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JK 2009 : Northumbrian Hills10th - 13th April 2009Thankyou!Thank you all for turning up and supporting this major event in the orienteering calendar. I hope that you will view this as a successful event - blessed with good weather, good courses, a good atmosphere and take away with you some happy memories of Northumberland - not just the event, but the people and the places. The weekend only took place due to the incredible hard work put in by a small team of experienced individuals, and numerous volunteers from clubs in the North East and beyond - and we extend our thanks them all. Day 4: Relay - Dipton WoodsThe climax of the competition - the relays. The racing was fast and furious with the elite courses passing through open but sapping bilberry forest for the most part, culminating in a stiff 50m climb in the final 500m on each lap. SYO looked to have it sewn up in the JK Men's Trophy, leading through the first three laps with strong runs from Nick Barrable, Neil Northrop and Matt Crane. But a good battle unfolded on last leg, with Scott Fraser setting out only 44 seconds down on Oli Johnson, winner of the individual competition. Scott hadn't run the long distance the day before and his fresh legs saw him pass Oli and pull out a minute lead overall, taking his team-mates Doug Tullie, Mark Nixon and Hector Haines to a proud victory. Oli took second spot, and his club proved their strength in depth, with SYO 2 taking the 3rd place on the podium, only another 4 minutes down.
In the Women's Trophy, Jo Stevenson created a 30 second lead on the first lap that SYO never lost. Jenny Johnson extended the lead with the fastest second lap time, and Grace Elson on last lap only gave away a few seconds to the chasing pack. It was a very close battle for 2nd place, with Rachael Elder for CLOK only going out a few seconds after Sarah Rollins for British Army on last lap. However Sarah maintained almost exactly that gap to the end to secure 2nd place for the British Army, with Rachael Elder and CLOK Ladies in 3rd.
And so, on another sunny day, the JK weekend drew to a close. The organising team would like to thank everyone for coming, and we hope you enjoyed your stay in the north east. Day 3: Long - Detchant, Shiellow, Greensheen Hill & CockenheughToday was the final of the individual competitions at the JK where the combined winners were decided. Once again the organisers had organised beautiful sunshine, and the planners had weaved the courses through a variety of terrain including some spectacular rock features. 
In M21E, the overnight winner, Oli Johnson, not only held on to take victory overall but was also fastest on the day, extending his lead by more than a minute. Jon Duncan and Matt Speake made up the top three. In contrast it was all change in the M18E and M20E. Both Hector Haines (M20E) and Matthew Halliday (M18E) showed that consistency counts, both winning overall despite only 2nd places on each individual day. 
In all the womens' elite classes the overnight leaders, Rachael Elder (W21E), Anne Edwards (W20E) and Mairead Rocke (W18E), all retained their positions to win overall. Pippa Whitehouse put in a strong long distance performance to post the fastest time on the day in W21E, pulling her up from 9th place overnight to 2nd, with Grace Elson taking the 3rd overall spot.
Tomorrow the JK competition moves south to Dipton Woods for the relays. This promises to be a hard fight with Edinburgh University (EUOC) and South Yorkshire (SYO) the strong contenders for the JK Mens Trohpy, and Cleveland (CLOK), South Yorkshire (again!) and the British Army (BAOC) in the women. Day 2: Middle/Long - KyloeThe JK Festival of Orienteering continued today in Kyloe Woods with a middle distance for the elites, and standard courses for the rest of the competitors. The sun shone all day - a far cry from the snow of last year's JK! - and the organisers had created a great race arena to see another exciting day of competition. The tough forest looked like it was taking its toll with some long times posted from early finishers, but the leading times were slowly edged down as the seeded runners started to come into the finish. The M21E built to an exciting climax and it seemed Scott Fraser had taken victory with a strong lead over Jon Duncan, until Oli Johnson came in at the last minute to regain his JK middle distance crown by just 3 seconds. Aladair McLeod won the M20E whilst Kristian Jones continued his excellent form from yesterday to take victory in M18E by more than two minutes.
In the W21E Rachael Elder drew on her strength from growing up in the tough north east forests to win by nearly two minutes from Grace Elson and Sarah Rollins. Anne Edwards pulled out an even stronger lead of nearly 3 minutes in W20E whilst whilst Mairead Rocke continued her domination of the W18E from yesterday.
Tomorrow the combined individual JK competitions will be won and lost in the neighbouring terrain of Detchant, Shiellow, Greensheen Hill & Cockenheugh. Day 1: Sprint - NewcastleThe JK Festival of Orienteering got under way today with the sprint race in Newcastle. Competitors started amongst the buildings of Newcastle University before most courses had a long leg with a tricky choice between crossing points over the major roads bisecting the area. A series of short legs in Exhibition Park followed, before another long leg and then the last few controls and the sprint for home. The weather managed to hold out until just after the prize giving. All the elite courses had tough competition with most of the GBR squad in attendance. However the M21E course was finally won by Ross Morrison, a New Zealand runner currently living in Denmark. He took a convincing victory, 25 seconds ahead of Rhodri Buffett, who had a great run in his first JK as a senior, and Rhodri was a mere second ahead of Scott Fraser. In the junior elites Hector Haines won the M20E, and Kristian Jones led the field in M18E, both beating of stiff compeitition that suggests we'll see some exciting racing over the rest of the weekend.
In the W21E it all came down to the sprint finish, with Helen Bridle and Pippa Whitehouse on exactly the same time at the last control. However Pippa had the legs for the sprint finish and managed to take out a 2 second victory. Sarah Rollins was only another 8 seconds down. The star in the women's junior elite was Mairead Rocke finishing nearly a minute ahead in W18E, and also beating all the W20E competitors.
Tomorrow the competition heads further north to the Northumbrian Hills, where the elites will face a testing middle distance race in Kyloe. Welcome!The North East proudly invites you to the Jan Kjellström International Orienteering Festival 2009, incorporating two World Ranking Events, three UK Cup rounds, three Future Champions Cup rounds, a UK Relay League competition and trail orienteering.
Visit the North East for JK2009 and experience a whole new holiday location. The varied terrain will test your orienteering skills while in your spare time you can soak up the picturesque and unspoilt scenery of Northumberland. The City of Newcastle combines the historic architecture of the Tyne Bridge with the modern sights of the Millenium Bridge and the Sage Theatre. Later you can choose to visit the famous Alnwick Gardens, the castles of Bamburgh or Alnwick, cross the causeway at low tide to Holy Island or Lindisfarne (visible from Day 2 parking), explore uncrowded sandy beaches or walk in the Cheviot Hills. Come and see! JK 2009 was hosted by the clubs of the North East Orienteering Association:
JK 2009 was attended by:
JK 2009 was kindly sponsored by:
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