Scotland won its 12th consecutive Inter-Regional title

A display of across-the-board power ensured that Scotland claimed its 12th consecutive victory in the Junior Inter-Regional Championships in Gloucestershire.

JIRCS sees Scotland cast as a Region, competing against nine English areas, as well as Wales and Northern Ireland, and a date clash with the Junior European Cup in Austria deprived the Scots of four certain points scorers, including FVO's Scarlett Kelly, as they had to dig deep into the locker to ensure that a full team was available for the races. However, there were no concerns in the end, as they won four of the individual classes on points, tied in a fifth, and were only denied the W14 crown by two points.

James Hammond ends his junior career with five wins from five runs (2020 having been cancelled due to COVID) as he led home the M18 pack in 51.30, while Peter Owen stepped up in major fashion, covering the loss of the British #1 and 2 to JEC as he took a fantastic 2nd place in M16 by just 18 seconds (49.33). Meanwhile in M14, Fraser Cheyne came in for his debut, and looks to be an asset already, as he was 4th (38.40) in the class

There were three other FVO athletes in action, with Matthew Inman 14th in M16 (58.22) and Alexander Hunt 18th (59.55) in the same class, but neither was required for the overall score. And a special word for Rebecca Hammond, who stepped up to W18 to fill a gap in the team, and was 11th (75.07).

A 50 point lead overnight meant that only a catastrophic set of results, combined with one of the other regions having their best day, would result in the trophy leaving Caledonian hands. There was an early setback in the girl's race, as the Scotland B team mispunched on the first leg, and while in 4th place. However, the A team was down the track by that point, and the quickest splits on both first and seconds legs set them up for a three minute winning margin (63.43). Rebecca Hammond was on closing duty for Scotland D, and she gained an overall place on the leg with a time of 28.42, for an eventual 5th place (75.23).

In the boys race, James Hammond pulled Scotland A up from 8th to 3rd on the closing leg, with an audacious split of 22.34, but the B team, featuring Peter Owen (8th in 21.54) and Fraser Cheyne (6th in 23.08) came in 4th to guarantee victory in both stages. Alexander Hunt and Matthew Inman were on openers for the C and D teams, with Matthew 12th (23.15) and Alexander 17th (27.20) on their leg.

The victory is a fitting farewell for head coach Jon Musgrave, who is standing down after leading the team to each of the twelve wins. He will be replaced in 2025 by Roger Goddard of FVO.