Category: Orienteering

Focus today on Youth Sport, with the Track cycling Youth Omnium being held at Bournemouth Velo this coming Saturday and young people from all over the South visiting we are growing the participation rates for a range of Youth Sports in the area. More and more young people in the U.K are becoming involved in Orienteering and through my work with schools I’m lucky enough to be bringing them the adventure of outdoors, independence and competition. During Activities week this summer term over 100 students at Broadstone Middle enjoyed a session out on Dunyeats Hill to try out the sport. Myself and another Wessex coach set up a Score event where after a map introduction the students were given 20 minutes to race each other in pairs to find 20 Control sites dotted around the hill. They all enjoyed it and even with a variety of weather freedom of exploration was brilliant for them. Special credit goes to Helen Dyke of the school, who organised the whole week.   Earlier on I wrote about the after schools club also part of the P.E offer at Broadstone, This ran from  March- 6 May with 7 Tuesdays after school visiting different areas in the Bournemouth and Poole area, with a variety of coached activities and races this was in preparation for the 9th May at Moors Valley Dorset Schools Champs which were on from 1- 5 P.M – see here Theres also information on my After Schools work for Moordown St Johns here- see here Dorset Schools Champs- There were 18 schools took part on the big day, divided up between the seniors and juniors. Seniors schools were :-South Wilts Girls, Clayesmore, Ringwood, Burgate, Sturminster  with 32 individual competitors from all these.  Clayesmore took top place on the podium on the day.   Primary and Middle Schools were:-  Hyde,  Broadstone, Okeford Fitzpayne, W. Downland and Fordingbridge, Moyles Court, St. Michaels-Colehill  , Dunbury academy, Child Okeford, Stalbridge, Cranborne Middle School, Hillbourne Junior School, Fair Oak Junior, Canford  Heath Junior School. They brought 48 Independent and paired runners between them, Broadstones Ramsey twins came 3rd. Many of these schools benefit from mapped sites where they can run activities all year, with specially set up markers and maps- teachers have an easy time incorporating a big variety of sessions into the P.E curriculum. Some of the group with their medals :-       Very pleased to say the results proved the training had helped out, and all been worthwhile, as Broadstone came second to St Michaels Colehill just a 5 point difference between them! This from a school that hadn’t taken part in an inter- schools event before unlike Clayesmore who compete all over the New Forest in the season. All the results and more photos are here There is a Dorset schools League which is 7 years old, where competitors have 7 or 8 Events whos results count to league placings, they season runs from around October to April and culminates with the Championships, reason that Orienteering is mainly a winter sport is as you will have noticed by now the bracken is waist height- this changes the whole appearance of the forests all summer. 22 Schools were included this year, something that has been steady throughout the whole time of the league year on year. We will be jointly between Clubs running the league again in the upcoming season so do consider all the above for an extra curricular sport with a difference. Thought sport might be for you, having self reliance and confidence benefits our youth so much in todays world, Im sure our sport will gain more recognition in upcoming years. Finally- theres a WSX / WIM evening tonight part at Avon Heath near Moors Valley- you would be made most welcome to come and try, the details are on the Wimbourne site if youve got this far. Last word, I reached my 4 year personal goal of a sub 40 minute 10 at Poole Festival of running last weekend 39.54 p.b and very very happy with it, persistence pays off with personal pride.