ASOM 2023 Ghent
Credit: Alison Howe
Saxons and friends on tour in Ghent for the annual Sprint Orienteering Meeting. A Friday mixed sprint relay, a Saturday 2 part Sprint event followed by a final City Race on the Sunday was punctuated by sightseeing river trips, the occasional Belgian beer and of course plenty of waffles!
The UK was well represented in Ghent on 18-20 August at the annual Antwerp Sprint Orienteering Meeting or ASOM, (now renamed Awesome Sprint Orienteering Meeting as its location now takes in other cities in Belgium).
The weekend started with a mixed sprint relay which this year was held in the grounds of the Dr. Guislain Museum - a former mental health hospital.
With a crazy mass start of 176 teams, the men set off on leg 1. On completing their leg, the map and dibber was handed onto the female teammate at the changeover who then completed leg 2 before handing back to their partner for leg 3. The women then completed the final leg with the combined time of all 4 legs deciding the placing of the teams.
Best placing of the race was Austin Howe (SAX) who was partnered with Charlotte Slade (SN) coming 2nd in the Junior Mixed Sprint.
The Sprint races on Saturday were sandwiched between an Elite Knock-out Sprint event which led to a thrilling finale particularly for the women race where race officials declared 2 winners, unable to split the first 2 finishers.
The Sunday City Race took in all the best sights of the City, but with sunny and warm conditions, it was hot work. The combined time for the Saturday sprint races together with the Sunday City Race decided the overall winners for the weekend. Alison Howe finished 3rd overall in the Women's Vets 40+ category joining a remarkably Anglo Saxon crowd of veteran class winners - the rest of Europe barely got a look in!
Here we come ASOM 2024 which will be held in Leuven on 18-20 May.