Alla nya kamrater har fått presentera sig med en bild och genom att svara på följande fyra frågor:

1. Where do you live and what do you do for a living at the moment?
2.  Why did you choose SNO and what are you looking forward the most to the in the club?
 3. What are your goals for 2023?
 4. Which leg do you think would suit you at Tiomila?

Alvaro García Bernabeu, från Spanien, född 2001

 

Currently, I’m living in Madrid tho i am from Onil (Alicante). I came to Madrid in order to train in a high performance centre, like a gymnasium in Sweden. I’m a university student, I study a double degree, Criminology and Psycology.

I chose SNO because I’m looking for a big club to improve my orienteering skills, and I’m from the same town as Andreu Blanes and he speaks very highly of you. I saw the club in important competitions and for me is amazing to be a part of this club. The thing that I am looking forward the most is training with the people that form the team and learning from them.

My goals for this season are the Spanish Championships, 10mila and Jukola, and the test races to EOC and WOC. The leg that would suit me the most is the one that is at daytime, though i would like to try those legs that are at night-time.

James Ackland, från Storbrittanien, född 1999

I live in Cambridge, where I am doing a PhD in the university's psychology department. There are no mountains or forests for miles around here though, so I spend as much time as I can travelling to more interesting places.One of the best orienteers in my club when I was growing up was Scott Fraser, and at some point he gifted me his SNO racing bottoms, so I have a connection to the club that way. I ran quite well the first time I wore them, and I've been racing in them ever since (including at Jukola last year, where I confused some SNO runners who of course recognised the kit, but not me!).

The other motivation to join SNO was from chatting to Fiona Bunn, who was in Cambridge at the same time as me between 2017-2020 - she persuaded me that SNO is the best club to join in Sweden. I'm looking forward to Tiomila, which I've never raced before, but having raced Jukola twice, I know the atmosphere at the Nordic night relays is incredible.

In 2022, I ran for Great Britain for the first time at the World Universities Championships, and in 2023 I want to race internationally again. Although I normally prefer forests to sprints, the Euromeeting in Stirling is very close to where I grew up in Edinburgh, and I would love the chance to race for GB on home terrain. I'm also excited for both Tiomila and Jukola, where I hope to have strong runs for SNO and establish myself as part of the team.

I think almost every British orienteer likes to run the first leg at relays, but I also usually race a bit better at middle distance races than longs, so maybe leg 9 would also be a good one for me.

Mathias Barros-Vallet, från Frankrike, född 2003

I come from Aix-en-Provence (in the south of France, not too far from the Mediterranean Sea), but for 2 years now I have been living in Clermont-Ferrand (in the middle of France) for study and train. Actually, I had chosen to come to Clermont-Ferrand to join a small training group of 6 nationals orienteers (we are all in national team (junior or senior)), to training together on amazing maps ! At the same time, I am studying engineering.

I chose SNO for 3 main reasons: your location (not too far from an airport), your ranking at the previous Tiomila and Jukola, your number of young and foreign orienteers (and without any French)

In the future, I hope to win Tiomila and Jukola with SNO ! However, for now, I just want to get some exp on Swedish maps.

For 2023, I'm completely focused on my last JWOC in Romania. My main quality is my physical level. This has been the case since I started orienteering at 6 years old, and even though I am trying to become a technician as well, I know that currently my key points are my speed and my endurance (I ran 3000meter in 8'42 at 18 years old, and I finished 13th of French Cross Country Championship last year). In addition, I like a lot to run at night, so I think the 4th leg (without forking) is the perfect leg for me. 

Nathan Marchand, från Frankrike, född 2002

I live in Clermont-Ferrand, France for 3 years. I came here to train in a high level center ("Pôle France jeune") and for studies. Clermont-Ferrand in France is the best place to do both tricky sprint and forest orienteering training. I have been hearing about orienteering in Scandinavia for a few years now and I think it is a must if you want to practice orienteering at a high level. Then I decided to go to SNO because of its geographical location and the general level of the club. My goal is to come and discover orienteering in Sweden and run the Jukola and Tiomila relay with you.

For 2023 my goals are to participate in at least one world cup and later in the season to focus on the EOC sprint and the Jukola. I usually run the first leg, but I sometimes wonder about this choice.

 

Nerea Gonzáles Peña, från Spanien, född 2002

I live in Madrid, in the capital of Spain and at the moment I am studying for a university degree, I work as a math teacher and I train in the Joaquin Blume´s residence, a High Performance center in Madrid too. I chose SNO because it is very well spoken of, I think I have a lot to learn from the team and I would very much do so in the forest. In 2023, I want to learn a lot, travel a lot and do nice and decent competitions such as WOC, EOC and WCUPs. 

The leg that suits me the best is probably first, since running with people around me helps me stay motivated and super focused on the task. But also I really like the last one, I am into fighting for a good result in the lead group as the last leg.