AND
WEST ANGLIAN ORIENTEERING CLUB
for the
on
Officials
Entries - Nicola Gardner, thrash2003@gardner5.clara.co.uk,
Tel: 01223 262464
Day 1 Organiser - David Cottingham CUOC, Tel: 07811 314603
Day 1 Planner - Alan Elder CUOC, Controller Keith Downing SMOC
Day 2 Organiser - Tim Mulcahy, Tel: 01223 513761
Day 2 Planner - Ian Renfrew WAOC, Controller John Ward NOR
GENERAL INFORMATION
On behalf of both the CUOC and WAOC orienteering club members the officials welcome you to the 2003 Thetford Thrash Double Badge Event. We hope you enjoy a weekend of competitive orienteering in sunlit forests offering a taste of excellent East Anglian terrain. To gain maximum benefit from your visit we suggest you read these Final Details carefully.
Travel – please see the full individual Day 1 and 2 details below.
EOD Badge courses.
EOD Colour Coded courses. White to Light Green: please see the Course Information table for details.
String Course. There will be no String Course on either day.
Event Facilities. The assembly areas on both days will contain all facilities including control descriptions, EOD registration, enquiries, e-card collection & hire, results, toilets, St John Ambulance and the traders Ultrasport and Wilf’s Cafe. On Day 1 the St. Helen's picnic site is near by. There will be a box at registration if you wish to deposit car keys.
Electronic SportIdent Punching. All courses will use SI e-card punching on both days. If you have not arranged e-card hire in advance and do not have your own there will be some available for hire at registration. You must use the e-card allocated to you. The same e-card must not be used by another competitor as the computer cannot cope with surprises! If your e-card number has changed since you pre-entered, please contact the Entries officer. A dummy control will be available at the Assembly Area for those unfamiliar with the system.
e-card hire. A limited number of e-cards will be available for hire at a cost of £0.75 (for 1 or 2 days). Hire your e-card before you register for either an EOD badge or a colour coded course. If you find an e-card, please hand it in at the Download Station. Make sure that you return your hired e-card and report lost ones at the download station. Hired e-cards are the property of EAOA and you will be required to pay a fee of £17 for any which are not returned.
Registration. There will be separate registration on the day for badge and colour coded courses. For both you will need to complete the appropriate registration form before joining the queue (BOF members who want their run to count in the rankings must supply a BOF number).
Entry Fees
|
Category |
Entry on Day |
|
Badge: Seniors (M/W 20 and above) |
£8.00 |
|
Badge: Juniors |
£3.50 |
|
Colour Coded: Club Seniors (M/W 20 and above) |
£4.00 |
|
Colour Coded: Club Juniors |
£1.50 |
|
Colour Coded: Non-club Seniors (Ind) |
£5.00 |
|
Colour Coded: Non-club Juniors (Ind) |
£2.50 |
|
Badge: Family |
N/A |
Printed
results cost £1.00 but results will be published online as described below.
E-Card (SportIdent) hire £0.75 per day (a replacement cost of £17 is chargeable
if e-card is lost).
Traders. Both UltraSport and Wilf's Cafe are coming for the weekend, UltraSport selling 'O' gear, and Wilf's selling hot food and drinks. Please support these traders who have come long distances to the Thetford Thrash, and don't forget your Wilf's mugs! If you want O-gear or shoes, UltraSport will have a much wider selection on Saturday than on Sunday.
Event Safety. You take part in these events at your own risk and are responsible for your own safety. You are advised to carry a whistle. If the weather is bad the controller may insist on competitors carrying waterproofs. You must report to the download station, even if you do not complete your course. Full leg cover (i.e. no shorts) is compulsory.
Dogs are welcome but must be under strict control at all times and are not allowed in the competition area.
Maps. All maps, including those for the Colour Coded courses, will be overprinted, bagged and sealed. Control descriptions will be pasted to the front or the back of the map whichever is more appropriate. Loose control descriptions will be available at registration. The competitor is responsible for both obtaining a loose control description (if desired) and for picking up the correct map for their course at the start. The map scale on both days will be 1:15,000 with 5m contours. Surveying was carried out in Autumn/Winter 2002/2003.
Courses 1 to 8 will have pictorial descriptions using standard IOF symbols and courses 9 to 11 will have written descriptions. All symbols are IOF, the special symbols used are as follows:
Green circle: distinct tree, Green dot: holly bush, Green line or green crosses: rootstock bank, Green dots on yellow background: young trees - slow run.
The forests are managed by the Forest Enterprise. Work may therefore take place after the map has been resurveyed. Any map corrections relevant to the courses will be marked on the pre-start sample maps in the start lanes. It is the competitor's responsibility to note these changes. Forestry Enterprise signs/information boards should be obeyed at all times.
