Saxons Orienteering Club are a long-standing supporter of Friends and invite you to have a go at orienteering in King’s Wood this weekend. Registration is free when you show your 2008 Friends membership card (a £1 equipment hire fee is payable per group). Read on for more details:

Saxons Orienteering Club arranges one or two events each year in King’s Wood and the next one, which I will be organising, is scheduled for Saturday January 17th 2009. Our events are open to all. Beginners are most welcome and help is available for anybody who needs it. Full details of the club and the events are available on the website www.saxons-oc.org/. If anybody wishes to contact somebody about the club or the events, details are on the website - and I also would be happy to be contacted: nicholasjwhope@tiscali.co.uk.

Orienteering requires competitors to navigate around a set course using a map (supplied at the Start) on which are marked a number of control points. Control points have to be located in the correct order and the visit recorded electronically. Three courses will be provided to cover a range of fitness and navigational abilities. Anybody that is capable of walking 2km (the shortest course) would be able to take part, individually or in groups. Choice of course will depend on how far people want to run / walk and how confident they are in their map reading abilities. Anybody can enter any of the 3 courses but it is quite likely that anybody who has no experience of orienteering may prefer to work their way around the short or middle course in pairs or in a small group. There will be people around who will be able to help novices at the start – and maybe a bit further around the course if necessary. Some people are very competitive; others just treat it as a purposeful walk / run in the forest. Whatever the motive for taking part the intention is to have fun and explore the area.

It should be noted that the published distances are the shortest possible, point to point between controls; in practice a greater distance will be covered as navigational errors are made and if paths are used. Each competitor starts at a convenient time – mainly to avoid bunching - and makes their way around the course at their own pace. Each competitor will have a Sportident dibber (available for £1 hire at the start for anybody who doesn’t have their own). The dibber records the time of the start, finish and all the controls as they are visited. This information is downloaded after the Finish in order to check that all controls have been visited in the correct order and to allow times to be compared. Results will then be published on the website.

Registration, Start & Finish will be at the south east (ie right hand side) of the main car park. Look for the pennants and my dark green Ford Galaxy. Registration and start will be on Saturday January 17th between 10:30 and 12:30. Three courses will be available at lengths of approximately 2.2 km, 4.1 km and 6.1 km and the courses will close at 14:00.

Equipment consists mainly of clothing suitable for a brisk walk or run around King’s Wood, appropriate for the weather and ground conditions on the day. A compass can be useful and a clear plastic bag/wallet to protect the map from rain and mud is advisable.

Registration involves completing a short form with basic details to allow results to be compiled, to ensure that everybody is accounted for and will be covered by the club insurance policy. (The form asks for sex and age, in accordance with standard athletic procedure. As competitor ages may range from 4 years to 80+ years this allows a sensible comparison of times to be made for those who wish to do so. If you are shy about your age – don’t worry it is not compulsory to divulge it unless you want to compete seriously!)

All club activities are conducted voluntarily: no individuals benefit financially from club events. Expenses such as club equipment, maps, land access fees, insurance etc. do however need to be covered so an entry fee is payable. For this event the fee is normally £6 (or £4 for British Orienteering Federation members) but juniors (under 21) are free, however, the fee will be waived for Friends of King’s Wood members if they show their 2008 membership card.

Best regards
Nicholas Hope

Saxons Orienteering Club:  read more ...

Saxons Orienteering Club are a long-standing supporter of Friends and invite you to have a go at orienteering in King’s Wood this weekend. Registration is free when you show your 2008 Friends membership card (a £1 equipment hire fee is payable per group). Read on for more details:

Saxons Orienteering Club arranges one or two events each year in King’s Wood and the next one, which I will be organising, is scheduled for Saturday January 17th 2009. Our events are open to all. Beginners are most welcome and help is available for anybody who needs it. Full details of the club and the events are available on the website www.saxons-oc.org/. If anybody wishes to contact somebody about the club or the events, details are on the website - and I also would be happy to be contacted: nicholasjwhope@tiscali.co.uk.

Orienteering requires competitors to navigate around a set course using a map (supplied at the Start) on which are marked a number of control points. Control points have to be located in the correct order and the visit recorded electronically. Three courses will be provided to cover a range of fitness and navigational abilities. Anybody that is capable of walking 2km (the shortest course) would be able to take part, individually or in groups. Choice of course will depend on how far people want to run / walk and how confident they are in their map reading abilities. Anybody can enter any of the 3 courses but it is quite likely that anybody who has no experience of orienteering may prefer to work their way around the short or middle course in pairs or in a small group. There will be people around who will be able to help novices at the start – and maybe a bit further around the course if necessary. Some people are very competitive; others just treat it as a purposeful walk / run in the forest. Whatever the motive for taking part the intention is to have fun and explore the area.

It should be noted that the published distances are the shortest possible, point to point between controls; in practice a greater distance will be covered as navigational errors are made and if paths are used. Each competitor starts at a convenient time – mainly to avoid bunching - and makes their way around the course at their own pace. Each competitor will have a Sportident dibber (available for £1 hire at the start for anybody who doesn’t have their own). The dibber records the time of the start, finish and all the controls as they are visited. This information is downloaded after the Finish in order to check that all controls have been visited in the correct order and to allow times to be compared. Results will then be published on the website.

Registration, Start & Finish will be at the south east (ie right hand side) of the main car park. Look for the pennants and my dark green Ford Galaxy. Registration and start will be on Saturday January 17th between 10:30 and 12:30. Three courses will be available at lengths of approximately 2.2 km, 4.1 km and 6.1 km and the courses will close at 14:00.

Equipment consists mainly of clothing suitable for a brisk walk or run around King’s Wood, appropriate for the weather and ground conditions on the day. A compass can be useful and a clear plastic bag/wallet to protect the map from rain and mud is advisable.

Registration involves completing a short form with basic details to allow results to be compiled, to ensure that everybody is accounted for and will be covered by the club insurance policy. (The form asks for sex and age, in accordance with standard athletic procedure. As competitor ages may range from 4 years to 80+ years this allows a sensible comparison of times to be made for those who wish to do so. If you are shy about your age – don’t worry it is not compulsory to divulge it unless you want to compete seriously!)

All club activities are conducted voluntarily: no individuals benefit financially from club events. Expenses such as club equipment, maps, land access fees, insurance etc. do however need to be covered so an entry fee is payable. For this event the fee is normally £6 (or £4 for British Orienteering Federation members) but juniors (under 21) are free, however, the fee will be waived for Friends of King’s Wood members if they show their 2008 membership card.

Best regards
Nicholas Hope

Saxons Orienteering Club:  read more ...