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Junior Regional
Orienteering Squads

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Generic information about Stockholm

Location

The Stockholm training camp is based the club ‘hut’ of OK Ravinen (one of the orienteering clubs based around Stockholm  www4.idrottonline.se/OKRavinen-Orientering). The club hut is in Hellasgården in the Nacka district to the south east and in the suburbs of Stockholm.
It is in the middle of Stockholm’s nearest ‘real forest’ and is easily accessible by public transport. 

Accommodation

Accommodation is in the OK Ravinen club hut. The participants will sleep on the floor in one of two rooms in the building.
The hut is equipped with toilets and showers.
The tour chef prepares all the meals on site and specific dietary needs are catered for. Athletes will be expected to assist with chores during the camp.
There is plenty of space around the hut for outdoor games.

Background

Since the late 1990’s a number of training tours have taken place in Scandinavia with popular venues such as Halden and Uppsalla. These catered for the older age groups and were aimed at providing experience of training and competing in Scandinavian terrain.
With the loss of all junior overseas training tours organised by British Orienteering it was decided in 2011 to organise a camp for M/W17’s based on the OK Ravinen club, thanks to the assistance of Nick Barrable who is a member of that club.
All attendees join OK Ravinen which brings a number of benefits both short and long term. In the short term there is a reduction in the cost of staying in the hut, entry to local races and a free ‘O’ top. In the longer term, many past attendees have used their membership of OK Ravinen to compete in top class Scandinavian competition.

Terrain

As you would expect there is an abundance of top class orienteering terrain within easy access of the hut. The tour makes use of the extensive Stockholm public transport system to get to training areas and competitions in the Stockholm area.

Attendees

The camp is aimed at M/W17’s who have achieved the required standard in the nominated selection races (See Stockholm Selection criteria). It is expected that up to 20 M/W17’s will attend. If insufficient M/W17’s qualify the selectors may add suitable M/W16’s.
In support of the camp there is a Tour Manager (TM) who has responsibility for such things as travel, accommodation, food etc.
The TM is supported by a chef and a Lead Coach. The Lead Coach has a team of up to 6 coaches.

Team Manager's Report

Staff:
Nick Barrable SYO, Carol Young RAFO/HH (Chef), Tom Fellbaum MDOC, Julie Emmerson OD/UDOC, Jonny Malley MDOC, Alison O’Neill AROS.

Athletes:

Tara Schwarze

EBOR

Lucy Tonge

BOK

Niamh Hunter

WCOC

Jura MacMillan

ECKO

Ellie Bales

POTOC

Bethany Kippin

TVOC

Eilidh Campbell

MAROC

Anika Schwarze

EBOR

Sarah Duckworth

DVO

Zac Hudd

WCOC

Tom Wood

ERYRI

Harry McMurtrie

DEVON

Joseph Wright

MAROC

Daniel Spencer

WCOC

David Bunn

TVOC

Stanley Heap

SO

Angus Harrington

HH

Ben Breeze

WCOC

Stockholm 2017 took a similar approach to the previous 5 editions, however it was slightly earlier than normal which meant no O races in Stockholm the first weekend (still summer competition stop period) which was not ideal.

This camp clashed with BOFs pre-JWOC so nobody was able to do both.

All participants arrived into Arlanda.

The selection policy/process seemed to work smoothly with no complaints/whinges to my knowledge. We had 3 x M16s, 3 x W16s (top years.) And 6 of each 1st year 18s, making 18 total. This makes for a cosy basement which was much cleaner and tidier at the start of tour than previous years due to a new women in charge of the club hut – thanks Inga-Lill.

The hut, OK Ravinen’s clubhut at Hellasgården had a washing machine during tour and although that one has now gone, a new one has been bought by the club – ideal for the future.

Ravinen fee £70 pp. this is still a bargain although with no races for Ravinen to pay for the first weekend their financial burden from the tour was less than normal. This fee £35 club top, races, some training maps/permissions and 12 nights in the club hut, which is possibly a net loss for them and we certainly appreciate the support we get. However, they also gain from the profit we generate from the Luffarligan event - ca. £800 pounds this year. I hope some of our talent can repay them by running for Ravinen/moving to Stockholm for a bit, in future!

Most days we swam in a Lake - often at Hellasgården itself.

