Results and Winsplits (for Middle courses) now available, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you spot any errors that you'd like correcting. 

Well done on all your runs, especially those who did a Middle course and then a Score -  I guarantee that you all got further than my 1/2 a control on the Brown!!

Middle Distance Routegadget    |    Score Routegadget

Corrected Long Score Results

Click the link above to view revised results for this course. The issue we've had is that for those that went over Abbey Lane, the second (return) timeout hasn't been removed, because of course on a Score you can't punch a control more than once, so both controls didn't count on the way back. This manual adjustment has esstially removed 10 or 20 points from your penalty (if you had any) and obviosuly reduced times a little bit, hence a bit of position switching has occured. For those that didn't punch one or both of the return controls, I'm afraid your time and penalties remain the same.

YHOA Middle Distance Champions

M80       Barrie Speake                    EBOR
M75       Roy Lindsell                        EPOC
M70       Richard Payne                   EPOC
W70       Gill Ross                             EPOC
M65       Bill Hanley                          SYO
W65       Marcia Bradbury               SYO
W60       Pam Brown                        HALO
M60       Jonathan Emberton         EPOC
W55       Robyn Stanyon                  SYO
M55       Dave Peel                           SYO
W50       Emma Harrison                 EPOC
M50       Colin Lynch                        SYO
W45       Lucy Wiegand                   SYO
M45       Pete Tryner                        SYO
W40       Kim Baxter                         SYO
M40       Richard Baxter                  SYO
W35       Laura Goy                          SYO
M35       Joe Taunton                       SYO
W21       Laura Robertson               SYO
M21       Jonny Crickmore               SYO
W20       Alex Elliot                           SYO
W18       Imogen Pieters                 SYO
M18       Euan Tryner                       SYO
W16       Anna Todd                         SYO
M16       James Bryant                     SYO
W14       Alice Pieters                       SYO
M14       Caspar Reynolds               SYO
W12       Sophie Howsam               SYO
M12       Nathan Peel                       SYO
W10       Beau Elliott                        SYO
M10       Louis Bryant                      SYO

Planner & Mapper Comments - Ian Cooper

Controller's Comments - Martin Ward

Firstly, a huge thanks to the event organiser Robyn and mapper/planner Ian for their work on this event, and to the team of SYO volunteers on the day, for making the event a success. With two different maps and two different map-scales, Ian put a huge amount of time into it. The courses were a really good technical challenge, and the winning times seemed to be about right for a middle distance event, so controlling the event was a simple task, helped by me living only 100m from the edge of the map! Thanks as well to Oli for helping Ian put the controls out, meaning that most of them could be put out on the morning rather than the day before.

We had some feedback about the unusual arrangement of the timed-out road crossing (with the control on the West of the road (52) being about 50m after the road, and on a feature that needed to be navigated to). A two-minute time-out was allowed for this leg to ensure the road could be crossed safely, but some runners took longer, having made a mistake looking for the control after the crossing. While this road crossing time-out arrangement is unusual, I don’t think it was unfair, and we have not adjusted the results for this leg.

One thing that was very clear from the composite map for the Score courses was how much “greener” Ecclesall Woods has become in the last 20-30 years, as a result of the holly and bramble spreading across the area. Unfortunately there’s nothing we can do about that, other than keep updating the map! Thank you all for coming, and I hope you enjoyed the challenge.

 Organiser's Comments - Robyn Stanyon

Ecclesall Woods is a wonderful ancient woodland and was the site of SYO‘s first ever event, held in September 1972. What better place then to celebrate SYO's 50th anniversary. The orienteering is surprisingly complex and the more technical courses will provide significant challenge to the experienced orienteer.  This is a two-part event, with a number of courses suitable for newcomers and young juniors and fabulous prizes!

Part 1 is the YHOA Middle Distance Championships – a YHOA Superleague race which earns British Orienteering ranking points.

Part 2 is a fun score event to celebrate 50 years of SYO.  The score event uses a composite map of the woods, with extracts through the decades (from 1975 – 2017).

You can choose to run either or both events, however if you are planning to run both Part 1 and Part 2, you must run part 1 (the YHOA Middle Distance) first to be competitive. Also remember to allow adequate time to start the fun score event, for which the last start time is 1.30pm.

