Irish Junior Team Selectors 2020
The Irish Orienteering Association are delighted to announce that the following selectors have been appointed for the Junior International events of 2020; Ruth Lynam, Mike Long, Darren Burke and Stephanie Pruzina
We are most grateful to Ruth, Darren, Stephanie and Mike who have taken on the task of selecting junior teams this year. All of the selectors are highly experienced orienteers and have been involved in the Junior training and selection for many years.
Selection criteria for EYOC, JWOC and JHI will be published very shortly.
It is likely that the first selection race will be the annual Time trials to be held in the Phoenix Park on February 29th this year.
Details of the Phoenix Park course and previous results can be found here.
EYOC 2019 presents Team Ireland
Our team of juniors travelled to Belarus on Tuesday for some pre race training ahead of the European Youth Orienteering Championships which start on Friday 28th June. You can follow the races on the live results page here.
It would be wonderful if we could offer our support through social media as they race this weekend.
We asked our juniors to answer a few questions so we can introduce them to the wider orienteering community.
I hope that our young up and coming juniors take note of the humble beginnings of these orienteers, having begun their orienteering on Permanent orienteering courses and parks. Ten years or less further along they are now representing Ireland at the European Championships. So keep on orienteering whenever and wherever you can.. you never know where it might take you!
Please click on read more following each profile !
Aoife O’Sullivan – BOC (Bishopstown Orienteering Club)
What is your first Orienteering memory?
My first orienteering memory is of the first time I ever orienteered. It was in the Long Strand, West Cork on Easter Monday. I was eight years old and I did the yellow course with my brother and dad. All I remember is complaining about the Marram grass hurting my legs, thankfully this experience didn’t deter me from orienteering again the following Sunday.
What is your favourite terrain
I love forest, especially white ones when the visibility and runability are high. I really liked the forest terrain from the OOCup in France last summer.
Aidan McCullough – 3 Roc Orienteering Club
What is your first Orienteering memory?
Falling over in the 2011 JK Mini-Relay immediately after tearing my map in half!
What is your favourite terrain?
I’m a big fan of alpine forests like the ones near Aix-les-Bains. Either that or urban like London city or Venice, nice technical urban areas are always good.
Read more…
Cuan Riordan – 3 Roc Orienteering club
What is your first Orienteering memory?
My first memory of orienteering was when I ran in djouce in 2014 on a yellow course , I came second !
What is your favourite terrain
My favourite terrain is open mountain like Cappanalea in County Kerry.
What do you think is your best distance/discipline?
Long distance.
Eoghan Whelan- Wato
What is your first Orienteering memory?
My first memory is The JK 2014, I was 11 and I had never been to a big competition before, it was foggy and I didn’t have a compass, or know how to use one!
What is your favourite terrain?
I like open mountain, like Mahon Falls.
What do you think is your best distance/discipline?
Middle distance.
Cliodhna Donaghy- GEN
What is your first Orienteering memory?
My first memory is doing a permanent course in Lough Key Forest Park, falling, and being told that it would hurt less if I didn’t cry and kept going…
What is your favourite terrain?
I like forest best because it’s fast running (usually) and there’s more to go on than just contours and boulders.
What do you think is your best distance/discipline?
I love the speed of a sprint event, but I also enjoy the challenge of long distance.
Liam Cotter – Bishopstown Orienteering Club (BOC)
What is your first Orienteering memory?
Doing a yellow course in Mondeligo Woods with my mother way back in 2009.
What is your favourite terrain?
I enjoy fast, runnable forest much like the JK Long terrain this year.
What do you think is your best distance/discipline?
Long Distance, but Sprint events come close. I simply haven’t done enough sprint events to see.
Darragh Hoare – Bishopstown Orienteering Club (BOC)
What is your first Orienteering memory?
Running around Corkagh Park in Dublin with all my cousins back in 2013. We did an entry on the day course at the Leinster Inter-Club Championships.
What is your favourite terrain?
Definitely has to be open mountain, although I do like anything really technical.
What do you think is your best distance/discipline?
When everything goes right, long distance.
We hope to add some more profiles as they become available so please check back!
Junior Tour 2018
Many thanks to Cliodhna Donaghy for her account of the Junior Trip. I would especially like to thank, on behalf of the Junior Squad, Toni O’Donovan and her family. Without whom this trip would not have happened, and who’s dedication to the cause went above and beyond the call of duty.
Junior Training trip to France
Saturday 21st July was the beginning of the 2018 O Tour, as around 30 juniors and their families (from all over Ireland) made their way to Les Plans d’Hotonnes, a tiny village located high up in the Jura mountains. We settled into our gites, and then the 60 or so of us met up for dinner at the largest gite. A few card games later we headed off to bed for the nine o’clock start in the morning.
