Ajax Orienteering & Hill Running Club

The 2nd event in the 2016 Leinster Mountain Bike Orienteering series is being organised by Ajax in Slievethoul on Sunday May 22nd. Slievethoul is the southern part of the old Saggart orienteering map. It's been updated to add the new bike tracks - the vegetation mapping is very out-of-date but the trails are reasonably accurate. The terrain is typical plantation forest criss-crossed by a network of forest roads and MTB trails.

This will be a score orienteering event - you will have 60 minutes to get as many control points as possible. Eight controls will be in easy locations on or near forest roads. Eight controls will be on mountain bike trails. Five controls will be on difficult mountain bike trails. You will be penalised for every minute or part minute over 60 minutes.

Travel Directions: the event will not be signposted, but it's easy to find. Go to Saggart village in South Dublin and follow the signs for Slade Valley Golf Club. The event will be about 250 metres further along the road from the entrance to the golf club. Here's a travel map

Start times any time between  11:00 and 12:00. The courses will close at 13:30.

Entry fees: Adult €8, Student/Junior/over-65 €4. SportIdent electronic timing, timing cards can be hired for €2.

Map scale 1:7,500 (1cm = 75 metres), paper size A4.

There is no need to pre-enter, just turn up in good time to be able to start between 11 and 12. If you plan to bring a large group please email ajax@orienteering.ie so that we can print enough maps.

The Golden Rules - please ignore these if you want to be disqualified:

1. You must wear a helmet at all times.
2. You must respect other forest users - you do not have right of way. If you see horses you must stop until they have passed. Be aware that bikes will be travelling in both directions on the MTB trails.
3. All tarmac roads are out-of-bounds - wheels must not touch tarmac. Stay in the forest.
4. You must be touching your bike at all times, no dropping your bike to run to a control.

Waterford Orienteers were the organizers for this years IOC. Held over the May holiday weekend, the event was a great success and was a very large undertaking for a small team.

The sprint race was held on the WIT campus. Courses were planned with many controls and direction changes, and required intense concentration in order to navigate quickly.

Days 2 and 3 were held in the Comeragh mountains, recently remapped using LIDAR imagery. Both competition areas used complex moraine terrain with large boulders and intricate contour features.

The relay on the fourth day was held in a more typical Irish forest, with many paths and a wide range of vegetation density. Club members competed strongly on all days.

Ajax podium finishers:

Sprint (Day 1) – WIT Main Campus, Waterford

First: M12 Emmet O'Cleirigh, M18 Ruairi Long, M55 Aonghus O'Cleirigh

Second: M10 Cian Wickham, M14 Oisin Wickham, W21 Roisin Long

Third: M55 Donal Wickham

Middle Distance (Day 2) – Coumshingaun, Waterford

First: M12 Emmet O'Cleirigh,  M55 Aonghus O'Cleirigh

Second: M18 Ruairi Long, M35 Stephen Whittle, M55 Donal Wickham

Third: M10 Cian Wickham, M50 Marcus Geoghegan

Classic Distance (Day 3) – Mahon Falls, Waterford

Second: M10 Cian Wickham, M12 Emmet O'Cleirigh, M55 Aonghus O'Cleirigh, M65 Denis Reidy

Third: M18 Ruairi Long, M35 Stephen Whittle

Relay (Day 4) – Towers, Lismore

First: H12 category - Roisin Long, Marcus Geoghegan, Aonghus O'Cleirigh

Second: J48 category - Ruairi Long, Dara O'Cleirigh, Oisin Wickham.  H18 category - Denis Reidy, Theresea Doyle, Catherine King.

Fourth: H12 category – Donal Wickham, Paul Smyth, Mike Long

Event Location: The next Leinster League event will be held on Sunday 13 March 2015 on Bull Island, Dublin. (Grid Reference: O 234 370).

Event Directions and Parking: The event is signposted from the coast road (James Larkin Road). Use the causeway to reach Bull Island, and not the wooden bridge. Parking, registration, start and finish are near the roundabout.

Terrain: The terrain consists of grass-covered sand dunes with many small paths, isolated trees and man-made features. Marshes are currently wet but are crossable.

Map: Maps are printed on water resistant material at a scale of 1:5,000 for all courses. The map shows the island in two sections laid out side-by-side on an A3 sheet. Contour interval is 2.5 meters. Power lines are not displayed and the magnetic grid lines run 45 degrees to the edge of the map. The Brown course uses a modified map with only contour and marsh detail displayed. Control descriptions for all courses will be available at registration and will also be printed on the map. The Yellow course has a taped route on one leg. 

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.

Adult: €8 
Junior/Full-time Student/OAP/Concession: €5 
Family: €20

There will be a €2 surcharge for any participant who is 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 event organisers will not know if you have finished.

Start-times: 11:00 – 13:00.
Courses close: 15:00.

Event Officials:
Controller: Donal Wickham
Organiser: Paul Smyth
Planner: Aonghus O’Cleirigh

Course Details:
Brown – 9.2 k, 30 controls, (contours/marsh only)
Blue - 7.9 k, 28 controls
Green – 5.0 k, 29 controls
Light Green – 3.7 k, 22 controls
Red – 3.8 k, 23 controls
Orange - 2.5 k, 16 controls
Yellow - 1.5 k, 11 controls

Important: Bull Island is an EU designated Special Area of Conservation. Please do not cause damage or litter.  Thanks to DCC for granting permission to hold the event.

