Final Information
Sprint Event:
Planner – Ruairi Short (CNOC)
Organiser – Don Short (CNOC)
Controller - Marcus Geoghegan (AJAX)
Mapper – Ruth Lynam (CNOC)
The Sprint is 100% forest and takes place in Glending Forest near Blessington Co Wicklow, last used for Orienteering in 1984. Thanks to Roadstone and the OPW for permissions.
Parking is at the Blessington GAA grounds by kind permission. Eircode is W91 YX06.
KEY POINTS
● Allow additional time to get to the event as there will be extra traffic in Blessington over the weekend.
● Parking, Registration, Finish and Download are all adjacent to one another in the GAA grounds. Please take care when entering the grounds as competitors will be walking to the start.
● Start is in the forest and will be accessed via Blessington No.1 School beside the GAA grounds.
● Early starters will have their maps collected at the finish and they can be retrieved once the elites have started.
● We have been kindly permitted by the GAA and No.1 School to use their facilities. Please dispose of your rubbish thoughtfully and leave no trace in the forest.
● The competition area is open to the public, please be courteous to members of the public.
Terrain:
The forest is mostly mature coniferous forest interspersed with beech and oak. Expect earth banks, dips, hides, bike trails and some superb runnable areas. Note that there will be members of the public in the terrain. Beware of old fallen barbed wire in some areas.
The contour interval is 5m. This is a deviation from the normal 2.5m but has been done to improve the quality of the map and has been approved by the IOA technical officer.
Mapper Notes
The terrain is a mix of coniferous and deciduous forest with one vehicle track running through it, and a good network of paths. Most of the forest is very mature, with very little undergrowth, giving fast to very fast running. There are some open areas with a little more undergrowth. All undergrowth which will impede running has been mapped.
The paths vary from very obvious to very vague, the less obvious sections of path have not been mapped although they may be apparent as paths to a runner following the path. Many of the paths are made by mountain bikers who like to follow earth banks, where a path runs along the top of an earth bank only the bank has been mapped.
Directions and traffic information:
This event takes place on a bank holiday weekend and there is likely to be heavy traffic on all approach roads.
Parking for cars will be in the Blessington GAA grounds carpark. Camper vans and buses will park on the approach road. Please follow the marshals’ instructions.
Coming from Dublin turn right at the Maxol garage just as you arrive into Blessington, go straight through the roundabouts. Southerners can approach from Naas and turn left at the first roundabout just outside Blessington and left again at the next roundabout. Google maps ‘Blessington GAA’.
There will be no Orienteering signs.
Registration will be in the arena area beside the carpark. If you are running with a SI card other than the one registered, you must inform Registration.
The car park closes at 9.00pm.
Enquiries & Registration:
Enquiries and Registration will open at 16:00. Only Elite Runners need to wear a bib which can be collected at Registration.
The start window is from 17.00 until 19.30. Callup is - 4 minutes, descriptions are provided at - 3. The start interval is 1 minute, on the minute. Clocks will only show real time.
Punching:
Sportident SIAC Air+ touch-free punching will be used. It is the competitors responsibility to ensure they register at their correct controls.
Refreshments:
The Arena coffee shop will remain open until 6pm to facilitate the competitors. They will serve tea/ coffee/ snacks.
Spectators:
There will be a spectator section beside the finish and a spectator control on the way to the start. Spectators (not competing or finished) are welcome in the forest. You must enter via the Start route. Please do not congregate around control sites and do not help competitors in any way.
No entry to the competition terrain via the finish route.
Map:
Scale: 1:4000 with 5.0m contour mapped interval to ISSprOM 2019, newly created sprint map, mapped in 2023 by Ruth Lynam. Two areas on the map are of significant archaeological interest and are strictly out of bounds during the competition. The first, Rathturtle moat, a ring fort was last used by the Vikings in the 11th century but may have been constructed over 2,000 years ago. The second is an enclosure from the same period. These are marked out of bounds on the map and an Office of Public Works person will be on site during the competition so please do not enter the areas marked. They are not taped off. The Northern part of the area has extensive quarrying activity and all quarry areas are out of bounds. If you find yourself looking into a steep stony quarry area, turn back, you have gone the wrong way!
Results and Prizes:
Full 5G mobile coverage is available in the arena and Live results can be accessed from any device via the QR code in the arena or from https://www.orienteering.ie.
Prize giving will be in Lynhams Hotel in Laragh on Sunday at 19.00.
Clothing:
It is a forest so full cover is recommended but shorts and running vests are permitted.
Dogs:
Dogs are permitted in the parking area on a lead, and owners must clean up after them.
Toilets:
Toilets are available in the arena and not near the start.
Start:
The start is 1km and 65m climb from the parking through uphill forest terrain and on forest road. There is a spectator control that you can view once you enter the forest. A manned crossing will be in place in the forest and runners have 100% priority.
The route to the start goes through the forest and the competition area will be taped off and strictly out of bounds to competitors.
All clocks will show race time and callup will be at -4. There is no start punch and your pre-allocated start time will be used to calculate your race time. Start interval is 1 minute, on the minute.
It is the competitors responsibility to ensure they are in time for their pre-allocated start time.
Late arrivals must go into the late start lane and you will be allowed to start at the half minute at the discretion of the late start official. The late start official will record your start time but your race time will be taken from your pre-allocated start time. Any complaints must be in writing and handed in at Registration.
Courses
