The 2025 edition of European Youth Orienteering Champs took the NZ Team to the Czech Republic and the Moravian Karst area north of Brno. A committed support crew were there to help Jenni and Carsten, who ably managed and coached the team so soon after their WOC commitments. While we could have expected temperatures up into the 30s, the competition days were manageable, low to mid 20s throughout with a bit of drizzle on the first day.

The Long Distance was first up and its courses featured up to 8% climb and a brutal 3rd control where a deep stream valley cut across the map and really couldn’t be avoided. This put both route choice and execution skills to the test. Tahi and Zara were the best performers with 36th and 39th placings.

On Day 2 the Sprint was in a residential area in Brno, very close to the team accommodation. A railway line cut through the map and provided a challenging route choice for competitors in the second half of their course. The kiwis showed their sprint skills with Tahi in 28th and in W18 Georgia, Juliet and Zara came 24th, 27th and 31st respectively.

On the final day the Relay returned to the Long Distance arena but used a different part of the map, less steep but with some very green sections to make running and accurate navigation quite difficult. Some lush patches of blackberry left their mark on the kiwis’ legs. The highlight for NZ was a twelfth placing for the W18 team with Lani picking up 7 places on Leg 2.