British Long Distance and Relay Championships, 25–26 March 2023

Thank you weather gods, for being kind to the weekend of the British Orienteering Championships 2023. The lead clubs, Berkshire Orienteers (BKO) and Thames Valley Orienteering Club (TVOC), supported by the rest of South Central Orienteering Association (SCOA), deserved a bit of luck.

You didn't see us on Friday, setting up two arenas while dodging frequent heavy showers, and what happens inside the marquee before 10am on relay day stays in the marquee! What you will hopefully remember is a bright and breezy day at Cold Ash, and the cooler, calmer Sunday morning tucked into a beautiful valley at Hambleden.

The largely runnable and fast terrain for the long distance race was a joy in the spring sunshine. The continuous undulations, muddy paths and occasional undergrowth provided a sufficient test of physical endurance, while some carefully placed and accurately described controls ensured that you still had to concentrate when inside the circle. In the men's elite race Peter Taylor Bray Manchester & District Orienteering Club (MDOC) and once of SCOA Junior Squad), claimed his first senior British title, while Julie Emmerson of the Octavian Droobers (OD) became the new Queen of the Forest.

At Hambleden it was more a case of lung-busting climbs and high-visibility pack running across the open wooded hillsides, ending with that very long run-in to the changeover area. There was more success for OD in the relays with the Mens Premier team of Nathan Lawson, Philip Vokes and Will Gardner just holding off Forth Valley Orienteers (FVO) and South Yorkshire Orienteers (SYO) in a close fight for the medals. The Womens Premier class was won somewhat more comfortably by EUOC (Niamh Hunter, Eilidh Campbell, Fiona Bunn).

As we all know, our major championships are not only for the elite. When all is going to plan, even the officials can join in! The Relay Day Organiser won a medal in the long distance race, and the Entries Secretary was on the podium on relay day - where else would key members of an organising team also find time to compete and win prizes? We all share the forest together, and during the weekend we had medallists aged from 9 to 90. The BBC regional TV coverage highlighted the age range of our participants, and showed the enthusiasm and enjoyment that we all take with us every time we pick up a map. We can't all take away medals and trophies, but we can all take home the memories.

As a Coordinator you spend many hours wandering through arenas, observing and monitoring. How lucky are we to have so many willing and capable people to make our events happen? When the helpers look stressed it's time to worry, but they never did, and I'll remember mainly smiles from both competitors and volunteers, and the happy hum of background chatter which creates an air of collective contentment in the social interludes between the running and the prizegiving.

And then, by 2.30pm on Sunday, it's suddenly over. Courses are closed, and within 90 minutes the relay arena is eerily quiet and deserted. Everything is packed away, and you reflect on what just happened. In the space of less than 30 hours we had welcomed nearly 1300 people from across the UK, determined the destination of 55 trophies and 273 medals (each with a jar of something delicious or a chocolate egg!), performed around 200 helper shifts, witnessed over 2000 completed runs, and had zero major incidents. A weekend to remember.

The good folk of SCOA can relax at last. Thank you to everyone who made the events possible, and congratulations to all our new 2023 Long Distance and Relay champions.

Paul Fox, Weekend Coordinator BOC 2023