Woodbury NorthSun 26 Feb

Devon League 5

Local level event

Terrain type: Heathland & Forest

Last updated: Wed 01 March, 2023

Results

Results for the event

Routegadget

Report

Organiser's Comments:

Firstly, I'd like to thank the fantastic team of volunteers who made the event run so smoothly. The events don't happen without the teamwork behind the scenes, so if you'd like to get more involved at future events, please do consider putting yourselves forward if you've not done it before.

Secondly, thanks to all of you who took part; I hope you all enjoyed the challenges and decision-making required on the courses planned by Ben Chesters. We had 169 starters on the day, which is an impressive number for one of our League events. It's always a pleasure to share an event with our neighbours from Quantock Orienteers and to welcome members from other clubs far and wide.

What was really brilliant was seeing so many of you trying orienteering for the first time. Devon Orienteering Club hope to welcome you back to future events and we are also running a series of 4 coaching sessions on Saturdays at Haldon from mid-April to mid-May (full details are on the Devon Orienteering Club website for future events and the coaching sessions information will be published soon).

The two potential issues for the organising team today were the weather and the parking but thankfully the weather was stunning for mid-February and the parking team did a great job squeezing many cars into a small area. Thanks to those who cycled and to those who parked in the further away car parks.....it all helped.

I'd like to say thanks to the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust (Woodbury Common) for allowing the event to take place in such scenic surroundings.

If you have any comments or feedback on the Woodbury North event, please do not hesitate to contact the organiser (email hidden; JavaScript is required). Hope to see you all at our next event at Parke on Sunday 19th March.

Karen Baker

Planners comments:

I’m fortunate to reside locally to the Common, and to be able to spend considerable amounts of time running there. Consequently, I know how lovely the Common can look in sunny conditions but, equally, I know how unpleasant it can be in poor weather conditions! Fortunately, we were presented with the former of those circumstances for the event. That, combined with the time of year, meant that you were able to enjoy the Common in the best possible conditions for orienteering. I hope those factors contributed to your enjoyment of the day.

My aim for the courses was to make sure that everyone spent some time on the Common and also in the forested areas; therefore, requiring you to use differing skill sets during your run. For the longer courses, I also wanted to ensure that there were some particularly ‘thought provoking’ legs. The long leg on the Brown and Blue, and to a lesser extent the Green, which started at control 80, was an especially good example of this. It was interesting listening to the debates at the finish regarding the best routes for those legs, and it is clear from the traces that I have seen on Routegadget and Strava that many different options were taken. So, it seems fair to conclude that there were some ‘thought provoking’ legs!

I was pleased to be able to use a greater area of the forest than was available to me for the 2020 event I planned on Woodbury North. Some of the forest which was previously out of bounds was visited by the Light Green, Green, Blue and Brown toward the end of the course. I hope competitors on those courses enjoyed that part of the forest.

Finally, there are a few people I need to thank:

• - My parents, John and Ruth, for their assistance with the planning, particularly during visits to the area and with control hanging;
• - Bryan for his assistance as controller;
• - Karen for ensuring that everything was well organised;
• - all those who assisted with control collection;
• - and finally, yourselves, the competitors, for turning up in such numbers to enjoy orienteering on the Common, and also for your positive comments about the courses.

See you all in a forest somewhere!

Ben Chesters

Controller's Comments:

Not surprisingly, Ben’s planning was thorough and provided courses of a suitably challenging standard. There was little for me to do other than confirm what was already in place.

Likewise, Karen’s organisation meant that everything went very smoothly, in spite of the demands of a larger than usual entry.

I was out on the Common just as the sun came up at 7.00am and it stayed that way throughout. What a glorious day!

Bryan Smith

Timing Team Comments:

Thank you to those affected for your patience when we had a problem with power to the equipment.

