BOC on Top at Irish Champs

The Irish Orienteering Championships took place at the weekend in Magilligan Strand in Co. Derry. A small number of BOC members travelled up to the three-day event.

Day One, Friday was a tempo and Sprint event around the Coleraine Campus of the University of Ulster. This was a fantastically fast and not to be under estimated event with attention to detail and speed the key to success here. Some upsets were seen in both the M and W 21E with some key performers mis punching. Not a kind mistake as this was to be a selection race for WOC 2010. The men's title was taken by our very own Nicholas Simonin who stormed home in a highly impressive time for the 2.3km course. The women's title was nabbed by LVO's Susan Lambe. Congrats to both on automatic selection for WOC.

Mens sprint:
1st Nicolas Simonin 15:35
2nd Seamus O'Boyle 16:03
3rd Bill Edwards 16:19

Womens sprint:
1st Susan Lambe 18:43
2nd Rosalind Hussey 19:07
3rd Ciara Largey 19:28

Saturday was the Classic Distance Irish Champs with perfect conditions allowing for some great runs on the day. The event was held in Magilligan Strand, where the NIOC and BOC events were held in previous years. The courses were fast and demanded full concentration. The dunes were highly runnable with good visibility, meaning that speed was the key to success once more. Course lengths for some courses were shorter than in previous years meaning the winning times were much faster than the usual 60mins estimate. Once more, Nick stormed home to an impressive victory, proving he was the man to beat at the weekend. CNOC's Niamh O'Boyle also ran an impressive race, finishing 8 mins ahead of her next rival.

1st Nicolas Simonin BOC 71:55
2nd Andrew Quin 3ROC 73:42
3rd Bill Edwards CorkO 75:40

Women's Elite:
1st Niamh O'Boyle CNOC 46:29
2nd Ciara Largey FermO 53:09
3rd Rosalind Hussey FermO 56:00

Other BOC results from the weekend were:
Classic:
4th M12 Zac O'Sullivan-Hourihan
4th M18 Josh O'Sullivan-Hourihan
6th M45L Paul O'Sullivan-Hourihan
7th W21E Sharon Lucey

Full results can be found here for all events. Full Sprint results are currently unavailable. The weekend was incredibly well organised and NWOC and LVO put on a great weekend, turning everyone's attentions to this time next year when JK2011 comes to Northern Ireland.

The next couple of months will have some more big events.

• Leinster Champs are on in two weeks time in Carlingford, 15th May. Visit here to get yourself entered in the next couple of days.
• Irish 3-day is on the June Bank Holiday, 5th - 7th June at Tamhan a Fhuile, Loch Eske, Co Donegal. Full details on the event on the WEGO website.
• Northern Irish Orienteering Championships are this year being held in June, away from its usual spot in September/October. This will be held on 19th June (Sat) by LVO in Tollymore. Keep an eye out on the LVO website for further info on the event.

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

LOC - Leinster Orienteering Championships - Sun 5th Apr 2009

The 2009 Leinster Championships will take place in Rossmore Forest park, just outside Monaghan town on Sunday, the 5th of April. Rossmore Forest Park is located 3.5km south west of Monaghan Town on the R189 to Newbliss, off the N54 Monaghan to Clones Road. Grid Reference H 653 299.

The closing date will be 23rd March 2009 (post marked). No entries will be accepted after this date. There will be entry on the day courses but will not be eligible for prizes.

For more information, visit the LOC 2009 website........http://fingal.orienteering.ie/finloc09.html