Parking & Travel

Parking is along Whirlowdale Road S7 2NG. Please approach from the West (pavement is on the North side) from the junction with Abbey Lane.  Please drive slowly along Whirlowdale Road as there will be runners crossing the road (marshalled crossing point) and follow the instructions of parking marshal.  When Whirlowdale Road is full, please park considerately on residential roads in the area to the East of Ecclesall Woods – see map.

Public Transport - Bus 218 from City Centre, 18min journey (every half hour from 9.40) – Cow Lane bus stop on Abbey Lane (just past Rising Sun).  Walk S down Abbey Lane to junction with Whirlowdale Road then E along Whirlowdale Road.

Assembly & Facilities

Assembly is in a lovely clearing in the woods (see top photo!) 30m south of the Whirlowdale Road entrance. What3words///yoga.chain.sting – look for the SYO flag.  Competitors must not enter or walk through any other part of Ecclesall Woods to reach Assembly, as they will be walking through the competition area.

Toilets will be located by the entrance to the woods.

There will be a free string course for younger children.

After your run, there is an excellent café, public toilets and play facilities for children in nearby Millhouses Park on Abbeydale Road.  Refreshments are also available 10am – 4pm from the Woodland Coffee Stop located at Ecclesall Woods Sawmill on Abbey Lane.  If walking, take care crossing Abbey Lane.

Fees

YHOA Middle Distance

Adults £10 (£8 BO members)
Juniors, students, adults on courses up to orange £4
Family (2 adults & up to 4 children) £24 (£20 BO members)

Fun Score

Adults £6 (£5 BO members)
Juniors, students £3
Family £15 (£13 BO members)

£3 discount for adults entering both events, £2 discount for juniors/students, £8 discount families.

Family rate is for families entering separate courses. If you would like to go around in a group you pay for one entry, plus £1 for each extra map.

SI card hire £1, lost SI card charge £30

Entries

Enter in advance via Fabian 4.  Normal entries close on Sunday 28^th August to guarantee a map. On-line entry after this date (until Friday 2nd September) and on the day is subject to map availability – the best way to avoid disappointment, and run the course of your choice, is to pre-enter by 28th August.

For the YHOA Middle Distance Championships please select from the available start times. If you are late (or early) for your start time, we will try to slot you into any available space, although this may require a wait if courses are busy.

Please choose an earlier start time if you think you may take a long time (quite likely in Ecclesall Woods!)  You should select an early start time for the YHOA Middle Distance Championships, if you also wish to participate in the Score event as a second run.

The Score event is open start times – if you have pre-entered just make your way to the Start when you are ready to run.

We welcome helpers from any club. Please enter on Fabian4 using SYOHELPER to receive a 50% discount. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any job / time preferences.

Courses are punching start and punching finish, all other controls SIAC enabled. 

To complete your entry you will need to agree to "abide by the Participant Code of Conduct".  This can be found here.

Timings, Start & Finish

Registration 10.15am – 1.15pm.

Start times for all courses:  10.30am to 1.30pm.

There is a single Start for all courses, approximately 80m from Assembly – follow signs and taped route. 

The Finish is in Assembly.

Courses close 3.00pm prompt.

All controls will be SIAC enabled.

String Course

There is a free string course adjacent to assembly.

YHOA Middle Distance Champs

Map

See course tables below for map sizes & scales. Resurvey 2021/22 by Ian Cooper.   Map to ISOM 2017-2

There are many out of bounds on the map, which must be observed. Please do not cross them unless there is a marked crossing as this is a requirement of our use of the area. These are all ecological; Ecclesall Woods have a population of native white clawed crayfish in all the streams. Many populations in other areas have been devastated by crayfish plague a fungal disease carried by imported American crayfish. Do not go into the streams, use marked crossing points. Please wash and dry or disinfect your footwear before coming to the event. Thank you for keeping these at-risk animals safe. Some OOB are marked with a border, these are not taped on the ground but are to make the areas to avoid clearer on the map. Some streams have purple uncrossable boundaries on them, with crossing points marked in the normal way. Please look at the map available at registration  before you start. Any comments will be received by the organiser after you have run and had some refreshments! Ecclesall Woods is a fantastic area but we do need to ensure that we are able to use it in the future, so must take care of all its ecology. It is heavily used by the public so is under a lot of pressure.