It was good to see so many newcomers. A couple of tips for you (and everyone else) for your next run:

• It's worth checking beforehand what course you have entered.
  • Several people ran on a different course to the one they had pre-entered. This seemed to be particularly the case on the Light Green. At many events there may be a Light Green, Short Green and a Green course, with the Light Green being technically easier. Confusing for newcomers we know.
• Don't forget to punch the finish control and then download, otherwise you won't get a result.

Overview

Pre-entry now closed. There will be a few spare maps for entry on the day. Please contact the Organiser to check.
Final Details
Please car share where possible as parking is very limited.
This is the 5th event in the Devon League. It is a shared event with Quantock Orienteers. Newcomers are very welcome – please do not hesitate to contact the organiser if you have any questions about the event.

Related events or Information

Killerton National Trust, Sun 14 May 2023 Devon League 6

Location Info

Near: East Budleigh
Lat,Lng: 50.66704,-3.35813
OS Grid Ref: SY041861
Postcode: EX9 7BR
What3Words: ///segregate.riper.grafted

Open an interactive map in:
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Directions / Parking

Directions: From M5 Junction 30, take A376 east signposted Exmouth, at first roundabout go straight over following A3052 signposted Sidmouth. After 4.7 miles, turn right onto B3180. After 3 miles, you will reach the B3180 / B3179 crossroads. Turn left. The entrance to Four Firs (Car park 3 is on the right) or if you continue along the road, you will see Car parks 2 and then 1 on your left.

Parking: Is in public carparks which are also well used by other users. The entrances to car parks 1 and 2 have deep potholes, so car drivers are warned to enter and exit car parks carefully. Car sharing is recommended where possible. The car sharing option has been enabled on Race Sign Up to assist with this. There will be car park marshals at car park 1 only.

Car park 1 – Uphams Wood (What3Words: tailors.twitches.cricket)

Car park 2 – Model Airfield (What3Words: cabbage.nightlife.brilliant) (approx. 450m to registration tent via safe walking route)

Car park 3 – Four Firs (What3Words: weeds.growth.thankful) (approx. 1.1km to registration tent via safe walking route). This car park also has a height restriction barrier of 2.2m. To access the safe walking route to the event start, competitors must cross the main road at the entrance to the car park

Competitors are strongly advised to use the safe walking route marked below and NOT to walk along the main road to the event area if parked in car parks 2 & 3. Devon OC takes no responsibility for competitors if this advice is disregarded.

Map / Terrain

Woodbury North is part of the Pebblebed Heaths National Nature Reserve, within the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The competition area includes parts of Colaton Raleigh and Woodbury Commons, in addition to adjoining areas of woodland. From the Commons, there are extensive views of the surrounding countryside and nearby coast.

The area generally slopes downwards from the west, but there are many re-entrants and spurs on the slope, so your run will be undulating. These undulations provide some modest contour detail in places and will also need consideration when making route choice decisions. There are also pits and depressions, some of which are a result of the historical military use of the area. There are nu- merous paths and tracks within the area, but only the most significant of these are mapped (see map notes section below). You will encounter two or three terrain types on your course:

Open heath:
All courses use the heathland, which consists mainly of Grass, Heather and Gorse vegetation. The courses have been planned to avoid the least desirable areas to run over. Due to the summer conservation grazing which takes place on the Commons, there are some areas of very runnable heathland; courses are di- rected towards those where possible.

Coniferous plantation:
All courses will visit this area. The plantation is mature and offers some areas of fast running. Where there is vegetation, such as Bracken, this will be at its lowest when the event is held. Never- theless, courses have been planned to allow easy avoidance of any ‘bad’ vegetation.

Mixed Coniferous and Deciduous forest:
Competitors on some courses will also have the pleas- ure of visiting controls in this area. It is fast and runna- ble. Again, any vegetation will be at its lowest when the event takes place.

Map Notes:
Competitors on some courses will also have the pleas- ure of visiting controls in this area. It is fast and runna- ble. Again, any vegetation will be at its lowest when the event takes place.

