New area opens 2025 season
Forth Valley Orienteers opened its 2025 daytime programme in spectacular fashion, as more than 160 participants were treated to a race on an area not used for orienteering in more than 40 years.
Thanks to a generous donation from the UK Government Levelling Up Fund, the club has been able to make maps of several areas in the Falkirk district, and Bo'ness Foreshore was the first of these to see the light of day. The area was last used in 1983, just after the Kinneil coal mine closed down, although all traces of industry are long-vanished, and the woodland, which includes a tidal island off the Firth of Forth, proved to be an excellent test of navigational skill on a bright January day.
Youngster Grace Polwart was persuaded to skip her coaching gig for the day, and take up the planning mantle for the first time, and she laid on some outstanding courses that made the best of an area that's at its peak at this time of year, with the longer courses going as far as Bo'ness harbour.
There were large entries on all five courses, and Graham Gristwood, on a rare local event appearance, won on Blue in 33.13, from Will Hensman (37.23) with Dom Edward 3rd in 38.41. Chris Kelly was too late to get an entry on his favoured course and had to drop back to Green for the day, and he scooped the victory by a single second (32.14) from ELO's Evgueni Chepelin, as new FVO signing Alistair Skeffington was 3rd in 36.16.
On Light Green, Ines Chepelin was quickest, but missed one out leaving another new boy, Steve Howell with a 34.42 debut win, ahead of Sean Truswell (35.15), on his first try at the colour and Ieva Downie (38.21).
A large contingent of the club's juniors had their first coaching session of the year, with several new faces on show, then Rose Martin (23.59) took the spoils on Orange, from Luc Darvill (24.43) with independent athlete Matt Chapman-Rounds 3rd (25.06). And on Yellow, it was Anton Skeffington who topped the field in 16.15, ahead of Emma Cheyne (16.57) and a tie between William Bonham and Calum Bland (17.23), who ran as a pair.