‘Tinto Twin’ Day Event, South Gyle Urban (incorporating SOUL 11)

Sun 30th Oct 2022

Info updated: 13th Jan
Type of event: Regional
Type of terrain: Urban

Results

Provisional results for the Day Event are available here

Provisional Overall Results (PDF) are here

Winsplits are here

Routegadget is here

TINTO TWIN TROPHY WINNERS ARE HERE

TINTO TWIN - WRAP UP:  Tinto Orienteering Club TINTO), spearheaded by Dick and Trish Carmichael, produced 31 annual "Tinto Twin" events.   These have been enormous fun over the years, with many memorable epics.  Their last was celebrated with a fine party in 2019 when TINTO had become too small to continue with it.   Thereafter, STAG and ESOC undertook to continue it in alternate years.  This was our turn.
The magnificent trophies on display on the Sunday are a testament to the commitment of Dick and Trish to the event, and they are most appreciative of the enthusiasm with which it is being continued.  A list of the 2022 trophy winners can be found from the link above.  Treasure your trophy, get your name engraved on it and display it with pride!  If you didn't get the benefit of a personal "mini-prizegiving", please contact Janet on  to make arrangements to get it.

General Information

POST EVENT COMMENTS
From ORGANISER, Jayne MacGregor: Thank you to all the competitors for coming to South Gyle (some from quite a distance) and the small but dedicated team of officials who made the event run smoothly (at least from my point of view).  My thanks also to Colin and Rhona for couriering some emergency print run maps from Inverness.

Apologies that the prizegiving ended up rather fragmented, those that turned up at Assembly, once all the results were In, had a personalised presentation (with clapping and whooping). The advertised time was 3pm as we had to allow for split starts (all under 16s had to be shadowed) but on the day the fast course times meant we moved it forward but understandably a lot of people had already left to make their way home.

The Planner, Sabine, has explained in her comments below, the extensive pre-event permissions work required for this newly mapped area, especially in a couple of the residential areas and the Business Parks (turns out companies often use the weekends for maintenance works on their car parks.

Traditionally the Tinto Twin is a Night event followed by a Day event, both using the colour-coded format with ~5 courses and trophies awarded in age classes. Turning the day event into a SOUL with 7 courses and a specified courses/classes relationship took a few iterations to come together and even then needed the vast experience of the entries and computing teams to produce combined results for the weekend.

From PLANNER Sabine Oechsner: This year's Tinto Twin day event was an event of many challenges. The choice of map fell on the new South Gyle map, previously only used once for a Sprintelope. As I love a good urban event, I was quite excited to get to play with this map. The area it covers is quite varied, ranging from typical Edinburgh housing estates to vast office car parks, which could potentially lead to quite varied courses. At the same time, the fact that these parts are somewhat disconnected by busy roads and long fences made them tricky to work with. Navigating permissions with way too many actors proved to be another challenge. (Did you notice that the car park behind every single building is managed by a different company?) Some of the businesses had specific constraints as condition for allowing us to place controls on their property, and in sum there were many more constraints than usual to consider. Planning courses that respect the constraints was a challenge I did quite enjoy though. I guess that speaks to the part of me that loves solving puzzles... The result was a number of hopefully slightly unusual urban courses that changed character every few controls, from car park hedge maze to neat business property to different types of housing estates.

A huge shoutout to organizer Jayne MacGregor and ESOC event coordinator Janet Clark for talking to so many people and also hiding the hunt for the right permissions from me as much as possible. Unfortunately, some unexpected events forced us to adjust the courses at the last minute, but I hope that did not affect the courses negatively.

Last but not least this was the first event I ever planned alone (though with some very much appreciated input from the controller, Graeme Ackland). I must say it was an interesting experience, but I still prefer to plan in a team (and offload tasks to the other planner when I'm stuck). From the feedback I got the result was not too bad. The weather gods were also gracious and granted us a mostly dry day with even a bit of sunshine. And the event itself went smooth, at least from what I could see. Now I look forward to seeing everyone's route choices on Routegadget!

LOST PROPERTY:  Saturday - found in the tennis club - a child’s pink Trespass zip-up hoodie (age 9/10 years).

Sunday - left near the download tent - a pink Chilly’s water bottle.

