Club Participation at Local, National and International Events
Post date: Mar 02, 2015 12:51:4 PM
The 2015 orienteering season is full with great orienteering events taking place locally, nationally and internationally. Several of our committee members have already added some exciting events to their orienteering diaries and all agreed we should encourage more of our members and followers to do the same.
So we've identified a few events that will be taking place at various interesting and challenging destinations in the next few months that we would like you to consider participating in. A brief synopsis of these events and more importantly their dates are listed below. Some are at nearby locations while others are a little further afield but all offer unique and diverse orienteering terrain.
CorkO was well represented at all the provincial and National Championships last year and we would be delighted to see members donning our club colours and participating at these events again this year. So I hope you can find something that would appeal to you in the events summarised below and maybe we can persuade you to get active in partaking and sharing the journey and experience with fellow club mates. Perhaps some of these events could be incorporated into your holiday plans.
If you are intrigued by any of the events and want to know more please do get in touch. Furthermore, several of these events are being planned and organised by CorkO so if you are prepared to get involved and help out in anyway at any of these events we would be delighted to hear from you.
I hope we can inspire you to new orienteering goals this year and make your 2015 orienteering season a great one.
MUNSTER LEAGUE #3
Date: Sunday March 22nd
Location: Seefin (The Nagles), Ballyhooly, Co. Cork
Further Info: www.corko.net
The third event in this year's Munster League will take place in Seefin in the Nagles mountains of North Cork, near Killavullen. With several courses on offer, there is something to suit everyone, including beginners and those returning to the sport. Come along for a body-brain work-out. The map scale is 1:10,000 and the landscape is mostly open forest with a good road network and many earthwalls and streams. As nearly all of the wood is between 800 and 1,000 feet in altitude on a North facing hillside there are relatively few brambles and no rhododendron.
JAN KJELLSTROM (JK) INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ORIENTEERING 2015
Dates: April 3rd - 6th 2015
Location: Lake District, UK
Further Info: www.thejk.org.uk
The JK is the UK's premier annual multi-day competition, attracting orienteers from around the world. This year the 49th JK festival of Orienteering will take place in the Southern Lake District. The weekend comprises four days of top-class competition:
Day 1 Friday 3 April: Sprint (WRE) & TempO at Lancaster University
Day 2 Saturday 4 April: Individual Race, Ulpha Park and Barrow Fell & Pre-O at Haverigg Dunes
Day 3 Sunday 5 April: Individual Race, Bigland
Day 4 Monday 6 April: Relays, Graythwaite
Already a good number of CorkO members have entered this event and the club has also entered three Relay teams. Entries are still open so if you are looking for something different to do this Easter weekend than why not consider a trip to the Lake District.
LEINSTER ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2015
Dates: April 19th 2015
Location: Lough Firrib, Wicklow Mountains National Park, Wicklow
Further Info: www.setantaorienteers.org
Lough Firrib is located in the upland mountain area of the Wicklow Mountains National Park. The competition area itself is south and west of the Turlough Hill reservoir, taking in the upland bog area around Lough Firrib and Conavalla as well as the valleys west of Fair Mountain and south of Turlough Hill. The area is 100% open with little or no paths or fences. The terrain is highly varied, ranging from flat open firm ground to steep valleys with low vegetation. There are areas of exposed and intricate naturally formed peat hags, open mountainside with low vegetation and extensive boulder fields as well as some areas of undulating terrain with mixed cover.
Anyone who attended last years Irish Orienteering Classic Distance race on this map might be interested in returning to the area. Perhaps the conditions might be a little better this time around and competitors might be afforded an opportunity to appreciate the stunning views this area has to offer when not concealed by dense fog!
