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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 21st March 2024

Update in GBR team selection policies

If you are interested in representing GBR, please read on!

The Foot O selection policies have been updated. Now included are the availability forms for athletes, which you should use to to declare your interest in being selected for GBR teams at international competitions this summer.

More details can be found here: www.britishorienteering.org.uk/Selection

Note that the process to select the World University Orienteering Championships (WUOC) team is different to the others, with different deadlines, so please read that part of the policy carefully if you are interested in racing for GBR at WUOC.

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Share  Tweet Wednesday 22nd September 2021

National Fitness Day : Five Health Benefits of Orienteering

More and more people are discovering that orienteering is a fun and challenging activity that gets them exploring the great outdoors.  

The challenge is to discover checkpoints in the form of posts or plaques, in forests, heathlands, parks and green spaces across the UK. The combination of physical and mental exercise often in stunning locations is like no other, and you can find, navigate and complete courses at any time, and at your own pace. 

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

1.  Time outdoors is great for us physiologically:

For one it improves our Vitamin D levels. Getting enough vitamin D is important for normal growth and development of bones and teeth, as well as improved resistance against 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.

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Go Orienteering

The sport of Orienteering is the perfect activity for not only National Fitness Day but can be enjoyed all year round. 

Permanent and Virtual (GPS / Smartphone) Orienteering Courses are a great way to get outside and go orienteering at a time and place that suits you. Find out more and visit:  www.goorienteering.org.uk and use the search facility to locate your next orienteering adventure.  

British Orienteering's new web portal is useful to help you find Permanent and Virtual Orienteering Courses; www.GoOrienteering.org.uk.

Here you can use the postcode search facility, choose a location, download the map and get started.

Just enter you postcode or theh area you want to visit and explore.  There are a list of other options too, for example you can select from Parkland, Forest, Town, as well as the number of miles you would like the search to be within.  Then simply click on the 'Search' button on the top right.

Read through the different courses available, download a map and Go Orienteering! 

Interested, but want to know more?  Check out this video produced by The Orienteering Foundation which explains more.

 

#NationalFitnessDay  #PhysicalActivity 
#Orienteering #Navigation

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