Thirty-nine competitors participated in the Yukon Orienteering Association’s Long Championships on the evening of June 21 at Mount McIntyre in Whitehorse.
Orienteering is an outdoor sport that combines running and navigation using detailed topographic maps.
Participants in the recent championship event were organized into four categories: novice, intermediate, advanced and expert, and raced across courses that featured hilly terrain and long sections of trail running.
The courses’ detailed topography also required “precision orienteering,” according to a race recap published on the Yukon Orienteering Association’s website.
Junior participants Nelia Turcotte and Rima Khouri had the top time on the 2.1-kilometre novice course, finishing with a timestamp of 28:28. Desiree Coad-Broeren, Helen Slama and Penny Slama completed the course at 41:15.
On the 3-kilometre intermediate course, Rima Khouri took the top spot with a time of 28:07. In second was junior participant Ian Turcotte with a timestamp of 30:41, while Gabe Close and Martin Slama tied for third, finishing the course in 33:18.
The top three finishers on the 4.3-kilometre advanced course were Virginia Sarrazin, Philippa McNeil and Emilie Stewart-Jones, with timestamps of 48:58, 49:11 and 52:18, respectively.
On the 6.4-kilometre expert course, Forest Pearson finished with a time of 53:34, while Benoit Turcotte finished at 56:53, Darren Holcombe at 72:46 and Bob Sagar at 78:17.
In addition to these larger-scale events, the Yukon Orienteering Association also holds local meets roughly every second Wednesday from May to September. Check out the association’s website for more details: yukonorienteering.ca
READ MORE: Over 50 orienteers gather for event in Riverdale
Contact Matthew Bossons at matthew.bossons@yukon-news.com