Moravian District Event Forres 16 November
Moravian are very keen to encourage as many orienteers as possible to attend their district event in Forres on 16th November. There’s even a swimming pool right next to event registration!
The entire town has recently been mapped in preparation for the Moray Mix weekend next March, and this has enabled them to combine the two Forres woodlands on the same map. Cluny Hill will be fondly remembered by many as the venue for the sprint race during Moray 2003, and Sanquhar, which used to be an area in its own right, is now back in commission after a lot of work by the Forres Community Woodlands Trust. This event is a ‘normal’ O event using both woodland areas with a bit of urban O in between! Although the courses (planned by Jon Hollingdale) will be no more than TD4, this will be more than compensated by the number of route chice options, and acording to Jon promises to provide some excellent challenges. It’s made all the more appealing by hard standing car parking at Forres Academy and the use of showers afterwards! Some new specially-designed Mountain bike trails in Sanquhar, due to officially open on 11th October, are another big attraction for some post-O fun for the young at heart. Orienteers who like a bit of cross country running and want to make a weekend of it might also be interested in the North District Cross Country race at Elgin the afternoon before.
The club are in the midst of a big push to attract newcomers to the sport - in particular the local running club, Forres Harriers for whom Sanquhar and Cluny are regular training areas. There’s also a lot of new interest in the sport amongst Moray schools and Moravian are keen to give newcomers who come to this event the best possible impression of orienteering as a vibrant, well-attended sport that’s worth doing more of. The North District Cross Country champion, Ben Livesey, who has recently been attracted into the sport is expected to be there. He has recently shown his potential at Lossie Forest on 27th September, and it would be great to see him to pit his wits against some of the top orienteers in Scotland on a slightly less technical course. A good junior turnout would help show local youngsters that orienteering is anything but a minority sport and might encourage a few to come more regularly. The Forres Academy Active Schools Co-Ordinator is taking a keen interest in orienteering (he’s already done Hilary’s course) and we’re hoping to see a few of his youngsters having a go on ‘home ground’ as well as children form local primaries who had their own championships in Cluny Hill not long ago.
There’s even a swimming pool right next to registration etc. (open until 1:30 p.m.). It all promises to be a great day out and full details about the event are up on the Moravian website. Do come along!
(posted on behalf of Mike Rodgers)
Posted on 10th Nov 08
by Hilary Quick - Assistant Professional Officer
Filed under: News
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