NEJS @ JIRCS 2026

In late September, eight members of NEJS travelled to the Junior Inter Regional Championships (JIRCs), held this year in Writtle Forest, near Chelmsford, and organised by the East Anglian Orienteering Association.

Saturday saw some fast running in the individual competition, with a fantastic performance from Jacob, who finished 4th on the M14 course!

After an overnight stay at Essex Outdoors – and plenty of dancing at the ceilidh – Sunday brought the relays. Always a fun event, with team tops and painted faces, NEJS had teams competing in the Girls Open, Boys Open and Mixed Ad Hoc categories. Great fun was had by all, with some quick times from our juniors.

The powerhouse squads of ScotJOS and YHJS dominated the weekend, maintaining their fierce annual rivalry and securing the top two spots overall.

A big thank you to EAOA for hosting such a memorable weekend in the sunshine. We’re already looking forward to JIRCs 2027, which will be hosted by the West Midlands Orienteering Association!

NEJS summer tour to Silva O’Camp

Earlier this summer 12 NEJS juniors and three coaches travelled to Czechia for the week-long Silva O’Camp – and it was amazing!  As you can see from the photos below this was a fantastic opportunity for our juniors to make new international friends and improve their orienteering skills, and most importantly, strengthen their commitment to the sport. Everyone came back thoroughly exhausted having spent hours in the forest improving their orienteering and having fun. Highlights were – ‘super puncher’, micro-orienteering, tiomila format relays, the Olympic ceremony and the international parade! If you see any of the juniors please ask them about it, I’m sure they will enjoy telling you all about it.