Enquiries about lost property for both TINTO TWIN events to 

PRE-EVENT INFORMATION

FINAL DETAILS (TT DAY EVENT/SOUL 11):  Please read in conjunction with (not instead of) the information on this webpage.

START TIMES - These were self selected but please check anyway.

TINTO TWIN EVENT: the 'Tinto Twin' comprises 2 events. The first is the night event at Blackford Hill on Saturday 29th October and the other is this urban event. to be eligible for a tinto twin trophy you should enter both events in the category which includes tour age class.

TINTO TWIN PRIZEGIVING:  The prizegiving will be as soon as possible after 3pm on at this event.  There are Tinto Twin trophies for the winners of all classes from M/W14 to M/W75 which will be decided  on the results of both days.  As M/W10 and M/W12 won’t be running the Night event, these classes will  be decided only on the Day event.

SOUL Rules and Guidelines: This event will be run in accordance with the Scottish Orienteering Urban League (SOUL) Rules and Guidelines.

Location: The assembly will be very close to Gyle shopping centre with M&S being the nearest store to the meeting point.

Terrain: City streets and grassy areas.  Map includes Edinburgh Park which is mainly office buildings and their car parks.

Course Maps: Map scale is 1:4000 for all courses. Maps will be A3 for Courses 1-6 and A4 for Course 7. The course maps will be printed on waterproof paper.   

Timing: SI timing will be used and SIAC will be enabled for the controls (but probably not for the Start and Finish which you will need to punch). Courses 1 & 2 will have 30 or more controls. Competitors will need an SI-9, SI-10 or SIAC dibber.  If you are entering either of these courses and do not have a suitable SI dibber please see below under Entry Details for information about how to hire one.

Control Descriptions: These will be printed on the course maps.  Loose control descriptions will be provided in the Start lanes.

Facilities: Gyle shopping centre is very close by and there are toilets in the centre and in both Morrisons and Marks and Spencer stores.  Those who are coming by public transport are welcome to leave their bags near Registration/Download however please be aware that this facility will not be marshalled. Please do not leave any valuables or anything you can't risk losing.

Dress: Please check the weather forecast and dress appropriately for the predicted conditions. Shorts are allowed.

Dogs: Dogs on leads and under control are allowed at Assembly and on the walks to the Starts but are not permitted on the courses. Please clean up after them.

General Safety: The whole competition area is pretty busy, with cars, buses, people and trams, even though it is Sunday.  This is especially the case around the Gyle shopping centre. Edinburgh Park is mainly office buildings but there will still be traffic on these roads. 

TRAMS and TRAMLINES - SAFETY: The Edinburgh tramline between the city and the airport crosses the competition area. The map shows the colour below the tram lines as uncrossable olive green but in the heat of competition this may not be obvious.  You MUST however only cross at the marked points and you should still look both ways for trams. Additionally, if it is wet the tram tracks are likely to be slippery. 

COVID:  Please don’t come to the event if you have Covid or symptoms of Covid.

Please also try to:

1. Respect other people's personal space at all times; 

2. Make use of the hand sanitiser wherever it is made available; 

3. Give way to other participants and members of the public especially on narrow paths and slow down on blind corners.

Please read and respect the British Orienteering Participant Code of Conduct.

Other Medical Conditions: You have the option of downloading, completing and handing this Medical Form to the Organiser (via Registration) so that existing medical conditions are known about in the event of an incident. Please put in a sealed envelope with your name on it. It will only be opened if required and will be destroyed unread if you don't collect before the end of the event. 

First Aid: The Organiser will have a very basic first aid kit available at Registration .  If you possibly can, we encourage you to bring your own first aid kit and administer as necessary.  For further specific advice please call 111 or for a life threatening emergency dial 999.  The Organiser will be happy to advise and support you as required, including use of a mobile phone if you do not have one with you. 

The main hospital for A&E services in Edinburgh is:

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
51 Little France Crescent
Old Dalkeith Road
Edinburgh
EH16 4SA
Telephone: 0131 536 1000

Location

Nearest town: City of Edinburgh

• Grid Ref: NT185724
• Postcode: EH12 9JF
• Latitude: 55.937806
• Longitude: -3.306750
• Google Map (aerial) - Bing Map (OS)

Directions

The event assembly will be on a small grassy area very close to the north east corner of Gyle shopping centre about 3 minutes walk from M&S. Use the footpath (not the cycle way) which will be taped.

