Ajax Orienteering & Hill Running Club

Event Location: The next Leinster League event will be held on Sunday 10 November 2019 at the Vale of Clara, Co. Wicklow. (Grid Reference: T 201 909).

Event Directions and Parking: Signposted from the eastern side of Rathdrum on the R752 road to Glenealy. Parking and registration are in Ballinastraw Coillte land. 

https://goo.gl/maps/Rzvr4swkSUP7Qtik8

There will be a 20 minute walk from the registration to the start and a 20 minute walk from the finish back to registration where download will be available. The start and finish are close to one another so jackets can be left at the start for collection after the finish.  Please note that you will have to cross a road to reach the start and again after the finish.  There will be signs warning the oncoming cars but please take care. Do not park near the start as it is too narrow and would be unsafe.

Photo: Paul

Terrain: The Vale of Clara Nature Reserve contains one of the largest stands of semi-natural native hardwoods in the country. The area has many paths and is rich in rock and contour detail. The nature reserve is bisected by a tributary of the Avonmore river. The stream has a steep slope on the southern side. The terrain and path network give many route-choice options.  Runability underfoot in ‘white’ forest is generally fast. In places, billberry bushes can impede running speed. Where running speed is significantly impacted by billberry growth the ‘undergrowth – slow running’ screen is used to indicate this. Where billberry growth is particularly dense the ‘undergrowth – walk’ screen is used. There are virtually no brambles in the forest.

Map: Maps are printed on water-resistant material at a scale of 1:10,000 for all courses on A4 paper. Contour interval is 5 meters. The longer courses are contained in a relatively small area so competitors are advised to carefully check that they are navigating to the correct next control.

Control descriptions: There will be no loose control descriptions at the event. Either use the descriptions that are printed on the front of your map, or download them from the link below and print them yourself.

VoCNR LL 10-Nov-19 V5 Descriptions.pdf

Registration and Entry Fees:  Enter at the event. If you are new to orienteering, please let the organisers know and they will show you what to do. Please get in touch beforehand if you are bringing a large group so we can arrange maps and especially if you are bringing a bus.

Adult: €8

Junior/Full-time Student/OAP/Concession: €5

Family: €20

There will be a €2 surcharge for anyone not already a member of an orienteering club. The surcharge will be waived if the participant registers with Ajax Orienteers at the event. (Membership is free for the first year).

Timing: SportIdent (SI) timing will be used. SI cards are available for hire at event registration for €2. You must download your SI card after orienteering, whether you complete the course or not. Otherwise, we will not know if you have finished.

Start-times: 11:00 – 13:00.

Courses close: 15:00.

Event Officials:

Controller: Mike Long

Planner: Marcus Geoghegan

Organiser: John O’Donovan

Course Details:

Brown – 7.6 k, 275m climb

Blue – 5.9 k, 200m climb

Green – 4.5 k, 150m climb

Light Green – 3.3 k, 90m climb

Red – 5.3 k, 75m climb

Orange - 2.4 k, 70m climb

Yellow – 2.1 k, 50m climb

Important: Please follow the country code and leave no trace principles. Please bring all of your rubbish home with you – don’t leave it to the organisers to dispose of full rubbish bags. Thanks to Coillte for granting permission to park in their land. Please bring reusable cups if you can to cut down on waste.