SO Juniors compete at YBT Final
Southdowns Orienteers Junior Squad travelled to Yorkshire to compete in the Yvette Baker Trophy Final on 9th July 23.
This is the annual Junior Inter Club competition where the best clubs from each region across England and Wales compete. Our Junior Squad earnt their place for the South East back in March.
SO compete in the 'large clubs' section and nine runners contribute to the score. We had ten juniors who were available to compete, so just enough for a scoring team. Next time we want lots more, as it's such a fun celebration of junior orienteering.
We decided to make a weekend of it and everyone travelled up the night before so that we could have a big team meal out. This was a great chance for everyone to get to know each other a bit more. Of course we had the added bonus of a big morning fueling exercise by way of the breakfast buffet. The juniors weren't running until after lunch, so they could really dig in!
The venue was Sandall Beat Wood, next to Doncaster Racecourse. Our hosts, SYO (South Yorkshire Orienteers) kicked the day off with a fantastic flag parade which made all the juniors feel part of something very special. They also laid on commentary, a cake stall and rock painting to add to the occasion. Our juniors got their blue and yellow face paints done and they were ready to tackle the terrain.
We had a relatively inexperienced team, but they all did a great job on a tricky area.
The event was finished off with a prizegiving ceremony and then of course, the all important Team SO ice-creams!
This is what Will, our Team Manager had to say:
"We were really proud and impressed by everyone’s contribution. There were some really tricky courses. Well done Maya, Zoe and Katarina for all running up and completing your courses. Without you running up we wouldn’t have had a full compliment of scoring runs. Big thumbs up 👍 to Harriet, Christopher and Lucas all running solo at a big event. You’ve proved you can do it. Emma for run of the day and coming in top spot, Emily and Kai for doing a really brilliant job on orange. And last but not least Tommy for giving it your all in your last YBT. Thank you for your many performances for SO over the years. Also well done to all those that gave others a helping hand out there on the courses. Having fun and being kind to others is what orienteering is all about."
This is what the juniors thought of the event:
"I thought the parade was cool" – Maya W16
"I really liked the team spirit of the event" – Katy W18
"I enjoyed the parade too" – Zoe W18
"The course was tricky but interesting" – Kai M12
"The course was extremely hard but had lots of symbols on the map" - Lucas M10
"I found it really fun and enjoyed being somewhere else. There were lots of people. I enjoyed having ice cream and breakfast was amazing" - Emily W12
"I liked the stone painting" - Lizzie W10
"I liked how it was an event for children/juniors. I liked having face paints too" - Harriet W10
"I liked coming 1st. I liked the area because it was flat and there were lots of good features to affirm your position. I also enjoyed the atmosphere of the whole event" - Emma W12
"The best bits of the weekend were the team dinner and ice creams after the event" - Christopher M10
Next year's YBT Final takes place on 7th July. Juniors - get it on the calendar now!
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