RESULTS NOW AVAILABLE
PRINTER FRIENDLY FINAL DETAILS (PDF)
START LISTS ARE AVAILABLE HERE
>>ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED<<
Final Details in web form:
Venue:
Ecclesall Woods is located on the West side of Sheffield. The event will be signed from the junction of the A625 (Hathersage Road) and Limb Lane at SK311826.
Parking:
Parking/Assembly will be in a field off Limb Lane to the West of Ecclesall
Woods- SK310824. The parking field is gently sloping and cars will enter
the field via a narrow gate at the top and will be parked facing downhill.
Cars will then leave the field via a different gate at the bottom of the
field. There will be a £1 parking charge (to farmer). Please contact the
organiser if you are thinking of bringing a vehicle larger than a minibus.
Dogs:
It is a condition of our use of the car park field that NO
DOGS MUST BE BROUGHT TO THE EVENT - livestock will be grazing
in the bottom of the field. Your co-operation is greatly appreciated.
Terrain:
Ecclesall Woods contains 350 runnable acres of mature semi-natural deciduous
woodland. The area is heavily used by the public and the resulting complex
path network will provide an interesting orienteering challenge. Moreover,
many of the smaller paths are covered in leaves at this time of year making
them even harder to identify. There is virtually no bracken. Brambles tend
to exist in small avoidable clumps rather than carpet over the area. The
main hindrance to progress are thickets- these can vary from single holly
bushes to large areas of holly bush / rhododendron where route choice will
become important. The area used for the chase contains a bird sanctuary
and a saw mill- both of these are strictly out of bounds and will be clearly
marked as such on the map. Any competitor going into either of these areas
will be strictly disqualified.
Map:
1:7500, 5m contours. Brand new map surveyed Autumn 2007 by Oli Johnson.
Drawn to ISSOM 2007 (Sprint maps) standard. In particular note that paths
with an engineered surface (usually gravel) are marked with a beige screen
and dashed black lines either side. Other symbols to be aware of include;
x (brown) Rootstock
x (black) Bench
o (black) Platform
o (green) Distinctive tree
Maps will be printed on waterproof paper and will be A5 in size for both
the prologue and chase. Maps will include a reduced legend containing special
symbols. All boulders are very small and, where used as control sites, the
flag will be visible before the feature.
C. Desc:
Control descriptions will be printed on the back of the map. They will also
be available at -3 minutes for the prologue race and in the pre-start area
for the chase.
Courses:
Code |
Class |
Prologue Length |
Chase Length |
A |
Mens Open |
4.0km |
4.0km |
B |
Womens Open |
3.6km |
3.7km |
C |
Mens 40+ /16- |
3.0km |
3.7km |
D |
Womens 40+ / 16- |
2.8km |
3.3km |
E |
Orange |
2.5km |
N/A |
Please note that course E (orange) is a standard cross country style orienteering course run at the same time as the Prologue.
SportIdent Punching:
Sportident will be used for all courses.
Catering:
A catering tent will be jointly provided by members of ShUOC and the YHOA
junior squad. Cakes will be on sale throughout the day and soup will be
available in the gap between the prologue and chase. Please make every effort
to support this stall.
Enquiries:
This will be open from 915 to 1015 only in the car park field for the purposes
of dibber changes / picking up hired dibbers etc. A charge of £20 will be
made for any hired dibber not returned. As advised in the preliminary details,
there is no EOD (entry on the day).
The Prologue (and Orange course)
Start:
The start for the prologue race is 2.0km distant, allow 25 minutes. The
route to the start will involve crossing a major road and a minor road;
please cross with care and follow the marshals’ instructions. Call up is
at -3 minutes. Control descriptions will be available at -3mins and blank
maps will be provided at -2 mins (please pay attention to the ISSOM 2007
standard). Starts are from 1030 till 1130. Please arrive at the start in
plenty of time for your allotted start time. The start list is very full
and you may have a long wait for a spare time slot should you miss your
start time! Start lists will be available on shuocchasingsprint.snow.co.uk
by Wednesday evening at the latest.
Finish:
The prologue finish is approximately 300m from the start. The route back
from the finish to assembly passes close to the start and then follows the
same route back (see event map). Courses close at 1230. It is imperative
that you report to the finish before 1230 as it will be packed up and moved
to the Chase finish arena at that time. There will be no water at the finish,
please provide your own and leave it at the clothing dump. Route to/from
prologue start/finish passes very close to the Chase competition area. Please
keep strictly to the marked route.
Clothing:
A clothing dump will be provided half way between the start and finish.
Although this will be manned, competitors leave clothing at their own risk.
Safety:
All courses (including the orange) cross a minor road (speed limit=40mph).
Only light traffic is expected and visibility is excellent. The road crossing
will be marshalled to warn of any approaching traffic, but it is competitors'
responsibility to cross safely.
Download:
The download will be situated 100m from the finish. It is vital that everyone
downloads straight after they finish. DO NOT HEAD BACK TO ASSEMBLY WITHOUT
DOWNLOADING - this will result in search parties being sent out and starts
for the chase being delayed. Maps will not be collected in but in the interest
of fairness, we ask that you do not show your map to others that have not
run. You must report to download, even if you retire.
The Chase
Start:
The start and finish for the chase are located 300m from the parking field
at the bottom of the football pitches. Start lists will be published in
assembly for all classes as soon as possible after 1300, but you can calculate
your own start time by adding the time taken in the prologue race + base
time. The base times for each course are as follows;
1300 A- Mens Open
1315 B- Womens Open
1330 C & D- Mens 40+/16- & Womens 40+/16-
There will be a mass start at the appropriate base time + one hour for any
competitor who took over 60 minutes on the prologue or who was disqualified
on the prologue (i.e. mass start times are 1400-A,1415-B, 1430- C &
D).
Please calculate your own start time and turn up to the start well in advance. Call up will be at -5 minutes at which point you will have your start time written on your hand. Please help the start officials by sorting yourselves out in order. Start officials will be under stress; your patience will be appreciated.
Finish:
There will be a finishing line marked by tape on the ground. The finishing
order of competitors will be determined by the line, not who punches the
finish box first. There will be line judges present, please respect their
decisions! After crossing the finish line, please stay in order and punch
the finish box which will be held by a finish official. Courses closes at
1545.
Download:
This will be situated in the large blue tent in the car park field. You
must report to download, even if you retire.
Toilets:
Portaloos will only be provided in the car park field.
Results:
Results will be posted on the event website (shuocchasingsprint.osnow.co.uk)
as soon as possible after the event.
Officials:
Organsier: Andy Lllewellyn [ShUOC] (andyllewellyn (--AT--) gmail.com)
Planner: Matthew Dickinson [SPOOK]
Controller: Charlie Adams [SYO]
Cancellation:
ShUOC reserve the right to cancel the event at short notice in extreme weather
conditions. Such a cancellation would be publicised on the event website.
ShUOC reserve the right to retain all / part of the entry fees to cover
committed costs.
SPOOK relays:
The event also serves as the 2007 SPOOK relays- the intense ShUOC (current
Sheffield students) vs SPOOK (ex Sheffield students) orienteering battle!
SPOOK relay forms will be available in the main enquiries tent from 915
onwards. Competitors must declare which other person they wish to 'run'
with in advance and hand in the forms by 1030. The winning teams will be
decided by comparing the sum of the prologue and chase times of both members
of each team. There will be a prize for the first Mens team and the first
Womens team.
Competitors are reminded that they take part at their own risk.
ShUOC take no responsibility for any losses or injuries caused.