Saughton ParkSat 16 Jul
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.
Results
Officials' Reports
Organiser & Planning Comments (from Janet Clark but also on behalf of Peter Halling): Saughton Park was just the place to be on this lovely afternoon. The orienteering was a great add-on to the many activities - some more energetic than others - already happening. In addition to the pre-entries, there was plenty of interest from people already in the park Some had never done orienteering before; some remembered it dimly from the past, and lots of happy kids discovered the fun of it. The Planners, Sam Mackenzie and Peter Halling, had to amend one course due to the dismantling of the "Nickelodeon" event not being quite finished, and a crucial gate was only unlocked for us minutes before we started, but they overcame these problems with aplomb. There was plenty of time to explain to each newcomer how it worked, and spectators sitting in the Rose Garden enjoyed seeing people running around. The "time trial" on the Orange Course was won hands down by Calum.
Orienteering is part of the Council's Plan for Saughton Park , so we hope to hold many more of these introductory events; this one was a delight to all involved.
Overview
Post event comments added Saturday evening. Read more to find these
Pre-event Information
Location Info
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Near: City of Edinburgh Lat,Lng: 55.93322,-3.25220 Postcode: EH11 3HT
Open an interactive map in: GoogleMap - OpenStreetMap - AppleMaps - BingMap
Directions / Parking
The event will be based at the side of the Ford’s Road (western) car park. The base will be near the cafe buildings.
Public Transport: If you live in the city it should be quite easy to reach this event by bus. Check Lothian Buses to plan your route. It may help to know that is Lothian Buses services 3, 25, 30 and 33 have a stop called Saughton Park on Gorgie Road near the junction with Ford’s Road. Follow Ford’s Road over the river bridge to the event arena. Buses 1, 2 and 22 have a stop called Whitson Crescent on Stevenson Drive. This is near to an entrance to the park from which a tarmac pathway takes you SE through the competition area (past a few controls) to the event arena near the café buildings.
By Bike: If you live in or close to the city, you'll find it easy to come to the event by bike. An official cycle path crosses the park from Balgreen Road to Ford’s Road, and passes right past the event arena (near the cafe buildings). Note that 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 lock your bike to a fence near Registration.
By Vehicle: The Ford's Road western car park is approached by Ford’s Road from the junction of Stenhouse Avenue and Stenhouse Terrace. Follow signs for Saughton Sports Complex. Cars cannot approach via Ford’s Road from Gorgie Road, as the river bridge is for pedestrians and cycles only.
If, as is very likely, the car park is full you may have to park in surrounding streets. If this happens please be considerate to locals.
Course Information
The size of the park and the nature of the terrain makes Green and Blue courses impossible. There will therefore just be White, Yellow and Orange courses for beginners and improvers.
The Yellow course is planned by Sam Mackenzie (age 12) who has also advised Peter Halling on the White and Orange.
| Course | Length | No of Controls |
| White | 1.2 | 14 |
| Yellow | 1.7 | 14 |
| Orange | 2.3 | 17 |
There is negligable climb on all courses.
Entry Details
Pre-Entry via Racesignup is required for this event. Entries open Monday 4th July and will close at 10am on Saturday 16th July - the day of the event. To be guaranteed a course map of your chosen course you MUST however pre-enter by 6pm on Tuesday 12th July.
Late pre-entries - As mentioned above, entries will remain open until 10am 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) at the event: 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: 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.
| 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. 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 (for collection of dibbers, White and Yellow maps etc) will be open from just before 1pm to about 2.15pm and will be in a tent at the side of the Ford’s Road car park, next to the gap in the wall that leads to the café.
STARTS will be from 1pm to 2.30pm. The start will be 100m away from Registration, through the café courtyard and back out through the gap in the wall straight opposite.
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.
FINISH will be at the SE corner of the car park.
Contacts / Officials
Organiser: EMAIL
Planners: Sam Mackenzie and Peter Halling. (The Yellow course has been planned by Sam Mackenzie (age 12) who has also advised Peter Halling on the White and Orange courses.)
Controller/Mentor: Peter Halling