Smiles in the Sunshine with Scottish victory at the Junior Inter Regional Championships (JIRCs)

Over the weekend a full team of 24 juniors and 4 coaches travelled to East Anglia for the Junior Inter Regional Championships (JIRCs). This annual event sees teams of juniors from all twelve British Orienteering Regions compete in individual races and relays whilst having the opportunity to socialise and build friendships with other junior orienteers from all over the United Kingdom.

In very uncharacteristic weather for the Scots with clear blue skies and temperatures in the 20s, the Scottish team were victorious in the individuals, relays and overall – returning with lots of silverware. Read on to find out more about their weekend.

The JIRCs were established in 1989 to provide a high quality orienteering at an event specially organised for juniors by those who work closely with them, with the aim of providing a stepping stone to further national representation opportunities. The juniors all stay overnight together with social activities organised to also meet the other aim of the championships which is to encourage friendship and support.

The teams are composed of a maximum of 4 athletes in each age category M/W14, 16 and 18 and the 24 juniors set off for the long journey south to East Anglia on the Friday. There was a great mix of experience in the team, as for some it was their first trip with Scotland and for others it was to be their last as they move onto University and new orienteering opportunities. The support and encouragement the juniors gave to each other provided a great atmosphere and fantastic team spirit.

Waking to beautiful sunshine on the Saturday they headed to Writtle Forest, a short drive from the Outdoor Centre where everyone was based. This ancient forest although relatively runnable, presented a range of challenges which were described by some as “deceptively complex” with lots of ditches and depressions. After time for the necessary face painting and chatting, the competition began and the Scottish juniors had fantastic performances with medals galore in all age categories and the victory of the Individual Shield. Special mention to Hannah Inman who was presented with a trophy for the best performance.

Once back at the Outdoor Centre after showers there was lots of opportunities for chatting, eating, prize giving and then a ceilidh – where the Scots again demonstrated their skills!

The relay was held at Hartfield Forest, near to Stansted airport. This National Trust parkland had lots of lush green forest interspersed with grassy rides and meadows – complete with herds of cows (who were slightly too interested in the controls at times!). There are separate boys and girls relays, each with teams composed of an M/W16 1st leg runner, followed by an M/W14 with the last leg run by an M18. Every junior was part of a team to enjoy the fun.

Again Scotland performed well and won both the boys and girls relay and also 3rd place in the girls. This was sufficient to secure the Girls trophy (combined relay and individual points), Boys trophy (combined relay and individual points) and the overall trophy. Congratulations to Yorkshire and Humberside who were 2nd and South East for 3rd place.

Huge thanks to East Anglia Orienteering Association for organising and hosting the event and all the volunteers from EAOA clubs.

Individual results

Relay Results

Overall Points

Congratulations again to whole team.

Getting ready for the relays