Here is her report:
Being part of the England team was a
new challenge for me and also my best orienteering accomplishment. The event
was near Oban up in Scotland.
After a long journey up we met all the other athletes from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. We had a team talk where they spoke to us telling us that we were expected to win as England had won 12 years running. This was going to be a hard race against Scotland as it was home ground for them. We all went to bed that night feeling nervous.
In the morning we all got woken up early by very loud music. We left the hostel and headed into the countryside to a place called Creag Mhic. This is an area with woodland an open areas. I went to the start and did all the warm up exercises I'd been taught. I was really worried that I’d make a big mistake because I wasn’t feeling nervous at all! I took the course slower than usual but at a steady speed. The area was very well mapped so I found the navigation not as hard as I thought it would be. The area was covered in marsh though so I was very wet by the end of the course. I was very pleased with my first run for England as I came fifth this day.
That evening we found out the results. England came first that day, 6 points ahead of Scotland. All the athletes then enjoyed a Ceilidh. It was really fun!!
The next morning we went to a different area. This area was called Ardnaskie and was the area for the relays. We all applied our face paint then the race began. There were two races. A girl’s and a boy’s race. The teams consisted of one person from each age group (14, 16, 18). The 16s went off first. When you saw your runner come through the spectator control you had to enter the waiting pen. The area was completely different from the day before. It was very vague compared to the day before. But with some good advice from team mates I made it round coming second overall on my leg. My relay team didn’t do that well though coming 9th overall. It was still amazingly fun! Sadly though despite England’s efforts Scotland won by two points. But it wasn’t a clean sweep for them though because we won the individuals!! We then had the long journey back home!
After a long journey up we met all the other athletes from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. We had a team talk where they spoke to us telling us that we were expected to win as England had won 12 years running. This was going to be a hard race against Scotland as it was home ground for them. We all went to bed that night feeling nervous.
In the morning we all got woken up early by very loud music. We left the hostel and headed into the countryside to a place called Creag Mhic. This is an area with woodland an open areas. I went to the start and did all the warm up exercises I'd been taught. I was really worried that I’d make a big mistake because I wasn’t feeling nervous at all! I took the course slower than usual but at a steady speed. The area was very well mapped so I found the navigation not as hard as I thought it would be. The area was covered in marsh though so I was very wet by the end of the course. I was very pleased with my first run for England as I came fifth this day.
That evening we found out the results. England came first that day, 6 points ahead of Scotland. All the athletes then enjoyed a Ceilidh. It was really fun!!
The next morning we went to a different area. This area was called Ardnaskie and was the area for the relays. We all applied our face paint then the race began. There were two races. A girl’s and a boy’s race. The teams consisted of one person from each age group (14, 16, 18). The 16s went off first. When you saw your runner come through the spectator control you had to enter the waiting pen. The area was completely different from the day before. It was very vague compared to the day before. But with some good advice from team mates I made it round coming second overall on my leg. My relay team didn’t do that well though coming 9th overall. It was still amazingly fun! Sadly though despite England’s efforts Scotland won by two points. But it wasn’t a clean sweep for them though because we won the individuals!! We then had the long journey back home!