Event Location: The next Leinster League event will be held on 01-November-2015 in the Featherbeds/Glendoo area, County Dublin. (Grid Reference: O 131 196).

Event Directions and Parking: The event is signposted from the R115 (Military Road), the road from Dublin to the Sally Gap. The road passes through the competition area, which is situated on the Dublin side of upper Glencree valley. Parking, registration, start and finish are adjacent to the R115.

Competition Area: The competition area comprises part of the existing Glendoo mapped area, part of the previously mapped Featherbeds area (now re-mapped), and partly of terrain not previously used for orienteering. The area consists of gently sloping open hillside with detailed turf cuttings and some paths. There are many water holes, some of which are not mapped. Runnability varies from very fast to very slow.

Map: The map is printed on A4 water resistant material at a scale of 1:7,500 for all courses. Contour interval is 5 meters. The map is aligned to true North, with magnetic grid lines rotated 4 degrees West of true North. 

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.

Adult: €8 
Junior/Full-time Student/OAP/Concession: €5 
Family: €20

There will be a €2 surcharge for any participant who is 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: 

Start-times: 11:00 – 13:00.
Courses close: 15:00.

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

Course Details:

Brown – 9.2 k, 125m, 26 controls
Blue - 7.2 k, 100m, 20 controls
Green – 4.6 k, 90m, 16 controls
Light Green – 3.3 k, 70m, 18 controls
Red – 4.2 k, 60m, 17 controls
Orange - 2.9 k, 40m, 15 controls 
Yellow - 2.4 k, 30m, 12 controls

Crossing the R115: From the parking area all competitors must cross the R115 to reach the start and finish. Please follow the directions of race marshals. Competitors on the Brown, Blue and Green courses cross the R115 twice while competing. Great care must be taken when crossing the road. Road traffic has right of way! Competitors on the Yellow, Orange, Red and Light Green courses do not cross the R115 while competing.

Control Descriptions: IOF Control descriptions are printed on the map for all courses except Brown and Blue. Loose control descriptions will be available for all courses at registration. Text versions will be available for the Yellow, Orange and Red courses.

Event Officials:
Organiser: Denis Reidy
Planner: Aonghus O’Cleirigh
Controller: Donal Wickham

Important: Thanks to the landowners for granting permission to hold the event - 'Wicklow Mountains National Park' and 'Olwell Ltd'.

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

Come and Try it Orienteering

 

Ajax orienteering club invites you to a come-and-try-it orienteering event in Tymon Park, Dublin, on Sunday, October 4th. Start times are between 11:00 and 13:00.

 

Courses will close and control collection will start at 15:00.

 

 

This orienteering event is suitable for all ages and abilities; families with young children are welcome. If you are bringing a large group (e.g. scouts, school) please email ajax@orienteering.ie so that we can print enough maps for you.

 

The event will be signposted on Castletymon road, Tallaght, near the entrance to the National Basketall Arena on Castletymon Road. The park is easily accessible from the M50 motorway.

 

Tymon park is a typical Dublin urban park with a mix of forested areas and open playing fields. There are three groups of lakes and some hills. The dominant feature is the M50 motorway which splits the park in two. This event starts in Tymon Park West on Castletymon Road. The map scale is 1:10,000, with 5m contour intervals.

 

There will be 3 courses:

Long course: about 6.7 km 19 Controls

Medium course: about 4.3 km 11 Controls

Short course: about 2.2 km 7 Controls.

 

Entry Fees are Eur 5 for adults, Eur 3 for a junior/child and Eur 10 for a family.

 

We are using Sportident electronic timing. Timing cards will be available to rent for €2 at the event.

 

Make sure to return to the registration tent and download your SI card immediately after finishing even if you do not finish the course.

 

If you own an SI card please please make sure your Sportident card registration is up-to-date. 

 

See you on Sunday.

Belfast club Lagan Valley Orienteers hosted this year’s championships over the May holiday week-end.

The Sprint race on Friday evening was fast and furious with relatively straightforward courses.  But speed can easily lead to mistakes, and even small time losses became significant where winning margins could be as little as a few seconds.

The weather turned cold and wintry for the Classic distance race on Saturday.  Many competitors were badly caught-out by the conditions on Slieve Croob.  Continuous heavy rain, low temperatures, and gale-force winds on the exposed mountain made it as much a challenge of survival as of navigation!

Summer returned for the Relay race on Sunday.  The event was held in a compact forest with lots of paths, ditches, depressions and vegetation changes. This allowed for plenty of route choice, but low visibility in places demanded full concentration.

Ajax prize winners:

Sprint (Day 1) – Drumard, Lisburn

First: M16 Ruairi Long, M55 Aonghus O'Cleirigh

Third: M12 Emmet O'Cleirigh

Classic Distance (Day 2) – Slievenisky, Slieve Croob

Second: W20E Roisin Long, M45s Donal Wickham, W50s Catherine King

Third: M12 Emmet O'Cleirigh

Relay (Day 3) – Hillsborough Forest

First: H12 category - Roisin Long, Denis Reidy, Aonghus O'Cleirigh

Third: H12 category – Mike Long, Donal Wickham, Catherine King