All posts by Paul Street

Engineer
Event Bulletins

City Race 2020

UPDATE 17th June

The 2020 London City Race is cancelled.

Given the current situation in England with Covid-19, and the impact of ongoing restrictions when applied to an urban environment, we have reluctantly concluded we are sorry we must cancel the London City Race weekend for this year. 

We are making provisional arrangements for a ‘forest’ event to be held on Holmwood Common, near Dorking on Sunday 13th September as a substitute, should regulations allow. Some of the courses are planned!

2021

Preparations are already underway for a relaunch of the London City Weekend in 2021.

Provisional details:

Friday 3rd September – a prologue race, as yet undecided.

Saturday 4th September

Classic distance urban event in Westminster and the City of London, with Start and Finish close to the Aldwych.

This will make the most of the complex alleys and courts of the Temple.

 Sunday 5th September

A middle distance race in the new development at King’s Cross. This is also fairly described as “complex”. Organised by our friends at London Orienteering Klubb.

UPDATE 17th March

With the situation regarding the coronavirus pandemic it is not now clear if this race will go ahead. It will take some time for the situation to become clear.

Results from last year’s race.

Original Announcement

Here are preliminary details for the London City Race 2020 which we are delighted is one of nine races in the 2020 Euro City Tour.

The race is on Saturday 12th September 2020, in a complex residential area with scattered parks. As usual for the City Race the map is at 1:5000 and we have extended it from previous years. Longer courses will visit the newly mapped area.

The station nearest to the event centre is Canada Water, south of the river in the old Surrey Docklands.

Canada Water (Wikipedia)

LocationRotherhithe
Address
Latitude/longitude51.497, -0.049
OS grid referenceTQ355794
MapsGoogle Maps, OpenStreetMap

Heading photo: thanks to Steve Rush: it’s from his set of the 2018 race.

  • Courses
    • Men’s Elite
    • Women’s Elite
    • Men’s Open
    • Women’s Open
    • Men’s Veteran (M40+)
    • Women’s Veteran (W40+)
    • Men’s Under-21 (M20-)
    • Women’s Under-21 (W20-)
    • Men’s Super-Veteran (M55+)
    • Women’s Super-Veteran (W55+)
    • Men’s Ultra-Veteran (M65+)
    • Women’s Ultra-Veteran (W65+)
    • Men’s Hyper-Veteran (M75+)
    • Women’s Hyper-Veteran (W75+)
    • Junior (M/W16-)
    • Children (M/W12-)
    • Tourists & Newcomers

Accompanying races

Chigwell Orienteering Club are organising a race on Friday 11th evening in Stratford, including the Olympic Park.

London Orienteering Klubb are organising a middle race on Sunday 13th morning in a complex area of new development at King’s Cross.

Albion Channel, by Matt Buck (Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.)
Part of the previous map, used for the 9th London City Race in 2016

Event Reports

Box Hill 2020 Results

Here are the results of this year’s Box Hill Fell Race.

Many thanks to Harold Wyber for leading on the organisation and the several members of SLOW who provided the volunteer help.

And thanks to the Stepping Stones Pub for hosting us.

Results Index (Third version, Thursday 30th Jan)
  • 1st Mens Team (4 to count) Herne Hill Harriers
  • 1st Ladies Team (3 to count) Serpentine

List of Prizewinners (pdf)
  • Found/Lost property – please contact
  • Blue metal drink container
  • Farnham pilgrim tee shirt
  • 1 pair Karrimor socks
  • 1 teeshirt – Global Brigades SGUL 2019
  • 1 Panavision Hat
  • 1 black neck warmer
  • 1 Adidas glove
  • 1 Artengo Glove
  • 1 Nike wristband

Note on Heading Photo: Sorry the SLOW photographer didn’t make the prizegiving. This photo has Box Hill in the background and runners in the foreground (two of whom are also orienteers). It was taken at the Surrey Cross-Country Championships earlier this month.

Ally @photogirlruns (who is a professional photographer) ran and tweeted some shots (click on each image.)

Event Bulletins

Box Hill 2020 Final Details

Event Invitation

The race is on Saturday 18th January 2020.
(Message sent by email to all who entered.)

Many thanks for having entered this year’s Box Hill Fell Race. I am delighted that you have signed up for the 39th edition of this race and I do hope you are looking forward to it. I am also very pleased to announce that we will be using electronic chip timing for the first time; please read on for details of where to collect your timing chip.

This contains a number of important instructions and details for race day so please read these carefully. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Where do I have to be when?
All competitors will need to collect their race numbers and timing chips from the STEPPING STONES PUB (Westhumble St, Dorking RH5 6BS) between 09:20 and 10:45.
The race will start at 11:00 on Burford Meadows (the route will be clearly marked and sign-posted / taped from the Stepping Stones pub.) This is around a kilometre from the pub so please ensure you allow sufficient time to get to the start.

