“An experience of a lifetime” was how Teviothead brothers James and Douglas Tullie described their recent trip to the Junior World Orienteering Championships in Lithuania. They were members of the 6 men and 6 women Great Britain Team competing against the top 300 orienteers from 35 countries. The event was based in and around the picturesque southern spa town of Druskininkai.

Their gruelling schedule of five races in six days started with a sprint race around the streets and parks of the town where although the navigation wasn’t particularly difficult the slightest mistake cost several places. James was 1min 41s behind the winner in 63rd place with Douglas a further 16s back in 76th.

The following day was the toughest of the week with the 13km long distance race which took place in a very technically demanding forest with lots of contour detail and low visibility. Added to this the temperature , as it was throughout the week, was over 30 Centigrade. Despite several mistakes the boys both managed to finish in the top half of the field with Douglas, who lost both contact lenses in the dense undergrowth, in 69th and James 1min 8s back in 74th.

After a well earned rest day the event moved on to another tough forest for the middle distance qualification race. Here the field of 170 men were divided into three heats with only the top 20 from each heat making the A final. After decent runs both Douglas and James squeezed into the A final in 18th an 20th places respectively and although they didn’t run as well in the final they had done well to get there.

The week was rounded off with the relay races in a very fast, flat forest on the outskirts of Druskininkai but with legs of 10km and temperatures soaring to 35 degrees it was no picnic in the park. James and Douglas were part of the GB 2nd team which finished in 35th place. Although James now moves into the senior ranks, Douglas has two more years as a Junior and now has his sights set on qualifying for next years JWOC in Australia.

• JWOC website for full results

South Yorkshire Orienteers won this year’s Harvester Trophy, over 25 minutes ahead of second placed Edinburgh University (EUOC). The event, held by Roxburgh Reivers at Teviothead, near Hawick, and planned by John and James Tullie, started slightly earlier than usual, with both classes starting before 10pm to allow for SOL5 the next day. This meant in a change to the usual order, it was the first leg runners who got the benefit of daylight. The open hillside made for a fantastic spectacle once the daylight faded, with the spectator control offering spectactular views of headtorches bobbing across the hillside.

The first three legs saw the lead change several times, with early pace setters CLYDE jostling with EUOC for the lead. However, by the time the first fourth leg runner came home, it was SYO who were in front, with a lead they were never going to relinquish. SYO’s final time for the seven leg course was 388:25, ahead of second placed EUOC, who finished in 415:54.

In the B class, CLOK’s Ladies team beat the University of Durham and MDOC to win not only the Women’s Open but also overall winners on the B Class, finishing in 260:12 – a massive forty minutes ahead of the second and third placed teams. In the Juniors, Nottingham Orienteering Club held off Harlequins, to take the Junior Trophy, and a respectable seventh place overall in the B class.

Whilst most Roxburgh Reivers were involved in helping to run the Harvester and SOL, Roxburgh Reivers’ juniors Karen and Kirstin Maxwell did manage to get a run. Karen continued her good form, and recent win at the Scottish Schools Championships with second place on JW3, and older sister Kirstin (also a winner at the Schools Championships) won JW4, consolidating her place at the top of the league.

• Results and officials’ comments
• Discuss this year’s Harvester on Nopesport

Provisional results from the Harvester Relays and SOL5 will be available from RR’s results page:

• Harvester and SOL 5 results and officials’ comments

Finalised results, pictures and comments to follow.

Jedburgh sisters Kirstin and Karen Maxwell both retained their Scottish Schools Orienteering titles at Scone Palace in Perthshire last Friday.

Parkside Primary School pupil Karen easily won the P5/P6 race, finishing over eight minutes ahead of competitors from Glasgow and Edinburgh, with older sister Kirstin, representing Jedburgh Grammar School, winning the S2 race, beating girls from Currie and Douglas.

Not to be outdone, the girls’ father Ian finished in an excellent second place on the tough 15km course of Edinburgh Southern’s Long Orienteering event held high in the Pentland hills on Sunday, with fellow Roxburgh Reiver Lyndsey Knox placed second lady on the 10km course.

Full results:

• Scottish Schools Championships results
• ESOC Long-O results

It was warm, the sun shone for most of the weekend and Douglas Tullie emerged as our only Scottish Individual Champion, winning M18A comfortably with Andrew Tullie taking 4^th in the same class.  John Tullie and Kirstin Maxwell both finished in the frame, taking 3^rd on M45L and W14A, although Kirstin was pushed all the way by Sarah Tullie who had her best run of the season finishing only 24 seconds further back in 4^th place.

Jim Knox had a tentative 2^nd place jog round his M55S course and emerged with stiff legs but no lasting damage. Douglas Henderson had a slightly below average run to take 10^th on M55L – “I never do well in Deeside forests!”, and Ian Maxwell was 17^th on M45L.

Karen Maxwell finished more or less as expected in 6^th place, her first year in W12A.  Eileen Maxwell had a steady run round W40S for 6^th place, and Lindsey Knox on W45L also finished 6^th having blown her championships lead with a major error near the finish.

The Relays at Bogendreip unfortunately ended in controversy when it became clear during the prizegiving that the calculations were wrong.  The Emit punching system obviously doesn’t have a proper relay programme the way Sportident does, and the calculations made on the day were seriously flawed.  No results, of any kind, were displayed on the day but the organisers hope to issue official results with corrected times on Monday.  Apart from that, The Tullie team of John, Douglas and Andrew reckon they won the Handicap class, and James Tullie was part of the EUOC team who finished 2^nd in the Men’s Open. No-one else has a clue about their results !  Other snippets – Kirstin Maxwell tripped in full view of everyone on the run-out at the start of her leg and was black-affronted, the new club flag was aired, and the home-made muffins on sale were superb.

• Results here

Looking for a run at the Harvester, but don’t have a team? Have 6/7ths of a team, but a man short? Then try Roxburgh Reivers’ Harvester Nomates page to see if you can complete a team.

Also added to the Big Weekend pages are updated travel information, giving details of the Carlisle to Edinburgh bus service for those coming by public transport.

Finally, a reminder for those still to book accomodation – the Big Weekend coincides with the Hawick Common Riding. Whilst Morrisons supermarket in Hawick will be open usual hours, accommodation in the local area may be scarce. For the latest information please see the VisitScotland website.