These details are for an event that has already taken place.

FINAL DETAILS

Travel by Public Transport / Bicycle:

Helpful links: Airport: East Midlands / Railway: Trainline / Coach: National Express / Buses: Traveline

Information for Bicycle Users:
Bikes can be locked to a fence close to enquiries.

Information about shelter for leaving bags etc.:
Shelter is available in the RSPB Visitor Centre buildings or in the Craft Centre nearby.

Specific Information for event day:
From Mansfield bus station take the 15A bus to Edwinstowe High Street (final stop). Walk approx. 400m to the assembly area adjacent to the RSPB public car park. Buses leave at 1030 and hourly therafter. 30 mins journey time.

Travel by Car / Motorcycle / Minibus:
Brown signs for Sherwood Forest. Junction from A6075/B6034 and A616/B6034 The postcode is for the housing area south of the parking area - follow signs to the public parking.

Nearest Postcode for SatNav: (of necessity may not be very close)
NG21 9RN

Parking: SK625672   
Parking area in a field next to public parking on east side of B6034. See Orienteering signs and follow instructions from our volunteer parking team.

Beginners: ... help here
This event is suitable for newcomers.
The area is Parkland/Forest/Heath. You will need clothes and footwear suitable for the weather and terrain.
We like to help newcomers to get started. There is a newcomer email where you can ask for advice. Please let us know that you are coming to the event and we will allocate someone to help you.

Special Rules:
NOC Robin Hood Trophy
The Robin Hood Trophy is an event for everybody. It is a club competition based across all the courses with every single competitor having a say in the final outcome.

1. Each competitor enters the course they wish to run.
2. The first runner on each course scores 1 point, the 2nd 2 points, the 3rd 3 points etc.
3. The 1st club member home on each course is the one that counts towards their clubs total score.
4. If a club doesn't have a runner on a particular course they will score the number of runners + 1.
5. Males and females will count separately. Example; There is one green course but it will be scored as two separate courses: (1) a green male course and (2) a green female course.
6. The club with the lowest total score wins the trophy.
7. Should there be a tie, the club with the highest number of 1st places will be declared the winners. If this doesn't split the winning teams then it will continue with highest number of second places, then thirds etc. until we have a winner.

For 2024, there are twelve courses, so there will be 24 counters for each club.

Courses: ... explanation

The event is being run under the 2023 Rules for a Level B extended Colour Coded event. There is no championship attached to the event so competitors may enter whichever course they choose. If you are likely to take a long time please choose an early start window. Start times will be allocated to ensure the competition is fair and if necessary start times may go beyond 12:15.

White and Yellow course participants will be given their maps at call-up so that they have time to look at their course before they start.

Course		km	Climb m			Technical Difficulty
Black		12.5	150			Hardest
Brown		10.6	120			Hardest
Short Brown		8.5	85			Hardest
Blue		7.0	75			Hardest
Short Blue		5.5	60			Hardest
Green		4.7	55			Hardest
Short Green		3.9	35			Hardest
Very Short Green		3.0	25			Hardest
Light Green		3.8	40			Harder
Orange		3.0	40			Medium
Yellow		2.8	20			Easy
White		2.2	15			Easiest
Subject to final controlling

There is a common call-up for all courses. Courses White, Yellow, Orange, Light Green, Very Short Green and Short Green go the Start 1 and Green, Short Blue, Blue, Short Brown, Brown and Black go to Start 2. There will be a Quiet Start waiting area signed to the left hand side of the call-up area and a helper will assist.

Due to the need to use crossing points over the uncrossable fences, the shortest possible distance will be slightly greater than the stated course lengths (which are based on the straight line).

Enquiry Point:
Enquiries, SI card collection, download in a tent in the car park - look out for the club banner

Start Times:
10:30 to 12:15

Courses Close:
14:00

Terrain:
Mixed gently undulating forest with path network and semi-open heathland. Many ancient oak trees.

Punching System:
Timing is by SportIdent
Contactless punching is enabled for those with SIACs.
Everybody must punch conventionally at the Start and Finish

Map:
1:10000 5m   ISOM 2019
Courses Overprinted on Waterproof paper

Start:
The route to the start is 1.6km and involves crossing the public car park and the B6034 . Care should be taken and young children should be accompanied. The road MUST be crossed using the zebra crossing. If competitors take short cuts this could jeopardise our use if the area in future.
The start will be arranged into three 1-minute boxes (-3,-2 and -1).
Please ensure that you have cleared and checked your SI/SIAC cards before you start.
Remember to 'punch' at the start box.

Control Descriptions:
Printed on the map, and available loose in the start boxes

Finish:
The walk back from the finish is 1.4km following the route to the start, back to the zebra crossing and then to download at the tent in the parking field.
There will be a clothing dump close to the finish which is on the way to the start.

