The JHIs (Ward Junior Home Internationals to give them their full title) are one of the highlights of the Junior orienteering year, and are usually associated with a SOL (Scottish Orienteering League) race for the individual day. This year the relays and individual race order was reversed due to access issues, so the relays took place first on the Saturday at Loch Vaa, with a middle distance race for spectators, both organised by Interlopers. The individual race and SOL took place at Creag Dhubh near Newtonmore, organised by BASOC.

Saturday Relays and Middle Distance at Loch Vaa

Results:

• JHI Relays
• Middle Distance

Loch Vaa, between Aviemore and Boat of Garten, offers a large area ranging from open heathery moorland through open birchwood to beautiful pine forest carpeted with blaeberry bushes. The relays and middle distance races were in the NW part of the area, covering pine and birch woodland, with some open areas, often somewhat bracken-covered. The planner, Mike Stewart, created some very challenging courses, which spread the field out well. It was notable that most of the relay runners returned in ones and at most twos, showing just how tricky it was.

(Loch Vaa, and control 142 waiting for action - William Ivory)

Many thanks to Mike, and to Graham McIntyre for organising the day (both relays and middle distance races, with separate starts). Thanks also to Max Carcas who did a fantastic job compering and managing the relay starts and handovers (not sure he really needs amplifying though!), Team Eades for calmly handing out the right maps to the right people, and to Morag, Katherine, Chris, Rob, Paul, Calum and Matthew (and anyone else I've managed to miss).

(Scottish and English Relay Teams - Mike Stewart)

Planner's Report (Mike Stewart)

Loch Vaa being a world class area for orienteering was always going to be the planner's dream ticket. The area lends itself perfectly to putting together technical, challenging and head to head relay courses. I hope you all enjoyed your day out in what proved to be sunshine in the natural arena bowl.

I enjoyed my trips out in days of glorious sunshine with just me, burgeoning bracken and highland wildlife in its various forms which one tends to encounter whilst alone in the forest.

Having stayed at Lagganlia with the various teams it brought back my own distant memories of being a "promising" junior in various squads in Events long past. Good to see young people enjoying themselves just like we all did back in the day.

(Spectators awaiting the relay start, and the Ladies' Start Line - William Ivory)

Winning times were much as projected and there were some individual performances, in what is not an easy area, which were quite staggering.

Thanks to Judy Bell for all her work in making me pots of coffee and keeping me in cake, the Controller for a power of work in the forest, my essential helpers, Ewart Scott and Brian Miller who were in the woods before, during and after, as the planner's willing helpers. ELO and the Strains for letting me baptise much of their remarkably unblemished and immaculate equipment. And finally, the NHS for keeping the old machine ticking over.

If the organiser doesn't blow his own trumpet, he put a power of work in too along with the many day volunteers who I sent out into the woods for various bits and pieces.

Organiser's Report (Graham McIntyre)

Thanks to all Interlopers (and a few interlopers) who helped at the Junior Home International Relay on Saturday.  Team Interlopers stepped up again to lay on a relaxed and efficient event centred around the athletes in the competition, who put on a great show of navigation at speed in very challenging terrain.

The Middle Distance event that followed showed the nature of the area, winners close to 35 minutes in all courses, but times were very spread out.  Many people maximising the value of their entry fee!  

Special thanks are due to

• Land owners Ronnie and Fiona Grant who were very supportive of our event through all the planning stages
• Hebe Highland First Aid who provided a friendly and proficient service to those who needed
• The International athletes who set up some great races
• Spectators and Middle Competitors for their support and making a great atmosphere
• BASOC who let us use their area and were generous with their advice and support
• Robin, Sheila and Kirsten Strain for their work in setting up the timekeeping and results
• Mike and Mo Mac who organised the organiser at several key points

Thanks again to all who helped make a memorable day of orienteering.

(Vital parts of the day: Download Tent and ScotJOS Cake Stall - William Ivory)

Sunday SOL at Creag Dubh

(Results on the BASOC website)

Many of us have 'fond' memories of this area from Day 5 of the last Scottish 6 Days competition in 2021 - wading through dense green bracken in the pouring rain before a large ascent to the open moorland where deep heather took over from the bracken. The forecast wasn't shaping up to be much better this time around, so I suspect I wasn't the only one looking ahead to the event with some trepidation. Scotland also had some ground to catch up on the English team who were sitting in top spot after the relays.

The day dawned dry and reasonably bright, and the 2.4km trek to the start certainly helped to warm up those tired muscles. There was also an exciting scramble up a near vertical slope as the route to the start left the track running round the hill to make a beeline straight up instead. Hopefully everyone made it past that obstacle to a rather intimate start area the far side of the hill. Certainly few worries about COVID here - business as usual.

My course set off straight across the bog myrtle then a short respite before heading into the bracken on the south eastern flank of Creag Dubh. Fortunately my navigation was rather better this time around, and (with a couple of notable exceptions) the controls were where I expected them to be! After the bracken and then a slow steady ascent up to the moorland it was great to be able to actually stretch out and run properly across the heather. Even better, it still wasn't raining.

Having made a rather better job of it than last time around, I returned to the shinty clubhouse for a hot shower (could get used to that), some excellent carrot cake from the ScotJOS stall and to find out that our juniors had put in a sterling performance to overtake England for the overall win. A great day all-told! Thanks to everyone who helped plan, organise or help in whatever way.

Photos from Saturday

Forthcoming Events

Buckstane Sprintelope # 5 - Wednesday 8th May 2024

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