GLOSS – Nomansland

This event is part of the Greater London Orienteering Summer Series.

TERRAIN Nomansland Common, on the B651 between Sandridge and Wheathampstead, opposite the Wicked Lady PH.

A mixture of generally very runnable open heathland and woodland.  Areas of the woods have some summer undergrowth, but courses are planned to minimise the impact of this undergrowth.

See Routegadget

Full leg cover is required for all competitors, due to the height of the undergrowth around all courses.

PARKING West End Farm, Ferrers Lane, Nomansland, St Albans AL4 8EG.  OS Grid Ref. TL162125.  No parking charges.
Please park as directed at the farm which has a busy stable. Beware of horses near the entrance. No height restriction.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT Bus services (357) run from St Alban’s station with frequent trains from London; the route passes through St Peter’s Street and Sandridge. Disembark at the Wicked Lady PH.  The 304 also runs from St Peter’s Street to the Wicked Lady.

From Harpenden, it’s a 3.5km walk from the station or a 357 bus from the George on a quite a winding route via Batford & Wheathamstead.

COURSES Courses for everybody from beginners of any age to experienced orienteers.

Course Approx.
Distance
Climb Difficulty
White 1.6 km 20 m Easy – all along paths, control flags whenever you need to decide to turn.
Yellow 2.3 km 20 m Fairly easy – navigate along line features such as paths, walls, streams. Some turns with no control flags.
Orange 2.5 km 35 m Moderate – start cutting across country, some controls a bit away from line features.
GLOSS 4.0 km 55 m Harder – a range of navigational skills needed to find controls on any mapped feature.
GLOSS with
extension
6.2 km 80 m The GLOSS course with an extra section added.

The Orange, GLOSS and GLOSS + Extension courses all include some mandatory road crossing points which will be manned but not timed out. Courses are designed to ensure these crossing points are used. These courses also include crossing of a minor road which will not be manned.

You will automatically be entered in the club’s Saturday League unless you ask not to.

BEGINNERS First timers are very welcome. Look for our greeters in hi-vis jackets who will give you all the help you need.

If you’ve not orienteered before, we suggest most people start with yellow. Young juniors, say primary school age, and family groups are better on white. People confident with a map and compass may start on orange.

ENTRY & FEES Entry only via SI Entries. You must enter on line. Online entry will remain open on the day until 11:15, so long as maps and start slots are available.

Entries up to midnight on Sunday 25 June:

  • BOF members: Adults £4, Juniors £2, HH juniors free.
  • Non-members: Adults £6, Juniors £3.
Entries from Monday 26 June:

    • BOF members: Adults £6, Juniors £4, HH juniors £2.
    • Non-members: Adults £8, Juniors £5.

Dibber hire £1. Charge for lost dibbers £30.

STARTS When you enter, you can choose a 15 minute start block between 10:00 and 11:30.
Courses close 12:45. Please make sure you choose a start block to allow plenty of time to finish by then, especially if you are less experienced.
TIMING SportIdent punching will be used. SIAC will be enabled but you must punch Start and Finish.
MAP 1:7,500 pre-marked maps for all courses on waterproof paper.
FACILITIES Toilets and café  – see https://westendbarns.com.
DOGS Keep under control and clear up behind you.
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:

  • You should not come if you have symptoms of COVID-19, are required to isolate, are awaiting the results of a non-routine COVID-19 test or are serving a quarantine period after travel. 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, subject to mobile phone signal. There will be no printed results (apart from your own splits) or WiFi available.

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 Ben Bardsley
Organiser Ben Bardsley
Controlling Tom Cochrane / David Saunders
The small print

This event is registered with British Orienteering, number 82844.

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.