British Orienteering is proud to reaffirm our commitment to clean sport
by backing UK Anti-Doping’s (UKAD’s) Clean Sport Week campaign from 13 - 17 May.

Clean Sport Week is UKAD’s national awareness week championing clean sport,
education and anti-doping initiatives with sports across the UK.

This year’s Clean Sport Week theme is “Journey to the Podium”. Throughout the
week, UKAD will be showcasing the importance of the clean sport journey through the
lens of athletes and the elite sport community. Anti-doping should be a key part of
every athlete and support personnel’s journey – it should never be an afterthought.

Clean sport is an essential part of our athletes’ journeys to the podium / in professional
sport. It takes a lifetime of work, commitment and a network of support to help athletes
perform at the very top. This effort can be taken away in a moment by doping.
Creating a culture of clean sport is essential for the health and welfare of our athletes
and the integrity of Orienteering.

We all have a responsibility to keep sport clean, to raise awareness of anti-doping and
to celebrate the successes of athletes - through hard work, determination and by
competing clean.

We encourage anyone in our sporting community that would like to learn more about
anti-doping to sign up to UKAD’s Clean Sport Hub where there are free education
courses for athletes, students, coaches and practitioners.

Follow @ukantidoping on social media to see a range of educational and exciting
content throughout the week. To find out more about UKAD’s Clean Sport Week
initiative click here.

For anyone who works in sport, don’t miss UKAD’s Clean Sport Week event on
Tuesday 14 March, taking place on the Loughborough University campus. The event
will focus on the para-athlete’s journey to the podium. You can register your interest in
attending here.

British Orienteering is delighted to announce the GBR team selected to race at the World University Orienteering Championships.

The World University Orienteering Championships (WUOC) are held every two years, with the 2024 GBR team competing in Bankso, Bulgaria from 1 to 5 August.

British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) selects and enters the team, working in partnership with British Orienteering. The team announcement can be found on the BUCS website.

Women's Team:

Rachel Brown (University of Edinburgh)

Fiona Bunn (University of Edinburgh)

Eilidh Campbell (University of Edinburgh)

Isobel Howard (University of Edinburgh)

Niamh Hunter (University of Edinburgh)

Laura King (Uppsala University)

Men's Team:

Jim Bailey (University of Edinburgh)

David Bunn (University of Edinburgh)

Euan Tryner (University of Edinburgh)

Peter Molloy (University of Cambridge)

Freddie Carcas (Boise State University)

Eddie Narbett (Bradley University)

The Sprint World Orienteering Championships 2024 (WOC 2024), which will take place in Edinburgh from 12-16 July 2024, is delighted to announce Heart Research UK’s Heart of Scotland Appeal as the Official Charity Partner of the event.

The Heart of Scotland Appeal works towards research and community projects in Scotland aimed at reducing the number of people affected by heart diseases. Currently 48 people a day die from cardiovascular disease in Scotland.

The partnership with WOC 2024 aims to raise awareness of the risks of heart diseases amongst the orienteering community, promoting heart health through exercise. The partnership will also help raise funds and awareness for the Heart of Scotland appeal, with all money raised distributed to research projects across Scotland.

The partnership will also be looking to explore opportunities for people to fundraise and take part in the WOC Tour – the amateur races running during WOC 2024. Additionally, various social media collaborations and storytelling activities will help raise awareness of the great work the charity do, in the build up to and during the World Championships in July.

“Heart Research UK’s Heart of Scotland Appeal are delighted to be the official charity partner of the World Orienteering Championships 2024 in Edinburgh. Heart diseases are unfortunately prevalent in Scotland; however, we know that orienteering is a great form of cardiovascular exercise that works out both your heart and your mind,” said Mary Campbell, Director of Income Generation at Heart Research UK.

“Getting outside and trying orienteering, whether in the Scottish countryside or your local town or city, can really benefit both your aerobic and anaerobic fitness, both of which are key to increasing your heart’s strength, reducing your blood pressure, and resting heart rate. We are dedicated to doing all we can to raise awareness of the impact of heart diseases on families up and down the country. The money raised through this partnership will be spent right here in Scotland on lifesaving medical research into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart diseases.”

WOC 2024 Event Director Andy Mitchelmore said of the partnership: “Orienteering is a great form of exercise for all ages and the perfect sport for helping heart health. This is why we felt that a partnership with Heart Research UK’s Heart of Scotland Appeal was such a great fit with WOC 2024 and why we are delighted to have them on board as our Official Charity Partner.”

“We hope we can work together to raise awareness about the work they do in Scotland and help raise funds to support their projects across Scotland. We know the orienteering community will get behind the charity and in July Edinburgh will welcome the orienteering community from around the world, whilst at the same time raising funds for this fantastic cause.”

WOC 2024 is organised by Scottish 6 Days Orienteering in conjunction with Scottish Orienteering, British Orienteering and the International Orienteering Federation, with primary event partners EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate, and The City of Edinburgh Council.

To find out more about WOC 2024 visit the official website. Sign up to the WOC Tour here, and for Heart Research UK’s Heart of Scotland Appeal visit their website.

We are delighted to share that the winner of the Bonington Trophy Award 2023 is Stephen McKinley from Southern Navigators Orienteering Club!

Here, we share what his nominators had to say about his contributions to mapping a multitude of areas including Long Valley South, Wellington College, Cove Brook and the wider Farnborough area and more.  

