Goffs Park

Report

Planners report:

Thanks for coming to Goffs Park in the glorious early September sunshine. It was great to meet up again with friends old and new after the brief summer pause in orienteering proceedings. This event in a public park also gave us (the club) the chance to show off our great sport to the general public, and we had a few conversations with interested passers-by during the course of the event. The event was a family production, but the main planning work came from Ben (M14) and Emma (W12). Courses appeared to be well received and I thank you for passing on your comments. Our local park initially gives the impression of being a small and not very exciting place to orienteer, but it does contain plenty of variety and enough complexity to offer scope for suitable sprint style courses, particularly on the western side of the map where it's easy to get the wrong strip of wood.

The risk assessment highlighted that the Pitch and Putt (Golf) course was a potential hazard to runners and a significant amount of discussion and negotiation was needed to determine an acceptable mitigation of the risk. In the end, we arranged for the hire of clubs to be suspended until midday, and then to monitor ad-hoc public use during the course of the event. There were a grand total of 3 golfers out on the day and they were happy to ensure that their line of fire was clear of orienteers before hitting the ball – this appeared to work well and no “near misses” or hits were observed.

Some things that didn’t go to plan: The public toilets were out of order; and the refreshment kiosk (next to the golf) was shut. Our apologies if either of these caused disappointment.

Thanks to Garry for car parking duty and to Garry and John for helping collect controls. Thanks also to our SI team of Joe and Penny for their normal efficient and friendly service. Everything was packed up by 1pm and the equipment handed onto David, the planner of the next event, at Lancing Manor next week. Hopefully many of you will be able to attend that event also.

Peter, Anna, Ben and Emma Chapman

RouteGadget

Is a web app for sharing and comparing orienteering routes. You can draw your own route or upload a GPS track from your watch. It also allows you to watch an animated replay with a simulated mass start.

Pre event info

Come and join us for the start of the new Orienteering season. We're continuing with our Park league during September, then back into the forests for October. Newcomers very welcome, try and give us the heads up that you're coming if possible and ideally signup for the event on Racesignup.

Park O Series Info

Park-Os are friendly club events, usually in parks or school grounds, where children and newcomers are very welcome. These are fun events where you can get a feeling for the sport – you can walk or run, go as a group or on your own or challenge your navigation at high speed against some of our top competitive orienteers. Yellow and Orange courses are suitable for children to run on their own with a bit of practice. Adults are welcome to shadow children until they are confident to go on their own. Sprint courses are run or walked by any age group.

The Park-O series takes place in the early summer and early Autumn and is 8 events this year. Certificates are awarded for the best placed in a variety of age categories.

Volunteer here

Enquiries here

Location Info

Nearest town: Crawley

Postcode: *
Lat,Lng:51.11141,-0.20042
Grid Ref:
Google Map
Streetmap (OS 50k)
Bing Map (OS 50k)
OpenStreetMap

* Postcodes are not very precise in some areas, so don't rely on them for an exact location.

Directions / Parking

Initial parking will be adjacent to Goffs Park House and then in the pub overflow car park. Parking will be to the south of the park and signed from Old Horsham Road, near to Goffs Manor Pub, RH11 8PE. If you're local, please walk.

Course Information

Sprint course 2.9km tricky navigation

Orange course 1.9km moderate navigation

Yellow Course 1.2km easy navigation

Entry Details

Online entries via Racesignup.co.uk.

Newcomers are welcome and eligible for a free trial session - if you'd like to reserve a map or discuss the event please email our membership secretary.

Entries close 8pm the day before.

Parents can shadow juniors, free of charge. Just pay for each junior who wants a map and SI card for recording their time.

Sprint £4.00, Orange £2.00, Yellow £2.00, SO Juniors free using the regular code

SI-card hire £1 (£0.5 for juniors) or £2 (£1) for a SIAC to allow contactless punching

Registration open

From 9:45 to 10:45

Start Times

Starts from 10am to 11am. Courses close 12 noon.

Map Details

Scale 1:4000 with recent updates in 2023.

Terrain Description

Parkland with a number of wooded areas and a hill. The wooded areas have some brambles and leg cover is recommended.

Dog restrictions

Dogs are allowed in the park - please ensure they are under control. Please keep on a lead if they're on a course with you.

Facilities

Fresh Barista Coffee & Snacks, Friendly Pub & Restaurant.

Competitors should bring their own water.

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Ben & Emma Chapman

Organiser: Anna & Peter Chapman

Controller:

Park-O P6Goffs ParkSat 02 September, 2023

Results