What if I have been the lucky recipient of an entry transfer?
Like other entrants, you will need to collect a number from the Stepping Stones pub, between 09:20 and 10:45 You will also need to sign a disclaimer form (those who entered online will have agreed to our disclaimer terms upon signing up and we will need anyone who has received a transfer to also agree to these terms); we will have copies of said forms and pens, but it would be helpful if you can identify yourself as a transferee.

How do I get there (and where do I park if I’ve driven)?

By public transport:
Take a train to Boxhill & Westhumble station, which is c. 300m walk from the Stepping Stones pub (please note that there are planned engineering works on South Western so if you’re coming from London you’ll need to take the Southern service from Victoria); or…
Take the 465 bus, which runs every 30 minutes from Kingston and stops on the A24

By car:
Please DO NOT park at the Stepping Stones pub.
Head to designated competitor parking at Ryka’s Cafe, a very short walk from both the Stepping Stones pub and the start. This will be available from 08:45. We only have a limited number of spaces available here so please aim to pack as many competitors into your vehicle. Once these spaces are full you can….
Drive to parking elsewhere. If you arrive after our parking at Ryka’s is full you should be able to park either
a) on the B2209 near Ryka’s Cafe;
b) in the Box Hill and Westhumble station car park;
c) on Westhumble Street; or
d) in Dorking

What should I wear (on my feet)?
Not spikes!!
As noted on the race details flyer, spikes are likely to cause erosion on the steep downhill grass sections of the course and your use of them could jeopardise the future of the race (there are also a few road sections in the course so you wouldn’t be that comfortable in spikes) Ideally some form of studded shoes, e.g., Walshes, Inov8s (other off-road shoe brands are available)

When and where will prize-giving be held?
Prize-giving, for individual and team categories, will be back at the Stepping Stones pub after the race (most likely between 13:00 and 14:00, closer to the latter time). We will also be displaying results on a screen at the pub

I think / know I won’t be able to run but I know someone who does; how, and up until when, can I transfer my entry?
You can transfer your entry to another runner via the online entry system, following what should be a fairly straightforward process The deadline for online entry transfers is 12:00 (noon) on Thursday 16 January. We will, however, still allow on-the-day amendments.
As mentioned above, anyone receiving a transferred entry will need to sign a disclaimer form as part of the race day registration process.

Hopefully this answers most if not all of your questions but, to reiterate, please feel free to get in touch, if you have any further queries. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you on Saturday morning!

Many thanks, Harold 


International, Member News

Knockout Sprint

  • Orienteering for TV

A relatively new format for international orienteering is the Knockout Sprint. A knockout sprint runs for a day, through four rounds, with runners qualifying or not for the next round at each of the first three. It culminates in a six runner final. Rounds apart from the first are mass start, first-to-the-finish races.

There have been two at World Cup meetings so far, one last year in the Czech Republic, and one in September this year in Switzerland.

Of course a reason for it is the potential to engage an audience, to bring top orienteers close to spectators and to promote the sport.

There was also a need for a third format (alongside individual and the mixed relay) for the Sprint World Championships, now that Forest and Sprint alternate rather than being combined. The first World Champs Knockout Sprint will be 9th July 2020 in Fredericia, Denmark. (There is an accompanying six-day orienteering festival for spectators who want to run as well as watch.) The second will be in Scotland in 2022.

The TV from 2019 World Cup Round 3 which was a couple of months ago in Laufen, Switzerland is now available free.

For the GB team a highlight was the Knockout Sprint Men’s Semi-Final 1 with Forth Valley Orienteers’ Kris Jones (*) and SLOW member Ralph Street. It is one of three “semi-finals”. There are six runners who have come through the two morning rounds, and the first two at the finish will go through to the final.

With commentary from Katherine Bett and Jonas Merz, it’s at 44 mins and it lasts ten minutes: https://orienteering.sport/event/orienteering-world-cup-round-3/knock-out-sprint/web-tv/

* A few hours after this was written Kris was the third counter for the Gold Medal GB Men’s team at the European Cross-Country in Lisbon. Kris was 22nd, 1 second ahead of the third counter for Belgium. Had Kris been 23rd GB would not have won Gold.

Event Reports

Wimbledon Common Night-O Results

Well done 70 runners. Thanks to the Hand In Hand for hosting us. And thanks to club captain Peter Huzan for organizing and planning.

Organiser’s Comments

I hope you enjoyed a lovely evening.  It stayed dry when it needed to.  Lots of runners this time.  Please come along to the other events in the series.  Thank you to the helpers Gordon, Sue, Heikki, Ed, Tom C and Steve.

Results

View routes, and please add yours: Routegadget

Results Index
Event Reports

Hankley Results

Here are the results for the OK Nuts Trophy races on Hankley Common on Sunday November 24th 2019. These was also the 2019 South-East Long Distance Championships. We were also pleased to be hosting the Royal Logistics Corps Championships.

