WGC Urban
Welcome to the second Welwyn Garden City Race, an urban orienteering event.
Beginners
First timers are very welcome. Look for our greeters in hi-vis jackets.
You can go around individually, in pairs or in a larger family group. From an entries perspective, pairs and groups are treated as a single runner – it’s one entry, you get one map, one timing chip (“dibber”) and one finish time listed in the Results. We charge per “entry” not per person and it’s easiest to enter in advance – see Entering for the first time for more info on how to do this.
Location
Our Event Centre is at Oaklands College located on The Campus in Welwyn Garden City town centre at postcode AL8 6AH.
Parking
The Campus is a large gyratory system where all main roads leading into the town centre meet. On the NE side of The Campus, look out for the college sign. Take the next turning left along College Way. Our car park is off the first corner of College Way. Parking is available for around 80 vehicles at the event centre. The car park is barrier controlled and will be manned from 09:00 until 11:30 only. You must remove your car before 16:00.
There is an adjacent public car park, £x.
Public Transport
Public transport is an excellent option for travelling to Welwyn Garden City. The train and bus stations are both within easy walking distance of the event centre. After 09:00, three trains per hour arrive from central London and one per hour from the north. Numerous bus services serve Welwyn Garden City from around Hertfordshire.
Terrain
Ebenezer Howard began work on Welwyn Garden City in 1920 after financial failure of his first attempt to create a ‘Garden City’ in Letchworth, a few years earlier, His vision was to create a town that was a mix of town and country, with wide tree lined roads, well spaced housing and industrial premises to provide employment for the population.
Map
1:4000 pre-marked maps for all courses on waterproof paper.
Please familiarise yourself with the symbols used, in particular the features that must not be crossed, either for reasons of safety or because we do not have access.
Course Timing
Sportident punching will be used.
For those with ‘contactless’ dibbers, SIAC will be enabled for controls, but you must punch the Start; the Finish will be “fly-by”.
Facilities
TBD
Dogs
Dogs are not allowed in the event centre.
Safety
By participating in this event, you acknowledge that you do so at your own risk and are responsible for your own safety.
Members of British Orienteering—which includes those who have joined an affiliated club such as HH—are covered by the organisation’s public liability insurance. Please note: If you are not a BOF member, if you accidentally injure someone or damage property during the event, you are not covered by this insurance.
A full risk assessment will have been carried out.
Officials
| Planner | – |
| Organiser | Adam Leaf |
| Controlling | – |
Courses
You may enter any course, except that unaccompanied juniors (under 16 on the day of the event) may only enter courses 6 and 7. If you are competing in UKUL or SEUOL, enter the course for your class below.
Newcomers: Don’t feel you have to enter the course for your age class and compete against the experts. We recommend “Course 6 other” for families or people walking, anything up to “Course 2 other” for fit runners used to map reading.
| Course | Classes | Optimal running distance* |
Climb | Controls | Scale | Map | Descriptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M Open | 1:4,000 | A3 2-sided | Pictorial | |||
| 2 | W Open, MV (40+), Newcomer Long | 1:4,000 | A3 2-sided | Pictorial | |||
| 3 | WV (40+), MSV (55+) | 1:4,000 | A3 2-sided | Pictorial | |||
| 4 | WSV (55+), MUV (65+) | 1:4,000 | A3 2-sided | Pictorial | |||
| 5 | WUV (65+), MHV, WHV (75+) |
1:4,000 | A3 | Pictorial | |||
| 6 | MJ, WJ ( 16-), Newcomer Short |
1:4,000 | A4 | Pictorial | |||
| 7 | MYJ, WYJ (12-) | 1:4,000 | A4 | Text |
*The “Optimal running distance” assumes you pick the shortest route every time and execute it perfectly.
Course Notes
TBD
Starts
When you enter, you can choose a 15 minute start block between 10:00 and 12:00.
Courses close 12:45. Please choose a start block to allow yourself plenty of time to finish before then.
Entry & Fees
Entries are will be via SI Entries. You must enter on line. Online entry will remain open until 11:15 on the day, while maps and start slots are available.
Fees TBC
If you cancel more than 7 days before the event we will refund your fees less an amount for admin and transaction costs. There is no refund for cancellations less than 7 days in advance.
If we have to cancel the event we will try to reschedule it. We will transfer your entry to the rescheduled event unless you ask for a refund.
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.
Full results will be published to the same location and to Routegadget; we aim to do so on the day of the event.
The small print
This event is registered with British Orienteering, number 88407.
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.
