Calton Hill Sprintelope
Wed 07th Jul 2021
Info updated: 08th Jul
Type of event: Local, Sprint
Type of terrain: Urban
Results
The results for the Calton Hill Sprintelope are here
Planner, Oli Warlow writes: First of all, well done to all who took part in what was quite a physically demanding and for the later starters quite a wet course, also to Sasha and Laurence for quickest times on long and short respectively.
This was my first-time planning and it was good to hear positive comments about the courses at the end (nice to see groups hunched over their maps at the finish deep in conversation). I tried to make what I thought would be an interesting course and take advantage of the terrain available for some route choice and physical challenges. C19 on the long proved a little trickier than intended with the summer vegetation having grown up since I planned and the wet steep slope becoming very difficult for those in road shoes! The steps at the back of the Omni centre seemed to divide opinion, they were not mandatory for optimal route choice except for maybe the fittest hill climbers! Apologies to those on the short that C2 seemed to have been half ripped off leaving a very small stub, C4 on the long got moved at some point in the evening to a different bush and C9 also on the long was removed all together!
Thanks to Peter Halling for providing very useful input and guidance from the planning side, Janet for getting us all organised both beforehand and on the night and to Alistair Armitage for heroically sheltering under the brolly with his laptop manning the download.
See you all at another event soon!
Remember to enter our next Sprintelope at Viewforth on 21st July.
General Information
Sprintelopes are very informal events featuring Urban style races around the streets of towns in Edinburgh and the surrounding area on Wednesday evenings throughout the Spring and Summer.
Because they are informal, there are SI units only at the start and finish – the rest of the controls are usually pieces of tape tied to lamp posts and other street furniture or maybe even white flour on the ground. There are no control kites or numbers.
The events are for members of orienteering clubs who generally know what they are doing. Everything is taken on trust in terms of going to the correct controls.
Because of the road crossings ALL under 16s must be accompanied at all times by an adult when running.
COVID 19: You should not attend the event if you are showing any symptoms of Covid 19 even though you have pre-entered. Social distancing will be necessary at all times, even out on your course, and the start will be managed appropriately to comply with all relevant Government and Scottish Orienteering Guidelines.
A separate Covid risk assessment will be prepared.
Location
Nearest town: City of Edinburgh
- Grid Ref: NT264174
- Postcode: EH7 5DX
- Latitude: 55.95748
- Longitude: -3.18066
- Google Map (aerial) - Bing Map (OS)
Directions
To get closest to the start/finish area park in the surrounding streets such as on Royal Terrace/Blenheim Place and Hillside Crescent. Parking on these streets is free after 5.30pm but please double-check before leaving your car. The start/finish area will be in the clearing to the East of the Gardeners Cottage on London Road (opposite the West end of Hillside Crescent).
Public Transport: Any bus passing the top of Leith Walk will bring you close to the start/finish point (7, 10, 11, 14, 16, 22, 25, 49, 1, 4, 5, 26, 34, 44, 45)
Registration & Start Times
No Registration or Enquiries on the night. Start times are between 6pm and 7.30pm and you can choose a time slot on the entry form (see below). We want to keep things moving so there will be a reasonable amount of flexibility on the night in terms of getting started.
SI timing at start and finish only. You'll be asked to punch clear and start units then either the 'short' or 'long' SI Units at the start.
Please bring a map bag or poly pocket in the event of bad weather. You'll have time to put the paper map into your map bag before punching the start unit.
At the finish punch the Finish SI Unit and head straight to Download to get your time.
If you don't have your own SI dibber you can borrow one free of charge from ESOC but you must mention this on the online entry form and arrangments will be made for you collect your hired SI dibber near the start.
Course Information
There will be a long course (around 5k) and a short course (around 3k) although these will be straight line distances so expect to run at least one third to a half further than that.
You can see a pdf of the blank map here.
Because of the road crossings ALL under 16s must be accompanied at all times by an adult when running.
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 online only. Entries now closed so start lists, maps etc can be printed in time for the event.
Current Start List This start list should update after you make your entry.
COSTS:
Senior orienteering club members: £3
Students who are orienteering club members: £2
Junior orienteering club members: £1
SI hire: free but £30 charge if you lose it
You will be advised by email how to pay for your entries. No cash will be accepted on the night.
Contacts / Officials
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.
Privacy: when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports.
Read our privacy policy to see how we look after your personal data.
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