On 23/24 August, Oban played host to an orienteering competition which attracted over three hundred competitors from around the world to the area.
Results & RouteGadget on the Purple Thistle website.
Competitors from as far afield as Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Sweden, as well as across the UK, will be taking part in the Purple Thistle orienteering event this weekend. Based at the Oban Caravan and Camping Park at Gallanach, participants will be faced with three races over the course of the weekend.
The Island of Kerrera will host the first race on Saturday 23 August, and the ferry will be doing a brisk trade in transferring all the competitors across to the island. This is the first time that the island has been used for orienteering, with Loch Eck Orienteers (EckO), the orienteering club for Argyll, commissioning the production of a brand new map for the event. Courses ranging from two to twelve kilometers over the open moorland will be sure to test the physical ability of participants and, should the weather be kind, the views will certainly reward competitors who choose to look up from their maps!
Saturday evening will see a low key race around Oban allowing competitors the opportunity to run past the town’s landmark sights at speed, including the Distillery and McCaig’s Folly while Sunday will see another long race over the moorland and through the forest at Creag Mhic Chailein, near Stonefield.
Amongst those taking part will be some of Britain’s best orienteers who will face a couple of gruelling 12km “Mighty Thistle” courses. Edinburgh students Scott Fraser, Oleg Chepelin and Douglas Tullie are all back in the UK after competing for Great Britain across Europe this summer. Scott especially has had a successful summer, winning a bronze medal at the World University Championships, along with great results in the European and World Championships.
Recently Scott has started in a role as Professional Officer for Scottish Orienteering, and is looking forward to a trip to the West Coast. He said of the weekend and the region: “It has attracted me for it’s high quality orienteering areas and social programme, in one of the most scenic parts of Scotland. After a summer spent across Europe, it will be good to be back in the Scottish hills, and it will provide a great taste of what is to come in 2011 when Argyll will host the Scottish 6-Days, Scotland’s premier orienteering event.“
Paul Frost from the local club EckO is delighted with the turnout, saying: “It is brilliant so see so many people coming to Oban for these events, and it bodes well for when the Scottish 6-Days comes to the region in 2011. The new map will be a fantastic resource for local orienteers, and we also plan on making a version of the map available to help tourists find their way around Kerrera as it is more detailed than the Ordanance Survey map.“
While entries for this weekend’s events are closed, anyone interested in orienteering can get involved through the local club EckO who organise events across the region. More information is available from their website www.ecko.org.uk.
Posted by Paul Frost on 25th Aug 08 Filed under: Fixtures/Events • News • Results