What a beautiful day at Whirlowbrook Hall & Limb Valley.  A huge thank you to the staff at the hall for letting us use their facilities, they could not have been more helpful. I hope you all sampled their delicious cakes!  It was definitely the nicest registration area we have ever used.

Very preliminary results and splits are available above.  Schools Results are available on the link above, team results below, league results so far are on the Schools Page.  If anyone spots any mistakes or missing results This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This was the first of this years schools league events in the woods.  We were unsure what the turnout would be so it was great to see that we had almost as many as the previous events.  Orienteering in the woods is very different to the parks.  It can take a few goes to get used to it and build confidence.

Thanks to Oli Johnson (multiple British Champion) for planning the courses.  Some of the longer / harder courses were perhaps a little tough but I hope you all enjoyed them and felt you got your monies worth!

Thank you also to all our volunteers.  They did a fantastic job today.  As the number of runners increase we need more people to keep things running so are always looking for people to help out and spread the load so if you would like to help at any of our future events please let us know.

Lastly I have an apology to make to the residents of Winfell Court.  A few people parked on the road before we realised it was a private road.  Next time we will make sure that put a sign at the entrance to stop people parking there.

The next schools event it at Ecclesall Woods on 11th Feb (Details Here).  However there is plenty of orienteering opportunities before that.  Next weekend we have an event around Baslow Edge on Sunday 22nd.  Parking is in a field next to Curbar Gap.  There will be a full range of courses from White to Brown.  Starts from 10:30 - 12:30.  More information here.

Pete Tryner
SYO

Information

A Saturday Afternoon Series event aimed at introducing adult and junior newcomers to orienteering and includes the 4th event in the SFSS primary and secondary schools orienteering league. There is also a green course and 1km sprint course for experienced orienteers.

Limb Valley and Whirlow Brook Hall provide a stunning location for orienteering. The terrain is highly varied, ranging from the steep wooded valley and plantation to the formal gardens around the hall and intricate quarry area.

Registration will be located inside the hall and will open at 1pm (12.30pm for adults) at Whirlowbrook Hall map.  You can start any time from 1pm – 3pm but the courses close at 3:30pm. Adults will be able to start from 12.30pm to avoid the queues. Start and finish are adjacent to the Hall.

The catering team at Whirlowbrook Hall will be opening from 12.30pm to 3.30pm especially for our event serving hot drinks, tomato soup and a wide range of cakes. Please do support them as they have provided the facilities free of charge.

Schools Event

Running alongside the public event is an event in the SFSS Orienteering League for both Primary and Secondary pupils.  Entry to the schools event is free if your school is part of the SFSS and you are in Y3 or above. Information about the SFSS Orienteering League is here

Costs

Adults £4, SYO members £3
Children £2 (Free for the first run if you are in Y3 or above and your schools is in the SFSS)
Any additional courses will cost an additional £1
If you would like to go around in a group you would just pay for one entry, plus £1 for each extra map.

Travel and parking

There are two car parks within the grounds please drive slowly within the park, there is also parking available on the crescent outside the park gates.  Buses seem to be pretty regular with a variety of routes Plan your journey

Facilities

Whirlow Brook Hall will be providing drinks and snacks.  Toilets are available at the hall.

Entries

All courses are entry on the day.  You just have to turn up, pick a course and fill in an entry form.  There will be people on hand to help you if you have any questions.

If you ran one of the previous schools events in the series then you should have completed an entry form an been given a number. With the number we are able to add you into the results system much quicker.  You can download an entry form with your details on from the registration page using the registration number and email address.

If this will be the first event you have attended this year then please go the the registration page and enter your details.  If you don't get chance to do this before the event then you can still register at the event.  REGISTRATION PAGE

For those who would like to do a second run you will need to complete another entry slip with the same details as before.  You are welcome to fill this out in advance and bring it with you when you download (with the £1 entry fee for the second course) and we can give you a map to save queuing again.

Courses

If you complete a course and there is still time you are welcome to try another.

See below for details on the courses on offer.

Course	School Years	Distance	Technical Level	Who is it for?
White	Y4,5	1.0km 30m climb	1	The easiest course and a great place for children to start.  The course is entirely on paths and each time you have to make a decision - which path to take, there will be a control point. Year 3 pupils can compete with Y4s.
Yellow	Y6,7	1.3km 45m climb	2	The next step up and a good place for teenagers etc. to start.  The course will use paths but also other line features - Fences, streams etc. It will also no longer have a control everytime you need to decide where you are going. For example you may need to make a couple of turns on paths between controls.
Orange	Y8,9	1.9km 80m climb	3	Harder still, the Orange course introduces: Choosing routes - e.g. should I go round the paths to the left or right Using 'Point Features' as control sites Those doing either of the Orange courses need to be able to judge distances, orientate the map using surrounding features and a compass, use attack points and be bold enough to venture off paths for up to 30 metres
Long Orange	Y10+	2.9km 110m climb	3	Similar difficulty to an orange course, but a bit further!
Light Green		3.1km 140m climb	4	Ideal for improvers  The navigation difficulty increases and you start to use simple contours and point features.
Green		4.3km 180m climb	5	As technically hard as the area allows.
Sprint		0.9km	3	A fast and furious course around the parkland

SYO Photography Policy

Please be aware that photography is permitted at all our events by spectators and parents though not anywhere where children may be changing e.g. club tent, car park, toilets, changing areas. Whilst the sharing of images is not forbidden, please do think about how and where you share them and do not display children's names with the image.

Any parents not wishing their children to be photographed, should inform the event organiser and a wristband will be issued. Photographers should not take photos of any child wearing a wristband and any that are accidently taken should be deleted.

SYO will not share photos of children on social media unless we have parental permission.