Royal High School and Davidson’s Mains Park

ESOC local event in Edinburgh and the Lothians

Sat 16th Nov 2019

Info updated: 16th Nov
Type of event: Local
Type of terrain: Parkland, Woodland

Results

Results are here

Winsplits are here

ORGANISER'S COMMENTS: This is a good place for a dark November afternoon.  The rain held off and there was  a lovely atmosphere inside the  Sports Hub; though a bit chaotic at peak times.  It was good to see three groups of relative beginners from Cubs, Boys Brigade and Mary Erskine  School; this is an ideal area to gain confidence on White and Yellow courses.  The new concept of a Short White course was much remarked on, and we'll try this again at the next suitable event.  The Light Green had an ingenious route choice leg; and everyone enjoyed the good visibilty through the bare trees. 
Thank you to everyone who came, everyone who worked hard to make it happen, David McPhillips for his Bake Sale in aid of "Habitat for Humanity" and Serge at The Hub for providing a warm and welcoming venue.
Next event is at Cammo on 18th January 2020.  See you there......
Janet Clark    Organiser    0131 225 7771       

Lost property;  One nice black "Rab" thermal glove
 

General Information

ADDED EXTRA - COACHING AVAILABLE AT 1pm especially for newcomers, beginners and those who need a bit of encouragement and support. Meet at  the Sports Hub at 1pm and look out for Roger Scrutton.

Dress: Please check the weather forecast on the day and dress appropriately.  This event is in school grounds and adjoining park and woodland. Even though the area is on the edge of the city the weather can be cold, windy and wet (or maybe even snowy!) in November.

Terrain:  School grounds with adjoining park and woodland.

Other Users: Davidson's Mains Park is well used by the general public, including dog walkers, runners and bikers.  The school grounds and pitches may also be used by people taking part in other sports during the event. Please respect their right to be there at the same time as you are orienteering.  

Dogs:  Dogs are only allowed in the Davidson's Mains Park part of the mapped area, dogs are not allowed anywhere in the grounds or buildings within the Royal High School.  Note that the Registration, Start, Finish and some of the controls on all courses are almost certainly going to be within these school grounds - this will be confirmed (or otherwise) nearer the event date.   

Course Closure Time: Please note that courses have a closure time of 4pm after which controls will start  to be brought in.  It is dusk followed by darkness very early at this time of year so it is even more important to start bringing in controls at 4pm otherwise head torches would be needed!!

MEDICAL CONDITIONS: You have the option of downloading and completing this Medical Form. It could be life saving if the organisers are aware of any existing medical conditions in the event of an incident. You can leave it at registration/enquires in a sealed envelope that will only be opened if required and destroyed after the event.

Location

Nearest town: City of Edinburgh

• Grid Ref: NT203753
• Postcode: EH4 6AQ
• Latitude: 55.96498
• Longitude: -3.27844
• Google Map (aerial) - Bing Map (OS)

Directions

Head for the Royal High School, East Barnton Avenue, Edinburgh.  Parking is scheduled to be in the school grounds.  It is possible to get to this event by public transport. Check Lothian Buses website for more information.  Service 41 stops nearby.   Note that other out of town buses which travel along Queensferry Road may well also stop close to the Royal High School. Please use public transport if you can.

Registration & Start Times

REGISTRATION: This will be close to both the start, finish and parking and will be within the grounds of the Royal High School. 

Registration will be from 1.30pm to 2.30pm for newcomers to orienteering and will run from 1.30pm to just before 3pm for experienced orienteers. Note that at this time of year it is especially important to come early and be sure to be able too complete the registration process and get to the start by 3pm.

COURSE CLOSURE TIME: 4pm.  Controls will start to be brought in from this time.  Please make sure you arrive in plenty of time to register, get to the start and complete your course before controls begin to be brought in.  Remember it is very early dusk in November and we don't want to be using a head torch to bring in controls!

It is not necessary - or possible – to pre-enter for this event.  Everyone is very welcome, just to turn up.  Whether you are a newcomer or have been to a lot of events, please try to come and start early if you think you might take a long time over your course.

Registration Form - We know how time consuming, and occasionally frustrating, it can be for our competitors to have to complete the Registration Form outside in the cold and wet of a Scottish Saturday afternoon so we have produced an ESOC REGISTRATION FORM for you to complete, print off and bring with you to the event. This will save a lot of time and the typed forms easier to read than handwriting!!  

Thank you in advance for helping us by completing the form and bringing it with you.

If you would like a little more advance information about the registration process at a local event why not read our QUICK GUIDE TO REGISTRATION?

NOTE: Current members of an orienteering club who will be orienteering on their own and have their own SI registered in their own name can to come to Registration and go through the speedy entry system.  If in any doubt whether this applies to you then it is best to complete the attached application form and bring it with you. 

DATA PROTECTION:  Completion of the Registration/Entry Form for this event confirms your agreement to have your entry details stored on a computer system and for your name and age class to appear in the results on the ESOC website and the British Orienteering website. More information about ESOC's Data Privacy Policy. 

Course Information

As is usual for ESOC local events there will be White, Yellow and Orange courses and also a course or orienteering challenge suitable for experienced orienteers.

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

ENTRY FEES are shown below.  Note that entry fees are lower for those who are members of orienteering clubs.  If you would like to join ESOC you can find out how to do so on our MEMBERSHIP PAGE.

Note that a Junior is a competitor who was born in 1999 or later and an Adult (Senior) is a competitor who was born in 1998 or earlier.

SportIdent (SI) electronic timing will be used.   If you would like to buy your own dibber (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.

PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE: You are only covered by our public liability insurance if you have joined an orienteering club, or are competing in one of your first 3 events. If you would like to join ESOC you can find out how to do this here.  

Contacts / Officials

EMAIL:

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.