Planners Comments – Simon Moss

My principal aim when planning is to make the courses fun and Hankley with its wonderful fast terrain is not difficult to plan for fun.  I tried my best to keep you in the forest and out of the rough open heather and off the paths for the technical courses as much as possible. I hope you felt I succeeded.

I was helped by Dave Peel’s largely resurveyed map. It was the first time that the area used the LIDAR data so it enabled me to use some sites as the data allows the ground to be mapped more accurately and brings out some of the nuances of the area that weren’t previously shown.

It’s always difficult to thank everyone involved but from my perspective, I’d like to thank Clive Caffall my controller for his help and advice. Andy and Karen Jones, Ian Moran, Paul Couldridge and Dorte Torpe Hanson who helped put out all the controls were fantastic, as were the collectors who are too many to mention. SLOW is very lucky to have so many keen, reliable and capable members

OK Nuts Results

Congratulations to this year’s Senior OK Nuts Trophy winners:

Alistair Masson (Interlopers), and
Laura Robertson (Edinburgh Southern).

The junior OK Nuts winners were:

Troy Southall (Southdowns, M16) and
Imogen Pieters (South Yorkshire, W14)

South-East Long Distance Champs

South-East Champs 2019 Medallists – version2 (pdf)

All Results

Course Results Index – All Courses (html)

(Courses in alphabetical order. Arranged by classes and by courses.)

Routegadget

Please add your route!

Routegadget A3 Courses (Black, Brown, Short Brown, Blue)

Routegadget A4 Courses (Short Blue, Green, Short Green, Very Short Green, Light Green, Orange, Yellow, White.)

Changes

Monday morning – Planner’s Comments added

Monday afternoon – Route upload enabled, OK Nuts winners paragraph

Monday evening – results – 1) Sheralee Bailey moved from Blue-Other to Blue-W40, 2) South-East Champs Medallists list added

Tuesday evening – minor layout changes

Friday – small change to SE Medallists after club notification

Club News, Event Bulletins, International

2020 Junior Home International

Update – June 2020

We are still hoping we can host the Junior Home International this year, but obviously in the current circumstances we cannot confirm it. We have plans for necessary social distancing and hygiene for the racing, but we need lockdown restrictions to lift, our booked accommodation to be up and running, and to reconfirm our permissions. We are also mindful that a main aim of the competition is to promote the teams socialising, so that is fully in our minds too.

Junior Home International

South London Orienteers will put on the 2020 Junior Home International on the weekend of 10th and 11th October. The racing will be on the spectacular and tough terrain of the Devil’s Punch Bowl as used for last year’s Southern Championships.

The competition is between four teams of 24 junior athletes representing England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Teams include four athletes in each of M/W18, M/W16 and M/W14.

The teams will stay together, adjacent to the competition terrain, at the PGL Marchants Hill Adventure Centre.

Teams arrive on the Friday, and have an individual race on the Saturday and relays on the Sunday.

This year the competition was hosted in Northern Ireland by Lagan Valley Orienteers – Ward JHI Orienteering Results and Report.

Summary of Home Internationals

The perhaps self-contradictory term “Home International” is used in the British Isles to describe sports competitions amongst national teams Wales, Ireland, Scotland and England.

In orienteering there are three “home internationals”: junior (M/W18-), senior (M/W 20/21) and veteran (M/W35+). Each is organised separately, usually in the Autumn. The home nations take it in turn to host.

All competitions take place over a weekend, with an individual day and a relay day and calculate results by a points scheme. All prefer the individual on the Saturday and relays on the Sunday. There’s also a social element – a meal on the Saturday night, and ideally teams stay in the same place.

The competition details are specific to each competition. In general Scotland and England give each other a good match, and, but with lower points totals, so do Wales and Ireland.

Event Reports

Richmond Park Night-O results

Thanks to The Albert for hosting our race in Richmond Park this evening. And thanks to Sue Carter for planning and organizing.

Planner’s Comments

Thanks to everyone who came out to run in the first Night-O of the
season. I hope you enjoyed your runs.

It can be tricky planning on an area we use quite often. I managed to
find a few control sites we’ve not used before and put in as many legs as I could with some route choice. I hope it provided a good challenge for you.

The deer had been quite frisky in the weeks leading up to the event. One stag in particular was guarding a site I wanted to put a control on. Bellowing at me, each time I went near it. I decided to give that site a miss and put that control somewhere else. Although the deer do seem to calm down as the nights close in more quickly. I hope the deer didn’t give anyone any trouble.

And big thanks to the people who helped me with the event. Gordon,
Steve, Sarah, Paul S, Paul C and Lulu. Their help made the event run smoothly.

See you at an orienteering event again soon.

Please add your route (and view others): Routegadget

Results Index

Splitsbrowser link to follow