We got tour blue hoodies (£15.43) and black technical Ts (£9.08), as well as Sprint Vests (£9.08), done the same as all years, from Ethicstar, in the same colours. JROS and CompassSport logos embroidered. They seemed to go down well and are good value considering the coloured embroidery and printing. I didn’t get a tour name on them so they are good for any year!

Almost everything was paid for on my SEK payment cards and use spot rates for changing SEK-GBP. Here are the rates (roughly an average during each 12 day tour period.) for the last 6 tours. 2015 was a very cheap year! I write this at the start of November when it is c.11.0 - £1.

Currency rate

 

2011 10.45

2012

10.4

2013

10

2014

11.45

2015

13

2016

11.2

2017

10.5

Injuries – minimal. Some icing going on but no trips to A&E.

The crop of athletes seemed to gel better than the last couple of years and were generally more affable and focussed. I never had to give any major ‘talking to’s’ but jobs were a bit iffy at times. The final morning/check out was terrible and that is when they let themselves down, and one or three almost missed the bus. They stayed awake late into the night on the last night and thus had no energy on the last morning.

On the first weekend with the lack of races, we did the Stockholm parkrun (Daniel Spencer 17:28 1st Man & Niamh Hunter 22:11 3rd Woman were the best athletes) and trained afterwards and on Sunday.

Melkes Minne, which we ran on the 2nd Wednesday of tour, is a 3 leg relay for 16s and 2 legs now for the 20s class, with no gaffling, which Södertalje Nykvarn Orienteers put on in memory of Melke, a promising Junior who suddenly dropped dead in the 90s (one of many at the time who did which led to all O comps being stopped for many months). Categories are 16s and 20s. It is the only time we get the 16s running 16s. We had 8 teams entered and 5 of them ended up on the podium (top 3) winning prizes - which I think is good for them in many ways. The M16s mispunched but we won D16, H20 and D20! 2nd in H20 and 3rd in D20.

On the last weekend on the Saturday Long distance Eilidh Campbell was 2nd on D18 and on Sundays Middle there was Elite courses and Ellie Bales was an excellent 3rd.

As per 2 years ago, we took athletes to an introduction to Olympic weight training with an ex-Swedish Olympic weights trainer who is now involved with a Cross-Fit Gym. All thought the session highly useful and Peter rather knowledgeable - and funny! The gym owner (female) was very pleased that the first group of 9 were the girls! Peter enjoyed coaching the British Orienteers so much he gave us a 25% reduction from last time (£3.18 pp is good value!!).

We did a 3km track time trial which, particularly for the girls, was not taken seriously as they jogged and chatted round the early laps. The boys were more competitive and although we are not expecting pbs, treated it as a good tempo session. Angus Harrington is clearly very at home on a track!

In the evening we ran the Stockholm Underground Hash trail before the main pack. I wanted them to experience a hash trail without the ‘other’ side of the hash.

As last year we were in Strömstad, I did not have to worry about training on areas we used last year.

There are large numbers of different maps within close useable distance so this is relatively easy! Using public transport worked well.

This year we used Ravinen mini-flags and used Luffarligan’s SI when needed. We also did all the Ravinen trainings that were on offer. Quite nice for the athletes to get a feel of what a Swedish O club does.

Printing was done for free in Sweden. We had 3 map permissions to pay for, some we got free and some Ravinen paid for directly.

For next year's tour, the Ravinen hut is booked for Tues 14th Aug - Sunday 26th. Luffarligan event we organise will be on Wednesday 15th.

Also of note was I did 2 DofE references for Gold Residentials: Harry and Lucy.

Nick Barrable

Stockholm 2017

Tour Feedback from Parents:

Thanks for what was clearly an excellent experience for Ben. Steve Breeze

Tara and Anika have really enjoyed this year’s Stockholm tour.  Thank you for arranging it so well. It must be such a huge amount of work!

The detailed instructions helped them very much to travel independently. It seems to have been a good atmosphere and lots of training. I think Anika has never done so much of training and orienteering ever. So she would have benefited greatly. Thank you.

Sorry for the group not being exemplary in their clearing up duties. They do seem to get away too lightly on squad weekends and need to be made more responsible.

