7 Teenagers from Rushcliffe School competed in the recent Obstacle Course Racing World Championships. They ran, climbed, jumped and swung their way round a ninja-style course in the Essex countryside, competing in both individual and team events.
OCR = Obstacle Course Racing. It is the fastest growing global mass participation sport. Races are a combination of off-road running and completing obstacles – eg climbing over walls, crawling under cargo nets, swinging across monkey bars. Races range from 100m sprint distance up to 24 hour endurance events, although most UK races are 5-10km in length with 20-60 obstacles.
Whilst the majority of people who do an OCR do it for fun, there is also a highly competitive side to the sport: The World Championships are in their 5th year and competitor numbers have grown every year.
We have a local strength in this area: a quarter of all the male GB Teenage competitors in 2019 came from Rushcliffe School! At 13 years old, the six boys were at the very youngest end of the 13-19 age range in which they were competing. The group achieved very high obstacle completion rates on a highly technical course – a huge achievement.
Quote from Oscar Wyszynski
“Competing with people from all over the world was an incredible experience and the atmosphere throughout the whole festival was amazing. There was so much support and camaraderie”
Local OCR enthusiast Jane Grant is passionate about introducing more Teenagers to the sport. She runs an after-school club for students from Rushcliffe School up at Holme Pierrepont where there are permanent obstacles in and around woodland trails. Jane takes her own obstacles along to the training sessions, to increase the difficulty of the challenges.
“OCR is fantastic for both mental and physical health. The variety of body movements that are required to complete obstacles really help to strengthen our bodies in a functional way. The focus required to complete obstacles means that there is no space for worries!”
If you like scrambling around in the woods / climbing trees / cross country running / bouldering / climbing / gymnastics / Ninja / Parkour / generally being outdoors and playing … then you’re likely to enjoy OCR.
If you are interested in learning more, contact Jane Grant at: [email protected]