Congratulations to Iris from ECKO - British Orienteering Talent Squad!Read on for Iris' bio

Iris in action

Following the recent training camp in Edinburgh, Iris has now been selected to the British Orienteering Talent Squad for 2020/2021. This means lots of hard work and dedication ahead for Iris but what a fantastic achievement and opportunity. Congratulations also to all the other athletes who achieved selection. EckO look forward to hearing about the many adventures Iris is sure to have.

Name: Iris MacMillan

Age: 15 years old

School: I go to Lochgilphead High School

Other interests: I enjoy riding, cycling and sea swimming.

When did you first start orienteering?

I started orienteering when I was 5 at local ECKO events with my family. They where all super keen but I spent most of the time refusing to get out of the car.

What do you enjoy about orienteering?

I enjoy orienteering because I have met a lot of friends through it, including some who live in places like New Zealand and Russia. I also like it because I get to travel to new places and it provides loads of opportunities such as traveling to places such as Estonia to compete.

Where is your favourite place to orienteer?

My favourite place to orienteer is probably the Speyside forests but I do also like more open areas like Glen Nant in Argyll.

Can you tell us a bit about SCOTJOS?

I have been in the Scottish Junior Orienteering squad for a year, it has really helped with my technical training and I also get to see my friends from all over Scotland as well as training in new areas.

Tell us about the talent selection camp and how you felt when you found out you had been selected.

To be selected for the GB Junior Talent Squad I had to go to selection races at the end of august. The selection was to be based on these race results and how I performed at a selection training camp that I had been invited to due to my results last season. I had done no orienteering for 6 months (due to covid) going into theses races and so I was very nervous. I had pretty inconclusive results, not doing very well in the sprint or middle but getting 3rd in the long distance race. The selection camp was held in Edinburgh at the beginning of October. I really enjoyed the weekend, especially the 3k time trial around the meadows which I did in 12:13. The rest of the weekend was really good and I was very happy when I found out that I had been selected for the squad as it meant that all my training had paid off.

What are the next steps in your athlete development plan and how much training do you do?

I just want to keep on enjoying orienteering, I run 5-6 days a week but only really get any orienteering coaching/training at Scotjos weekends or ECKO events every couple of months.

My aim is to compete at JWOC (Junior World Orienteering Championships) so I am just going to keep trying and training my hardest.