What3Words:  digit.bring.cliff

There are plenty of options for getting there. Please use public transport or share cars if at all possible.

By Bus: Gyle shopping centre and the surrounding area is well served by buses. Lothian Buses services 2, 12, 21, 22, 36, 300 and 400 will all get you to very close to the event.  First Bus: services 20, 63, 68 should all get you there. 

By Tram: Edinburgh’s tram service connects the city centre with the airport via Gyle Shopping Centre. Gyle tram stop is very close to the western side of Gyle shopping centre, about 10 minutes walk. Trams pass Gyle approximately every 8 mins and run from 5am until midnight.

By Train: South Gyle Station (about 5 minutes walk) is close by. Check Scotrail website.  Edinburgh Gateway Station is a little further away but may suit, especially if you are coming from out of town e.g. Fife, Perth and all points north. 

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: You should be able to park in the Gyle shopping centre car park.  Please check the time restrictions before leaving your car.  Alternatively you could park in the streets nearby but please DO NOT park in the streets immediately adjacent to the assembly area as it's very tight and we must be considerate to local residents.  
These are all very public places so if changing please be sensitive to this. 

Registration & Start Times

Registration: In a tent at assembly and will be open from approximately 10.30am to 12.30pm.  

Starts: There are 2 starts both of which are an easy walk from assembly on flat ground. 

Junior Start - Course 7 only - 200m from Assembly along a flat footpath

Main Start - Courses 1-6 - 450m from Assembly on flat footpaths

Start times are confirmed as 11am to 2pm.  Start times can be self-selected on Fabian4.

Finish: A single finish close to assembly.

Course Information

There will be 7 courses available.

You can enter any course you like but to be eligible for SOUL points you must enter the category relevant to your age class. To be eligible for a Tinto Twin trophy you must have also competed in the night event and must have entered the category relevant to your age class for both events. 

NOTE FOR UNDER 16s: ALL under 16s must be shadowed for safety reasons. This will mainly apply to courses 6 and 7. The Start time range should give parents/other adults who have to shadow a junior time to have their run too. Shadowed juniors remain competitive for SOUL points and trophies.  

SOUL Guidelines on Shadowing: 'In line with BOF guidance on shadowing, juniors being shadowed on junior courses shall remain competitive for the series. Note It is possible that the guidance for any individual SOUL event may require shadowed juniors to declare themselves as non-competitive for the purposes of the event, but that will not prevent them from gaining the appropriate SOUL points. It is the responsibility of the competitor/parent to clarify with the event organiser if they are unsure. In general the person shadowing may, at the Organiser’s discretion, do so before or after their own competitive run, provided that the 2 courses do not share a significant number of controls.'

For this event we can allow the parents to choose whether to go first or second as discussed in the last paragraph above, especially on Course 7. 

Provisional course lengths are shown below but are subject to final controlling.  There is negligible climb on all courses. Course lengths given are for the optimal, not straight-line, route.

Note that all courses also have an 'OPEN' class which you can enter if you wish to enter a course other than in your age class/category.

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 via Fabian4 was available from Friday 14th October to Wednesday 26th October required.  

EOD (Entry on the Day): The number of course maps available for each course, as at Friday evening 28th October is Course 1 - 6 maps, Course 2 - 6 maps, Course 3 - 5 maps, Course 4 - 7 maps, Course 5 - 4 maps, Course 6 - 7 maps and Course 7 - 7 maps.

ENTRY FEES

Free standard SI card hire, if required, but there will be a £30.00 charge if it is lost.
Hire of SIAC cards is £2.50 and a charge of £60 will be made if it is lost.  

SI/SIAC - SPECIAL NOTE FOR THOSE ON COURSES 1 AND 2: - Courses 1 &2 will have 30 or more controls. Competitors will need an SI-9, SI-10 or SIAC dibber. If you forget to order one of these via Fabian4 you can arrange a hire by contacting .  In these circumstances, SIAC hire cost can be paid on collection.

Contacts / Officials

PLANNER: Sabine Oechsner (ESOC)

CONTROLLER: Graeme Ackland (INT)

ORGANISER: Jayne MacGregor (ESOC)

Enquiries: 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.

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