Saturday 01/03/2025 – 2025 League 3 – Woodchester

The area is a mixture of woodland and grassland. It forms a deep wooded valley running East West, with a series of lakes in the valley bottom, and a number of deep re-entrants on either side of the main valley. It is steep in places; however there is a good path network throughout.

Any fences marked uncrossable/impassable, as shown below, must not be crossed so as to not jeopardise future access to the area; please ensure gates or stiles are used as crossing points. Any gates must be closed behind you as some fields may have stock in them.

There will be a taped route of c. 800m (mainly uphill) from the finish at the bottom of the valley back to download. Assembly and download will be close to the National Trust cafe and other amenities. The area is becoming popular with the general public so please give way to walkers, horse riders or other runners.

Maps are pre-printed, and double-sided, on waterproof paper.

All courses have two parts, an initial sprint like section, and a later classic long distance style section. Part 1 maps are at 1;4000 scale, 5m contours.

Brown and Blue Part 2 maps will be at 1:10,000, 5m contours.

Green, Short Green, Light Green, Orange, and Yellow Part 2 maps will be at 1:7,500, also 5m contours.

Control descriptions will be text for Yellow, pictorial for all other courses, except Orange which will have both. Loose control descriptions will be available in the start lanes.

The Start is close to Tinkley Gate car park and cafe. The Finish is in the valley bottom, from which there is taped route of about 800m, mainly uphill, back to Download. Please remember to download!

SI Touch free punching is enabled, but all runners must punch both Start and Finish.

Provisional course details. Courses are in some cases a little over normal adjusted distances, but are designed in many cases to offer plenty of opportunities to reduce climb.

Course details subject to final controlling. Course distances are straight line.

We will use SI Timing, in contact and touch free modes. All runners must however punch the Start and Finish controls.

You MUST go to Download even if you do not complete your course – we need to confirm that you are back safely!

Whistles must be carried by juniors running on their own and are highly recommended for all competitors. If you hear a distress whistle, please go to assist.

Regrettably there will be no string course, owing to lack of suitable space given the sprint like early sections of all courses.

In order to minimise demands on scarce volunteer resources we operate a 90 minute start window for this event, and we recognise that this can be a challenge for parents seeking split starts. We are happy to accommodate split starts provided:

• You let us know in advance that you need a split start. Do this by emailing the organiser, address in the introduction above
• You come early; the start team will normally be ready to allow very early starts up to 30 minutes before the published start time, so aim to be there with this in mind. We do not offer starts later than the published end of the start window.
• The shorter course runner goes first. We will not turn you away if you can't manage this, but it gives you both a better chance of beating the course closure time.

Entry Details

You should enter the course appropriate to your involvement in the NGOC league, if relevant, or whichever course you choose otherwise.

Please note there is a £1 increase in senior pre-entry fees, but all other fees remain as last year

Starts: 11:00 - 12:30
Courses close: 14:00, meaning that you must report to download before 14:15, or risk disqualification.

SI dibber hire: Standard dibber £1 Adults, Juniors free

Touch Free dibber: £2 Adults, £1 Juniors

Entries are now open, and will close at midnight on Wednesday 26th February.

Entry on the day is possible only while maps last, but note the premium price to discourage this. We should be able to accept credit/debit card payments, but this is not guaranteed so bring cash just in case.

A helper discount is available for those offering to help on the day. These events don't happen without volunteers willing to help out on the day, so if you are able to do so, before signing up to enter, email Ian Prowse, Volunteer Coordinator, to let us know if you can help, and ask for the helper discount code that you can apply when entering. You don't have to be a NGOC member to help, but you do need to be a BOF member to be covered insurance wise.

COVID related refunds are no longer available. The standard Fabian4 terms and conditions offer an automatic refund up to 2 months before the event date, and we do not normally vary this specification. That means that in most cases no refunds are possible, as we do not publish details until less than 2 months before the date of the event.

However, for all except large events we hold entries open until only a day or so before the event, so you can delay entry if unsure whether you can run, until very close to event day.

Dogs are permitted in the car park and assembly areas and on the courses, but must be on leads at all times.

Toilets are available at the Tinkley Gate cafe.

The NGOC Cafe won’t be present but there is a very good National Trust cafe on site with a good range of drinks and snacks available.

There are no covered changing facilities and competitors are reminded of the need for discretion when getting changed by their cars, particularly if in view of the cafe.

If you are interested in obtaining club kit, whilst there will not be an extensive range of sizes to try on at the event, we can have a few sizes available for specific items. You can see the options, and a size chart, on the Club Kit page. Email paul@ngoc.org.uk with details of any items, and relevant sizes, you wish to try, and we can have those available.

Orienteering is an adventure sport. All runners take part at their own risk and must take responsibility for their own safety.

In the event of wet weather, please assess risks on any steep slopes.

Everyone is advised to carry a whistle, and for Juniors it is compulsory. Full leg cover is compulsory for everyone. In the event of severe weather, a cagoule may be made compulsory; please ensure that you bring one just in case.

A first aid kit and trained first aiders will be present at Registration. Note that we are not permitted to provide epi-pens or antihistamine tablets in the event of stings. If you know you react badly to stings you should carry your own epi-pen or antihistamine tablets.

There are no public roads within the competition area. However, all courses have an early section around the Tinkley Gate area, where there may be vehicle movements associated with our event and also members of the public arriving and departing. You should take particular care in this area, if parking pressures result in overflow parking beiug required.

Orienteering is a great sport for young people. If you bring children, please help us to keep to our safeguarding policy and British Orienteering’s photography policy.

By entering this event, competitors agree to abide by the British Orienteering Code of Conduct.

A comprehensive risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser and a copy will be held at Registration, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. All participants must report to download whether they finish their course or not.

When participating in our events/activities your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. To see how we look after your personal data, please read our privacy policy.

NGOC follows British Orienteering’s national guidance. This provides a sensible balance between the benefits and risks associated with the taking and use of images. If you are unsure about acceptable practice, please speak to the event organiser.