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Share  Tweet Friday 29th March 2024

JK Festival Day 1: Provisional Sprint Race Results

What a way to kick off the first day of the JK Orienteering Festival 2024!

We hope everyone has enjoyed the main event which took place at Loughbourgh University,

We are now about to start the prize-giving ceremony that included our Club, Coach, Volunteer and Mapping Award Winners 2023. 

Please find the provisional results for Foot O here.

The TrailO PreO results are not yet available, please visit our website tomorrow when results should be uploaded.

Tomorrow, the Middle Race will take place at Beaudesert - good luck to all who are taking part in the event!

Please visit the JK 2024 website for the latest updates in relation to the event. 

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Share  Tweet Wednesday 27th March 2024

Countdown to JK 2024: Final Details

The final preparations are well under way ahead of this year's Jan Kjellström
International Festival of Orienteering 2024!

The teams will be out over the next couple of days setting up the arenas ready to receive you for a cracking good weekend of top-quality orienteering.

The weather gods have been less than kind, so we recommend you put on your best O shoes that give you the best grip.

Event programme

Please note that version 6 of the programme is the latest (and hopefully last) version to be published. It went live yesterday, so please check it out, especially if you are coming in a campervan on Day 4 as the parking instructions have been changed.

Access the event programme

Day 1: Friday 29th March - Sprint at Loughborough University

Please note that the embargo area for Day 1 has been reduced

Loughborough is now an established, and still testing, area. Day 1 will be a World Ranking event (WRE).

PreO will take place in urban terrain and there will also be an opportunity for participants to try out Biathlon Orienteering at the event (this will also be available on Days 2 and 3 of the Festival). 

Day 2: Saturday 30th March - Middle at Beaudesert

Day 3: Sunday 31st March - Long at Beaudesert

Beaudesert has been used for many major events, though arena is a new location and the owners are a little nervous at what to expect. Please make this an enjoyable experience for them. We want them to invite us back!

Day 4: Monday 1st April - Relay at Stanton Moor

The final day of the Festival will take place at Stanton Moor. Another testing area and also in a new arena.

Share your experiences at the event

If you are on social media, please do not forget to tag us in your posts via Facebook, X and Instagram @britishorienteering. The hashtag for the event is #TheJK2024. 

Finally, thank you to everyone involved in the production of this event. We hope you have a great weekend!

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Share  Tweet Tuesday 26th March 2024

Updated JK embargoed area day 1

The embargo area for Day 1 of the JK has been reduced. 

The updated embargoed area can be viewed here.

An area of the South West has been removed which contains the Burleigh Court hotel. However, anyone staying there involved in the JK should drive out to the main road and re-enter the campus through the Epinal Way entrance to get to the event. 

They should of course avoid entering the embargoed area at all times.

All the latest information about this weekends JK can be found on the JK website.

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Share  Tweet Thursday 10th October 2019

World Mental Health Day - Wednesday 10 October 2019

British Orienteering supports World Mental Health Day.

World Mental Health Day celebrates awareness for the global community in an empathetic way, with a unifying voice, helping those feel hopeful by empowering them to take action and to create lasting change.

Did you know?

Orienteering is a sport that challenges both the mind and the body.

More and more people are discovering that orienteering is a fun and challenging activity that gets them exploring the great outdoors. They are gaining new skills in finding their way in unknown terrain and crossing rough and sometimes hilly ground. You are always discovering somewhere new! It's a competitive sport with something for everyone, from 10-year-olds to grandpas and grandmas.

The sport of orienteering offers many benefits, but its foremost attraction is that it is fun!

The aim is to navigate between control points marked on a unique orienteering map and decide the best route to complete the course. 

Photo credit: Steve Rush (Bristol Orienteering Klub)  

5 Health Benefits of the sport of Orienteering

1.  Time outdoors is great for us physiologically:

For one it improves our Vitamin D levels. Getting a sufficient amount of vitamin D is important for normal growth and development of bones and teeth, as well as improved resistance to certain diseases. The Vitamin D Council says “your body is designed to get the vitamin D it needs by producing it when your bare skin is exposed to sunlight”.

2.   Increased time being outdoors with nature improves people’s health and happiness:

Increased time being outdoors with nature has been shown to significantly improve people’s health and happiness. The UK’s first month-long nature challenge, which took place in 2015 by the University of Derby involved people "doing something wild" every day for 30 consecutive days. It showed that children exposed to the natural showed increases in self-esteem. They also felt it taught them how to take risks, unleashed their creativity and gave them a chance to exercise, play, and discover. In some cases nature can significantly improve the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), providing a calming influence and helping them concentrate. “Intuitively we knew that nature was good for us as humans, but the results were beyond brilliant,” said Lucy McRobert, Nature Matters Campaigns Manager for The Wildlife Trusts.

3.  Increased cardiovascular capacity:

Orienteering involves walking, jogging and running, often in rough terrain. All three of these activities increase aerobic capacity and cardiovascular strength. The Department of Health in their Start Active, Stay Active report state: “regular physical activity can reduce the risk of many chronic conditions including coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer, obesity, mental health problems and musculoskeletal conditions.”

4.  Sharpens decision-making skills:

Orienteering offers the development of individual skills in navigating while problem-solving to locate each control. Decision making is paramount: Should I go left or right? Should I climb that hill or go the long way around it? These decisions that constantly arise require thinking more than quick reactions or instinct; again, that is why orienteering is often called the thinking sport.

Research shows even one 30-minute cardio session pumps extra blood to your brain, delivering the oxygen and nutrients it needs to perform at max efficiency. Cardio also floods the brain with chemicals that enhance functions such as memory, problem-solving, and decision-making.

5.  Balance between the physical and the mind:

The ultimate quest for the orienteer is to find that balance between mental and physical exertion, to know how fast they can go and still be able to interpret the terrain around them and execute their route choice successfully. 

Photo credit:  Steve Rush (Bristol Orienteering Klub)
Photo credit:  Steve Rush (BOK)
Photo credit:  Rob Lines 
 Photo credit:  Steve Rush (Bristol Orienteering Klub)
 Photo credit:  Steve Rush (Bristol Orienteering Klub)

Do something different on World Mental Health Day – try orienteering.

Permanent Orienteering Courses are a great way to get outside and go orienteering at a time and place that suits you.
Permanent Orienteering courses are listed here.

Interested, but want to find more about the sport of orienteering?  This set of Frequently Asked Questions will help you to find out more. 

 

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https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/world-mental-health-day

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/

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