Scottish Sprint Champs 2014

Incorporating bto SOUL 2

Sat 15th Feb 2014

Last updated: 19th Feb
Type of event: Regional, Sprint
Type of terrain: Urban
Read more about the mapped area

Results

Results and split times
RouteGadget
Winsplits
BOF Ranking Points

Info

Thanks to everyone who came along to Part One of the Tay Perfect Perth Day Out - the 2014 Scottish Sprint Championships - at North Muirton, and congratulations to all the prize winners!

Controller's comments are now available; for the overall co-ordinator's report, see the Scottish Night Championships event page. The event photos on this page are courtesy of Grahame Nicoll; see also Crawford Lindsay's photos on Picasa.

Organiser's Report

When Davie Frame asked me to be the Day Organiser for the Scottish Sprint Orienteering Championships, my first thought was that I would do my best, but... Fortunately Davie already had detailed plans, not only for the actual courses, but for the many actions that would be required on the day.

Two visits were made to North Muirton Primary School with Davie to look at the field and to see where the start, finish and parking could be arranged.  Access to the school building could not be arranged but Davie had already seen the janitor and knew the internal layout.

On the day, I put out the street notices in advance and then helped the good sized team with setting up inside the hall and on the field. Jobs had been allocated well in advance with sensitivity to people’s skills and wishes so everyone knew where they should be. Logistics of having the right equipment had been well thought out and, because enough members of the club had set up for events before, very little guidance was needed. The club is extremely lucky to have very resourceful, enterprising and good natured members who just get on and do what needs to be done, which is the key to success.

Good weather helped the day to progress well but the very large number of participants and the relatively short time they were on the course did mean that everyone was very busy throughout and there was very little respite. Catering facilities worked well and are really necessary to give a good social atmosphere. After prize giving for the junior competitors, everyone piled in to help clear up and pack up equipment for the evening event at Kinnoull Hill. The hall was cleared and I then contacted the janitor who was very pleased that we had finished earlier than expected and that everything was clean and tidy.

Having a club event manual together with Davie and Elaine’s vast experience, meticulous planning beforehand and sheer hard work made the event a huge success.

John Lewis

Controller's Report

This was an 'easy shift' for a controller. The planner had some great ideas and was able to use the housing area and pavements to create a viable route for the under 16s. The terrain was excellent orienteering, and it was great to see so many runners being challenged by the terrain. I wouldn't take delight in runners making mistakes, but those who claimed to have made 90 degree and 180 degree errors proves that they were being thoroughly tested.

Control theft, the perennial bug bear of urban events, was reduced by putting the controls out at the last minute. While this adds a little bit of unwelcome work it did reduce the problem. One control was stolen, about 30 minutes before the start, and was replaced. Some runners were then confused when it reappeared, there now being two controls at the same site. It transpires that a man had found the control in his children's bedroom, administered advice and returned it to the rightful location.

Clive Masson (ESOC)

Acknowledgements

This was the second event in the bto Scottish Orienteering Urban League 2014.

Thankyou to prize sponsors:

BUFF, who supplied 50 Buffs as prizes, including reflective ones!

Location

Nearest town: Perth

• Grid Ref: NO106257
• Postcode: PH1 3BY
• Latitude: 56.41590
• Longitude: -3.45042
• Google Map (aerial)
• Bing Map (OS)
• OpenStreetMap

Pre event information

Registration, Start and Finish will be located at North Muirton Primary School; hopefully with an urban string course too.

Mix of fast running on paved surfaces, interspersed with grassy areas which will be muddy and slippy after several weeks of rain. Footwear with some grip is definitely recommended.

Final Details for both events (PDF).

Directions / Parking

The event base is North Muirton Primary School, Perth.

Approach from the Inveralmond roundabout on the A9 north of Perth, and take the exit for Perth. Follow Dunkeld Road/A912 south through a mini roundabout, under a railway bridge, then turn left at the traffic lights onto Bute Drive. Follow this for just under 1Km until a signposted right turn takes you into Uist Place and then the school.

Parking will mostly be in the school grounds, but there is unlikely to be space for everyone, so please, please share cars if at all possible. There is a large carpark adjacent to the TISO store at Inveralmond roundabout where you could carshare from. We are awaiting permission for use of another carpark, but this will be a 500m walk.

Please do not arrive before 1200 as the gates may not be open.

It is recommended that you keep your vehicle locked when away from it.

Facilities

Registration/download/seating and toilets are in the school. Access is by a door on the west side, not via the main entrance. Please leave outdoor footwear outside.