IRISH ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2015
Dates: May 1st to 4th 2015
Location: Close to Lisburn ~10km South West of Belfast
Further Info: www.ioc2015.org
The Lisburn City Festival of Orienteering that will take place over the May Bank Holiday weekend and is being organised by Lagan Valley Orienteers. The competitions will take place in or close to Lisburn that is 10k South West of Belfast. The core of the Festival are the Irish Championship Sprint, Long Distance, Relay, and TrailO competitions but it has taken on a sprint/urban bias with the addition of a Sprint Relay race in the IOF World Championship format, and the staging of the inaugural Lisburn City Race that will form part of the UK Urban League. In addition, an International Orienteering Federation World Ranking Event will be held as part of the Irish Sprint Championships, with the WRE being organised in conjunction with Great Eastern Navigators.
Day 1 Friday May 1st: Irish Sprint Championship, Laurelhill Sportszone
Day 2 Saturday May 2nd: Irish Long Distance Championship, Slieve Croob
Day 3 Sunday May 3rd: Irish Relay Championships, Hillsborough Forest
Day 4 Monday May 4th: Sprint Relay Race and Lisburn City Race, The Island Centre
CorkO will be keen to enter some Rebel Relay Teams in the Irish Relay Championship and would encourage all attending to give the relay race a go. It is a fun and social event and a great why to meet fellow orienteers who are always willing to discuss post race analysis with the competitors they've been racing and chasing on the day.
CORKO SUMMER LEAGUE 2015
Dates: Tuesday evenings from May 12th - July 21st
Location: Various locations around Cork city and county.
Further Info: www.corko.net
With 11 events in our Summer league there will be a variety of destinations and challenges to suit all for beginners to seasoned orienteers. This also means our club will require a lot of planners, controllers and organisers to ensure the league runs smoothly. So if you would be prepared to get involved and help in anyway we would be thrilled to hear from you.
19TH SHAMROCK O-RINGEN 2015
Date: 30th May - 1st June
Location: Glengarriff, Cork
Further Info: www.shamrock.corko.net
The Shamrock O-Ringen is a 3-day orienteering event, organised every 2 years by Cork Orienteering Club in the South Western corner of Ireland. The competition attracts orienteers from all over the world to compete on our unique terrain on the Western shores of Europe. In 2015, the Shamrock will take place on the beautiful and challenging terrain near Glengarriff, Co. Cork Ireland.
Day 1 Saturday May 30th, Cobdubh (Middle Distance)
Day 2 Sunday May 31st, Shrone Hill (Classic Distance)
Day 3 Monday June 1st, Gaill Beag (Chasing Starts)
This is a major event for our club to undertake and we would encourage everyone to consider entering. Completing three tough days of orienteering is this stunning location will be an achievement in itself. Previous Shamrock O-Ringen's have had over 200 entrants many of whom were international orienteers who journeyed to our shores to compete in this unique event. To ensure the efficient staging of this event our club will require a large number of helper to assist with various jobs over the duration of this busy weekend. So if you are intrigued and interested in getting involved in anyway please do get in touch.
The Jukola Relay is an orienteering relay competition with seven legs covering a distance of over 85km with legs ranging from 8km to 15km and an anticipated winning time of over 8 hours. The sun sets at 10:58 p.m. on Saturday, June 13th, and rises at 4:01 a.m. on Sunday, June 14th. The race will tentatively start at 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 13th, as a mass start. So the early team runners will be competing in the dusk/dark while the last team runners will get to enjoy the daylight.
The Jukola Relay 2015, Louna-Jukola, will take place in Paimio, in the vicinity of Turku. Louna-Jukola will provide fast but challenging terrain, typical of Southwest Finland. World’s best clubs are competing in Jukola and Venla relays. For most teams, compiled of friends or work pals, the challenge is to pass the same courses as the best orienteers in the world. Come and experience the grand event of orienteering in summer night!
This maybe one of our clubs most ambitions participation goals. A few of our members are keen to enter a CorkO team in this years event. So if you want to impress your friends with some unique and testing holiday plans than why not consider joining team CorkO for an very unusual adventure. Let me know if you've any interest in getting involved.
If you are intrigued and wish to find out more or join team CorkO at any of these events please do contact us.