2015 Irish Orienteering Championships Roundup

Post date: May 07, 2015 1:31:15 AM

Over 30 members from CorkO made the long trip north last weekend to participate in the Lisburn Festival of Orienteering which included the 2015 Irish Orienteering Championships. This four day festival of orienteering included six orienteering events. There was a wide variety of orienteering competitions on offer over the long weekend with Sprint, Long Distance, Trail O, Urban racing and Relay events.

All those who made the journey received a very warm welcome from Lagan Valley Orienteers (LVO) and were rewarded with excellent orienteering events in challenging and diverse terrain. It was a very productive weekend for several club members who not only got plenty of competitive orienteering but also earned some podium finishes and some championship titles in the process.

Well done to all who participated it was great to see the club colours present at all the events and you all did the club proud over the weekend.

Day 1: Friday May 1st: Irish Sprint Championship, Laurelhill Sportszone

The weekend kicked off with some fast and furious action in the Sprint championship. Some decisive route planning was required on these short courses with so many controls.

CorkO took three Irish Sprint Championship titles on the night thanks to Darren Burke (M21E), Ted Feehan (M70) and Zane Kramina (W10). Huge congratulations to our champions and well done to all those who podium finishers on the night.

The full list of CorkO Sprint Championship podium finishers includes:

M16:   2nd Dan McDonnell

          3rd Cameryn Kelly Morrish

M21E: 2nd Darren Burke (Irish Champion)

M40:   3rd Brian Corbett

M50:   2nd Colm O’Halloran

M70:   1st Ted Feehan (Irish Champion)

          3rd Bobby O’Connor

W10:  1st Zane Kramina (Irish Champion)

W45:  2nd Eadaoin Morrish

W55:  3rd Liz Deane

Full individual results are available here.

Day 2: Saturday May 2nd: Irish Long Distance Championship, Slieve Croob

Sadly the sunny conditions which greeted competitors at the Sprint Championship on Friday evening were no where to be seen on Slieve Croob on Saturday morning for the Long Distance Championship.

Some competitors may have questioned their sanity leaving their warm dry cars in the car park to make the 1km trek up 130m in the driving wind and rain to the location of the high start. The exposed start location offered no reprieve from the conditions of the day and gave a real taste of what lay ahead for competitors. Some attempted to find shelter at the start by crouching behind small crags or hiding in a small cluster of rushes! We all have huge respect for the start team who endured these conditions all morning.

Once started on your course it was a matter of holding on tightly to the map so as not to lose it and keep moving to keep warm. The terrain itself offered great run-ability and no doubt on a clear day some fantastic views. Unfortunately, Saturday was not a day to savour these. The extreme cold forced some competitors to retire early but despite the conditions once again CorkO managed to secure two Long Distance Championship titles thanks to Bill Edwards (M45L) and Ted Feehan (M70).

There were a number of other CorkO winners in the non-championship classes and several other podium finishers on the day. 

M16:    2nd Cameryn Kelly Morrish

M21L:  1st Agris Kramins

M35L:  2nd Danny O’Hare

M40L:  2nd Brian Corbett

M45L:  1st Bill Edwards (Irish Champion)

M50L:  2nd Colm O’Halloran

M60L:  2nd Liam O’Brien

M70:    1st Ted Feehan (Irish Champion)

W21E: 3rd Toni O’Donovan

W21S: 1st Elaine Sheridan

W45L:  2nd Eadaoin Morrish 

Well done to all who brave these horrendous conditions, finishing your course was an achievement in itself. Full individual results are available here.

Day 3: Sunday May 3rd: Irish Relay Championships, Hillsborough Forest

Day three was all about team work and club participation. Teams from numerous orienteering clubs throughout the country converged in the charming village of Hillsborough for the Irish Relay Championships.Hillsborough Forest and it's historic fort was a fitting location for the battle which lay ahead. The torrential rain which persisted over night and into Sunday morning cleared just in time for the mass start of all first leg runners and the morning and remained dry for the remainder of the relay competition. The forest comprised a mix of fast and slow running and with several controls in close proximity to each either competitors had to pay particular attention to their control codes. The relay exchange happening inside the fort and a few high fort walls offered a great vantage point for observing the relay action and encouraging fellow team mates to give it their all.

