Interland 2010 - England wins match

[Drdr]

I see from the EOC website [http://www.orienteeringengland.org.uk] that England won the Interland match last weekend. Well done everyone!

Anybody who was there who can tell us all a little more?

[Spookster]

England has never been beaten in this competition, and usually it's not very close. However, this year it looks like the VVO Belgians weren't far behind in 2nd place:

Match result

[Gonzo]

There were some really good results from English orienteers BUT why do England compete as one team whereas Belgium are split - I assume by language? With the population of England compared with half of Belgium you really would expect England to always win. I haven't worked it out but a cursory glance at the results would seem to suggest that if Belgium competed as a country rather than two regions they would actually have won!
If I were a Belgian (or German or Dutchman) I would be a bit p****d off at this, or are they just giving us a chance?
Is it all of Germany or a sort of 'Northern League' German team?

[mharky]

If you were from Flanders you would be pissed off having to run for Belgium...

And lets not get into population comparisons again, there are 25 million people in Scandinavia yet they seem to do alright in WOC against China and the USA...

[madmike]

Technically speaking, and to be pedantic, it could be considered as 1/3 of Belgium not 1/2. Belgium is a country of 3 geographic regions and 3 recognised linguistic groups; moreover, all 6 are (or used to be) entitled to representation in the parliament.

Germany at Interland is actually North Rhine Westfalia, which is a German constituent state with nearly 4 times more people than Scotland as I recall but roughly 1/3 of England's population.