KNC 9 Tunbridge Wells

Thu 22 Dec 2022

Type of event: Local, Night, Street
Type of terrain: Urban

Info updated: Tue 27 Dec

Results

Event Report

Planner Organiser comments: I was disappointed upon seeing the SE Yuletide O calendar not to get my KNC fix just before Xmas and after NY so volunteered to run events at these times. Luckily an Ian Ditchfield Esq. of Mole Valley Map and Compass Foot Racing Society has taken up the reins for the January date and I took Dec 22nd. Keeping it simple, liaising with the ever-capable KNC Co-ordinator Mark Glaisher, we settled upon a TW Street-O, resurrecting the 1:4000 Urban map made for the 2014 summer Urban O on my 40th Birthday - and what a splendid day that was!

Never the biggest fan of "funny business" i.e. odds and evens, dumbbells, stupid-whistles and suchlike, I went for a straightforward, get them all in any order - simples. In order to 'spread the O love' around glorious Royal Tunbridge Wells, I ended up with 32 controls and tried to place them so route choice and direction changes were a constant thought for runners.

I was delighted to see Tom Dobra, running to/from home (4.3km away) taking the lot in 43 mins running 10km or so. With hills that is a solid pace - in shorts and yellow Headington RRC vest too. I had a 6.5km optimal straight line route but was more than happy to have a small number clearing them all. 5 did and 2 more should have but 'missed' seeing a control till it was too late. Alison Howe managed the lot with an impressive 8 seconds to spare. Cunning time-management with antlers on. Mark G's printer can't do A3 printing so it was back to back, adding an extra dimension for the flip - just to keep you on your toes. It was the southern central cluster that was the real teaser - what to do when. I think second placed Edward Lines got a more optimal route through these than Tom D did, having done the first half of the race with the same route as each other.

Hope everyone had fun and enjoyed the 11 degrees and no rain! The 24 who stayed on for the secret Santa were treated to some live singing at TN1 Bar and Restaurant. The Opera House was full with a long Q outside. Mark Collins negotiated a table for 12, could fit 20 possibly, in TN1, so 24 of us piled in eventually ��!! I suspect this could be one of the closest apres-Os from a KNC start/Finish - some 40m or so.

Many thanks to Tom Dobra for some Computer consulting when he finished and the beautiful control collectors: Sarah-Jane Barrable, Mark Glaisher, Graham Denney, David Lobley, Messrs. D & G Thomas, Stuart Williams and Councillor Martin Brice - some were playing with gripple keys for their first time.

See you at Abinger Roughs on the 5th Jan!

Nick Barrable

Pre Event Info

Location

map

Nearest town: Tunbridge Wells

Directions / Parking

Nearest Postcode TN1 2LU 

Crescent Road Multi-Storey Car Park. £1.50 Night rate (after 6pm), register at Pay Point on arrival or use RingGo. Park in northern corner. Stairs to all levels on this corner.

Alternative on-street parking for free if you wish to park a bit further away. Eg on London Road/A26 or hunt around.

Nearest Railway station: Tunbridge Wells  500m.

Please be respectful of other people’s wishes to observe social distancing from the time you arrive at the event until you leave.

Registration & Start Times

Registration: Pre-entry only via http://www.racesignup.co.uk

by 1300 Thursday 22nd December.

This will require details for safety purposes

No Registration on the night.

The Start will be outside the Northern corner of the car park by the bend of Monson Road. (///stow.super.rider)

Mass Start 7.30pm (consider social distancing)

Course Information

60-minute score suitable for all abilities. 32 controls numbered 90 – 111, 31 - 40; visit as many as you can, in any order. (No funny business!) 10 points per control, 10 points penalty per minute/part minute beyond 60 minutes. Controls will be collected from 8.45pm (course closing time).

Controls will be SI units grippled to lampposts (and the occasional fence) with a short strip of red/white plastic tape.

Juniors (age 15 or younger) are welcome to take part but must be accompanied by an adult (condition of British Orienteering insurance for Street events)

Map: Tunbridge Wells at 1:4,000 scale, 5m contours.

Maps will be printed on A4 waterproof paper, back to back – ie Folded A3.

Controls will be SIAC enabled. Separate/loose control descriptions will not be provided.

Bright headtorches used by competitors should not be shone in to households potentially upsetting the young or elderly occupants. Move promptly away from the control after punching. Please be courteous to the public

After your run please Download as normal, considering social distancing. Timing printouts will be provided and the results will be available on the website.

If you are able to help collect controls in afterwards, please volunteer.

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

Pre-entry only via http://www.racesignup.co.uk

Pre-entry only via www.racesignup.co.uk

Seniors (British Orienteering members) £5, Non-members of BO £7.         

Juniors & students £3 (BO or non-BO).

Group: £10 (1 dibber; map for each participant) (BO or non-BO).   

Dibber loan (non SIAC): Free.

Carrying some sort of torch is necessary since there are areas with few street lights, and some woodland.

Wearing High Visibility clothing is strongly advised. Light clothing if you lack hi-viz. You will not be allowed to start if you wear all black!

We can keep car keys safe while you run if you don’t want to run with them.

An Emergency contact number will be printed on the map. Carrying a mobile phone is strongly recommended. You can let us know if you are lost or late, and we can contact you if you have not returned.

Terrain Description

Urban area – streets, paths, grassed public open spaces and very small areas of woodland.

Facilities

The nearest open toilets are likely to be in the Victoria Shopping Centre (open till 8pm) in their lower-level food court (150m) or try the Opera House pub (150m).

Apres-O & prizegiving: At the Opera House pub (Wetherspoons), 88 Mount Pleasant Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells TN1 1RT – 150m away. Order food when you arrive at the pub. Food served till late. http://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/kent/opera-house-royal-tunbridge-wells

***Secret Santa - £3 max - avoid landfill items ;-) 

Contacts / Officials

Planner & Organiser: Nick Barrable 0772zero952241 nickbarrable”at”hotmail.com

Important Information

Health, safety and other important information related to events.

If you have pre-existing helath issues that you feel the organiser should know about please fill in this medical form.

 

Covid-19:

Before travelling to any orienteering event please make sure you are aware of and following British Orienteering guidelines. 

To ensure that we comply with these guidelines and make our events Covid secure and safe for participants and volunteers, all events will be pre-entry and pre-payment only.

During the on-line entry process, you will select your preferred start window from those available for your course. You must then make payment to reserve your start window. Please do not turn up at the event unless you have pre-entered. If you need help with the registration process please contact the event organiser.

On event day turn up for your allocated start slot

Please move away from the map box after collecting your map.

At control sites do not touch the control, and move through quickly.

Do not congregate at the Finish.

At Download please get your breath back and recover before downloading.

Saxons volunteers are very happy to help beginners understand the courses, maps and timing equipment used at our events. To get advice please contact coaching@saxons-oc.org at least 3 days before the event, or go to our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/saxons.oc and ask questions there. It may be possible to arrange for somoene to meet you before your start.

For full BO Covid guidance click here

Ticks and Lyme Disease: Ticks are common in areas where we go orienteering, more information about ticks.

Training and help is available from qualified coaches. Please contact the organiser.

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Data Protection: Your personal information provided for this event or obtained from registration databases will be used to process your entry, publish results, check for missing runners and trace missing SI cards.