CorkO had eleven teams in action at Hillsborough Forest and despite competitors pushing hard on the various legs we narrowly missed out on attaining some championship titles and had to be content with runners ups spots in three categories. So well done to all the CorkO Rebel teams and especially the Rebel Rovers, Rebel Rebels and Rebel Again for their runners up honours.

Women’s Premier

1st CNOC Caoimhe O'Boyle, Regina Kelly and Niamh O'Boyle

2nd Rebel Rovers Toni O’Donovan, Niamh Corbett and Fionne Lynch

Men’s Premier

1st BOC Josh O'Sullivan Hourihan, Niall McCarthy and Nicolas Simonin

2nd Rebel Rebels Marcus Pinker, Shane Lynch and Darren Burke

Handicap 12

2nd Rebel Again Colm O’Halloran, Brian Corbett and Liam O’Brien 

Thanks to all our member who participated in the relay competition. There was a great atmosphere at the event and the competition was fierce in all categories. Full team results are available here.

Check out our Gallery page for more photos of the relay action.

First leg runners Marcus Pinker (CorkO) and Hugh Cashell (CNOC) chasing each other to the handover in Men's Premier Relay Race.

Day 4: Monday May 4th: Sprint Relay Race and Lisburn City Race, The Island Centre

The Sprint Relay Race provided the Irish elite orienteering a valuable opportunity to practice some Sprint Relay racing ahead of the World Orienteering Championships which will be held in Scotland later in the summer. The Sprint Relay Race consists of a team of four runners, two men and two women. The official rules of Sprint Relay racing were adhered to and all competitors were held in quarantine before the race began. The first leg runners were then led to the start by a lone piper before the race got under way. 

The organisers put a huge effort into organising this event and ten teams competed on the day. Each leg consisted of two loops in the environs around The Island Centre which meant that spectators had a good view of the race action as competitors completed their loops and handed over to their team mates. Race commentary was provide by the father and son duo of John and Aidan McCullough. With the assistance of some binoculars they could spy competitors crossing the picturesque gardens and grounds around Lisburn Cathedral before they re-entered The Island Centre at the midway and final sections of their legs.

The teams were very competitive and the participants chased each other around the circuits. There was some drama on the day with some nasty falls and some teams eliminated due to mispunching but the winning team was Ireland 2 which had CorkO's Marcus Pinker as the third leg runner. The CorkO husband and wife team of Shane and Fionne Lynch were members of the third place team Ireland 3.

Sprint Relay Results

1st Ireland 2 Susan Lambe, Eoin McCullough, Marcus Pinker (CorkO) and Olivia Baxter 

2nd Scotland

3rd Ireland 3 Caoimhe O’Boyle, Shane Lynch (CorkO), Hugh Cashel and Fionne Lynch (CorkO) 

Full Sprint Relay results are available here.

Be sure to check out our Gallery page for more photos of the exciting Sprint Relay Race.

CorkO members Shane Lynch, Bill Edwards and Marcus Pinker getting air borne will studying their maps in the Sprint Relay Race.

Lisburn City Race

Following the Sprint Relay action the weekend concluded with the Lisburn City Race. Here competitors got to race each other around the streets and estates of Lisburn. A lovely way to finish a hectic weekend of orienteering and take in some of the sites of Lisburn city from the scenic canal, to the historic cathedral, to the bustling shopping district to the charming castle gardens. Only if you took the precious time to look around! In the shopping district some care was needed while weaving ones way around pedestrians and shoppers. The underpass and elevation may have caused some confusion on re-entering The Island Centre.

Well done to the following CorkO members who featured in the prizes in the city race.

Open Men:             2nd  Shane Lynch

Junior Men 16:       1st   Andrew Turner

Ultra Veteran Men: 3rd  Jim O’Donovan

Veteran Men:         2nd  Bill Edwards

Full results from the Lisburn City Race are available here.

A huge thanks to all the members of LVO for staging a great weekend of orienteering. We all certainly enjoyed it and really appreciated all their hard work in planning and organising these fantastic events.