Ajax Orienteering & Hill Running Club

Event Location:

The next Leinster League event, organised by Ajax Orienteering Club, takes place on Sunday, Nov. 6th. 2022, at Carraig Na Saebhac on the Old Military Road, Co. Wicklow. (Grid Reference: O 105 055).

Directions and Parking:

From the Sally Gap or Laragh follow the R115 and watch for the event signs. We will provide signs in the last 500 m before the turn off for parking.

Please car-share if possible.

Parking is on a forest road in the forest just to the north of Carrigshouk.

Over-flow parking, if necessary, will be on a forest road in Carrigeenduff, Forest on the east side of the R115 road. This may add a kilometre or more to the walk to the start. Please exercise care if walking on the R115.

Competition Area:

All courses will use the Carraig Na Seabhac map.

Terrain:

Carraig Na Seabhac lies in the upper Glenmacnass river valley. One side of the valley is forested with thickets of young pine and scattered pine trees; the other is open hillside. There is considerable rock feature throughout. The valley is divided by a stream (the upper section of the Glenmacnass River) which is crossable by foot. The terrain underfoot varies from rough heather to grass. There are some paths in the wooded part of the competition area, but no paths in the open hillside. The valley sides are moderately steep.

Generally boulders less than 2m in height are marked on the map with the small boulder symbol. The large boulder symbol is used for boulders larger than 2m in height. The rock pillar symbol (black area symbol) is used for very large boulders. In areas of pervasive rock detail boulders which seem small in relation to neighbouring boulders are not generally mapped. Crags are mapped both with, and without tags. The dark green screen (fight) is used to mark pine thickets and young plantation. The semi-open screen is used to map scattered trees. Lone trees are marked with a green dot symbol.

Map:

Maps will be printed on A4 water resistant paper, and are 1:10000, with 5m contours. The map was updated this year by Aonghus O'Cleirigh of Ajax.

Control Descriptions:

Control descriptions will be printed on the maps. Yellow and Red courses will have text descriptions only, Orange will have text and IOF descriptions, and all other courses will have IOF descriptions only. Loose descriptions will not be available at the event, but we will provide a download link for the descriptions a few days before the event.

Event Timing:

SportIdent (SI) timing will be used throughout. Contactless punching will NOT be enabled.

Participants must download their SI card at the registration tent in the parking area, whether they complete the course or not, otherwise we will not know if you have finished.

SI cards can be hired at registration for €2. Lost cards will be subject to a replacement charge. Remember to return your rented SI card when you have finished.

Course Details: 

Beginners:

All courses, including Yellow, take place in an area of rough and exposed ground and all have relatively steep climbs in places. As such this may not be the best area for those who are very new to the sport.

Yellow Course:

The Yellow course leaves paths in places but the route will be taped whenever this occurs.

None of the courses are suitable for buggies.

Start:

The start is exposed with no shelter but is adjacent to the finish. If not required to be carried, rain jackets they may be left here. We will provide some plastic sacks for this purpose. Note that they will not be transported to parking/registration, so don’t forget to collect them on your return from the finish. Ajax accepts no responsibility for any items left here by competitors.

Route to the Start:

The route from parking/registration will be taped, and is approximately 1.5 km, and 110 m climb, from the registration tent, over open ground. Aim to arrive approximately 10 minutes before your start time, to avoid unnecessary standing around in the cold.

Finish:

The finish is adjacent to the start and competitors will follow the same route to parking/registration that they used to get to the start. Remember to pick up any items you left at the start.

Download:

Download will be at the registration tent in the parking area. Competitors must download even if they did not complete their course.

Safety:

Whistles are compulsory.

In the event of bad weather rain jackets may also be compulsory. This will be posted at registration. Check the requirements before you leave for the start.

Full leg covering is required on all courses.

Whistles will be on sale at registration.

The Green, Blue and Brown courses all cross the Glenmacnass river, which can swell significantly after periods of heavy rainfall and should be crossed with care.

Orienteering is an adventure sport. You take part at your own risk.

Event Officials:
Planner:               John O’Donovan (Ajax)
Controller:          Donal Wickham (Ajax)
Organiser:           Paul (Ajax)