SOG A5Oldhouse WarrenSat 25 November, 2023

Report

James's planners comments:

Thank you to everyone for who turned up for the event and I hope you all had an enjoyable time despite the bracken’s interference.

Thank you to all the helpers for this event including: Neil for reviewing my courses, Mike for printing maps and control descriptions, Garry, Dave, and Tim for helping collect controls, and Mum for putting out half of the stakes before the event. Lastly, many thanks to Dad for organizing everything and providing assistance along the way.

Ian's organisers comments:

At mid-week, knowing there were 2 bigger events nearby over the weekend, we were thinking we might just get to 80 competitors… then the entries went ballistic and we hit 120! It was awesome to see so many people on a crisp cold day from our club and also from further afield, particularly those relatively new to our sport. We hope you enjoyed your day and look forward to seeing you again.

A big thanks to all of our amazing helpers: Chris, Neil and Karen for support ahead of the day with maps, equipment and risk assessments; the
super Si team; Jill for a long shift on the gate; Steve for fitting in an incredible amount of cars on a frosty grassy island; Robin for guiding the 4X4’s into the pit and doing the trial run to ensure we could get them out again; and Coral for turning out on Friday to put stakes and kites in (realistically her first technical orienteering in perhaps 20 years) after I had promised her that all the control sites were taped, I don’t think she was too impressed that the tape James and I had used was the same colour as aged bracken, but found all sites and placed the stakes and kites that I had given her!

Finally a big thank you to James for fully taking on the role of planner and talking me into being organiser for this event. This time last year he was competing on Orange. Coral and I are really grateful for the coaching and support from many of you that has allowed him to progress hugely to a level where he could lay on today’s courses. At 7am this morning he slid out of a warm car into a dark frozen forest to place controls as I drove away to set up the start - I couldn’t have been prouder of him!

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.

Location Info

Nearest town: Crawley

• Postcode: *
• Lat,Lng:51.10153,-0.14533
• Grid Ref: TQ299353
• 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

From the North exit the M23 at junction 10a, at the roundabout take the 2nd exit to the West onto a track.

Approaching from the South: from the B2110/ B2036 junction at the Cowdray Arms follow the B2036 north for 1.3 miles (2.1km). At the roundabout take the 1st exit to the West onto a track

Follow the track south west approx. 700 metres to the assembly area. This track is NOT suitable for low sporty cars - so strongly recommend you do not bring.

If anyone is being dropped off, please can they be dropped at the gate to the site and walk 700m SW on the track to assembly, as the track is narrow and unmade, so keen to avoid 2 way traffic.

Please note parking is NOT at Whitely Hill, which we have used regularly previously.

what three words: stuck, unrealistic, before

Public Transport

Three bridges rail station is a 1.7 mile (2.7km) walk from the venue.

Course Information

Yellow (1.3km – 30m climb), Orange (2.3km – 60m climb), Short Green (2.9km - 75m climb), Green (4.4km - 110m climb), Blue (6.0km - 150m climb).

Entry Details

Pre-entry 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.

SO members fees: SO Seniors £5.00, SO Juniors free.
Non member fees: Seniors £6.00, Juniors £2.50.

'Dibber' hire:
Electronic punching (SI) chips are available to hire. SIAC (contactless): £2, non-SIAC (not contactless) £1

Registration open

9:45 to 10:45

Start Times

10:00 to 11:00. Courses close at 12:30.

Map Details

Oldhouse Warren, Cowdray and Greentrees forest 03/23

1:10,000 5m contours

Terrain Description

Beautiful runnable forest, with extensive grid pattern of rides. Some wet ditches and small streams incise the area providing contour detail. Bracken should be dying back and becomes less prevalent as technical courses progress

Dog restrictions

Well behaved dogs are allowed on a lead in assembly, but must not be taken out onto the courses

Facilities

None

Miscellaneous

An area has been marked out of bounds (on the map with purple hashing) due to the presence of Phytophthora Ramorum . This is a highly destructive, algae-like organism called a water mould, it can cause extensive damage and death to more than 150 plant species. Please ensure you do not enter the Out of Bounds area for any reason, and take the following measures to reduce the possibility of spreading the disease to other forest areas: - Remove excess soil/leaf litter/needles from footwear, gaiters and clothing before leaving the forest at the end of the event. - On returning home thoroughly scrub footwear/gaiters, wash clothing and leave to dry for at least 48 hours before reuse.

The safety bearing is north to the uncrossable boundary fence at the north end of the map, then head uphill to the assembly area. If after heading north to the boundary fence, you hit the track used to enter the venue, then turn south west and follow the edge of the track to the assembly area avoiding any traffic

Contacts / Officials

Planner: James Curtis

Organiser: Ian Curtis

Controller: