Interlopers host the 2024 Scottish Score Championships
The weekend of 9th November saw over 250 orienteers travel to Vogrie Country Park on the south east of Edinburgh for the 2024 Scottish Score Championships. The weather may have remained dull for the event but the area offered a variety of terrain from parkland to the steep sided valleys of the Tyne Water and its tributaries and a disused golf course.
Score orienteering unlike a traditional course (where the participant has to visit set controls in the order determined by the planner) involves the participant visiting as many controls as possible within a fixed time to gain as many points as possible. The number of points scored for each control varies according to the distance and technical difficulty and there is a penalty for exceeding the time allowed. In the Scottish Score Championships there were three Score courses planned to accommodate all competitors (40 minutes, 60 minutes and 70 minutes) with the planner was able to use private land to the south of Vogrie Country Park and river denes to create courses that only the very elite runners could get all the points the 70 minute course.
It was great to see competitors from 17 of our Scottish clubs taking part in the event including some of the more distant clubs such as Solway Orienteering Club (SOLWAY), Ayr Orienteering Club (AYROC), Inverness Orienteering Club (INVOC) and Grampian Orienteering Club (GRAMP). Well done to all those who took part and also to those who came home a medal or trophy to show for their efforts as shown in the photos below.
This event could not of course have taken place without the efforts of the Interlopers Orienteering Club (INT) volunteers and special thanks go to the planner (Mike Stewart), organiser (Ray Ward), controller (Roger Scrutton – ESOC), the event co-ordinator / IT organiser (William Ivory with help from Robin Strain) and East Lothian Orienteering Club for allowing INT to use the area and helping with permissions. Thanks also go to Alison O’Neill for the photos.
