Hawkshead 2021
Each year Junior Regional Orienteering Squads (JROS) organise a training camp based at Hawkshead for M/W 16’s from across the country. This years camp was held over the weekend of 20th to 21st November.
The camp is set up with each region taking responsibility for their juniors. In advance JROS selects training areas, plans the exercises and hangs the kites – so each squad simply turns up with their own juniors and coaches rotating through different areas.
The entire Hawkshead Youth Hostel is taken over for the weekend allowing the important social aspect of junior orienteering. This meant many changes this year in minimising all the Covid risks but still trying to provide the fun
Watch the video of the Night relay in the grounds of the Youth Hostel below.
Generic information about Hawkshead
Background
In 1988 British Orienteering first organised a training weekend for M/W16’s based at Lakeside on the shores of Lake Windermere.
Similar weekends had been organised at various locations, usually based on Youth Hostels, in late autumn but Lakeside was the ‘home’ of this training camp until 2010.
In that year British Orienteering decided it was not able to organise such a weekend and so the Junior Regional Squads stepped in to take over its running.
Because of the cost of the Lakeside venue, the weekend was moved, not very far away, to Hawkshead YHA.
Hawkshead has been the host of the weekend since then.
Accommodation
The junior regional squads book the entire youth hostel for that weekend with the hostel providing meals from Saturday morning until Sunday lunchtime.
Since the entire hostel is booked use is made of all the dormitories as well as lounges and a number of class rooms, which are used for evening talks and briefings.
Terrain
Arrangements are made in advance, through the Lake District liaison officer, for the use of 4 or 5 areas for training in the Southern Lake District.
Before the weekend exercises are planned and kites are hung and the Squads attending the weekend can then decide how best to use these areas and exercises for the benefit of those juniors attending the camp.
Attendees
The camp is aimed at M/W16’s from all the regional squads with the only limit on numbers being the availability of beds in the hostel.
All squads take responsibility for their attendees, not only with regard to training but also their travel and safety.