Rescheduled event at Enchanted Place

Coronavirus related restrictions

Based on the latest advice from British Orienteering and Public Health England to limit the spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19), Saxons Orienteering Club have decided we cannot allow anyone to participate in or attend the Enchanted Place event who has:

Travelled from or via the following countries in the 14 days leading up to the event (from 15 Feb 2020): China, Thailand, Japan, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or Macau.

OR travelled from or via these countries/areas since 19 February 2020:

Iran
Specific lockdown areas in Northern Italy as designated by the Government of Italy
Special care zones in South Korea as designated by the Government of the Republic of South Korea
Hubei province (mainland China) (returned in the past 14 days)
Northern Italy (defined by a line above, and not including, Pisa, Florence and Rimini),
Vietnam
Cambodia
Laos
Myanmar

We will offer a full refund to anyone who has already entered the event as of the date of this notice who this affects, and therefore they can no longer attend. We would urge anyone to whom this applies to retain boarding passes and contact regarding an entry refund.

Please note that this information is subject to change at short notice.

Hygiene precautions for all event attendees:

Please ensure good hand, respiratory and personal hygiene by employing the ‘Catch It. Bin It. Kill It.’ ethos.  

Please use the bottles of hand sanitiser which will be available at key points in the event area.

 

 

Ashdown Forest, as many of you will know, is a very special place. It is managed by the Board of Conservators of Ashdown Forest, an independent body. In recognition of the ecological importance of Ashdown Forest and to ensure its protection, it is designated as a European Natura 2000 site and as a Site of Special Scientific Interest under UK legislation. Ashdown Forest is also within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Conservators have duties laid down by statute which include the following:

To regulate and manage the forest as an amenity and place of resort
To conserve it as a quiet and natural area of outstanding beauty

The Conservators are keen to raise the public’s (and hence our) awareness of their legal duty and, within this, their aim of balancing the interests of all users of the forest.

Please have particular regard therefore to the other users of the area, including all walkers, dog walkers and riders, all of whom are also seeking to enjoy their activities peacefully. Slow to a walk, keep especially quiet and keep a wide berth at any point where you meet horse riders.

Location

Nearest town: Forest Row

• Grid Ref:
• Postcode: TN22 3JD
• Latitude: 51.06460
• Longitude: 0.09256
• Google Map
• Streetmap (OS 50k)
• Bing Map (OS 50k)
• OpenStreetMap

Directions / Parking

Amended parking instructions (at 6 Feb)

• Please share transport if at all possible. Pre entry numbers on Fabian 4 indicate that parking may be very tight. Because of this we have had to change parking instructions from what was published earlier on our website.
• The Conservators of Ashdown Forest are allowing us to use 2 car parks for this event, but this is not exclusive use so members of the public may also be present. Please do your utmost to avoid inconveniencing them and follow our marshals’ directions at all times.
• Main parking is at Four Counties car park: Post code: TN22 3JD. What3Words: ///renews.nearly.blackmail (northern entrance). Location: B2026 High Road, 0.3 mile south of Gills Lap on W side of B2026.
• Priority parking is at Gills Lap car park: Post code, TN22 3JD. What3Words: ///threading.fluffed.congested (entrance from B2026; there is another entrance on Kidd’s Hill). Location: Junction of B2026 Chuck Hatch Road and Kidd’s Hill
• Priority parking is for cars containing M/W75 plus, young children or 4/5 people. These cars will be able to go direct to Priority parking at Gills Lap which is adjacent to registration and download, and a 5 min walk to the start.
• All other cars should park in Four Counties car park. There will be a taped walking route (c.400 m) from there to Gills Lap.
• If the park parks become full you will be directed to an overflow car park which is about 1.5 k walk to assembly. Again, there will be a taped route to follow. Please follow the marshal's directions.

 We look forward to seeing you on Saturday

 

 

Travel Directions & Parking:

The main car park is at Four Counties, and Priority Parking at Gills Lap. Both car parks will be signed off the B2026

 

From the north:
Via East Grinstead:

A22 south, turn left just north of Nutley onto Crowborough Road for 1.9 miles.
At junction with B2026, turn left (N) onto B2026. Parking will be signed off this road.
Follow Marshalls' intrustions

Via Tunbridge Wells:

A26 SW through Crowborough to junction with New Road. 
Turn right (W) onto New Road for 1 mile to junction with B2026. 
Turn right (N) onto B2026. Parking will be signed off this road.
Follow Marshalls' intructions

From the south:

A26 or A22 north. 
At roundabout where they meet, take A22 Uckfield Bypass north.
At second roundabout take first exit, staying on A22 (now called Maresfield Bypass). 
At second roundabout take second exit (Straight Half Mile) then first left, B2026. 
Follow B2026 N. Car parking will be signed off this road.

Follow the Marshalls' instructions

Public Transport options

Nearest railway stations are Crowborough (6.6 miles), Uckfield (7.3 miles) or East Grinstead (7.6 miles) but no onwards bus service on a Sunday – cycle or take taxi instead.

Registration & Start Times

Assembly will be at Gills Lap car park (TN22 3JD), junction of B2026 Chuck Hatch Road and Kidd’s Hill) with the main parking at Four Counties car park (TN22 3JD, B2026 High Road).

Registration, Enquiries, loan dibber collection and Download will be on the open ground to the rear (NW) of Gills Lap car park (approx. 100m).

Registration will be open from 10.00-12.00 with starts 10.30-12.30

White and Yellow maps will be available for competitors at Registration.

Course closing time: is 14.30. Please proceed straight to Download after you finish. You must download at assembly, even if you abandon your race. This is a safety check to ensure that all competitors are back. If you have hired a dibber, please return it at download.