Download:
Download is next to the Enquiry Point

Results:
Results will not be displayed at Download but will be available on the NOC website.
There might be Live O results on the day, if reception is good enough.

Prize Giving:
There is no championship attached to this event this year.

Toilets:
Public Toilet block within 250m of parking

Dogs:
Dogs permitted on a lead in the car park but not on courses

Notes:
The map has been surveyed and updated by David Olivant (NOC) between January 2023 and January 2024. The map is to the ISOM 2017-2 specification and the scale is 1:10,000 with 5 metre contours.. There is a full legend on each map. All courses printed on waterproof paper. The map for Green and above is A3 size, with shorter courses having an A4 map.

The terrain is split into three distinct areas:

Sherwood Forest Central: Visited by all courses. Comprises two grazed fenced enclosures containing many ancient oak trees both alive & dead. Runnability is generally excellent.

Budby Heath: Visited by all courses, semi-open heathland with pockets of woodland and thickets. The heather can be up to knee height but is generally patchy allowing for good running. One small fenced block of the heath is out of bounds and will be clearly marked as such with purple OOB screen – do not enter this area. Sheep are currently grazing in one of the enclosures, so please close all gates behind you.

Sherwood Forest West: Visited only by Blue and above. Many ancient oak trees both alive & dead, but the runnability of the forest is variable, from dense birch to areas of recent fell.

The standing DEAD oak trees are marked on the map by the green X special symbol . Whilst it is not always easy to tell the living from the dead, these can make navigation easier. Generally these are significant in their own surroundings and are at least 2m high. No live oak trees are marked as separate distinct trees on the map – these just comprise the standard white forest. There are no controls on the dead trees.

Blank maps will be available in the pre-start lanes. Some forest thinning is currently in progress and will be shown as a map correction in the lanes for the affected courses.

Fences marked as uncrossable boundaries with purple lines must not be crossed except at the marked crossing points. All crossing points on White, Yellow and Very Short Green are gates which open. Orange and Short Green have one crossing point which is a low step stile. Other courses use some crossing points which are padlocked gates (OK to climb over) or higher stiles, which will be highlighted with red and white tape.

Most of the area has some level of undergrowth, near the start and finish these are brambles, to the west of the area this is bracken. The undergrowth is mapped to show severity and courses have been planned to avoid the worst parts. The recent cold weather has helped keep the undergrowth down, however it is still recommended to have some level of calf protection – e.g. Orienteering socks/gaiters.

It is a very public area with many popular paths and tracks, especially around the Major Oak attraction. There will be members of the public (and their dogs) walking across the whole area, please be courteous – especially going through gates/stiles. Parents should ensure juniors are aware of this.

Safety:
Specifically for this event at Sherwood Forest:
The organiser may require competitors to wear or carry a hooded, waterproof jacket if the conditions are bad. Please look out for a notice where you leave the parking area should this be necessary for everyone's safety.

and for all NOC events:
A comprehensive Risk Assessment has been carried out by the organiser.

Participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. It is recommended that whistles are carried.

Once you have started a course it is a rule that you don't leave the event without reporting to a download official even if you retire.

The Competitor Safety Slip can be downloaded and brought to the Enquiry Point if you wish to leave medical or emergency contact details. You may place the slip in a sealed envelope labelled with your name and class. The slip will be only accessible to the organiser or first aiders and will be destroyed after the event.

Child and Vulnerable Adults Safety:
This event is organised in accordance with British Orienteering regulations for child safety. This includes ensuring that courses selected by competitors aged under 18 are suitable for their level of experience. Where there is doubt, please ensure your child is shadowed on a colour coded course. Adults who wish to be competitive must complete their own course first. NOC volunteers are available at enquiries to advise and to support newcomers in selecting an appropriate course. More information

NOC has a policy on the taking of photographs at events, based on national guidance. This provides a sensible balance between the benefits and risks associated with the taking and use of images. If you are unsure about acceptable practice, please speak to the event organiser.

Entries:
Please enter in advance using the NOC entry system Enter NowEnter Now.

Enter before 23:59 on Sun 21 Jan to guarantee your map.

Online entries will remain open until 11:15 on event day, but these late entries are subject to the availability of printed maps.

Fees:

Courses:
Adults - £13.00
Students - £6.00
Juniors - £5.00
Family - £32.00

SIAC Hire - £2.00
SIAC Loss - £60.00
SportIdent Hire - Free
Adults on White, Yellow or Orange: £8.00. Full time student code S527.Payment can be made by bank transfer or online card payment. The bank transfer method incurs less cost and more of your entry fee reaches the club for reinvestment in orienteering.

Family rate is for multiple course entries. A family group can take part together by creating a single entry at the adult rate.

Officials:

Organiser:

Hilary Palmer

Planner:

Anthony Squire

Controller:

John Hurley (DVO) assisted by Simon Elliott