Danes, but the gap to the leaders was growing. As the athletes hit the long leg, again there was no single route taken amongst the leaders. With Russia and Norway both getting stuck in the tougher, greener sections, it was Sweden who capitalised and moved clear, with Karolin Ohlsson using her superior speed to drop Jakob of Switzerland. Megan took a far wider route, flat but long, around through the arena, and though lost some time not as much as others. Sadly, so hard was she pushing that she ended up missing a control close to the end of her course, chasing hard to get in touch with the second pack for her teammate Cat Taylor. This meant a disqualification for the British women.

On the final leg, Tove Alexanderson of Sweden and Judith Wyder of Switzerland were neck and neck throughout the whole course, exchanging the lead when either picked a better line through the green. As they hit the long leg back to the arena, each choosing a slightly different route, refusing to run together. It was Alexanderson who had the advantage on the climb to the 14^th control, breaking the Swiss runner and leading all to believe that she had got the gold in her grasp. An error on the 15h though, a hesitation through thinking the control wasn’t hers (perhaps due to the oxygen debt accrued from pushing so hard on the climb) and Wyder capitalised, kicking for home and opening up a gap on the Swede which it would be impossible for her to overcome. Behind, Russian had sealed the bronze with a textbook run from Middle Distance champion Gemperle, with Norway not having enough to continue moving through the field, having to settle for fourth place.

Across to the Men’s race and it proved just as thrilling as the Women’s race. With the same team for GBR as the team that claimed 5^th at the European Championships, we knew that a great performance was both expected and achievable. Peter Hodkinson took charge of the first leg, and duly delivered the perfect start for the team. The pack was close and the pace unrelenting for the first half, with no splits appearing until the tricky 8^th control, that had caused so many problems in the Women’s race. It was here that a pack of 5 formed, with GBR tucked in. Into a section which extended the Men’s course across the hills, which the Women didn’t enter, and Peter was sitting well until the 11^th control where he made a small mistake on the wide forkings. 10^th at this spot Peter gained back a huge chunk of time on the long leg back towards the arena on the 14^th control and had moved into 3^rd place. He would not relinquish this position and would change over just 41 seconds down on Latvia and Norway (1^st and 2^nd respectively).

Norway moved clear early on the second leg, but as with Peter, Kris Jones stayed steady in the pack, hitting his controls well and minimising any errors. At the front Norway and Latvia were pushing the pace, with the chasers splintering on the 11^th control, with Kris slipping into 5^th place 50 seconds down on the lead. On the long leg, the runners all split, with several different routes being chosen, and as they hit the slopes to the 14^th control, and Kris had jumped up the pack. Into the changeover and GBR were in second place, with a 4-second gap to Norway in front, but with 15 seconds back to Latvia and Finland and another 30 seconds back to a larger chasing pack.

Latvia got the shorter gaffles early on 3^rd leg, opening up a lead before the arena passage, with a 47-second gap to the chasers behind, with Ralph Street leading the chasers, but with the big teams right on his tail. Norway would move back into the lead alongside Latvia, with France now into 3^rd place just 15 seconds behind at the 10^th control, and GBR just another 15 seconds back. The packs all split at the 11^th control, with the home team Latvia missing badly, as well as France and Sweden. They all corrected well though, and all the runners were strung out in one long line as the athletes hit the long leg back to the arena. Here, Norway and Sweden went straight, with the other 7 teams all going south and around, taking on the climb at the end of the leg. Sweden came unstuck early on the leg, making big errors and falling from contention. As the GPS lines converged on the 14^th control, Norway looked to be in the lead and would hit the control 14 seconds ahead of the chasers. Up the hill, the chasing pack had blown to pieces, with Switzerland and France breaking clear of the chasers. With just the simple parkland to go, it would be hard for the chasers to gain back the time on Norway, who did enough to take a 4 second lead over Switzerland, who had dropped France for the silver medal. Behind, it was the closest podium in World Championship history, with GBR coming in an eventual 6^th place, just 37 seconds down on the gold medal, behind Austria and the Czech Republic in 4^th and 5^th respectively.

Next up on Saturday is the Long Distance, the race every athlete wants to win. It will be the final race of the Championships, and the final chance for some to salvage their championships with a gold medal. Make sure you are following @GBR on twitter for live reporting on the final race of the championships.

Full results:

Women:

1 Switzerland 1:45:03
2 Sweden 1:45:18 (+15 seconds)
3 Russian Federation 1:47:20 (+2 minutes 17 seconds)

GBR – Mispunched.

Men:

1 Norway 1:47:26
2 Switzerland 1:47:30 (+4 seconds)
3 France 1:47:36 (+6 seconds)

6 Great Britain 1:48:03 (+37 seconds)

Report by William Gardner