Results are in from yesterday's British Middle Distance Championships!

Access provisional results via this link or for a full breakdown, visit the AIRE website.

Well done to all winners and to everyone who took part this weekend! 

*Updated 29/04/2024: Results from Sunday's Northern Championships organised by CLARO are now also available online via this link. Well done to all involved in hosting the event and everyone who took part. 

Mapping is the one of the most rewarding and enjoyable roles. Not only does it improve your navigation skills, but it can also provide you with a different and new type of orienteering challenge.  

The British Orienteering E-Learning Mapping Courses, Introduction to updating Forest Mapping and Introduction to Sprint and Urban Mapping , developed with the expertise of David Olivant (Nottinghamshire Orienteering Club) and the educational robustness  of Pauline Olivant (Nottinghamshire Orienteering Club) .

Both courses are based around learners having access to either of the two most widely used mapping programs, Open Orienteering Mapper and OCAD.

We strongly advise that you seek an experienced mapper as a mentor to support you through your journey towards being a competent mapper.

Both courses are based on updating an existing map and rather than creating a new map from a previously unmapped area.

Course objectives

• To provide an introduction and basic understanding of the processes involved in how to update and amend an existing Orienteering map.

The course content is designed to only address the course objective rather than attempting to cover the full scope of Mapping. As we recognise that Mapping is a skill that takes much time and practice to hone.

The course should only take around 45- 60 mins to complete and for the whole of May is only £6.00

To access the course and find out more information about our other E-Learning courses, please visit the E-Learning homepage.

Interested in learning about our other E-Learning courses on offer? Visit the E-Learning homepage and access information on all the other resources we provide.

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!

Report by Sarah Mansel, Yvette Baker Trophy and Shield Coordinator

The first three heats in this year’s Yvette Baker competitions have been completed.  Unfortunately, the Welsh heat was to be held at the Welsh Championships event on 29 February and it had to be cancelled due to heavy rain and flooding.  We are still awaiting a decision about whether another heat can be re-scheduled.

Newcastle and Tyneside Orienteers (NATO) event at Slaley Hall
Sunday 1 March 2020

This was a small heat with Cleveland Orienteering Klub (CLOK) being the only club competing in the Trophy competition so they automatically qualify for the final.

Two clubs competed in the Trophy competition; Border Liners Orienteering Club (BL) and Newcastle and Tyneside Orienteers (NATO). There was close competition with BL beating NATO by only one point.

Full results can be found here.

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West Anglian Orienteering Club (WAOC) event at Rowney Warren 
Sunday 8 March

There was close competition in both the Yvette Baker Trophy (YBT) and the Yvette Baker Shield (YBS) at this well-attended event in an interesting little area.  There are a surprising number of contours at Rowney Warren and a confusing path network so some of the courses were quite challenging.  It was great to see so many juniors enjoying the spring sunshine too.

In the Trophy competition, Happy Herts Orienteering Club (HH) beat Octavian Droobers (OD), but as both these clubs are seeded (having been in the top five clubs at last year’s final) a further two qualifying places are created so third-placed West Anglian Orienteering Club (WAOC) and fourth-placed Norfolk Orienteering Club (NOR) also qualify. 

In the Shield competition, it was a close match between Berkshire Orienteers (BKO) and Suffolk Orienteering Club (SUFFOC), with Berkshire Orienteers (BKO) winning by only one point.
 

Results can be found here.

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Chigwell and Epping Forest Orienteering Club (CHIG) event at Warlies Park
Sunday 8 March

This was another close match in both the Trophy and Shield competition.  Southdowns Orienteers (SO) eventually beat Southern Navigators (SN) by only 4 points in the Trophy.  Southdowns Orienteers (SO) are another seeded club (having come 2nd at last year’s final) so second-placed Southern Navigators (SN) also qualify.

It was even closer in the Shield competition with Guildford Orienteers (GO) beating reigning champions Stragglers Orienteering Society by only one point.  It was good to see participation from both Dartford Orienteering Klub (DFOK) and Chigwell and Epping Forest O Club (CHIG) here too.

Full results can be found here.

Congratulations to all junior teams.  

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The Yvette Baker Trophy and Shield are the premier Junior Inter-Club competitions for English and Welsh orienteering clubs.

The Yvette Baker Trophy and Shield are named after Britain's first World Orienteering Champion Yvette Baker, who won Gold in the Short Distance event at the World Championships in Scotland in 1999.