Upon reading the email I received from Orienteering Ireland I was delighted to find that I, along with 22 other athletes (4 of whom are also members of BOC!) had been selected to represent Ireland at the upcoming Junior Home Internationals that took place on October the 8th and 9th.

The events were located two hours north of Edinburgh near Aviemore, a beautiful spot for Orienteering.

The first event of the weekend was the relay held in Loch Vaa (image to the right) The aspects of the course that proved the toughest challenge for me were the formidable undulating contours, especially in the latter half of the course. It forced me to scrutinize every detail and slow my pace. Even still, my race did not pan out as I had hoped. Approaching my 8th control I drifted from my compass bearing and found myself lost in a parallel error and I failed to relocate efficiently. This caused me to lose precious time. By this stage I knew I was letting my relay team down so I had to concentrate on executing the rest of my run to the best of my ability.

In the evening we enjoyed some much needed rest and recuperation. We got to know our UK competitors a bit better through a traditional Scottish Ceili which was a new experience for most.

Our Second and final event of the weekend took place in Creag Dhubh, a challenging mix between deciduous forest and open mountain. The course was both physically and mentally demanding. My first control was a longer leg which threw me off slightly and didn't give me much time to get used to the terrain, it took me a few minutes near the control to find it buried beneath some ferns. I took my time for the next 4 controls and made one more small mistake by drifting off my bearing. After the 5th control I allowed myself to speed up as I grew more comfortable with the map and the area surrounding me. I really enjoyed the course and was delighted to come 4th overall.

It was a pleasure to compete at the 2022 JHIs with my fellow BOC and Irish teammates. I hope to learn from all my mistakes and come back better for next year.

-Eve Buckley

Photos from the trip leaders:

• https://photos.app.goo.gl/cvDz2fauvb4oFUxC9

Full Results for the Individual and Relay events are available here:

• Full Results of the Individual: https://www.basoc.org.uk/results-archive/2022/2022-10-09-creag-dhubh/index.html

• Routegadget for Individual: https://www.basoc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#59

• Results for the Relay: https://www.interlopers.org.uk/uploads/results/20221008%20-%20JHI%20Relay/Relay%20Results%20-%20JHI%20Relays%20-%2008%20Oct%202022.html