11 March 2024

March 2024 Newsletter now published

The March 2024 issue of the British TrailO Newsletter has just been published. With updates on GBR team selections, ranking lists, league tables, and future events as well as reports from the Gran Canaria and Prague events, there is a lot for any TrailO enthusiast to read. There are lots of photos and examples of challenges set at recent events.

To get a copy, go to the Newsletter Page.  Those on the mailing list should have received a copy direct by email. If you want to join the list, you can also subscribe by completing the form available at: Newsletter Subscribing - Google Form.


6 March 2024

GBR Team for ETOC 2024 announced

British Orienteering have just announced the GBR team members selected to compete at the European TrailO Championships (ETOC) in Finland in May.  Congratulations to the following:

  • TempO and O Class in PreO: Charles Bromley Gardner (BAOC), Ian Ditchfield (MV), Tom Dobra (TVOC), David Jukes (BKO), John Kewley (MDOC), and Kieran Marsh (SLOW)
  • TempO: Iain Phillips (LEI) and Graham Urquhart (OD)
  • P Class in PreO and Relay: Colin Duckworth (TVOC), Peter Roberts (EBOR), and Graham Urquhart (OD)
  • Team Manager: Liz Urquhart (OD)

Good luck everyone!

The full annoucement can be seen on the main British Orienteering News Page.


3 March 2024

Outstanding WRE PreO wins in Prague for John Kewley and Graham Urquhart

The weeken has seen 10 GBR competitiors competing in the Prague Adventure Weekend - two World Ranking Events (WREs). On Saturday there was a PreO event followed, on Sunday, by a TempO event in the same terrain.  With plenty of crags, cliffs and steep slopes competitors faced a tough challenge with many quite puzzling choices.

For the PreO, there were 28 controls and two Timed Controls (TCs).  John Kewley (MDOC) was able to interpret the terrain and only made one error on the main course and no mistakes at the TCs.  when all results were in, he came out top in the Open Elite class beating 3 other competitors with 27 correct who made errors at the TCs.. This is the first WRE PreO win in an Open class for a GBR competitor. It follows Ben Kyd's win in a WRE TempO event last year - also in Czechia. To complete the successes, Graham Urquhart (OD) led the P-Class field. Congratulations to both of them.

The weekend finished on Sunday with a 6-Station TempO course which involved a mixture of challenges – some with kites high up on mixed crags, boulders and rocky outcrops and some with kites closer to the competitor on much flatter terrain alongside the small river at the bottom of the gorge. No one completed the course with 100% correct. Even the top competitor, current World TempO Champion Macek Ondrej (CZE), got one wrong!

Overall results for the weekend were based on a combination of a calculated time for Saturday’s PreO and the total time for the TempO (including penalties). For both John Kewley (MDOC) and Graham Urquhart (OD) their combined times meant that they were both pushed out of their respective class top 3 and, in both cases, finished fourth overall.

Seen at the Prague event: John Kewley (left) and Graham Urquhart (right)


16 January 2024

TrailO at this year's JK

It has been standard practice to provide some TrailO events during the annual JK weekend at Easter. Achieving this does depend on the location of the main events as well as the availability of suitable TrailO terrain adjacent to or close to the main event arenas. For this year's JK in the Midlands, there have been some difficulties in arranging suitable TrailO opportunities.

Although it had been expected that there would be TrailO on both Days 1 and 2, the current situation is the following:

  • Day1: There will be a PreO event on Day 1 at Loughborough University - full details to follow. Entries for this can be made on the main JK entry page which is now open. See: JK International Festival of Orienteering - Entries
  • Days 2/3: As will be seen from the JK Programme, now available on the JK website, both these days will be based at Beaudessert Park Farm. There is no suitable terrain in that area and with there being a strict timetable for entry and exit by cars to and from the Park Farm, it is not practical to arrange an event at another location. There will therefore now be no TrailO events on these days.
  • Day 4: Currently there are still attempts to offer an opportunity to do some TrailO tasks close to the car park and arena at Stanton Moor but as parking plans for the day have not been finalised, it is still under discussion. If there is TrailO, it is not expected to be a full event.