Cakes! Elaine's 2 nieces are fundraising for a school trip, so Lorna, their mother, has offered to sell cakes (& tea and coffee) as a fundraiser. I can recommend them having sampled too many.

Prizegiving: There will be a junior prizegiving as soon as possible for M/W 10, 12, 14, and 16 classes only. The main prizegiving will be after the night event at Kinnoull. There are no trophies for the Sprints that we aware of, but there will be a BUFF for all class winners. Parents should declare if runners on course 5 are shadowed or assisted.

Registration & Start Times

Registration 1230 - 1330

Starts 1300 - 1415

Courses close 1500

Start times are available on OEntries. There will be a punching start.

Late starts will be fitted in when possible, but this may be a long time.

Courses 4 and 5 have been allocated start times, but this is only to avoid queuing, so can be flexible.

Those pre entered can go straight to the start unless they require to hire a dibber, or still have to pay for their entry.

The start is at the north end of the school grounds, adjacent to the parking.

1 minute start intervals; -3 call up; loose control descriptions available at -3.

Course 5 maps should be collected at registration.

The string course is adjacent to the starts, so please give way to participants if you are warming up.

Course Information

Single race sprint, with 5 courses (estimated winning time of 12 – 15 minutes for each course as per the Scottish Orienteering guidelines):

These are straight line distances. The actual lengths will be considerably longer. There is negligible climb.

Unaccompanied under 16's cannot run courses 1, 2, or 3 to comply with BOF Insurance requirements re road crossings.

There will be a short string course within the school grounds. This follows a series of optional 'trim trail' activities, so parents may wish to accompany participants, although it will all be visible from the start.  It is likely to be fairly muddy.

Additional map information:

• A4/1:4000 ISSOM map updated for the event. There will only be a minimal legend on the map, so make sure you that you are familiar with ISSOM symbols, particularly for out of bounds areas and uncrossable boundaries. The legend will be on display at registration.
• Note in particular that the small areas of grass in front of individual houses belong to the houses, so although not always fenced off, they are still private property and out of bounds as shown on the map - please do not cut corners at these locations.
• X on control description = manmade item.
• Note that there are many small drying areas enclosed by a high wooden fence which is mapped as a thick black circular line. Where these are used as control features, the controls are all on the external side, so there is no need to enter them.

Additional infoirmation on controls:

• The SI units will be attached to/hanging from small wires for security. This can occasionally make it slightly more difficult to dib.
• It is recommended that you pull slightly on the unit to tension the wire with your free hand while inserting the dibber. If you are at the correct location, the units should be obvious, but bear in mind that this is an urban environment and kites are likely to be the first thing to go missing.

Additional safety information:

• This is an urban event. There will be traffic on all courses except course 5.
• YOU are responsible for crossing all roads in a safe manner.
• This is not a closed campus. People live here and should be given priority at all times - please act responsibly and courteously, particularly when crossing roads and at blind corners. Several controls can be approached from both directions so do not rush into blind corners.
• Many of the houses in the area are being worked on and have scaffolding around them. No paths are blocked but they may be restricted in places, so please take additional care at these locations.

Explanation of colour courses

• White are very easy with all controls on paths. They are mainly used by 6-10 year olds and family groups.
• Yellow use simple linear features like paths, walls and streams. They are mainly used by under 12’s and family groups.
• Orange progress to basic use of the compass and route choice. They are ideal for novice adults or experienced youngsters.
• Light Green are ideal for improvers as the navigational difficulty begins to increase and uses simple contours and point features.
• Green are used mostly by experienced under 18’s and adults wanting a short but challenging course with a very hard navigational difficulty.
• Blue are a longer, more physically demanding course in comparison to the green. The distances are more varied between controls and the course attracts experienced orienteers.
• Brown & Black are very physically demanding and have a very hard navigational difficulty. They are for experienced orienteers only.
• Score means visiting as many controls as possible in any order in a specific time, like 45mins.

Entry Details

Entries are now closed. There will be no entry on the day, other than for juniors and novices

Contacts / Officials

Instigator; Coordinator, and Planner: Davie Frame - /01738 710614

Organiser: John Lewis (TAY)

Controller: Clive Masson (ESOC/BAOC)

Dogs allowed?

Dogs on leads in school grounds

Safety and Risk

A comprehensive risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event.

Keep It Clean campaign - Forestry Commission Scotland

Our forests are at risk from tree pests and diseases. These can dramatically affect the health of our trees, upsetting the delicate ecosystem balance and devastating large areas of woodland.
Pests and diseases hitch a ride in mud and debris on shoes, paws and tyres, ending up in new forests. Here, they can spread rapidly in environments with no natural resilience.
Read more about this on the FCS website.

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