British Orienteering Champs On Cannock Chase

Walton Chasers Orienteering Club will be hosting the British Orienteering Championships on Cannock Chase this May. The weekend begins on Saturday 1^st May with many individual titles up for grabs - British Elite Long Distance Champion, British Long Distance Champion for various age classes, the UK Cup and the Future Champions Cup. The event will take place at Abraham’s Valley & Wolseley Park.

The northern part of the area is mainly Forestry Commission coniferous plantations, the majority mature and very runnable, but with some blocks of younger trees. The southern smaller area is open heathland, some deciduous woodland, and quarries, partly active (out of bounds), and partly old worked out areas with lots of detail. The whole of the competition area is contoured with many valleys, reentrants, and spurs.

Also on offer is the British Trail O Championships, which will take place on Cannock Chase at Hednesford Camp South. Three courses will be provided:  Elite, Elite Paralympic, and Standard.

On Sunday 2^nd May, it is the British Relay Championships, where teams of three will battle it out on various age classes. The relays will be run in the same Forestry Commission area as the Individual, and we can expect lots of exciting action at the change-over area and finish. A spectator control close to the car park should contribute to a good atmosphere.

Alongside this event will be a Trail O Event. There will be a short course laid on at Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, Wolseley Centre, Wolseley Bridge close to and in walking distance of the Relay assembly area/car park.

If that wasn’t enough, on Monday 3^rd May there will be the UK Cup Final Middle Race. This event is open to all and there is no qualification necessary to reach the UK Cup Final. The event will take place at MOD Stafford, formerly an RAF equipment station. The terrain is a mix of urban terrain and parkland. The competition is likely to take the form of a middle / city race with a planned winning time of 35 minutes.

Andrew Yeates
Walton Chasers O.C. Press Officer
T: 01283 840737
E: andy@yeates55.plus.com