Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Club

Royal High School & Davidson’s Mains ParkSat 10 Dec

ESOC Local Event in Edinburgh and the Lothians

Last updated: Wed 21 February, 2024

Local event

Explanation of event types

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.

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Terrain type: Parkland & Woodland

Results

Results and splits

Officials' Reports

ORGANISER, Alistair Black writes: After some early jitters about the quantity of snow falling, today returned into a lovely winter wonderland for orienteering, with it staying clear for most of the competitors. There was a good turnout, and everyone had fun out on the courses.
Thanks to all of the volunteers for helping everything to run smoothly and making it so easy to organise!

PLANNER, Jim Murdoch writes: First of all, a big thank you for the putter outers and collectors of the controls, it really helps ease the burden and stress on the day.
In lovely snowy conditions I was very pleased to see that there were no missed controls on the white and yellow courses, hopefully giving them confidence to progress to harder courses. In such a small area there were a few wrong controls punched on the orange and light green courses, better luck next time! The only really controversial point was the big long fence separating the school from the park which caused a few detours, although one enterprising youngster managed to find a route under the fence. Not an option for most of us!
Congratulations to Donald on the Light Green, Hamish on the Orange, Rosie on the Yellow and Alistair on the white.

Winsplits are here


Overview

A great area especially for beginners and improvers but still offering challenges for experienced orienteers. 

Pre-event Information

Location Info

Near: City of Edinburgh
Lat,Lng: 55.96443,-3.27970
OS Grid Ref: NT202753
Postcode: EH4 6AQ

Open an interactive map in:
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Directions / Parking

Head for Davidson's Mains Park which is just off East Barnton Avenue, Edinburgh (very close to the Royal High School). Please try to use public transport or use a bike if you possibly can.

By Bus: Check Lothian Buses website to plan your journey. Lothian Buses Service 41 stops nearby. Note that other out of town buses which travel along Queensferry Road also stop close to the Royal High School.

By Bike: A variety of quiet cycle route maps throughout the city are available on the Edinburgh City Council Quiet Routes web pages. It should be possible to find a place to lock your bike close by while you run.

By Car: We do not have permission to park in the S hook car park but limited parking may be available in the car park beside/behind the sports hub along the main drive to the School. If this is full please park considerately in nearby streets. Please be aware that even in the school car park you are in a very public place so if changing in your car please be sensitive to this.

Course Information

As usual at ESOC local events there will be White, Yellow and Orange courses for beginners and improvers. There will also be a Light Green course suitable for more experienced orienteers. Note that dogs are NOT allowed on Yellow, Orange or Light Green courses.

Very provisional course distances, which are subject to final controlling, are shown below:
- Light green - 3.5km
- Orange - 2.9km
- Yellow - 1.3km
- White - 1km

The area is mostly pretty flat so there won't be much climb on any course.

Read more about Course lengths and Difficulty here

Entry Details

Pre-Entry via Racesignup is required for this event. Entries will open 10am Monday 28th November and will finally close at 9am (note the earlier time) on Saturday 10th December - the day of the event. To be guaranteed a map of your chosen course you MUST however pre-enter by 6pm on Tuesday 6th December.

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. You could maybe try entering a different course if your first choice is full.

Entry on the Day (EOD) at the event will be possible only if there are course maps available. If you have to resort to coming to the event without pre-entering please read bring the correct money or be prepared to pay by card.

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: 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 at the RaceSignUp webpage link above but a flavour of the entry fee scales is given below for advance guidance.

ENTRY FEES
Category No of Persons Per Entry Orienteering Club Members Non Members
1. 1 Adult (Senior) £4 £6
2. 1 Junior £2 £4
3. 2 Adults (Seniors) £5 £7
4. 2 Juniors £2.50 £4.50
5. 1 Adult + 1 Junior £4.50 £6.50
6. 1 Adult + 2 Juniors £5 £7
7. 2 Adults + 1 Junior £5.50 £7.50
8. 2 Adults + 2 Juniors £6 £8
9. 2 Adults + 3 Juniors £6.50 £8.50

Note that a Senior is someone born 2001 or earlier and a Junior is someone born 2002 or later. Currently 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.

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

NOTE THE EARLIER TIMINGS FOR THIS EVENT
REGISTRATION: This will be on the North side of Davidson's Mains Park close to the corner of East Barton Avenue and will be open from around 11.45pm until 1.15pm. Download will adjoin Registration and the Start and Finish will be close by.

START TIMES: Starts will run from 12 noon to 1.30pm. Please choose an early start time if you think you might take a long time out on your course. You must be back at Download by 3pm as it will be getting dark early at this time of year.

Contacts / Officials

EMAIL for early general enquiries

Planner: James Murdoch (ESOC)

Controller: Crawford Lindsay (ESOC)

Organiser: Alastair Black (ESOC)

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