Sister and brother land title double
Kate and Finlay Mcluckie achieved an impressive double at this month’s Scottish Championships in East Lothian, winning the girls’ and boys’ titles respectively in the under -10 category. Their parents – Morag and Peter – are keen orienteers, but the interest in the sport has also been fuelled at their children’s school, West End Primary School in Elgin.
On Friday, Kate, a ten-yearold in Primary five, will be the youngest member of the West End team taking part in the Scottish Schools’ Championships at Drumpellier Park in Coatbridge.
Finlay is too young for the championships – he is just eight and in Primary four. But they are both punching above their weight in orienteering terms.
The pair are members of the Moravian Orienteering Club in Moray, and a third from the club, Isabel Howard, also mounted the top of the rostrum at the Scottish Championships staged around Yellowcraig and Archerfield.
Isabel is a first-year pupil at Forres Academy and she won the girls’ under-12 title.
“The PE teacher at West End is great and gets the children started in orienteering,” saidmrs Mcluckie. “There is also help from Active Schools. We have great woods in the area and there are lots of opportunities. There is a Moray Schools Orienteering Festival in the autumn and it is really well attended by all the schools in the area.”
This week also sees the climax to the Inverness Schools league.
There are over 230 youngsters taking part, and among the favourites is Inverness Gaelic School who are leading going into the final.
The Inverness Schools League was set up with the help of a Lottery grant and has proved to be a huge success.
The Gaelic School, Inverness Royal Academy and Fortrose Academy are also among the Highland Schools taking part in Friday’s Scottish Schools’ Championships.