24 November 2023

Updated Anti-Doping rules apply from 1st Janunary 2024

This British Orienteering News item is an important announcement which concerns all TrailO athletes. As stated by British Orienteering, "If you are a member of British Orienteering then the anti-doping rules apply to you, regardless of what level you participate at." It is though particularly important for those considering putting themselves forward for selection to the GBR team in 2024.

Anyone selected as part of the team is at risk of being tested and it is an athlete's responsibility to ensure an awareness of the rules and compliance with them. In addition to the links provided in this News by British Orienteering, see the main page on this topic at: Clean Sport: Anti-Doping.


8 November 2023

Latest British TrailO Newsletter now available

Today has seen the publication of the November issue of the British TrailO Newsletter. With updates on ranking lists, league tables, the 2024 GBR selection policy and future events as well as more 'Top TrailO Tips' and plenty of event reports, there is a lot for any TrailO enthusiast to read. There are lots of photos and numerous examples of challenges set at recent events making it also good for the interested newcomer.  To get a pdf copy, go to the Newsletter page and click on the link 'November 2023'.

Do remember though that you can also subscribe so that, in future, you can get a pdf copy sent direct to your email address. Complete your details at: Google Form - Newsletter


30 October 2023

World Ranking TrailO competition amongst Etruscan Tombs in Italy

The final European World Ranking TrailO events for 2023 took place over the weekend in Italy.  8 competitors from GBR attended and participated in the events which used some unique terrain. Both the TempO on Saturday and the PreO on Sunday took place in and around the ancient Etruscan Necropolis of Cerveteri – a World Heritage Site.  The competition area included numerous pre-Roman man-made tombs, caves and pits as well as intricate rocky crags.

Both the TempO and the larger section of a split PreO used a track through a gully with numerous caves carved out of the rocky sides.  The map, at 1:3000, showed a very clear representation of the terrain and, with care and time, correct solutions could be determined.  The TempO was though more challenging as the time pressure led to errors.  The second shorter PreO section was a more open rocky hillside in which numerous caves and quarries were present and, with some more distant controls, this was trickier.

Tom Dobra in 11th had best result in the TempO making just 3 mistakes over the 7 stations.  However, Graham Urquhart was the leading P Class competitor.  In the PreO, 5 of the GBR competitors got all 26 controls correct leading to the performance in the two Time Controls giving the placings.  Charles Bromley Gardner led the GBR field and was placed 10th.

For detailed results and maps, see the event website at: 28/29 october 2023 – Etrusk TrailO Weekend WRE - A.S.D. Orsa Maggiore (asdorsamaggiore.it). A full report will be provided in the November Newsletter.

Here Iain Phillips considers controls in the second part of the PreO event.


24 October 2023

World Ranking / European Cup events for 2024 now published

Time to get your calendars out and start reserving dates for TrailO events next year!

The list of the 2024 World Ranking Events (WREs) has just been published on the IOF Eventor website.  There's plenty to choose from - from Czechia in March to Poland in November.  Of particular note is the Hungarian TrailO weekend in September which might be seen as a pre-event for the WTOC in Hungary and Slovakia in 2025.

Many events also contribute to the European Cup in Trail Orienteering (ECTO) 2024.  This is an annual competition where points are allocated based on results in specified events. Today has also seen the publication of the ECTO 2024 events listing. For 2024, the Cup features 6 weekends with a total of 12 events.  A competitor’s best 5 scores over the year are used to give a final total and determines the overall winner.

For a listing of WRE events, take a look at the IOF Event TrailO Events 2024 page, and for the ECTO events, see the IOF ECTO page from where you can download the published list. The events have also been added to the listing on this site - see: Event Calendar


12 October 2023

Hungary and Slovakia to co-host WTOC 2025

At the recent IOF Council meeting (22 September), a decision was taken to confirm that Hungary and Slovakia will jointly host the World TrailO Championships in 2025. With the WTOC now being staged in alternate years, the 2025 event will be the next opportunity for competitors to seek the highest award in TrailO.

