MAP-READING in the pouring rain is never easy, but 11 schools braved the elements to do just that in the Furness orienteering finals.

Teams of six girls and six boys massed in Barrow Park, sheltering beneath the bandstand where possible, to battle it out for district honours and a place in the Cumbria School Games finals.

Holy Family came out on top as runners set off at one-minute intervals, each visiting a series of checkpoints dotted around the park in a set order, with the fastest finisher winning.

Year 5 and 6 pupils from Holy Family, Sir John Barrow, Yarlside, St George’s, St James, Lindal and Marton, St Paul’s, Croftlands Juniors, Ormsgill, Church Walk and South Walney Juniors made up the competition.

There were two courses the runners had to complete, set by organisers Lakeland Orienteering, and both having 10 checkpoints before the finish.

Once they had completed one course, runners were given a time receipt which detailed the current position and overall time. When all the teams had returned they set off on their second.

The runners had an electronic dibber they had to put into each checkpoint, which relayed their time back to the computer. It was important they did each checkpoint in the right order and not miss any out.

Behind Holy Family, Sir John Barrow came home in second, with Yarlside Academy first after a close contest.

Furness School Games organiser Oliver Carswell was thrilled with the success of the event, and said: “The weather didn’t stop the competition going ahead, nor did it stop the runners enjoying themselves whilst trying to problem solve under pressure.

“The previous experience varied massively from runner to runner. Some had no problem going off on their own and completing the course quickly, where others thought it would be better to wait for their team-mates to catch them up and go round together, not realising that their time would suffer because of it.

“Massive thank you goes to Lakeland Orienteering, as using their expertise and equipment made the job a lot easier, and also to the teachers who braved the weather to get their teams to the competition.

“It shows great commitment to their pupils and school sport.”