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Robert Kelly and Jack Wood – World Schools Orienteering Championships, Slovakia, April 2006

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Dear the Jack Bloor Fund,
I am just writing an email to say thank you for your very kind grant that you made towards my trip to Slovakia to compete in the World Schools Orienteering Championships. It was a really great week packed full of competitions and celebrations and I am so pleased that I went along.
The week was based in a town about 30 minutes from Bratislava called Pezanok. The English and a few other countries including Belgium and China were based at a particular hostel type thing and this was where we ate, slept and socialised throughout the week.
Our first experience of the Slovakian forests was the ‘model’ event which was put on so that everybody could get used to the Slovakian way of mapping things and so that we could get an idea of what the terrain was like (i.e. is the forest easy to run through). The first race, the classic, was held on the Tuesday. I had quite a good run, running steadily throughout the course and not making very many mistakes on an area which was quite complicated. In the main the forest was one of the best I have ever run on and I really enjoyed the race. The final section of the 6.3 kilometre course was quite interesting as it passed through some old vineyards and many silly mistakes were made as people became tired. In terms of results I knew that I wouldn’t be challenging the leaders because of an illness over winter, so I was pleased with a result of half way down the board. The Swedish athletes dominated our race coming first and sixth. Our team (a team made of older boys who have been selected) had performed well and lay in bronze medal position. The second race was the middle race (so called because it was about ¾ of the distance of the classic race) and was held on the Thursday. Again I was reasonably pleased with my time and position. Thankfully our team had held on to the bronze medal position which was good and later in the week we would go on to collect our medals.
Apart from the orienteering we did many other things. On the Wednesday, we drove to Bratislava for a little cultural tour of the city, also doing a bit of shopping while we were there. In the spare time that we had, we often played football with other countries and even had a game of table tennis with some Chinese guys. There was also an evening called the Cultural Evening where each country set up a stand about their particular cultures and traditions. For example on our stall we had pictures of the Lake District, plates of Everton mints and were offering black pudding and mash to anyone who dared. Everybody milled around and visited every stall and had a good time. There was also a disco on one of the nights which was excellent, not to mention the opening and closing ceremonies.
It really was fantastic and a lot of new friends were made, many of whom are going to the Oringen (a 5 day event in Sweden in July) this year, and I will see them there.
Thanks once again, and see you at the Jack Bloor race next year,
Jack Wood
Jack Wood prizegiving

The Jack Bloor Fund,
I’m writing to thank you for the very generous grant you awarded me towards my trip to the World Schools Orienteering Championships in Slovakia. I really enjoyed taking part in an international event and had an amazing week.
At about 6 o’clock on 23rd April I and 39 other juniors got on a coach to Heathrow. We took off at about 9:30 and landed in Vienna after being wished good luck by the pilot. We began the coach ride to our accommodation in Pezinok, which was approximately 20km northeast of Bratislava. After an apprehensive first meal with everyone, or at least most people, adjusting to the food we got an early bed.
On the Monday we had our first experience of Slovakian orienteering and terrain in the model/training event. The forests were superb, some of the best I’ve ever run in with no undergrowth at all and some parts were even grassed. Another first experience for me were the sports massages available before and after your race. In the afternoon we had the opening ceremony with some hip-hop dancing and the more traditional Slovakian dancing. Tuesday was the first major race day with the classic distance taking place. The terrain was slightly rougher than the model event but winning times were incredibly fast. It was very hot with temperatures apparently reaching up to 29 degrees. You could especially tell this on the last section of the courses in the vineyards. England had many top 6 places and 3 medals. My run was OK but a few mistakes and route choice errors crept in leaving me in 16th place.
The Wednesday was the rest day and the cultural tour in Bratislava. We had a quick tour of the castle and old town before having free time in the square. There was great entertainment in the form of several fountains and I think it’s safe to say a few people got a bit wet! On Thursday the middle distance race was held. This was held on the same area that the model event was and was extremely fast yet the heat wasn’t so bad. There was yet more success for England with the first gold medal. There were some great team performances as well with every select team winning a medal. After all this there was the cultural evening where every country set up a stall displaying something to do with their homeland. Then in the hall they had to put on a performance. The atmosphere was amazing with everybody getting up and joining in. Music peformed by other members of the team went down a treat!
After the serious racing the friendship relay took place where people from countries were mixed up into teams of 3 to take part in a Harris relay. It took place in Pezinok itself and was great fun with 600 people all mass starting at the same time with about 200 of them heading to a control 50 metres away with only one SI box available! Most teams took about 25 minutes to complete the course. In the evening the closing ceremony and disco took place and it was a great end to a great week!
By Robert Kelly