The map scale is 1:10,000, with 5 metre contours, for all courses. It has been updated in January 2023 by John Pearce. Key points to note are:

• Hides have not been mapped, as these are numerous and regularly move.
• In some areas, there are many small animal and mountain bike trails; only the most significant of these have been mapped.
• A black X denotes a sign.
• A black circle denotes a flagpole.

Out of Bounds Areas:
There are a number of out of bounds areas marked on the competition maps as follows:

• Highlighted in purple cross hatching are three areas which are out of bounds due to the ecological sensitivity of land in question.
• Highlighted by vertical black lines are the grenade range, where live firing takes place, and agricultural fields.
• Highlighted with purple ‘X’s are public highways.

Courses have been planned so that there is no advantage to be gained by entering these areas. Notwithstanding this, it is imperative that all competitors avoid the out of bounds areas in any circumstances. Failure to adhere to this rule could result in a significant safety risk to yourself and may jeopardise future use of the area for orienteering. Furthermore, any competitors seen in these areas will be disqualified.

Course Information

This is a local event with a range of courses available: Brown, Blue, Green, Short Green, Light Green, Orange, Yellow and White. An explanation of the course difficulty can be found here. If you are new to the sport and unsure which course to enter, please do not hesitate to contact the organiser for guidance if required.

Read more about Course lengths and Difficulty here

Entry Details

Standard entry fees apply.

£10 standard adult
£3 juniors and students
SI card (dibber) hire will be available for £1.00. Punching will be using SI. SIAC will be enabled.

Registration and Start times

Starts are from 1030 -1300hrs. Courses will close at 1430hrs. If you are a slower runner, please choose an early start to ensure that you finish and download by 1430hrs. Controls will be collected from 1430hrs.

Registration: Pre-entry is via Racesignup

Race Sign Up entries will continue to be taken up to 1800hrs on Thursday 23 February, or until all available maps allocated.

There maybe a limited number of spare maps for entry on the day, but competitors run the risk of being unable to complete their preferred course should maps run out.

Start/Finish
The start and finish are close to each other and will sign posted from the registration / download tent.

Facilities

Portable toilet: Located near to the download / registration tent.

Clothing dump: For those who have walked in from car parks 2 & 3, you are welcome to ‘dump’ a change of clothing next to the download / registration tent (at your own risk). You are advised to place it within a waterproof bag.

Dog restrictions

Dogs are permitted on the event area however, the policy for this event is dogs will NOT be permitted to accompany competitors whilst they are running on their course.

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Ben Chesters
Assistant Planners: John and Ruth Chesters
Organiser: Karen Baker 07970 886010 / email hidden; JavaScript is required
Controller: Bryan Smith

Nearest A&E Hospital

Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Barrack Road EX2 5DW
NHS Urgent care search

Safety Notes

• All competitors MUST download even if you do not complete the course.
• Every effort will be made to ensure the event is safe for competitors, volunteers, and the

  public. We ask that at all times you adhere to the government’s guidance on social distancing and follow the British Orienteering’s Code of Conduct (link here).

• Prior to the event, if you display symptoms of COVID, are required to isolate or are otherwise feeling unwell then you are asked not to attend.
• Participants are to bring their own water and ensure adequate hydration pre and post event.
• The area is exposed; therefore, cagoules may be compulsory if the weather is poor. Running in shorts is not permitted.
• Devon OC operate a “No whistle, no go” policy.
• Be aware that this area is used for military training. Please do not pick up or seek to examine any unidentified objects.
• There are some log piles in the area. These must not be climbed.
• Participants are reminded that orienteering can be a hazardous sport and all competitors take part at their own risk.

Miscellaneous

Other users of the area

Participants are asked to respect other users of the area (vehicles, walkers, dog walkers, cyclists, horse riders, wildlife etc).

Acknowledgements

Thank you to East Devon Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust (Woodbury Common) for allowing Devon Orienteering Club to hold this event.