Heartwood

Saturday 02 October 2021

Welcome to our Saturday Series and Youth League event. Beginners are very welcome and there are courses for all standards.

Heartwood Forest , B651, Sandridge AL4 9DQ

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UPDATE 30 Sept – Please see important information on changed parking arrangements below. Additionally we have been advised that all competitors must stay on the existing path network whilst within the small pockets of ancient woodland (marked white on your map).

Welcome to the first event of our new season and of the Youth League. There are courses suitable for beginners of all ages, so come and try our exciting sport.

This event will comply with British Orienteering’s guidance on Covid, as it is at the time of the event. There will still be some requirements in the “new normal”:

  • Numbers are limited.
  • You must pre-enter and pay in advance.
  • You should not come if you have symptoms of COVID-19, are living in a household with someone who has a possible or confirmed COVID-19 infection, have been asked to isolate by NHS Test and Trace, or are serving a quarantine period after travel. You’ll get a full refund.

TERRAIN Mainly rough open land, with substantial areas planted with small trees. Isolated areas of ancient woodland.

Many thanks to the Woodland Trust for allowing us to use the forest.
PARKING Unfortunately, we are no longer able to park on site so please use adjacent parking areas. Options include:

  • The car park at the Village Hall (AL4 9DA). This holds about 25 cars and is free to use for the public. It is about a 700 m walk to Heartwood via the footpath through Pound Farm.
  • Langley Grove (AL4 9DU) on-street parking. This is through the village (going north) and on the right hand side before you get to Heartwood, then an 800-1200 m walk either via Pound Farm or the main access road.
  • On-street parking at various other locations including House Lane, Gibbons Close and Anson Close.

Turn off the B651 at the brown ‘Heartwood Forest’ sign a short distance north of Sandridge on the B651. Entrance at OS Grid Ref. TL172110, nearest postcode AL4 9DQ.

OR follow footpath through Pound Farm
COURSES Courses for everybody from beginners of any age to experienced orienteers.

Course Straight line Distance Difficulty School Years*
White 1.5 km Easy – all along paths. Control flags when you need to decide whether to turn. Up to Y4
Y5
Yellow 2.0km Fairly easy – navigate along line features such as paths, walls, streams. Some turns with no control flags. Y6
Orange 3.2 km Moderate – start cutting across country, some controls a bit away from line features. Y7-8
Y9-10
Light Green 4.3 km Harder – a range of navigational skills needed to find controls on any mapped feature. Y11-13
Short Blue 5.9 km As hard as we can make it on the area. n/a
BEGINNERS First timers are very welcome. Look for our greeters in hi-vis jackets who will give you socially-distanced help. And talk to the people at the finish after your run – it’s really useful to review how you did, whether you know how to avoid any mistakes in future.

Adults & teenagers confident with map reading should start on Orange, other newcomers on Yellow, or White if of junior school age. If in doubt do the easier course – if you finish quickly you can run a harder course afterwards for free if there are maps left.
ENTRIES Entry only via SI Entries. Entry and payment must be made online. If you have a voucher from a previous HH event, don’t forget to claim it!
You can choose a 15 minute start block between 10:00 and 11:30. Courses close 12:45.
If entering the Youth League, you will need to enter your school / youth group abbreviation and your school year. It’s worth doing so even if you’re the only one from your school – you’ll see how you do against your peers.Entries are now open at SI Entries. Last date for hire dibbers Thursday 30 September 2359, we need to pre-allocate them. If you have your own dibber you may enter online even on the day.
FEES BOF members: Adults £4, Juniors £2, HH juniors free.

Non members: Adults £6, Juniors (born 2001 or later, or full time students) £3

Dibber hire £1. Charge for lost dibbers £30.
PUNCHING Sportident punching will be used. SIAC will be enabled but the Start and Finish controls will not be contactless and must be punched.

If you don’t have your own dibber (timing chip) you can hire one when you enter.
CONTROL DESCRIPTIONS Control descriptions will be on the map
MAP Scale 1:7,500, pre-marked for all courses on waterproof paper.

In the areas of ancient woodland, you must keep to the paths to protect the local flora and fauna. The affected areas are marked on the map with the purple “out of bounds” lines and in some places they are roped off. Courses are planned so that following paths is the most sensible route.

For map of a previous event see Routegadget.
FACILITIES There are no toilet facilities at the event centre. The nearest public toilets are adjacent to the public car park in Sandridge at TL168104, nearest postcode AL4 9DA.
DOGS Dogs permitted under control throughout the area. Please clear up any mess and deposit in a poo bin.
SAFETY Orienteering is an adventure sport. You take part at your own risk and are responsible for your own safety. A full risk assessment will have been carried out.

You should abide by the British orienteering Covid-19 Code of Conduct. In particular:

  • If you have symptoms of COVID-19, are living in a household with someone who has a possible or confirmed COVID-19 infection, or have been asked to isolate by NHS Test and Trace, you should not come. You’ll get a full refund.
  • Before, during and after your run, maintain appropriate distance from other runners and other park users.
  • Hand sanitiser is available – please use it.
RESULTS Interim results will be published direct to the club website every few minutes during the event. There will be no printed results (apart from your own splits) or WiFi available, so there is no need to hang around.

Full results will be published to the same location and to Routegadget; we aim to do so on the day of the event.
OFFICIALS
Planner Oliver Bardsley
Organiser Stu Levene
Controlling Emese Svab (Ben Bardsley on the day)
The small print

This event is registered with British Orienteering, number 78684.

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

Your personal data is used for results and insurance, see our privacy policy.

If you have to cancel for a COVID-related reason, write to entries@herts-orienteering.club and we will give a full refund. If we have to cancel the event we will offer a choice of a full refund or a voucher for use at a future HH event. That choice will be sent to the email address used for the original entry. If you do not reply by the deadline, the default is a voucher.