 RESULTS FROM THE CLASSIC
H1-SELECT
Final class results: H1-SELECT 6.3km 230m 16k
————————————————————————————–
———-
1.Lysell Jerker Sweden SWE 35.24 + 0.00
2.Jubelis Andris Latvia LAT 37.33 + 2.09
3.Lysell Jesper Sweden SWE 38.07 + 2.43
4.Paulinš Arturs Latvia LAT 38.29 + 3.05
5.Chrappa Richard Slovakia SVK 39.51 + 4.27
6.Vangell Oscar Sweden SWE 39.58 + 4.34
7.Haines Hector England ENG 40.15 + 4.51
8.Gremmel Helmut Austria AUT 41.38 + 6.14
9.Pfeifer Christian Austria AUT 42.21 + 6.57
10.Silvemark Victor Sweden SWE 42.35 + 7.11
11.Tynong Anton Sweden SWE 42.48 + 7.24
12.Street Ralph England ENG 43.04 + 7.40
13.Genar Jeremy Belgium-Flanders BE2 43.20 + 7.56
14.Leeuws Wouter Belgium-Flanders BE2 43.22 + 7.58
14.Zmrzlikar Jure Slovenia SLO 43.22 + 7.58
16.Žagata Zemgus Latvia LAT 44.20 + 8.56
17.Bosina Joachim Austria AUT 44.27 + 9.03
18.Smithard Christopher England ENG 44.31 + 9.07
19.Guagenberger Tobias Austria AUT 44.54 + 9.30
20.Kvaka Ján Slovakia SVK 45.51 + 10.27
21.Yakoby Aram Israel ISR 46.02 + 10.38
22.Wood Jack England ENG 46.22 + 10.58
23.Della Valle Roberto Italy ITA 47.09 + 11.45
24.Sbrizzi Michael Italy ITA 48.04 + 12.40
25.Noblett Michael England ENG 48.19 + 12.55
26.Scalet Tommaso Italy ITA 48.24 + 13.00
27.Rekunenko Artjoms Latvia LAT 48.53 + 13.29
28.Pavlík Michal Slovakia SVK 49.14 + 13.50
29.Shemla Yair Yaakov Israel ISR 49.27 + 14.03
30.Bignami Luca Italy ITA 50.33 + 15.09
31.Barkai Neve Israel ISR 52.45 + 17.21
32.Lipman Eshel Israel ISR 53.15 + 17.51
33.Powitzer Omer Israel ISR 54.38 + 19.14
34.Papuga Miroslav Slovakia SVK 54.56 + 19.32
35.Schuh Thomas Austria AUT 55.59 + 20.35
36.Peeters Hans Belgium-Flanders BE2 56.53 + 21.29
37.Ongaro Stefano Italy ITA 59.15 + 23.51
38.Dren?ák Jaroslav Slovakia SVK 66.01 + 30.37
39.Radayev Roman Ukraine UKR 71.24 + 36.00
40.Udris Emils Latvia LAT 75.26 + 40.02
41.Pelckmans Adriaan Belgium-Flanders BE2 84.53 + 49.29
42.Limborghs Yves Belgium-Flanders BE2 89.09 + 53.45
43.Xujie Yang P.R.China CHN 99.15 + 63.51
Xinmu Wang P.R.China CHN DISQ
Huan Chen P.R.China CHN DISQ
RESULTS FROM THE MIDDLE RACE
H1-SELECT
Final class results: H1-SELECT 4.4km 150m 16k
————————————————————————————–
———-
1.Lysell Jesper Sweden SWE 22.41 + 0.00
2.Lysell Jerker Sweden SWE 23.15 + 0.34
3.Paulinš Arturs Latvia LAT 24.09 + 1.28
4.Tynong Anton Sweden SWE 24.38 + 1.57
5.Smithard Christopher England ENG 26.19 + 3.38
6.Vangell Oscar Sweden SWE 26.38 + 3.57
7.Žagata Zemgus Latvia LAT 26.41 + 4.00
8.Leeuws Wouter Belgium-Flanders BE2 27.03 + 4.22
9.Silvemark Victor Sweden SWE 27.15 + 4.34
10.Haines Hector England ENG 27.18 + 4.37
11.Jubelis Andris Latvia LAT 27.25 + 4.44
12.Gremmel Helmut Austria AUT 27.30 + 4.49
13.Street Ralph England ENG 28.02 + 5.21
14.Dren?ák Jaroslav Slovakia SVK 28.13 + 5.32
15.Noblett Michael England ENG 28.26 + 5.45
16.Chrappa Richard Slovakia SVK 28.54 + 6.13
17.Ongaro Stefano Italy ITA 29.04 + 6.23
18.Papuga Miroslav Slovakia SVK 29.51 + 7.10
19.Udris Emils Latvia LAT 30.06 + 7.25
20.Wood Jack England ENG 30.10 + 7.29
21.Scalet Tommaso Italy ITA 30.23 + 7.42
22.Sbrizzi Michael Italy ITA 30.38 + 7.57
23.Barkai Neve Israel ISR 31.01 + 8.20
23.Powitzer Omer Israel ISR 31.01 + 8.20
25.Bosina Joachim Austria AUT 31.17 + 8.36
26.Della Valle Roberto Italy ITA 31.28 + 8.47
27.Schuh Thomas Austria AUT 32.43 + 10.02
28.Bignami Luca Italy ITA 32.46 + 10.05
29.Guagenberger Tobias Austria AUT 32.52 + 10.11
30.Shemla Yair Yaakov Israel ISR 33.34 + 10.53
31.Yakoby Aram Israel ISR 33.36 + 10.55
32.Pfeifer Christian Austria AUT 33.38 + 10.57
33.Pavlík Michal Slovakia SVK 34.39 + 11.58
34.Rekunenko Artjoms Latvia LAT 35.17 + 12.36
35.Kvaka Ján Slovakia SVK 35.31 + 12.50
36.Lipman Eshel Israel ISR 36.24 + 13.43
37.Pelckmans Adriaan Belgium-Flanders BE2 41.53 + 19.12
38.Peeters Hans Belgium-Flanders BE2 44.26 + 21.45
39.Radayev Roman Ukraine UKR 50.42 + 28.01
40.Huan Chen P.R.China CHN 57.33 + 34.52
41.Limborghs Yves Belgium-Flanders BE2 61.01 + 38.20
42.Xujie Yang P.R.China CHN 66.54 + 44.13
43.Xinmu Wang P.R.China CHN 74.19 + 51.38
.Genar Jeremy Belgium-Flanders BE2 DISQ
.Zmrzlikar Jure Slovenia SLO DISQ