Maps will not be collected at the finish. Competitors must not show their maps to others who have not yet started. Competitors found breaking this rule are likely to be disqualified.
Data Protection Act: entry information (name, age-class and club) and the results of this event will be stored on and processed by computer systems under the terms of the British Orienteering Federation's registration under the Data Protection Act. The results from this event will be published on the Internet.
Times. Registration will open at 09:00hrs on both days. The first start times will be at 10.00hrs and the last start times will be at 13.00hrs on both days. Registration is intended for entering on the day, hire of SI cards, viewing a sample map (with any last minute changes), and for any queries about the event, parking, and start times etc.
All courses will close at 15.30hrs. Competitors who find themselves unable to complete the course before this time must return by the shortest route, and report to the download station. Searching for ”lost” competitors in the dark who have in fact left the event without reporting to the download station causes great concern and inconvenience.
Start. There will be one start for all competitors on each day. Your start time is included with these details. There will be no clothing transfer.
A “punching” start will be used - your race time will start when you punch the control after the start line, but before you pick up your map. Late arrivals will be started at the discretion of the start official, but no time penalty will be incurred.
The start will be an e-card “punching” start. It is the competitor's responsibility to ensure that they clear their e-card before starting at the pre-start clearing station provided. Wait 5 seconds for the control station to bleep before removing the e-card from the box.
Starts will be at 2-minute intervals.
It is the competitor's responsibility to ensure that they punch each control correctly and in the correct order. A valid punch is indicated both by an audible tone and flashing lights on the control box. Should for any reason the control box not be functioning, proceed to the next control and report the fault to the download station at the end of your run. In the unlikely event that the control has been removed, there should still be a length of plastic tape marking the control site. In such circumstances competitors should proceed round their course and report the missing control at the finish.
Finish. The finish control will be manned. You must navigate from the last control to the finish. Remember to punch at the finish control identified by the finish banner – this will record your finish time for the whole course! Follow the tapes to the download station in the assembly area where we will download the times from your e-card. You must report to the download station even if you retire. Return your hired e-card unless you need it for Day 2. Maps will not be collected. Please remember - you are trusted not to show your map to those who have yet to start.
Drinks. Squash and water drinks will be provided at the Finish only.
Results. Interim results will be posted near the download station. Competitors are requested to move away from the immediate download area as soon as they have downloaded their SI Cards. In particular the organisers are not obliged to let competitors immediately know their result (although this should normally be possible) - competitors should wait for their result to be posted.
Provisional and final results will be posted on the Web at www.waoc.org.uk (linked from the BOF home page)
Printed results will be available for £1 (Badge) unless pre-paid with your entry, and 40p (colour coded). Boxes with envelopes will be available in the Registration Area on both days. Please address an envelope, put the money inside it and file it in the appropriate box.
Badge Classes
M/W 10A/B, 12A/B, 14A/B, 16A/B, 18A/B, 20S/L, 21S/L, 35S/L, 40S/L, 45S/L,
50S/L, 55S/L, 65S/L, 70S/L, 75S/L.
Colour Coded courses: White, Yellow, Orange, Light Green.
Course Lengths and Climb
|
Course No |
Classes |
Day 1 Length (km) |
Day 1 Climb (m) |
Day 2 Length (km) |
Day 2 Climb (m) |
|
1 |
M21L |
11.1 |
65 |
11.8 |
70 |
|
2 |
M20L, M35L, M40L |
9.5 |
65 |
10.0 |
60 |
|
3 |
M18A, M21S, W21L, M45L, M50L |
7.5 |
55 |
7.6 |
55 |
|
4 |
M16A, M18B, M20S, W20L, M35S, W35L, M40S, W40L, M55L, M60L |
6.6 |
50 |
6.8 |
40 |
|
5 |
W18A, W21S, M45S, W45L, M65L |
5.1 |
50 |
5.6 |
30 |
|
6 |
M14A, M16B, W16A, W18B, W20S, W35S, M50S, W50L, M55S, W55L, M70L |
4.7 |
60 |
5.2 |
30 |
|
7 |
W14A, W16B, W40S, W45S, W50S, W55S, M60S, W60L, W65L, M65S, M70S, W70L, M75L, W75L, Light Green |
3.5 |
45 |
4.0 |
20 |
|
8 |
W60S, W65S, W70S, M75S, W75S |
2.6 |
35 |
3.5 |
20 |
|
9 |
M12A, W12A, M14B, W14B, Orange |
3.2 |
35 |
3.5 |
15 |
|
10 |
M10A, W10A, M12B, W12B, Yellow |
2.4 |
30 |
3.0 |
15 |
|
11 |
M10B, W10B, White |
1.4 |
25 |
2.7 |
15 |
Note: The planners apologize that recent felling has unfortunately made the lengths of Day 2 courses 10 and 11 unavoidably longer than recommended by the BOF guidelines. But we believe this is preferable to them being too short.
