Scottish Juniors on Tour
Every 2 years ScotJOS organises a training tour to Sweden for all its junior members. This year a record 37 juniors (aged 14 to 18) took part assisted by 10 adults.
Read on to find out more about their adventures ….
The group set out from Edinburgh on 30th June to travel to Hållsta, a small town about 100km west of Stockholm. They were hosted by the IK Standards Club making use of their Sports Hall and Club Hut. This was a great base to explore local orienteering areas – as well as some great swimming spots. It was a chance for the younger juniors to come to terms with the Swedish forests before taking part in the Eskilstuna 3 Days Competition.
The 1st day of the Eskilstuna 3 Days was a more gentle introduction to Swedish orienteering in an area with lots of paths. However, Day 2 was particularly demanding with a newly mapped area with lots of contour and rock detail. The 18’s had a chasing start on Day 3, with the cumulative times for Days 1 and 2 used to determine the starting order, with the fastest set off first and the others set off at time intervals corresponding to their time behind the leader. Congratulations to Ruari (ECKO) who was first over the line and took the M18 title. Congratulations also to Lucy (INT) who was 1st in W16, Hannah (FVO) 1st in W14 and Henrik (INVOC) 3rd in M16. There were also prizes for the top 10 juniors in the 14 and 16 classes and the added excitement of popcorn for all junior finishers! Coaches also joined in the fun with Jason finishing 3rd on M55. The Eskilstuna 3 Days was also a great opportunity to meet some local junior orienteers – with lots of swapping of O-tops going on!
The group then moved further South to Nyköping, staying at the Sora Scout Centre just outside the city. This was a great location and even had beds for the juniors but unfortunately not the coaches as the group was too large for the centre and so most of the coaches were staying in an adjacent nursery building. It was a fantastic base in the woods on the edge of a lake with lots to explore (and lots of bilberry bushes to gather fruit for the ubiquitous ScotJOS Crumble!). It was an ideal location for outdoor games like manhunt as well as time to relax with jigsaw puzzles and of course watching the World Cup football!
The Saltire was raised on the flagpole when ScotJOS arrived – the effect was only slightly marred by the ever full washing line as they tried to keep abreast of the mounds of smelly O-kit!
The move further south allowed the juniors to experience a more diverse range of orienteering areas include coastal areas. During this 2nd week, the group attended 2 local evening events and trained alongside juniors from the local club using training provided by Roger Holmberg from Nyköping OK. The highlight for many was the coastal area of Stendorren on the final day with islands linked by little suspension bridges and amazing rock outcrops. The seawater however was quite bracing for a swim at the end of the day.
A tired group of juniors and coaches arrived back in Edinburgh with lots of stories (and smelly washing!) with many now planning their next trip to Sweden – and some getting ready to compete next week at O-Ringen.
Huge thanks to all the volunteers who made the trip possible filling a whole range of roles both before and during the trip to ensure that everything ran smoothly. It was a huge team effort – even just the general cat herding of trying to get everyone in the right place at the right time (and with the right kit) was a mammoth task! Particular mention to Jason who arranged all the coaching exercises, provided the links to the local clubs and arranged the accommodation and to the cooking team as it was a self catered trip.
Now time for a rest before thinking of the next tour in 2028 ….