WAOC at the British Middle Distance Championships 2026

The British Middle Distance Championships 2026 were held at Brown Clee Hill, Shropshire, on Saturday 18 April. Thirty WAOC members competed at the event organised by Harlequins OC. The courses were very technical and very fast and the day drew large and competitive fields across the classes. Careful reading of contour detail and fast descending were rewarded. It was easy to get dis-orientated amongst the pits, marshes and vegetation!

Congratulations to Alys Powell for her Silver Medal (2^ND) in W14. Other top ten results in Championship classes were: Hebe Darwin (4^TH, W20); Emma Jarrett (4^TH, W50); Alex Wetherill (5^TH, M21); Hana Powell (6^TH, W12); Erik Biernacki-Jablonski (7^TH, M16); Esther Eaton (8^TH, W12); and Dil Wetherill (9^th, M60).

Full results and photos are available here: https://www.britishmiddlechamps.org.uk/page/results

WAOC at the JK 2026

The JK 2026 was held over 3-6 April 2026 in Perthshire. This was the first JK in Scotland for 14 years, and followed the traditional format of Sprint, Middle and Long (combined for an Overall Result), and Relays. Over 20 WAOC members took part with some notable results in all the competition races.

WAOC at the BOC and British Relays 2026

The British Orienteering Championships (Long distance) 2026 were hosted by SBOC at Carreg Goch in the Bannau Brycheiniog on 28 February. Twenty two members of WAOC enjoyed the courses planned by former World Champion Megan Mitchell, which were a true test of physical endurance and technical ability on a fantastic map. The weather was variable with early runners treated to sunshine and breathtaking views, and later runners suffering brutal hailstorms. WAOC’s top ten results in the Championship classes were Hebe Darwin 6^th in W20E, Johanna Powell 7^th in W50L and Kathy Haynes 7^th in W65L.

The Welsh Championships 2026 were held at the same event, with WAOC’s Johanna Powell winning Silver in W50L and Alys Powell winning Bronze in W14A.

WAOC's EA Urban League Winners

Congratulations to all the WAOC runners who ended up top of their age class in the 2025 East Anglian Urban League.

WAOC's EA league winners 2025

The results of the 2025 East Anglian League are now available on the EAOA website. Well done to all the WAOC class winners:

WAGAL Winners 2025

The overall totals of our WAGAL league are now finalised for 2025 following our event at Mildenhall North on 30th November, which was the last of the five WAGAL scoring event of the year.

The WAGAL scoreboard shows the final standings (click on 2025 Results).

The overall winner is Dil Wetherill, with the next two highest scorers being the contenders for the top female score: Emma Jarrett and Sue Hartley. Emma ends up ahead by the narrowest of margins, having earned extra points for organising an event earlier in the year.

JHI Weekend 2025A report from Erik

The Junior Home Internationals (JHIs for short) take place every year to provide a friendly competition between teams of the best young orienteers in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. This year's JHIs were held in Wales on the weekend of 11th-12th October.

WAOC's Hebe Darin and Erik Biernacka-Jablonski both competed for England, and Alys Powell for Wales. You can read about Erik's experience in his own words, in his report, here.

Lagganlia 2025

This July, one of our junior orienteers, Erik, was selected to take part in the Lagganlia training camp, held annually and based near Aviemore in Scotland.

You can read Erik's report of his experience at Lagganlia on the EAOA Junior Squad web page, here.

WAOC's Midland Champions 2025

The 2025 Midland Championships were held on 6 September on Chinley Churn (DVO). The weather was horrid with thunderstorms for late starters, but nice for everybody else. There are photos of the event, including some WAOC runners here

Congratulations to WAOC's Midland Champions:

• M14A Erik Biernacki-Jablonski
• M18E Chun Yan Alistair Fu
• W10A Hana Powell
• W12A Elysia Cowe
• W14A Alys Powell
• W18E Hebe Darwin
• W45L Emma Jarrett

WAOC at the British Mixed Sprint RelaysYoung Junior Team wins Silver

WAOC were able to field 9 teams (including a Junior Alliance team with SOS) on Saturday 30 August at the Sprint Relay Championships at RAF Honington.

Many congratulations to the Young Junior Relay (12-) (Etty, Hana, Edmund), for achieving second place in the M/W12- class. They were delighted with their Silver Medals.