The Bonington Trophy was donated to British Orienteering by its Honorary President, Sir Chris Bonington, the world-famous mountaineer. It is awarded annually for the 'best contribution to mapping' which can cover a whole range of activities related to mapping.

Stephen McKinley, Southern Navigators Orienteering Club

Map area: Multiple locations including Long Valley South, Wellington College, Cove Brook/wider Farnborough area, Rodborough Common and Puttenham Golf Course.

Steve has been Southern Navigator’s (SN) Mapping Officer for many years and is responsible for maintaining and updating the club’s library of current maps and coordinating the production of new maps. Steve undertakes much of the cartography and survey work himself on a voluntary basis.

This nomination is particularly for Steve’s work in recent years. He has instigated a rolling programme of updates to bring SN’s maps into line with the latest mapping specifications, newly acquired LIDAR data, and accurate geo-referencing. This has ensured a consistency in style and presentation and has only been possible due to Steve’s commitment of considerable amounts of his “spare” time to maintain and improve the club’s most valuable assets.

Whilst LIDAR can be used to obtain accurate contour and vegetation data, significant interpretation and simplification are required before the LIDAR information can be converted to an orienteering map that is clearly laid out and easy to read. Combining his mapping skills and experience, with his knowledge of OCAD software, Steve has used his skills to make maps that are relevant and helpful to a competitor. The results of Steve’s work can be seen on maps used at all levels of events and activities. Within the last three years alone, examples of Steve’s mapping updates, new maps and base maps could be seen at:

· Long Valley South (SN Trophy 2022) and Mytchett (SN Trophy 2023): national events on varied and complex terrain with numerous vegetation and contour features

· Wellington College (SCOA League event, Dec 2022) and Frensham Heights School: areas of school campus, sports facilities and surrounding woodlands drawn to sprint specification

· Cove Brook/wider Farnborough area (used for SEOUL Urban League races in 2022/23): classic urban terrain where clear and accurate cartography is essential to enable fair assessment of permissible routes and uncrossable boundaries

· Rodborough Common: a new map of small local forest/heathland terrain used for Level D club events and training activities

· Puttenham Golf Course: used for night orienteering training

· Significant LIDAR-based updates to several other SN areas used for Level D events (e.g. Farnham Park, Witley Common, Southwood)

Southern Navigators are not the only club to benefit from Steve’s work. He provided interpreted and simplified LIDAR base maps to our neighbouring clubs BAOC (Ash Ranges and Frith Hill) and BADO (Kings Worthy and South Ham and Buckskin Estates), enabling quality updates of these areas.

The examples above illustrate how Steve’s mapping skill has been applied to all types of terrain for different levels of events and has supported literally thousands of individual participants every year.

Within the extensive list above Steve has personally done ground survey work for Long Valley South (2022 update) and Rodborough Common (new map) and has checked out many general update requests from the club’s Planners as each area is re-used.

Never one to sit back, Steve has continued to look for new areas and initiatives which may benefit SN and orienteering more widely. In 2023, a local charity approached SN, which resulted in Steve generating a new LIDAR-based map of Woodlarks camping ground for the disabled, thus making orienteering accessible to disabled people. Steve is currently updating the Hindhead Common map which will be used in February 2024 for an event in conjunction with a National Trust supporters’ group which will provide the opportunity for the ‘supporters’ to try out orienteering on an area which they already know and love.

In summary, this nomination reflects Steve’s dedication and skill over many years, producing high-quality maps to enable Southern Navigators to stage high quality and enjoyable events.

Congratulations to Stephen on receiving the Bonington Trophy 2023.

_______________________________________________________

It’s important to us, to recognise the other individuals who were nominated for the Bonington Trophy 2023. Here they are, alongside some of the comments regarding their contributions over the past year.

Nominations for the Bonington Trophy 2023

Martin Hore, Suffolk Orienteering Club – Map area: Suffolk maps

“Martin took over the lead in mapping for the club nearly a decade ago having been making maps for some time. In recent years he has pushed ahead developing new techniques to make new maps - and revise older ones - so they are geo-located. He has explored the freely accessible data that can enhance mapping making significant use of Lidar and aerial imagery to pin down the tricky humps and hollows in locations like Bridge Wood, Ipswich.

Alongside producing quality mapping, he has also taken time to bring on other mappers: encouraging skill development for experienced folk and starting from basics for newcomers. He is always ready to listen to feedback from all types of users - landowners to planners to competitors - meaning he acknowledges that the mapping can still improve.”

Alasdair Pedley, Auld Reekie Orienteering Society – Variety of locations including Sprint Scotland and EUOC Big Weekend

“Alasdair has mapped for Sprint Scotland, EUOC Big Weekend, coast and islands and a EUOC/ AROS sprint relay. Outstanding quality of mapping for his age. He always takes advice and is happy to pass it on. He has also collaborated with Chris Smithard and Graham Gristwood on projects.”

Rod Postlethwaite, Wrekin Orienteers – Map area: Woodside

“A very complex area, superbly mapped by Rod using all his 40 years of mapping experience during which time he has mapped many areas for WRE including using recent innovations such as LiDAR.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Next up, we will be sharing details of our Chichester Trophy Winner 2023. Check our website or social media daily for the latest updates.