Peter Palmer Junior Team Relay enhancement
Credit: Will Heap
We are pleased to support West Cumberland Orienteering Club (WCOC) in providing some enhanced features at the Peter Palmer Junior Team Relay this year.
The Peter Palmer Junior Team Relay (PPJTR) competition is an "overnight" 6 leg relay event for M/W12 – M/W18. Teams arrive on the Saturday and sleep on or near to the event area on the Saturday night, getting up at 4am for a 5am start to the race. The first 2 legs are run in the dark, with the legs 3 and 4 ran at dusk depending on the quickness of the teams. Legs 5 and 6 are run in the daytime. The addition of a "daybreak" relay in 2018 opened the event up further to smaller clubs and competitors who have little or no experience of night orienteering. Small clubs can combine to form teams if they cannot field a full team themselves.
Traditionally the event is held in parklands or forest and juniors and their drivers/coaches are accommodated in a nearby leisure centre or school hall. There are no such areas in West Cumbria so the event is being run on low fell fields and housing everyone in tents in an adjacent field. This change may result in lower numbers, and to encourage attendance WCOC (winners of the 2023 competition!) are providing some extra attractions with our support – live commentary, GPS trackers, and radio controls.
The PPJTR was first held in 1993, and is one of the highlights of the Junior orienteering calendar, and we look forward to WCOC and our grant helping ensure its continued success.