Chris and Suzy were selected at under 18 level and went on a training tour to Halden in Norway for 2 weeks.Regional juniors have been busy over the summer. Here is a summary of some of the things they have been up to:
Chris Sellens (SOS) and Suzy Robertson (SOS) went as travelling reserves to the European Youth Championships in the Czech Republic in June. They were able to run in the supporting races and gained valuable experience.
David West (SOS), Edmund Kelleher (NOR) and Helen Gardner (WAOC) have been selected for the Junior Home Internationals in October.
BOF has obtained lottery funding through Sport England to run the World Class Start Programme aimed at talented young orienteers to help them fulfill their potential and hopefully gain World Championship medals in the future. The region are delighted to have a large number of juniors selected for this. They all went on training tours during the summer and will attend a weekend training session in Scotland in half-term. Hopefully we will read reports from them in due course!
Chris and Suzy were selected at under 18 level and went on a training tour to Halden in Norway for 2 weeks.
Peter Gardner (WAOC) and David were selected at under 17 level and a 2 week tour to Sweden included competing in the O-Ringen.
Edmund, Helen and Laurence Ball (NOR) were selected at under 16 level. Edmund joined the tour to Sweden. Helen and Laurence spent a week at Glenmore in Scotland. [does anyone have a good picture of Ed and Laurence?]
In addition to these, Emma Johnson (SOS), Martin Humphries (WAOC), and Hazel Tant (SOS) were regional nominations to the training camp at Lagganlia, which was funded from the Start programme as a selection camp. Hopefully we will get some tour reports to read about their exploits.
[the first report is now here, courtesy of Laurence, who gives his account of his trip to Glenmore Lodge:]
BOF has begun the World Class Start Programme this year. This is basically a system of coaching, sponsored by lottery funding, and training excursions to aid junior orienteers from around Britain to achieve future success in major internatioal competitions. Myself and Ed Kelleher were selected along with four other boys from around the UK in the M15 age group. Our first experience of the programme was a week of training at Glenmore in July, although Ed was unable to go as he was heading to a training camp in Norway.
My trip began with an extremely long and tedious train journey on the Saturday, starting at 6.50am and finishing at about 5pm. I was then met at the station by Blair Young, tour leader, and the other juniors. We drove the short distance to the lodge (which is also an outdoor centre) and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it looked comfortable and even included such luxuries as a TV and stereo, and the centre itself had a ski slope, sauna and swimming pool! I was to find out during the briefing that unlike the previous tour I went on in 2000, Glemore is more interactive and involves the juniors taking turns to cook meals every day (under supervision), and doing chores. We had a briefing and chose our roomies, then retired for the night.
The training involved driving out to the location in the morning, doing about two or three exercises and having lunch, before competing in a race or relay in the afternoon, which, despite urgings from the coaches, we all took very competitively (especially the boys). During the week we visited all the classic areas in the region - Inshriach, Loch Vaa, Strathmashie etc. which you may or may not have heard of. The terrain was extremely technical and I was forced to change my handrails - from paths, rides and fences - to re-entrants, spurs and marshes, a transition which to my surprise didn't completely flummox me as I'd thought previously. The big races of the week were of course the tour championships, which took place on the last two days. My results for these completely contrasted - from completely messing up the Short race to doing much better in the Classic.
Throughout the week there were a few mishaps for the boys, such as completely burning the dinner on our cooking night, taking "short-cuts" on the treasure hunt organised by the coaches, or our complex smuggling-ring of Pot Noodles being discovered on the last night, but overall we were considered to be more well-behaved than previous groups. As the number of juniors was much smaller than most tours, we were much more tightly-knit and I got to know the people I compete against at most events much better.
At the end of the week, instead of heading on to the Scottish 6-days like most people, I travelled home again to go camping, and reinforced my hate of train journeys on the way. All in all I found it a very satisfying week, and am hoping to see its effect on my upcoming results. I'm already looking forward to my next training weekend in October, even though it means another train journey to Scotland.
Laurence Ball (NOR)
Congratulations to SOS who finished third behind NOC and LOK in the Peter Palmer Junior Relays, which this year returned to their original venue in Sutton Park, Birmingham. WAOC and NOR also entered teams and SOS had a second team in the small clubs section.
Lyn West (SOS)