Juniors
One of the many strengths of orienteering is that young and old compete alongside each other on the same courses and compare notes afterwards. The Run for Your Club and New to Orienteering? pages have lots of information that applies to runners of all ages and levels of competitiveness.
Safeguarding:
We are committed to the principles of Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults and our Safeguarding page explains our policies and practice.
Orienteering in England has a structure of Regional and National level squads for youngsters who want to compete at these levels, with the potential for progression to International competitions. Harlequins juniors who are a second year M/W12 or older, and are able to confidently and independently complete an Orange course (or above) can join the West Midlands Junior Squad.
The CompassSport Cup/Trophy competition includes juniors within the ‘whole club’ team, and indeed they are frequently key to the overall result. The assorted West Midlands competitions all have Junior categories.
One way for Juniors to measure progress within the sport is to work towards the different badges for colour-coded courses.
There are two inter-club competitions organised solely for juniors:
The Yvette Baker Trophy/Shield is the premier Junior Inter-Club competitions for English and Welsh clubs. It is named after Britain’s first World Orienteering Champion. Usually the heats are held in Spring with the final in July. Harlequins have qualified for the 2022 final in the Shield. In 2019 we came third!
The Peter Palmer Junior Team Relays are held yearly, often in September, with the first two legs usually run in the dark.
Juniors who attend schools in the West Midlands Region can take part in the West Midlands Schools Championships. The British Schools Orienteering Association has a very comprehensive website and coordinates two National Championships each year.