Alice and Clare at their first JK event.
Credit: C Kemsley
The JK is an annual 4 day orienteering event (Sprint, Middle, Long & Relay) held every Easter since 1969. It moves around the UK and this year was held in South Wales.
With the JK being cancelled 2020 and 2021, it was great to see the event return in 2022 and the two of us made the long trip to south Wales to take part in the three days of orienteering. It was really good to experience a larger orienteering event with all that this brings - a busy arena, full commentary on the run in, elite runners competing for selection and a fair number of Scandinavian orienteers.
Although we were the only people from BASOC, there was a good number from neighbouring clubs INVOC and MORAVIAN and we enjoyed catching up with former members Alison and Ross. Alice declared " this is what an orienteering event should be like" and had fun meeting up with a good crowd of friends her own age.
Our results were mixed - but ended on a high on the long course, with Alice 4th in W18 and myself well into the top half of W55. I'm sure we'll be there in 2023 and thankfully the venue in the Lakes is a bit nearer.
In 2014 a sizeable BASOC contingent went to the JK in the Lakes - it was an excellent social time as well as experiencing some good orienteering.