Blackford Hill and The HermitageSat 20 May
ESOC Local Event in Edinburgh and the Lothians
Local 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: Parkland & Woodland
Results
Officials' Reports
PLANNER, Alistair Black writes:
As a first time planner it was really nice to finally make it to the big day and see that everybody was enjoying the courses. There was a great number of young orienteers putting in impressive performances on their courses. Even though it's a much used area those on the longer courses still got to see some new control sites, even if they did involve a few more hills than some might have liked!
Thanks to Crawford for his help and advice on the planning, and everyone who helped make it happen.
CONTROLLER'S COMMENTS from Crawford Lindsay: Alistair, a first-time planner, needed only a little help from me and produced good courses that made best use of the area, giving some interesting route choices. And he was ready well before the event, avoiding last minute panic. So how did it go? The weather was great, the putting out of controls went smoothly, the tent and computing were set up and we were ready to have first starts before 13:00. From the feedback I received, the courses were enjoyed and provided a challenge for all.
Results are here
Winsplits are here
Planner's and Controller's post event comments have been added, click 'Read more.....' to find them.
Pre-event Information
Location Info
/-3.18728,55.92236,11/500x400?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGF1bGZyb3N0IiwiYSI6ImNscGg3eGRlMjA0cm8yaW52aGhtY2lxZjQifQ.Lc483ZPI9QPGNrBpcqqywQ)
Near: City of Edinburgh Lat,Lng: 55.92236,-3.18728 Postcode: EH10 6AD
Open an interactive map in: GoogleMap - OpenStreetMap - AppleMaps - BingMap
Directions / Parking
The event is based in the Observatory car park. The Google-map shows the route up Observatory Road, off West Mains Road.
Please come by public transport or bike if you possibly can. Blackford Hill (Royal Observatory end) is easily reached by Lothian Buses, services 41 and 38 go nearest but please check services before setting off.
TRAFFIC ALERT FOR WEST SIDE OF EDINBURGH:
There is a Beyoncé concert at Murrayfield on Saturday and road closures for this could affect some people travelling across the city from the West. The A8 (the Glasgow road) will be closed between Haymarket and Western Corner from noon onwards. Haymarket Terrace is closed anyway at the moment but adds to the temporary traffic issues. There is an official Council map of roads affected by road closures for the concert here.
With a football match at Tynecastle too, it would be best to avoid this whole area if at all possible. If this affects you please check your route before starting your journey.
Course Information
As usual for ESOC local events there will be White, Yellow and Orange courses for beginners and improvers. There will also be Green and Blue courses for experienced orienteers. There will also be a Red course, at the same technical difficulty as Orange but over a longer distance.
Provisional course details (these are unlikely to change significantly:
White - 1.1km, 50m climb
Yellow - 2.0km, 120m climb
Orange - 2.4km, 140m climb
Red - 4.1km, 210m climb
Green - 3.3km, 220m climb
Blue - 4.8km, 300m climb
Entry Details
Pre-Entry and pre payment via Racesignup are required for this event. Entries open Monday 8th May and will close at 9am on the day of the event. However to be guaranteed a course map for your chosen course you MUST pre-enter by 6pm on Tuesday 16th May.
Late pre-entries - As mentioned above, entries will remain open until 9am on the morning of the event but entries will only be accepted by Racesignup if there are course maps remaining. RaceSignUp will not accept your entry once the maps for your chosen course have sold out however it's still worth trying to enter, you could still be lucky. You could maybe even try entering a different course if your first choice is full.
Entry on the day (EOD): If you have to resort to coming to the event without pre-entering please read the Registration Section above for details of what to do.
You can view an entry list for all competitors and their chosen start blocks on RaceSignUp (scroll down to Start List section). Please note that you can arrive at the start any time within your block.
Entry Fees: Individual entry fees are:
Seniors - £4 for orienteering club members, £6 for non members
Juniors - £2 for orienteering club members, £4 for none members
As well as individuals the entry system also allows pairs, groups or families who wish to go round a course together to enter using a sliding scale of fees. Full details of the various group entry fees are on the RaceSignUp web pages (link above).
Note that a Senior is someone born 2001 or earlier and a Junior is someone born 2002 or later. Matriculated students will normally be eligible to enter as Juniors and pay junior fees - check out RaceSignUp as before.
SportIdent (SI) electronic timing will be used. If you have your own SI (dibber) please bring it with you.
We have SIs for hire free of charge via the pre-entry system but there is a £30 charge if lost. If you would like to buy your own SI-Card then a variety are available directly from SportIdent UK. The choice may be confusing and it may help you to know that the SI-Cards which ESOC hires out are very similar to the most basic model shown on the linked page - the SI-Card 8.
Registration and Start times
REGISTRATION: Registration and Download will be in a tent close to the main entrance gate to the Observatory. Registration will be open from approximately 1pm to 2.15pm for very limited Entry on the Day (EOD) but only if maps are still available. See also section on Entry Details below – payment for EOD will be in cash only or by bank transfer. Please have the correct money if at all possible.
WHITE and YELLOW COURSE MAPS: Please collect these from Registration before going to the Start. Course maps for other courses are collected after punching the start.
STARTS: From 1.00pm to 2.30pm with course closure at 4pm. You should be back at Download by 4pm as controls will start to be brought in by 4pm so if you think you'll take a long time to complete your course please enter early so you can choose an early start time.
Contacts / Officials
Enquiries by EMAIL