DAY 1 (The Icenian & EAGAL) – Santon Warren
Travel and Parking
From the West take the A14 towards Newmarket and then the A11 towards Norwich.
From the South take the A11 towards Norwich. Leave the A11 at the Barton Mills
roundabout and take the A1065 signed for Brandon. From the North, approach Brandon
on the A1065 from Swaffham. From Brandon take the B1107 towards Thetford,
turning left towards Santon Downham.
Parking will be signed from the A1065 just south of Brandon. From the
East take the A11 towards Thetford. From Thetford take the B1107 towards
Brandon and turn right to Santon Downham.
Pass through Santon Downham, turning left (North-East) at the junction where the church is. Cross over the river, (then a stream) and take the first right along a tarmac road towards St. Helens' picnic site. If you cross over the railway you have missed the turning to the right!
Parking will be at St. Helens' picnic site, at grid reference TL826874. The route to the car park will be signposted. Participants must obey all signs and instructions given by the organisers. In particular no vehicles should be taken to areas North of the railway: all parking should be in the specified areas.
Assembly Area. Registration, all facilities and the traders will be located in a single assembly area about 2 minutes walk from the car park.
Start and Finish. The walk to the Start from Registration is about 350 metres so allow about 5 or 6 minutes. Allow an additional 2 minutes from the furthest parking space. The finish is about 350 metres from the e-card download station located about 300 metres from the car park.
Map. The Day 1 map will be a combination of the Santon Warren and Bromehill maps. These are both 1:15,000 scale, with 5 m contour intervals. Most categories will be using an A4 size map. Classes M18A, M-20L, M21S, M-21L, W21L, M-35L, M-40L, M45L, M50L will be using an A3 size map. Areas marked as out of bounds should not be entered. Map resurveying has been carried out in December 2002. A map will be on display at the registration area.
Pictorial control descriptions will be posted on the web before the event to allow competitors to print off their own if they so desire.
The Southern portion of the map shows the railway. Competitors are reminded that they should under no circumstances attempt to cross the tracks or clamber over the fences. The route from the parking/registration area to the start/download will be clearly marked, including the passing point under the railway.
The map is bisected by a minor road. Some of the longer courses will cross this road. Care should be taken when crossing (marshals will NOT be present). Competitors are not permitted under any circumstances to run along the road.
Terrain. The terrain is flat, timber forest, with some undergrowth, but generally good running. There are many paths, the smallest of which are not all marked on the map as they frequently change due to Quad-bike use. Those quad bike tracks that are mapped may vary in size and visibility depending upon how recently they have been used.
Competitors shall declare themselves non-competitive if their acquaintance with the terrain would give them a substantial advantage over other competitors.
DAY 2 – Warren Wood
Travel and Parking. From the West take the A14 towards Newmarket and then the A11 towards Norwich. From the South take the A11 towards Norwich. Leave the A11 at Thetford turning left onto the B1107 towards Brandon. After about 2.5 miles look for the O–sign and take care turning right into the forest. From the North, approach Brandon on the A1065 from Swaffham. At Brandon take the B1107 towards Thetford. After about 2.5 miles look for the O–sign and turn left into the forest. From the East take the A11 towards Thetford and then the B1107 towards Brandon as above.
Parking is on the forest track and the wide ride straight on at grid reference TL834857. Please obey the car park marshals. Vehicles will be parked alternately on the track and the ride propagating away from registration (i.e. late comers will be furthest from the Assembly Area).
Assembly Area. Registration, all facilities and the traders will be located in a single assembly area about 600 metres from the forest entry gate. The E-card downloading station will also be located at the assembly area.
DANGER – climbing on the log piles near the Assembly Area is strictly forbidden.
Start and Finish. The Start is located on the ride due North East from Registration. The walk from Registration is about 750 metres so allow about 10 minutes. Allow an additional 5 minutes from the furthest parking space near the forest gate. The finish is about 100 metres from the assembly area. The e-card download station is located at the Assembly Area.
Map. The map of Warren Wood is 1:15,000 scale, with 5 m contours, surveyed in Autumn/Winter 2002/2003.
The B1107 road along the SW boundary of the area is strictly out of bounds to all competitors.
Terrain. Warren Wood is a combination of part of the Thetford Warren and part of the Santon Downham areas, with a new section joining the two. It is typical Thetford Forest, a very runnable plantation forest with a grid network of paths and roads. There are some detailed areas, littered with depressions and knolls. The runnable in one direction forest is usually very runnable in the planting direction and surprisingly runnable in the other. Unfortunately hefty felling in the last few months has impacted the courses, but not too severely, I hope. The recently felled areas are marked as rough open, some of these have been cleared, but the more recent areas have not. The courses are planned so as largely to avoid the recent felling. I hope I have made the best use of the area.