The crags above Callander

FVO served up a cracker of an event for the Scottish qualification round of the 2022 Compass Sport Cup and Trophy, and even found time to qualify themselves for the final in convincing fashion.

The Callander Crags area has long been regarded as a prime venue for a high-level orienteering competition, and a successful bid in 2020 allowed the area to be mapped at last. Planners Heather Fellbaum and Vicky Thornton set to work with a mission to showcase their home town to its best effect, and served up a range of quality courses on a tough, technical area.

Weather conditions on the day were sub-optimal, with heavy rain overnight making some areas of the terrain quite slippery, and competitors were tested to the maximum, both in terms of their navigational ability and their physical conditioning, with the longest courses criss-crossing the entire mapped area.

The Compass Sport Cup was a straight shootout between FVO and ESOC, although with FVO holding a reserved place in he final, as hosts, there was nothing more at stake than pride and bragging rights. FVO athletes won nine of the 12 courses on the day to establish a 77 point winning margin, with all counting scores in the top four of their class.

The Compass Sport Trophy, for smaller clubs, was the most competitive of all national rounds, with 15 clubs chasing the three qualification berths. Former winners of the Trophy, Interlopers, led the way with 1271 points from their 13 scorers, including overall wins in both of the Open classes. Both Moravian and MAROC have evolved into major-event Small clubs, after some years of tickling the fringes of Large club competition, and remained locked in battle until the dying embers of the day, with only four points separating them after all scores were counted.

The five qualifiers won't have the customary long journey to southern England for the final, which will be held in Scotland this year for the firs