Kings Wood, ChallockSun 7 Jan

Start the Year!

Regional level event

Explanation of event levels

Local events are usually low key and in the 'localised' area, ideal for newcomers to try the sport and Training events are non competitive and used for training and coaching, aimed at members of the club, but they can attract people from neighbouring clubs, and are often ideal for newcomers to try the sport. Regional events attract participants from around the local Region, National events are high quality competitions that will attract people from far away, Major events are Major Events such as a British Championships. Virtual events are where there are no physical controls being used. Your presence at a control is registered using an App on your mobile phone, normally the free MapRun App.

Terrain type: Woodland

Results

Routegadget

Report

Kings Wood is amongst the best woodland in the South and did not disappoint! It was well worth the trip to experience the fantastic courses planned by Brendon Howe and provided the rare ability to run straight on a bearing with a clear and accurate map in white forest as well as providing plenty of map interest and contour detail.

The weather may have been on the cold side with sleet spotted at times, but spirits were high and there was excellent racing across all the courses.

Kings Wood will be revisited on 8 Feb for a night race, and then 9 March for a round of the Kent Orienteering League. We hope to see you there!

Also do check out the live interview given by Alison Howe on BBC Radio Kent today with Pat Marsh which can be downloaded on BBC Sounds. It's about 20 minutes in! BBC Sounds

Last updated: Mon 15 January, 2024

Overview

Come and join us for the first big race of the year at majestic Kings Wood. We can't promise any bluebells, but there's plenty of open runnable woodland and earth features to navigate. You might even see a white hart, or the elusive Kentish white squirrel!

Location Info

Near: Challock
Lat,Lng: 51.21718,0.88489
What3Words: ///learning.dollars.submitted

Open an interactive map in:
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Directions / Parking

Access to the parking area will be from the A251, Buck Street. Parking will be along forest tracks. Access will be via the wood yard (W3W: ///learning.dollars.submitted). Please follow marshals directions and keep your speed to 5mph max, watching out for other users (bikes, horses, dog walkers, orienteers). Exit will be via the same route. Use the turning circle along the forest track (past the Event Centre by the cones); do proceed with caution onto the A251 as residential hedging limits visibility.

Public Transport Options

Major stations are at Ashford and Canterbury. Both have links to Wye and Chilham stations, but these are both a good walk away from the event area. Those wishing to arrive via public transport should look to obtain lifts where possible. Please contact the organiser if you're having trouble sourcing a lift.

Pre-event Details

Map / Terrain

Saxons are pleased to be trialling age-friendly mapping for this event. 1:10,000 for Brown and Blue - A3, 1:7500 for Green, Short Green and Light Green - A3. The area has recently been remapped by David Peel, with a few minor updates in late 2023 to make note of recent felling activities.

The terrain is a mixture of deciduous and coniferous forest blocks with a good network of paths and some interesting and ancient earth features. The area sits on gently sloping terrain riven through with a number of steeper sided valley 'fingers'. Courses are designed to make the most of the large sections of mature beech forest, which is very runnable.

Course Information

The start is about 900m from the event centre. The route taped and is a quick trot along a woodland tracks. The finish will be adjacent to the event centre.

We will be offering: Brown, Blue, Green, Light Green, Orange, Yellow and Score courses. Adult novices and groups may prefer to choose the Score course; please contact the organiser for more advice.

Course Details

Course	Distance	Climb	Map
Brown	8.4km	180m	A3, 1:10k
Blue	6.5km	165m	A3, 1:10k
Green	4.5km	105m	A3, 1:7500
Short Green	3.5km	65m	A3, 1:7,500
Light Green	4.1km	85m	A3, 1:7500
Orange	3km	60m	A3, 1:7500
Yellow	2km	35m	A4, 1:7500
Score	One Hour	21 controls	A3, 1:7500

Entry Details

Entry will be via RaceSignUp. There is a two tier pricing structure to encourage people to sign up by 31st December in order to give time for the maps to be printed by BML. It will be possible to enter after the 31st December, but this will be subject to the availability of maps. Entry will be available until 9am on the morning of the event.

Early Bird Pricing

Class	BOF Members	Non BOF Members
Adult	£10	£13
Novice Adult (on L.Green, Orange, Yellow, Score)	£7	£10
Junior	£6	£8
Group	£10	£15

Laggard's Pricing

Class	BOF Members	Non BOF Members
Adult	£12	£15
Novice Adult (on L. Green, Orange, Yellow, Score)	£7	£10
Junior	£6	£8
Group	£10	£15

Registration and Start times

Start will be open from 11:00 until 12:30. A start window system will be in place when booking to avoid queuing at the start. Please do try to adhere to your start slot. There will be no official call up, so just arrive at the start and join pre-start in the next available box.

Course closure at 14:15.

The event will be SIAC enabled, with a punching start and finish.

Facilities

Portable toilets will be available onsite adjacent to the event centre.

Dog restrictions

Well behaved dogs on a lead.

Contacts / Officials

Planner and Organiser - Brendon Howe Team Captain

Controller - Alison Howe Development

(Yes, there have been disagreements, but the Controller is always correct :-)

Nearest A&E Hospital

NHS Urgent care search

Safety Notes

Please consider taking a whistle. A cagoule may be worthwhile if the weather is poor (but you won't need one because its going to be glorious :-)

Miscellaneous

A helpers discount is available for Saxons orienteers how are available to help on the day. Please contact the organiser to discuss jobs and get hold of the secret code!