Ajax Orienteering & Hill Running Club

 

Organisers:
Ajax Orienteering Club

Venue:
Bull Island, Clontarf, Co. Dublin



Travel Directions:
From M1/M50 junction: Take the M1 southbound towards the city centre to the end of the M1 at Whitehall (approx 3 km). At Whitehall church, turn left on to Collins Avenue West / Collins Avenue. Continue along this road for approx 3 km until it terminates at a T-junction in Killester. Turn left in Killester onto the Howth Road. After 300m turn right on to Castle Avenue. Continue downhill on Castle Avenue until you arrive at a roundabout. Turn right at the roundabout.  After 150m turn left.

When you reach the coast road (Clontarf Road) turn left and follow it for 4 km until you reach the causeway road which leads to Bull Island; this is the only location that will be signposted.  Turn right here and continue to the roundabout.  Take the second exit (to the right) and registration is approximately 200m.  Park on the right hand side.  The map above shows the exact location.

Through Dublin City: Travel east along the North Quays until you reach the Point depot and turn left at the roundabout towards Dublin Port. After 1km turn right just before the railway bridge onto Alfie Byrne Road and follow the coast road until you see the Causeway Road to your right.

Map:
Maps will be premarked and bagged.  Control Descriptions will be printed on the front of the map.  The map is at 1:5000 scale with a 2.5m contour interval.  The north lines on the map are aligned at 45° to the edge of the paper.  The map is printed at A4 and does not include the southernmost part of the dunes.  It was mapped in 2005/6 and used once before, for the Leinster Championships last year.  Control Descriptions can be downloaded here.

Terrain:
The terrain is made up of an area of very complex, low sand hills.  The runability varies from fair to fast.  There are many small paths which are marked on the map, however, most may be difficult to see in the dark.  All courses cross several marshes, some of which are ankle deep.  A line of telegraph poles running the length of the competition area has been omitted for clarity.  There are several buildings, metal posts and bushes which will be very important for navigation.

Navigation will be very difficult at night and it is very important to keep in contact with the map at all times. Pace counting may be useful and conservative route choice is also advised. 
Classes and Courses:
Instead of the usual classes, the following categories are available:

Mens Open
Womens Open
Junior Men (M16, M18 and M20)
Junior Women (W16, W18 and W20)
Veteren Men (M40 and M50)
Veteren Women (W40 and W50)
Supervet Men (M55+)
Supervet Women (W55+)
Intermediate

A - 5K     - 17 controls  - Mens Open and Womens Open
B - 3K     - 12 controls  - Junior Men, Junior Women, Veteren Men and Veteren Women (W40 and W50)
C - 2K     - 9 controls    - Supervet Men and Supervet Women
D - 2.3K  - 6 controls    - Intermediate

The A course loops a couple of times so it is very important to make sure that you are navigating towards the correct control.

The D course is a bit easier than the others and is designed for inexperienced orienteers.

Start Times:
Start times are from 19:00 to 20:00.  The rugby match will finish a little after 19:00 so I suggest you arrange to watch it nearby.  Don't overdo the celebrations as you will need all your wits about you!

Courses Close:
Courses close at 21:00 and it is very important that you report to the download station by then.  Controls will be collected directly afterwards.

Fees:
Entry Fee - 8 euro
SI Rental - 2 euro

Safety & Weather:
Bull Island is very exposed to the elements so you should bring a whistle and cagule.  If the weather is bad they may be compulsary.
Any competitor who becomes seriously disoriented or lost should head due North until they reach the assembly area.

You must download your SportIdent card, regardless of whether you finish or retire early - in this way the organisers know that you have finished. Competitors who do not download are not welcome at future Ajax Orienteering events.

SPORTident and GPS:
All courses use SPORTIdent.  If you have a Garmin GPS receiver please bring it too. 

Prizes:
There will be prizes for first place in all categories except Intermediate.

Start and Finish are adjacent to Registration and Download.

Litter:
It is an important condition of our access that we leave no litter.  Please bring all your rubbish home with you.  To this end, individual control description sheets will not be available.  They will be printed on the front of the map and can be downloaded here.