Existing Medical Conditions: Please leave details of any existing medical conditions at Registration before starting.  Pre-entered participants: please go via Registration first to do this, instead of going directly to the Start.

Details provided will be kept securely in a sealed, envelope with the participant’s name on the front.  At the end of the event, the details will be either handed back to the participant in person by the Download team or securely destroyed by the Organiser (and confirmed to the participant if requested).

Safety: There are other animals present in Ashdown Forest, such as cattle, feral horses/ponies and deer.  Wherever possible give them room and try to avoid startling them.
Bracken and similar vegetation are home to ticks whose bite can cause Lyme disease in rare cases in humans.  Please familiarise yourself with the symptoms and advice here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Lyme-disease/, check yourself after the event and see your GP if you think you have had a tick bite.

Normal orienteering hazards are present, such as tree roots / tussocks / slippery or uneven surfaces / low branches / wire or ruined fences / small possibility of abandoned vehicles, equipment or rubbish.

Two crags are shown on the eastern part of the map and the map legend. Courses have been planned to avoid this area.

All wet features are marked on the map.

All wet ditches and marshes in area can be crossed safely with no obvious risk.

The only large stream can be crossed safely even after heavy rain.

Ponds should not be regarded as safely crossable.  There are no lakes.

Courses have been planned to not tempt participants to use any road as a sensible route choice. Roads/verges have been shown on the map with a purple cross to indicate that they are ‘out of bounds’.

Adders are present in the Ashdown Forest.  If you see one, avoid disturbing it, move away slowly and warn other nearby participants.

Course Information

Course	Length	Climb	No. controls
Brown	8.5 k	330 m	23
Blue	6.2 k	220 m	23
Green	4.7 k	170 m	15
Light Green	3.9 k	140 m	11
Orange	3.1 k	95 m	10
Yellow	2.6 k	90 m	8
White	2.1 k	80 m	10
60 min Score			20

Distances shown are for the shortest possible actual routes

There will be a marshalled road crossing from Gills Lap car park across the B2026 into / back from the event area.
There are no road crossings on any course.

Planner’s Notes:

The courses are on the highest part of Ashdown Forest, up to 220m above sea level, and some parts of all the courses are on exposed heathland. Please be prepared for cold, wet and windy weather.
There is a stream valley running roughly South to North through the competition area. The stream runs fast after rainfall. White, Yellow and Orange courses will cross the stream using a bridge. All other competitors should choose their crossing points with care, taking into account the conditions on the day.
There are areas of gorse mapped as ‘forest: walk’ on the map (dark green). Most of the gorse is dense and it will rarely – if ever – be a good route choice to go through an area mapped as ‘forest: walk’.
There are numerous small, unmapped paths mostly created by wild animals (deer).

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

Registration is open again on Fabian 4 and will close on 26 February

Entry fees: £10 adults; £6 juniors. There will be a £2 surcharge for adults who are not members of an orienteering club.

Entries on the day (EOD) will be available for all courses, subject to the availability of maps. 

Entry fees: £12 adults; £8 juniors. There will be a £2 surcharge for adults who are not members of an orienteering club.

Group entry will be taken on the day only. Each member of a group will get a map. Cost for 2 adults and associated juniors £20. Please contact the organiser in advance to reserve maps.

Timing: the event will use SportIdent electronic timing. Control units will NOT be SIAC enabled – you will need to manually punch the Start, Finish and each control on your course.

Dibber Loan (recording device): dibbers can be reserved when pre-entering on Fabian4 or borrowed on the day. If you want to reserve a dibber when entering on Fabian4, please use the Special Request box on Step 3 of the online entry form to let us know. There is no charge for borrowing a dibber but there is a £30 charge for lost SI dibbers

Start times will not be pre-allocated. If you have registered with Fabian4 and don't need to borrow a dibber you can go straight to the start.

The Start is approx. 300m / c. 5 min walk from the Assembly area and the route will be taped.

There are no toilets at the Start.  Please use the temporary toilets in Gills Lap car park.

There will be a clothing dump situated close to Download at Gills Lap.  Use a suitable weatherproofed bag to protect your clothing.  All items are left at the owner’s risk.

Terrain Description

Open heathland and runnable woodland, part of Ashdown forrest, and previously used for the CompassSport Cup round in 2019. This time the courses will all be east of the B2026; only the longer courses went into this area at the CompassSport Cup round.

Map:  1:10,000 scale, 5m contours, 300m between Magnetic North lines, A4 Printed on waterproof paper. Map produced by Peel Land Surveys, Spring 2018. Map bags will not be used. Brown will have double sided maps.

Control Descriptions: These will be printed on the maps with loose descriptions available in the Start lanes. Senior courses will have pictorial descriptions.  Score, White, Yellow and Orange will have dual text and pictorial descriptions.

Out of bounds: Normal OOB rules and map markings apply.  There is one OOB area for a grazing field enclosed by an electric fence.

Clothing & footwear: Full body cover is required and studded or spiked shoes are advised.  Kagoules may be compulsory in the event of bad weather.  Competitors will be advised on the day.

Shadowing: Parents wishing to shadow their children must have completed their run first if they wish to be competitive on their course.

Facilities

There will be 3 portable toilets in the priority car park/assembly at Gills Lap.

Saxons will be providing tea and coffee from the registration shelter, or bring your own water and refreshments.

Dogs allowed?

Dogs are permitted in the parking and assembly areas on a lead.  No dogs on the courses please.

Contacts / Officials

Organiser: Graham Denney

Planner: Richard Field

Controller: Ian Marsden