Although it had initially been thought that the event would be held between the 16th and 23rd August, it is now expected that the following dates/locations will be used:

  • 27/28 August - Hungary for PreO Days 1 and 2
  • 30 August – Slovakia for Relay
  • 31 August – Slovakia for TempO

It has not yet been discussed but is likely that GBR competitors' performances at next year's European Championships (ETOC) 2024, as well as other key TrailO events, will be used to select the team for WTOC 2025. Good luck everyone!

The IOF Eventor site shows Bratislava as the likely Event Centre


3 October 2023

Tom Dobra wins the 2023 British TrailO League

This year’s British TrailO League (BriTOL) results have now been finalised and congratulations to Tom Dobra who is the 2023 top performer.

There were 6 events in this year’s BriTOL – the 3 JK events, the British Championships (BTOC) and the events at the Scottish 6 Days and the White Rose.  Problems with some times at the White Rose event in August delayed the completion of the League results – the final timed section was voided for the League scores. A competitor’s best 4 results are used to determine their League score.

Tom won this year’s BriTOL with 3 wins and a second place giving 396 points.  Second was Ben Kyd with 2 wins and two second places giving 392 points. Charles Bromley Gardner is in third place on 362 points.

The image shows the top ten places.  Full League results can be seen on the League website - see: British TrailO League 2023

The top ten positions in the 2023 BriTOL.


17 September 2023

'Nordic Match' completes the 2023 European Cup in TrailO

Comprising 10 events over 5 weekends, the European Cup in TrailO (ECTO) provides an opportunity for trail orienteers to test their skills against some of the best in Europe.  This year’s annual Nordic Match was held in Denmark and, as well as providing a team competition for the Nordic countries, the two events (TempO and PreO) completed the 2023 ECTO series.

Two British competitors attended the Danish events.  In the TempO, John Kewley of MDOC had a clear set of controls but, with several others also being clear, times needed to be quick to get a top position. He ultimately finished in 15th place.  Iain Phillips (LEI), with 3 errors, finished in 29th place.  In the PreO, John Kewley again had a full set of correct controls but so did 6 other competitors.  All 7 had all their time control responses correct and John’s time of 23 seconds put him in an excellent 5th position.  With 23 of the 27 PreO controls correct, Iain finished in 31st place.

Including scores from the Nordic Match events, results from the 2023 ECTO competition show John Kewley finishing in 10th place as the top GBR competitor with Ben Kyd next in 51st place. Iain's results have taken him above Charles Bromley Gardner and they are in 75th and 76th places, the 3rd and 4th placed GBR members.

For more details of the Nordic Match, see the event website: Nordic Match 2023.

John Kewley at one of the TempO stations (Photo: Nordic Match)


27 August 2023

TrailO at the White Rose Weekend in Yorkshire

Every August Bank Holiday weekend, the public holiday in England at the end of August, Eborienteers hold a series of events for orienteers in Yorkshire know as the White Rose Weekend. This has often included a TrailO event planned by Peter Roberts.

This year's event was staged on Saturday and consisted of a PreO course with 20 controls. Congratulations to the winners :- Chris Smithard (FVO) and Margaret Parker (AIRE) shared the Open Class, Dick Keighley (WIM) and Graham Urquhart (OD) shared the P Class and Eliza-Blue Elliott (SYO) won the Junior Class.

Our thanks to Peter and the various helpers for staging the event. Full results, when finalised, will be available on the Eborienteers website at: https://eborienteers.org.uk/results/

Dick Keighley (l) and Graham Urquhart being awarded their commemorative cups
by Peter Roberts (r) for winning the P Class (Photo: Liz Urquhart)


For some older news items, see News Archive