Southern Night Championships Worthlodge Forest Sat 22 November, 2025

Near: Crawley
Level of event: Regional
Type of event: Race, Night

Results

Report

Photos from Assembly.

Organiser's report:

A Big thank you to everybody who turned out on a wet November evening for a run in the rain. Comments suggest that Vince laid on great courses and I think we were all grateful for the relatively short trips to the start and from the finish. The weather was markedly different from when Steve Blount and I met in the summer for a first scout around the assembly area. It was great to have Steve on the team as a previous organiser of the SNC and organiser/leader of this year’s permissions and parking logistics. He shared some great suggestions with me, as well as being ahead of me on several occasions and driving things forward whilst I was snowed under with an intense work engagement.


We couldn’t have laid this on without the support from Worth School, Paddockhurst and Standing Hall estates, Pulse First Aid and all the hard work from the marvellous team SO. Thank you to: Neil (Controller), Vince (and Chris J) as planner(s), Steve B, Karen, Joe and Penny on SI, Chris J, Coral, James, Garry, Rob, Euan, Alan, Anna, Pete, Ben, Emma, Steve S, Tim, Linda and apologies to anyone else that I may have omitted. Double thanks to those who got soaked through, did multiple helper slots or curtailed their runs to help out. I’d also like to thank Bo Oqvist from BKO who handed off a great schedule to help me hunt down last year’s trophies – it was nice to finally meet in person, head torch to head torch, in the forest! We have some items of lost property (a torch, a hat and a jacket). We know the owner of the jacket but if you are the owner of one of the other items please contact me with appropriate descriptions using the
treasurer email from the “contacts” section of the SO website and we’ll work out a way to get these to you. Similarly if you had to leave before the trophies presentation, please get in touch and I’ll arrange how we get the trophy to you. For those who had trophies collected on their behalf I shall be grateful if you will email me your contact details as this will help next year’s organiser.
Ian


Planners report:


Firstly thank you to everyone who said they enjoyed the courses it made getting soaked while putting out the controls worthwhile. The planning was fairly straightforward as I have planned on the area before. The only issue was how much the bracken was going to die back by the time of the event and in the end we had to add a vegetation screen on a large area of forest which was unusable. The map was very good and only a few minor map updates were required around some control sites. As a planner or organiser all you want is some good weather on the day of the event but I have to thank Steve Blount for gettting permission to use the Cricket Pavillion which made all the difference. Thank you to Ian for a very slick bit of organising, Neil for controlling and updating the map, and to everyone who helped, especially the control collectors and to Chris Jepson who helped hang the controls in torrential rain, thank you.

Vince

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…

Pre event info

Final details now available

Area championships for SWOA, SCOA and SEOA members. A second use of this newly mapped area following the National Event in March.

Location Info

Nearest town: Crawley

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

Directions / Parking

Parking at Worth School open from 1630hrs, signed from the B2110. Please park as directed by marshals:

The event centre will be at the cricket pavilion on the north side of the B2110.

Course Information

You can run any course you want to but if you are a member of an SEOA, SCOA or SWOA club and wish to compete in the championships, you should enter an appropriate class:

Brown 8.6km 215m (M20 M21 M35 M40)

Blue 6.0km 165m (M16 M18 M45 M50 M55 W20 W21 W35 W40)

Green 3.8km 90m (M60 M65 W16 W18 W45 W50 W55)

Short Green 2.8km 80m (M70 M75 M80 M85 W60 W65 W70 W75 W80 W85)

Course lengths are provisional.

The start is approximately 500m from the event centre, the finish is passed about 300m along this route.

Entry Details

Enter via Racesignup, no entry on the day:

  • £16.00 BOF Senior/£6.00 BOF Junior up to 8pm 21st November 2025 (subject to map availability)
  • £2 non-BOF member supplement (Seniors only)
  • SO juniors free (use code SOjuniors)
  • Standard Dibber Hire: £1.00 Senior/£0.50 Junior
  • SIAC Hire: £2.00 Senior/£1.00 Junior

Although the youngest age class competitions are for M/W16s any M/W14s who are sufficiently experienced at night orienteering can enter M/W16. No M/W12s though - however confident they may be.

Registration

From 1645hrs - 1845hrs.

Start Times

From 1730hrs - 1900hrs. Courses close 2030hrs.

Map Details

Brown and Blue 1:10,000 with 5m contours
Green and Short Green 1:7,500

Dog restrictions

Sorry no dogs in the event centre or out on the courses

Facilities

  • Changing room
  • Toilets

Miscellaneous

Car park opens 1630hrs.

In addition to their main head torch all competitors must carry a back-up torch and a whistle.

Trophies will be awarded at the event to the following age class winners W16 W18 W20 W21 W35 W40 W45 W50 W55 W60 W65 W70 W75 W80 W85 M16 M18 M20 M21 M35 M40 M45 M50 M55 M60 M65 M70 M75 M80 M85

We will be using part of the area used for the National Event in March, Routegadget link here.

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Vince Joyce

Organiser: Ian Curtis

Controller / Event Adviser: Neil Crickmore