Thank you for being money conscious when planning the tour. Heidi Schwarze

Thanks for putting up with Bethany during the summer! She had a fantastic time and is keen to go back to Stockholm for some more orienteering in Swedish forests. Simon Kippin

Stan had such a great time and is really looking forward to putting what he learnt into practice. Kate Turner (Heap)

Thank you very much to you and all your team for organising and running a fantastic tour to Stockholm.  

Ellie thoroughly enjoyed it – she has talked loads about it and said it was one of the best two weeks of her life! She has learnt a lot and improved her skills, and returned with great enthusiasm for the sport. Her cleaning skills are still a work in progress! Lil Bales

Thanks very much for organising the tour.  David really enjoyed it and feels he's learned a lot about orienteering in Scandinavian terrain. Nigel Bunn

Your effort in organising the tour is much appreciated. Niamh had a great time and was very enthusiastic about the training provided. Please pass on our thanks to the rest of the coaches for their time and effort. Thanks again. Simon Hunter

Eilidh had a great time, but was a bit embarrassed when I mentioned the lack of cleaning.!!! Sorry for that. Shona Campbell

Jura came back from tour having clearly had a wonderful time absolutely glowing! 

What a fantastic experience in so many ways. Thank you for making it so worthwhile, incredible orienteering experiences, the opportunity to travel abroad more independently and spend time with new and old like minded friends . 

The low cost of the tour is most impressive and we really appreciate that it is important to you to make it affordable, it is also for us.  Jura worked hard to raise the money herself to pay for the tour. Susannah Macmillan

Many thanks for all your efforts with the Stockholm tour this year.  Daniel had a great time and has come back thoroughly inspired. David Spencer

Very many thanks to everyone for making it happen and giving up their time.  It is greatly appreciated by the athletes and their parents.

Joe came back saying that he'd 'had a great time and learnt loads', as well as making lots of new friends.

Apologies for the lack for cleaning skills.   I noticed the same on the recent ScotJos weekend. It's the job no one likes, but I've made a mental note to make Joe do more before he leaves home (including cleaning the toilets!!). Denise Wright

Tour Feedback from Athletes:

I wanted to say a belated thank you for organising and running the JROS tour to Stockholm; it was an incredible experience and I feel I learnt a lot, not only about how difficult it is to navigate in Swedish terrain, but how I can use learnt techniques back in English terrain to improve my overall orienteering ability. I also hoped that you would compete my Gold DofE residential form for which I used the tour as my qualifying activity. Harry McMurtrie

Firstly I just wanted to say thank you very much for coaching me in Stockholm. I had an amazing time and learnt absolutely loads! I was amazed at how technical Swedish terrain is but I now think I could complete a course when I run there again. 

Sorry I didn't ask earlier but I have found out more about gold DofE and I was hoping to use the Stockholm tour as my residential. For this, would it be possible for you to write a short paragraph about what the tour consisted of and how I improved my orienteering skills over the course of the tour. Lucy Tonge

Thank you so much for putting on and organising the Stockholm tour, I had the most amazing two weeks! I immensely enjoyed the training you and the rest of the coaches put on for us all and I feel that my orienteering and confidence has greatly improved as a result.

Hopefully I will come back out to Sweden to orienteer for Ravinen but in the meantime I hope to improve on the skills and techniques I learned and practiced on your brilliant tour.

Thanks again for the huge effort you put in to create such an awesome tour and I wish I was back out there, orienteering. Jura MacMillan.

Thank you for organising and selecting me on the Stockholm tour, I have had an amazing time in the new Swedish terrain and improved my technique. It’s been lots of fun and I’m pleased that I did well on the last day thanks to the coaching. Thank you! Ellie Bales

Thank you very much for an incredible 12 days in Stockholm. It was an invaluable experience to orienteer in Scandinavia for the first time; I learnt so much and I can’t wait to return. The camp was the best yet and I am so grateful to you and the other coaches for your effort in planning the training and organising everything.

Hopefully you will be seeing me back in Sweden soon – Kathryn and I are already making plans! Bethany

I just wanted to say how valuable and enjoyable I found the Stockholm camp. I’ve found that I look at O maps in a completely different way - I can’t make head or tail of some of the routes I was taking in Scotland. I cannot wait to get back orienteering after my enforced break and can test out my new and improved skills. Thank you very much. Stanley.

Programme

Tues 8th   Arrive Stockholm
     
     
     
Wed 9th am Mortsjon - Lines, picks, course
     
     
  pm 3km time trial, Karrtorp
     
    1830 - Stockholm Hash - Spot - Hammarbyhojden
Thurs 10th  
  am Orminge - 4 exercises - guys can swim.
     
  14-1530 Tunglyft - Crossfit Eken - Peter Norgren - Girls
     
  1800 Sommarserien - Ingaro
     
Fri 11th am Hojden - gaffled intervals
     
  14-1530 Tunglyft - Crossfit Eken - Peter Norgren - Boys
  eve Club Hut Microsprint
     
Sat 12th 0930 Park Run - Haga Parken
    Sprint Training in Haga
     
    VM 2 person forest relay from club hut
     
Sun 13th   Velamsund - various - corridors, various courses
     
     
     
Mon 14th   Svartviksskogen
     
     
  1830 Outdoor Strength - Ravinen Training - Clubhut
     
Tues 15th   Samskolan - Hare & Hounds - Tattby
     
     
     
  1800 Ravinen Tekniktraning - terrain test course - with SI
    (2 boys did this map memory!)
Wed 16th    
  0930- Luffarligan - from Clubhut - we organise, and run.
  1200  
     
     
    Melkes Minne Relay - Sodertalje Way
    D16, H20 start 18:15, then 18:20 for others
Thurs 17th  
  am Brunn - straight corridor
     
  1800 Club Training - Keps OL (Star Relay)
     
Fri 18th    
  am Hamarbyhojden - Mixed Sprint Relay - Pairs
     
     
  pm Gronalund - Rival Sons play at 2000hrs - US rock band.
     
Sat 19th   Long - OK Södertörn/Söders-Tyresö - Hemfosa
    https://eventor.orientering.se/Events/Show/15450
    Same arena both days
     
Sun 20th   Medel - OK Södertörn/Söders-Tyresö - Hemfosa
    https://eventor.orientering.se/Events/Show/15451
     
    Depart

Selections

Tara Schwarze EBOR
Lucy Tonge BOK
Niamh Hunter WCOC
Hannah Hateley DEE
Ellie Bales POTOC
Bethany Kippin TVOC
Eilidh Campbell MAROC
Anika Schwarze EBOR
Sarah Duckworth DVO

Jake Chapman MAROC
Zac Hudd WCOC
Tom Wood ERYRI
Harry McMurtrie DEVON
Joseph Wright MAROC
Daniel Spencer WCOC
David Bunn TVOC
Stanley Heap SO
Angus Harrington HH

Selection Policy

Date

The camp will run from 8th August – 20th August 2017
(Athletes selected for the British Orienteering Pre-JWOC 2018 Camp would not be expected to be selected for this camp)

Eligibility

The camp is predominantly for M/W17’s born in 2000 and some top M/W16’s born in 2001 will also be selected.

Athletes will not be selected for both the Deeside and the Stockholm camps.  

Numbers

The camp will be for a maximum of 20 athletes

Criteria

Athletes wishing to be selected will have achieved the standards set out below in the following races;

British Night Champs* 2017 (25th February)
Northern Championships 2017 (26th February)
Midland Championships 2017 (26th March)
JK Day 1* 2017 (14th April)
JK Day 2 2017 (15th April)
JK Day 3 2017 (16th April)
British Long Distance Champs 2017 (6th May)

Standard for selection

Athletes wishing to be selected will probably have achieved 125% or less of the winner’s time as averaged over four of the above races.

*Note that any athlete may count ONLY one of the British Night Champs OR JK Day 1 Sprint towards their average of 4 results for selection.

Selection process

If there are more than the maximum number for the camp who have achieved the required standard then those with the lowest averages will be selected.

The selector may choose not to fill all available places if there are insufficient qualified athletes.

The tour selector

The tour athletes will be selected by Nick Barrable (SYO and OK Ravinen) and the selections will be reviewed by the Chairman of Selectors of Junior Regional Orienteering Squads (JROS).

Selections will be published as soon as possible after the 6th May.

Illness or Injury

All cases of illness or injury which may affect an athlete’s ability to compete in one of the above selection races should be notified in writing to the athlete’s Regional Squad coordinator prior to the running of that race, clearly explaining the reasons for their failure to compete. The Regional Squad coordinator will make the Selector aware of such notifications prior to the race.