Last Sunday saw Border Liners (BL) compete in the qualifying round of the Compass Sport Trophy, the national orienteering inter-club competition. This was held on the moors above Clowbridge Reservoir near Burnley. Navigation was mostly quite straightforward, but there was some woodland with complex vegetation at the start which caught out a large number of competitors. Probably the most challenging aspect was the weather, with gale force winds and driving rain buffeting even the strongest runners as they ran through the rough terrain. While conditions were perhaps not the most conducive for a show of team spirit, the club tent was somehow put up (and stayed up), providing a focal point for the 28 Border Liners in attendance.
Border Liners were taking part in the competition for smaller clubs. Points are accumulated by 13 runners, scoring across 12 courses with 100 points for the winner, 99 for second and so on, and a maximum of 2 counters per course. While most people ran the “correct” course for their age, team captain Andy Lewsley cunningly promoted some of the stronger runners up a course (or two) in an attempt to maximise points for Border Liners and also to reduce points for the other clubs. This proved to be a good move as results were very tight with Border Liners winning overall on 1282 points, just 7 points ahead of North Wales club ERYRI with Lancashire based PFO not far behind that.
There are too many excellent results to mention them all but perhaps the best result was from Karen Parker (W60) running up two courses to take the win on the Women’s Open course. Other 100 pointers were Christine Kiddier and Keith Tonkin, both fending off strong competition. After that most BL points were either 99 or 98 with the lowest contributing score being 97 and even not scoring runners helping by pushing other club’s points down.
The final is in September on a complex sand dune area near the mouth of the River Tees. It’s hard to imagine more different terrain but let’s hope for the same result (and better weather).
Border Liners Orienteering Club 