Summer series #1 & BKO Club Picnic
Berkshire Orienteers (BKO) invites you to our orienteering event at Sandhurst Memorial Park on Saturday the 20th June, 2026. Following the event we will have the BKO club picnic in the park.
We encourage people who have not tried orienteering before to give it a go. The aim of orienteering is to complete a course in the shortest time you can. You can run or walk, alone, with a friend or as a family. You are given a map with the course to follow and there are a number of control points that you must visit in order. You will recognise each control by an orange and white kite (as photo above) with a small control unit that you swipe with your SI dibber attached to one of your fingers. When you reach the finish, you download the dibber to find out how long you took between the controls.
There will be 3 courses: Short (~2km), Medium (~4km) and Long (~6km).
All courses will be within the park and will not cross roads, so there are no restrictions on courses that juniors with orienteering experience could enter. The Short course will also be easier, sticking to paths/tracks and suitable for juniors and adults who have never done orienteering before. The Medium and Long courses have legs where the fastest route maybe cutting cross-country. The summer vegetation is long in places, so full leg cover is highly recommended. A club member will be on hand to explain what to do when you arrive at the enquiries desk in the tent next to the car park for Sandhurst Memorial Park.
To enter the event and further details go to the RaceSignup page (standard entries close midnight 14 June 2026, and late entries will be available at £2 extra after that while spare maps are still available):
https://racesignup.co.uk/sandhurst
The club picnic will be held directly after the event. Open to all BKO members and food & drink is provided by the club, although you are welcome to bring along extras. Please let us know that you are coming to the picnic so we can cater for suitable numbers (events@bko.org.uk) and bring along a camp chair or picnic blanket. We will put up a gazebo, bring tables for the food and guarantee the sunshine.
The Organiser is John Methven, the Planner is Trish Monks and David Palmer is origanising the picnic.
