3ROC Orienteering News 1st March 2018
Winners Conor Short and Josefine Klintberg with Ajax’s Denis Reidy.
Leinster Championships
Well, we certainly had a lucky escape with the Leinster Championships last Sunday! Snow everywhere and blizzard conditions forecast today and tomorrow, yet perfect conditions for Ajax’s event in the Vale of Clara only four days ago. It was a welcome return to one of the best orienteering areas in Leinster, where Aonghus ÓCléirigh’s courses brought us through the best the terrain had to offer: the runnable deciduous and mixed coniferous forest of Cronybyrne, the crags and boulders of Ballinastraw, along the banks of the Avonmore River near Rathdrum. A lucky find was the Wicklow GAA Centre of Excellence, which provided parking, shelter, results and prize giving, a 2.5 km easy walk from the start.
Conditions were cold and sunny, and the competition area was largely sheltered forest in the Avonmore valley, away from the biting south-easterly wind.
Congratulations to 3ROC Leinster Champions Cuan Riordan M16, Aidan McCullough M18E, John McCullough M60, Pat Flanagan M75, Clodagh Moran W18E, Áine Uí Shúilleabháin W65 and Vera Murtagh W80.
The premier classes were won by Conor Short (CNOC) and Josefine Klintberg (DUO).
Several courses had a leg similar to this one (14-15) from the later stages of Course 3: How would you do it? See how the competitors tackled the leg on Routegadget here.
Well done, and thanks, to Ajax for a great event.
See results and routes here.
Upcoming events
A few Leinster orienteers plan a trip to the Welsh Championships this weekend in Anglesey, but the trip depends on weather conditions and ferry sailings, so we may have something to report on it in next week’s news. Orienteering in Leinster goes quiet until the CNOC League event on March 25th, but that’s not an excuse to stop training: we have the Junior Time Trial in the Phoenix Park on March 10th – an essential fixture for any junior with international ambitions. There’s orienteering around the country every weekend, including a Munster League and Irish Student Champs at Muckross, Killarney, on Sunday 11th. St Patrick’s weekend could include the annual Dublin City Race (actually the St Patrick’s Festival Treasure Hunt). Check the festival website to see if it’s on this year. A few days later (March 21st) we have the Leinster Schools’ Championships at Djouce, for both primary and secondary schools.
In the meantime, have you entered the Irish Championships in Sligo and Donegal at the beginning of May yet? The fees have just gone up from the reduced level to the normal rate. E-mail 3rockoc@gmail.com know if you’d like to run on a rely team and the club will pay the relay entry fees. Details here.
What about the Shamrock O-Ringen at the start of June? See details here.
While you’re sitting at home, snow-bound, you can catch up with your orienteering entries and plan for the summer: highlights include the World Masters in Denmark, the Lakeland 5-Day in England, the Swedish O-Ringen, the OO-Cup in SE France, the Italian 5-Day, two 3-days in Belgium … see the World of O calendar here.
Club subscriptions are now due as well. See here. You can sign up instantly on line – just click on the Fabian4 logo, and – 3ROC members – remember to contact the club if you are in line for a support grant from 3ROC if you were selected to represent Ireland in 2017. The cheques will be presented at the AGM in April.
Well, everyone be careful out there until the weather improves. 
In the meantime, Ski-O anyone?