Blackford Hill

ESOC local event in Edinburgh and the Lothians

Sat 19th Jul 2014

Info updated: 18th Feb
Type of event: Local
Type of terrain: Parkland, Woodland

Results

Who needs good weather for orienteering? Not young kids certainly; wet is fun. Not experienced orienteers, who relished the opportunity to test their skills when the cloud obscured the familiar terrain. Not newcomers, who are up for any challenge. Seeing the forecast yesterday for bright yellow lightening strikes coming very near Edinburgh on Saturday afternoon, I thought hardly anyone would come to this event – which would have been an awful waste of David Nisbet’s excellent courses. How wrong I was.

Thank you very much to everyone who came out on this wet afternoon to enjoy Blackford Hill in one of its more challenging modes. Orienteering is usually easier than this. Please come again soon. Thank you very much to all club members who worked long wet stints to put on the event and take in all the controls afterwards. it was well worth it.

Janet Clark Organiser 0131 225 7771

General Information

Dress: Check the weather forecast and dress appropriately. Summer in Edinburgh can bring weather of any kind. We always hope for good weather but please remember that in the event of bad weather, competitors are responsible for their own comfort and safety.

Terrain: Mixture of open hillside and wooded areas, steep in parts with crags; good track network. A river runs through the area.

Other Users: Blackford Hill is very well used by the general public including dog walkers and families out walking.

Dogs: No dogs on the courses. Although you will probably encounter dog walkers while running on your course, we do not have permission for dogs to be out with competitors while actually competing.

Location

Nearest town: City of Edinburgh

Grid Ref: NT258706
Postcode: EH9 3HJ
Latitude: 55.92320
Longitude: -3.18786
Google Map (aerial) - Bing Map (OS)

Directions

Within the city of Edinburgh - head for the Observatory car park, at the top of Observatory Road. Check Lothian Buses website for information about local buses.

Registration & Start Times

REGISTRATION: close to car park and open from 2pm to 3pm. It is not necessary - or possible – to pre-enter for this event. Everyone is very welcome, just to turn up. Please try to come early if you think you might take a long time over your course.

START AND FINISH will be only a short walk from the car park. Start times will be from 2pm to 3pm.

COURSES CLOSE at 4pm and controls will be brought in from that time, so it is essential that you report to the Finish by 4pm, even if you have not completed your course by then.

SAFETY: It is a safety measure that all competitors must report to the finish even if they don't complete their course.

Course Information

There will be White, Yellow and Orange courses and a course for more experienced orienteers. Blackford Hill is an area suitable for orienteering at all skill levels.

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

Seniors (born 1993 or earlier)
British Orienteering members - £3
Non-members - £5

Juniors (born 1994 or later)
British Orienteering members - £2
Non-members - £2.50

Students
British Orienteering members - £2
Non-members - £2.50

Groups (Adults + children)
British Orienteering members - £4
Non- members - £5

SportIdent (SI) electronic timing will be used. If you have your own SI please bring it with you. We will have SIs for hire free of charge but there is a £30 charge if lost.

Contacts / Officials

Organiser: Janet Clark

Email:

Phone: 0131 225 7771

Safety and Risk

A comprehensive risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event.

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