Young orienteers make their mark

May 10 2011 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

BUDDING orienteers have made the most of the wonderful spring weather over the last few weeks, with over 700 primary school pupils competing in four area championships posting outstanding results.

In addition, over 50 youngsters were lured to the Tayside Orienteers Easter egg event on Kinnoull Hill.

The first of the championships, at the Dalguise outdoor centre, saw another excellent turnout from the northern schools with teams from Blair Atholl, Breadalbane, Glen Lyon, Grandtully, Kenmore, Kirkmichael, Logierait, Pitlochry, the Royal School of Dunkeld and Straloch competing – a total of 59 teams of three.

The conditions were ideal and there were performances to match, with Squishy Eggs Reunited from Dunkeld recording the second fastest time ever of 31.00 minutes to take first prize.

Not far behind was the Turbo Team from Logierait in a time of 31.51.

The Moo Moo Cows Return from Breadalbane came third in 38.55 with Pacmen from Pitlochry and JFC, also from Pitlochry, making up the most teams to ever achieve the full 540 points by visiting all the 27 controls within the 45 minutes allowed.

Logierait, Kirkmichael, Grandtully, Straloch, Blair Atholl and Kenmore also had teams with 400 points or more who qualify for the final.

Then 44 teams from the NE and Central schools competed at the Belmont Outdoor centre, again in glorious weather.

Quite a few teams came in early, having missed one or more controls which they would have had time to visit, and as a result just two teams achieved the full 540 points.

First in 31.10 was The Fluffy Bananas from Newhill, followed by Fantastic Fries from St Stephen's in 37.54.

Third with 510 points in the fast time of 31.51 and living up to their name was The Cheetahs from Newhill. Teams from Burrelton, Meigle, Rattray, and Collace also qualified for the final, with Kettins and Abernyte just missing out this year despite good points scores.

The Perth schools entry at Perth Riverside was made up of an excellent turn-out of 94 teams.

The distances needing to be covered were greater than at the other two events and as a result only one team scored the maximum points without a time penalty, Shadows from St John's in 44.40.

Cheeky Monkeys from Luncarty lost 15 points in time penalties to come in second on 525 points, with The Seeking Superstars from Oakbank on 520 being the quickest of the top three in 40.47.

But there were some other quick teams who could probably have gained more points and notable was The Black and Whites from Oakbank in sixth place with 480 points but a time of just 34.02 – so there will be everything to play for in the final at Scone Palace where accurate map reading and navigation will be all important. Teams from Viewlands, Tulloch, Craigie and Balhousie also qualified for the final.

Then 59 teams from the Western schools competed at glorious Glenalmond.

The college facilities and grounds again proved to be a wonderful venue with perfect weather and there were performances to match.

Nine teams achieved the maximum 540 points, more than the previous seven years combined.

What's more, the top three teams all beat the previous best time of 34.57 set last year by St Dominic's.

Eagle Eye from Comrie in a time of 33.26 set the new record, just two seconds ahead of Dum and Dumber 2 from St Dominics, with The St Dom Babes third in 34.43.

The Simpsons team from St Dominics was closely followed by the two Dunning teams of Speedy Gonzalez and V12, all under 37 minutes, with teams from Muthill, Madderty and Pitcairn also gaining maximum points. Auchterarder, Braco and Blackford also had teams who qualified.

The full results along with those from the Kinnoull event are on www.taysideorienteers.org.uk

At Kinnoull Hill, the first of the juniors on the easy course was Craig Sloan in 35.49 and on the medium course the first primary school competitors was the team of Laura Nicoll and Megan Leishman, all from Tayside Orienteers.

On the 4.0kms Green course, Roos Eisma in 49.24 took the honours ahead of Mel Nicoll, both from TAY, and on the 6.0kms Blue course, Grahame Nicoll had an excellent run to finish in 53.14, two minutes ahead of a competitor from Latvia, Atis Kalejs.

TAY's next event is on May 15 with the venue to be confirmed (forestry operations may mean it has to be moved from Deuchney Wood).

If you would like to try out orienteering, you can try out TAY's Woodland Challenge at your own time and pace. Leaflets are available at Perth Tourist Information.