The woods are mixed deciduous & holly with an extensive & complex path network, smaller paths can be difficult to see under fallen leaves. There are curiosities such as the grave of George Woodley, a woodsman who apparently now haunts the woods.  Hides which are transient & significant trees are not mapped, the latter because there are too many.

YHOA Middle Distance Courses

subject to final controlling

No shadowing of juniors allowed before your own run.

Fun Score Event

The 7500 Ecclesall Woods map is a composite map prepared by Ian Cooper, with segments from the maps of 1975, 1985, 1993, 2004, 2007 and 2017. The 5000 Ecclesall Woods map is from 2004 only.

All segments of the maps have symbols updated to ISOM 2017-2, with the 2007 segment to ISSprOM 2019-2, except that out of bounds and private land use the symbols at the time of that map segment. Additional new OOB areas and streams are indicated in purple as for the Middle Distance map – see previous notes regarding ecological requirements. Symbols may differ from the map segments to the latest map reflecting the mapping at the time so, for example, a pit may now be shown as a depression.

Segments of the map from 1975, 1985 and 1993 are from a time when holly bushes were a) less prevalent and b) not generally mapped. So there is much more 'open forest' on these map segments. New paths have also formed over the years, and some have disappeared - so be prepared for surprises. Take care with route choices and compass bearings.

It sounds complicated but you will be fine (hopefully!!).

Score Event Courses:

All controls are 10 points, except for controls 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 which are 20 points and 100 which is 30 points. The long score course has 28 controls (including 2 controls each time crossing Abbey Lane), with a maximum points score of 350. The penalty for being late back is 10 points for each minute (or part minute) late, so 45 seconds late is -10 points. The short score does not cross any roads.

Road crossings and safety

Due to the 3-part nature of Ecclesall Woods, there are compulsory road crossings across each of Whirlowdale Road and Abbey Lane.  To emphasise this, there is a purple uncrossable boundary line along Whirlowdale Road and Abbey Lane where competitors must not cross.

On Whirlowdale Road there is a marked, marshalled road crossing, which is used twice and is not timed out. This crossing applies to all courses except White, Yellow, Orange and Short Score.  As this is not a timed crossing competitors only need to punch one of the road crossing controls each way - going north the control south of the road and going south the control north of the road - this is stated on the control descriptions and is obvious for the middle distance courses.  You are advised to take care to ensure you are aiming for the correct control after the crossing point.

On Abbey Lane there is a specific, marshalled and 2-minute timed out crossing point, which must be used for the Brown, Blue and Long Score courses. There is a control at each side of the road crossing, and both controls must be punched when crossing the road – this also applies to the Long Score event.

Please obey the marshals’ instructions for your own safety.

White Course - Ecclesall Woods has a complex path network and it is easy to stray. There will be tapes or smiley faces from the start kite to near the first control and on another leg to aid competitors.

Orange Course - one of the course legs uses a footpath (pavement) along Abbey Lane which is clearly separated from the road by a grass verge.  Abbey Lane itself is not crossed.

Competitors take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety.  If travelling alone it is recommended that car keys are left at registration.

The area is used by mountain bikers, horse riders and many dog-walkers, please be courteous.

Control Descriptions

Control descriptions are printed on the maps.  Loose control descriptions will be available in the start lanes.

White, Yellow, Orange and Short Score have text descriptions, others IOF pictorial.

Prizes and Prize-giving

There will be prizes for the first three YHOA runners in the junior classes M/W10-18 and the YHOA winner in all other age classes.

There will be prizes for the male & female winners of each of the score events, plus some fun prizes to be announced on the day.

We hope to hold the prize giving as close as possible to 2:30pm. There will be 50th birthday cake for everyone attending the prizegiving.

Dogs

Permitted throughout the area but under control and preferably on a lead.  No dogs on courses.

Officials        

Planner - Ian Cooper (SYO)
Controller - Martin Ward (SYO)
SI Manager -  Dom Dakin (SYO)
Organiser - Robyn Stanyon (SYO)   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.