British Champs - a Bronze Medal for the BASOC W40 relay team!
Credit: Unknown
There was mud, fish and chips and a general good time!
Janette has written the report below about the British Champs 2024
British Championships - road trip!
Rebecca, Jane, and Janette set off from the Strath for a beach side break at the British Orienteering Championships in Whitby. We met up with others coming from near and far including Alice and it was lovely to see Kat running for Edinburgh Uni.
British Individual Champs
Saturday was the individuals in Mulgrave Woods with steep slopes (there was quite a lot of sliding down the muddy slopes!), stream crossings, and lots of path details to pay attention to. There was a good mix of running routes and more challenging terrain. A small finish arena provided a lovely area to cheer on and enjoy an ice cream in the sun. Rebecca came a very respectable 8th in W40L among very experienced orienteers.
A wander on the beach and into the sea for some followed by fish and chips ensured we were refreshed for the next day.
British Relay Champs
Sunday started with blue skies and a brisk wind for the relays at Hutton Mulgrave and Skelder Woods. Rebecca, Jane, and Janette were entered as a relay in the W40 class. Rebecca, starting her first relay, had been nominated for the fun of the first leg mass start. Her fitness and competitive nature came to the fore as she was first female to the start kite in a busy mixed mass start. We knew it was an intricate area and focussing on your own run would be the key. Rebecca navigated safely round her course, through the last control and down the long, steep run in, taking the 90 degree corner at the bottom of the hill smoothly, and handing over to Jane in 7th. Jane was driver and her mantra all weekend was to be no better than 4th as we had a long drive home so it would be good to get away without waiting for prize giving. Turns out the technical course played to her strengths and her underlying competitive spirit meant that she came through the last control in 4th and into the handover in 3rd. Janette set off on the final leg realising that a podium place would be sure to cheer the long drive home. Jane and Rebecca tracked the live results as Janette aimed for a clean run round the course and trying to avoid the worst of the green. After a tense 30 mins Janette punched the last control still in 3rd and safely navigated the run in including the now very muddy corner to the finish line just over 30 seconds ahead of the fourth place team. A joyous flurry of purple hugs and high fives and we were definitely staying for prize giving! It was a long drive home, but medals and smiles meant it flew by.
All in a great trip to participate in a major event, learn a lot, catch up with friends, and make new ones.
Well done to everyone participating and thanks to all the organisers. Looking forward to some orienteering closer to home next weekend at the Scottish middle distance champs and SOL 2.