Thursday, April 9, 2009

Leinster Orienteering Championships 2009

This year's Leinster Championships were held outside the province in the beautiful setting of Rossmore Forest Park, located just outside Monaghan Town. The area was similar to Curraghchase Forest Park, used by BOC in last years Munster Championships. The area was very runnable with some briar patches scattered throughout and an intricate network of paths. There were few handrails in the depths of the forest but the forest had high visibility and runnability so some incredibly fast times were produced. Route choice and fast thinking proved to be the winning formula with a number of options from several controls. There was one particular area which held a number of controls and proved tricky for some because of the sheer number of stone walls and other black features. Controls were often visible before the feature allowing for faster exits from the sites.
The 21L courses were won by CNOC's Colm Hill and Niamh O'Boyle. BOC's Christine O'Donovan was also among the prize winners, finishing third in the W20 category. Other BOC finishers were Pat O'Donovan, 4th M45, John O'Donovan, 6th M45 and Sharon Lucey 6th W21L. Well done to all who made the long journey to Ulster and to Final Orienteers for organising such a good event. A full set of results can be found at http://orienteering.ie/builder.php3?MoreResults-1251