Veterans Home International Report
Q: What did an astronomer, a botanist, a civil servant, a dancer, a doctor, a fireman, a geologist, a lecturer, an outdoor educator, a policeman and a teacher have in common last weekend?
A: They formed part of the team of orienteers from north and south that represented Ireland in the annual Veterans Home International orienteering competition hosted by the Welsh Orienteering Association in South Wales.
Congratulations are due to all those who made up a full team of 12 men and 12 women that travelled over for the weekend. A special thank you to Richard, Billy and Mary who stood in at the last minute and to Helen Baxter, the hard-working Team Manager that pulled it all together. Usually the competition splits into 2: England vs Scotland and Wales vs Ireland. England dominated both the individual races on Saturday and the relays on Sunday but Wales pulled off a remarkable effort to knock Scotland into 3rdplace. The Irish team sadly couldn’t quite match the Welsh success and came in 4thbehind Scotland. Significant performances in the individual races were achieved by David Blair and Ruth Lynam who won their classes and Marcus Pinker who came 2ndin his. As ever though, the Irish Team were the loudest supporters and the most convivial of all the participants.
The VHI age range is from 35 to 65, so if you are in any of those age classes, the Team Manager will be watching eagle-eyed to see how well you run between now and the selection in July for the 2019 event to be held in Scotland.