JHI 2017
A team of 24 juniors are heading to Wales this weekend with a team of coaches and parents to help them along. This will be the first time wearing the Irish jersey for several of our orienteers. We wish them fair weather and good runs for the weekend ahead.
The Junior Home Internationals are held in Autumn each year, rotating between the Home nations. This years event is hosted by the Mid Wales Orienteering club.
Saturdays Individual event will be held near Dolgellau in an area known as Gwanas. The youngsters will be competing on technical terrain. The area is made up of mainly rough open grass slopes with many technical rock features, with some streams and marshes. The area slopes steeply to the east. All courses will visit pasture fields, which are steep and rough in places and with patches of scattered trees and bracken.
On Sunday the relays will be held a little further North in Snowdonia region, near Bronaber.
Our Junior Squad will be keeping us posted over the weekend on their races. Check in on Facebook to see their progress.
The Junior Home Internationals- Where/ When/ Who?
For many Junior Orienteerers the JHI’s (Yes, yes, so many acronyms), the Junior Home Internationals are where out Juniors first cut their teeth on the international stage. They are held every year in either Wales, Scotland, England, and on occasion Northern Ireland. We attend under the kind invitation of the NIOA.
Always fun, and challenging these competitions encourage friendships between Juniors of these countries. But don’t take my word for it.
I asked Ruairi Long, to tell me why he liked going to the JHI’s:
“The JHI has been a feature of my Orienteering calendar ever since I was 13. It’s no laughing matter as a junior with little international experience. But looking back after 2 EYOC and 1 JWOC experience, I can say that it’s a defining moment for anyone. Getting to know the British Juniors that you will spend the rest of your competitive career with has been a highlight, but in a sport as individualistic as Orienteering nothing beats the team spirit. The team is really just a family of 24. Oh, and pulling on a top with the word ‘Ireland’ on the back is something else too. “
If you think this is something that you would like to be involved in, please contact me.
We are holding a final selection race on the 9th of September in Gortalunghay, Florencecourt, Co Fermanagh.
If you have any questions I would be delighted to answer them. In the meantime, happy running…
Irish Juniors Perform Well at JK
The strength and depth of the Irish junior squad was on display over the Easter weekend for the JK 2016 in Yorkshire, England.
Large numbers of juniors turned out, with Irish competing in every junior age-category with the exception of W10.
Top Irish results came at both ends of the junior spectrum with some of the older elites placing highly, alongside some of the under-10s.
Standout results:
Day 1 (Sprint):
In the M10 class Daire O’Brien (4th) & Oisín May (8th) performed well, both earning top 10 finishes.
Jonathan Quinn also performed well placing 10th in the highly competitive M20 class, as did Emer Perkins, placing 7th place in a similarly competitive W18 class – both top results.
Day 2:
As we entered the forest, the M10s once again performed well, swapping places with Oisín May claiming 2nd place , and Daire finishing in 6th position.
Emer Perkins ran another great race to claim a podium position of 3rd place in the W18 Elite class.
Paul Pruzina also ran very well finishing in 6th place in the M20 Elite class.
Day 3:
Out onto the fells, the young M10s rounded off their weekends very nicely to claim an Irish 2-3 finish overall with Oisín once again finishing 2nd on the day, and Daire gaining places with his 3rd place finish.
Weather hazarded many of the later starters, but was not enough to put off either Róisín Long or Paul Pruzina who finished 9th in W20 Elite and 7th in M20 Elite respectively.
Overall:
Paul Pruzina’s succesful days 2 & 3 earned him 5th overall in the M20E class. Róisín Long finished in 10th overall to join Oisín, Daire and Paul as the Irish juniors with top 10 overall finishes.
Other notable finishes include:
- Jonathan Quinn 12th (M20E)
- Conall Whelan 13th (M18E)
- Emer Perkins 14th (W18E)
For more, take a look at the full results at: JK Results
New fundraising calendar for Junior Squad
The fundraising calendar for Irish Junior squad is on sale now. It is A4 size and will be available at the NI champs/ Middle distance Irish Champs this weekend and at events in the months coming up to Christmas, while stocks last. If you are abroad and would like a copy kept for you or/sent to you please email jk(dot)mccavana(at)gmail(dot)com. It is possible to make a SEPA payment for the calendar.
It costs €10/£8.
The Calendar features photos from the following photographers:-
Philip Baxter,
Allan Bogle,
Liz Deane,
Roger Duff,
John McCullough,
Gerry Meehan,
Bernie O’Boyle,
David Quinn,
John Shiels
Donal Wickham
It was kindly sponsored by the IOA, CompassSport, Fabian 4, Last lap Café, The Great Outdoors, Reads and Meeting 247.
