Primiero in Trentino, Italy, played host to the World Schools Orienteering Championships 2011. From England we had a team of 20 athletes and 6 coaches and adults.
The delegation was divided into four categories 1) Girls Select 2) Girls School 3) Boys Select 4) Boys School. I was coaching the Boys Select team.
England stayed in a family-run hotel with the Irish delegation. http://www.hoteltreponti.it/it/ Each day we were treated to a buffet style breakfast, 3 courses for lunch and dinner and use of the private sauna and steam room. Most of the rooms had balconies with views into the surrounding Dolomite mountains.
Below is a brief outline of the programme for the week:
21 may Welcome
22 may Opening Ceremony, h. 18.30
23 may Long Distance Race – Val Canali, h. 10.00
24 may Cultural program
h. 10.00 excursion to the Rosetta Plato – Dolomites Unesco
h. 13.00 Pasta Party Rifugio Colverde
h. 14.30 visit to the Visitors Centre of Paneveggio
Paneveggio and Pale di San Martino‘s natural Park
25 may Middle Distance Race – Val Canali, h. 10.00
h. 16.00 Nations’ Meeting
26 may Friendship Relay Event, h. 11.00
Prizegiving, h. 20.00
Closing Ceremony & Farewell Party, h. 21.30
For full pictures visit http://www.italiaor2011.com/en/galleries/list or facebook World Schools 2011
Results
Every England athlete took home a medal from the event which is a fantastic result for English Orienteering. It really shows that there is a market for Orienteering in schools and because of the hard work and dedication of a few, young people from all over the country get the opportunity to feature on the world stage.
I hope that this result helps raise the profile of the sport in schools and that it will continue to support the work that I am undertaking.
For full results for the teams and individuals visit http://www.italiaor2011.com/en/content/starting-list-results
Portugal will host the next World Schools in two years time. Hope to see some of you there!
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