Park-O P4Horsham ParkSat 01 July, 2023

Near: Horsham
Level of event: Local
Type of event: Race

Results

Report

Planners Report – Horsham Park-O 1st July

Thank you for everybody who participated on Saturday. From the comments and discussions afterwards the courses gave you something for you to think about. Horsham Park has a few discrete areas which provide some more interesting legs between them .

The aim was to keep the first control on the sprint control hidden from the start and make sure navigation was accurate from the start – judging from the pink highlighting on Winsplits it did the trick.

3-4 was intended to give choice of route round the building.

5-6 seems to have made people think a bit; the small Human Nature Garden has a lot of features.

7-8 was a repeat of control 1 but on the outside; very few fell for this a second time.

8-9 – route choice round the tennis courts

9-10 – choice of ways into the Sensory Garden in front of Park House

10-11 and 11-12 – seemed to have caught some people out; 10-11 was a back track out and 11-12 had choices.

14 disappeared but didn’t affect the general flow of the sprint course but its omission was probably more problematic on the Yellow.

14-15 – route choice round Pavilions but looking at routes so far east seems to be the preference.

16 thru 25 – meant to provide the distance without taking you back round the park again. Hopefully it kept everyone on their toes. 26-29 – back to the finish with a choice around the pond

I think the yellow and orange courses provided interest and challenge of the right level for those on those courses. These are often the harder ones to get right to strike a balance. I took out some of the original controls on the Yellow to ensure there was some decision making. Orange was intended to encourage departure from paths whilst providing some points of reference.

It was good to see some new participants to the sport and also some competitors who travelled from outside Sussex.

Of course, this wouldn’t have been possible without the support of other club members. Thanks to all the following:
Anna – as organizer and for providing suggestions for improvements to my courses
Mike – printing maps and descriptions
Euan – for his excellent new map and his patience for map changes that Anna and I kept making
Karen – for Risk Assessment
David - for website details
Les and Penny – for SI duties
James, Euan (again!), Liam, Ed, Rob for control collecting.

It’s a while since I’ve done some planning. Thanks, Di, for giving me a nudge – I really enjoyed it and I hope you all did too.

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.

Read more about RouteGadget…

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

Read more about this series

Location Info

Nearest town: Horsham

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

Directions / Parking

Multiple Car Parks

Nearest to start – Pavilions on Hurst Road

Others:

North Parade
Albion Way
North Street

Start and Tent located to the South of Pavilions Sport Centre

What3Words save.impact.signal

Public Transport

Horsham Railway Station

Course Information

Sprint 3.3km 29 controls
Orange 1.9km 18 controls
Yellow 1.1 km 11 controls

Entry Details

Online entries only 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.

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

10am to 11am. Don't arrive too early as we will wait for Park Run to clear. Courses close 12:30pm.

Map Details

New map at 1:3000 to ISSprOM 2019-2 standards by Euan Marsh See link in the miscellaneous section to check the sprint symbols.

Terrain Description

Horsham Park is situated in the middle of the town and near the railway station. There are 60 acres of open grassland, mown parkland and a pond. The park contains about 2500 trees which are a mixture of native and exotic species including some impressive heritage trees.

https://friendsofhorshampark.co.uk/information/

Dog restrictions

There is a short section on all courses (in the Human Nature Garden) where dogs are not allowed

Facilities

Water bottle filling station (on the path between tennis courts and Human Nature Garden)
Kaya: The Cafe in the Park serves teas, coffees, lunches
Pavilions in the Park has a cafe
The Rec has a cafe
Horsham town centre has plenty of cafes, restaurants and pubs

Miscellaneous

Park Run takes place from 9am.

Make sure you check the IOF Sprint Orienteering Map Symbols - they are slightly different to normal.

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Robin Wilson

Organiser:

Controller: