On April 9-11, the Bilkent University men’s orienteering team competed in the Orienteering Championship meet held by the Turkish University Sports Federation at Abant İzzet Baysal University in Bolu.
The first day of the meet consisted of a sprint race, with a distance of 2,900 meters as the crow flies. Adverse weather and course conditions presented a challenge to the 157 competitors. Fatih Atalı, who came in 12th, had the best result for Bilkent.
On the second day of the competition, a long distance race of 4,820 meters was run. Although the weather was mild, melting snow resulted in a muddy, difficult course. Nonetheless, all of the Bilkent athletes finished the race.
In the final standings, Bilkent ranked 14th among 23 teams from all over Turkey. Interestingly, six months ago the Bilkent team members were novices in the sport of orienteering. Some had never participated in any competitive sport. Credit must go to both their own efforts and the expert guidance of coach Nermin Fenman for their success in quickly learning orienteering and competing at the national level.
Team members (left to right):
Şeref Ali Yataman, Selçuk Gülcan, Fatih Atalı, Egemen Yankı, Ahmet Berkay Kebeci, Ömer Ali Güneş
Coach: Nermin Fenmen