Berkshire Orienteers welcome you to the event!

Parking/Travel:

Parking will be in a section of the Fujitsu car park in Lovelace Road, Bracknell.  Postcode – RG12 8YS, GR SU853683.  It will be signed from the A329 at the junction with Doncastle Road (this is the junction the M4 side of the Twin Bridges Roundabout).  A charge of £1 per car will be donated to ‘Action for Children’ who is Fujitsu’s Charity Partner.

The event is also within walking distance of Bracknell Railway Station using a mainly off road route. Turn left out of the station and cross over the railway line, continue to Old Bracknell Lane (West), Turn right and continue to the roundabout through the underpass. Head straight on, to the Southern Industrial Area, heading south parallel to Mill Lane. Turn right into Ellesfield Avenue, at the second roundabout turn left into Lovelace Road. Follow the signs to the assembly area.

Assembly:

The Assembly area is two minutes walk from the parking area on a football pitch on Ringmead. 

Facilities:

• Toilets, First Aid, Tom’s burger wagon and Ultrasport at Assembly.
• There will be no string-course at this event but there is a lovely circular walk through the ancient woodland adjoining the assembly.  The area is called Northerams Wood.(http://www.bracknelltowncouncil.gov.uk/northerams.php?)
• First Aid: Hart First Response Medical Services will be available at Assembly.  The nearest hospital is Frimley Park Hospital, Portsmouth Road, Camberley, GU16 7UJ.

Dogs: Please keep your dogs on leads at assembly.  Not permitted on courses. Ensure you clear up after your dog.

Registration: EOD and e-tag collection will be open in Assembly, between 10.00 to 12.00.  There will be limited EOD dependent on map numbers.  EOD fees will be:

· BOF Seniors: £14

· Non BOF Seniors: £16

· Juniors: £7

Competitors without their own EMIT cards will be charged £1.50 EmiTag hire.

Start and Finish:

• Starts are between 10.30 and 12.30.  There is one start for all courses which is approximately 20 minutes walk from Assembly. The route to the start does cross a number of minor roads so we ask parents to escort juniors to the start.
• For this event we are not setting start times, once you have parked (or arrived at assembly), collect your emiTag from Registration and go to the start.
• Finish adjoins the Assembly area so there will be no clothing dump. If you plan to cycle or walk to Assembly you may leave bags around the registration tent at your own risk.  There is an area where club tents/banners may be erected next to the finish area.

EMIT Touch-Free Controls and EmiTags:

• For this event we are using the IOF approved Emit Touch-Free system (2014 version), which consists of electronic controls and a wrist/hand-carried control card, called an emiTag (see right).  The emiTag is mounted on a 20cm Velcro strap to be carried either around the wrist or the hand.  Visible from the front when a ‘punch’ has been recorded is a bright LED, which will flash for 10 seconds, rapidly at first, when a punch has been recorded. If the competitor remains in range of the control the emiTag will continue to flash.  There is no need to ensure it flashes for 10 seconds – one quick look is all that is required.
  
• The emiTag will be cleared and the internal clock started by crossing the start line. The LED will flash to indicate that this has occurred correctly.
  
• Should the flashing LED not be seen the competitors must use the standard pin punch attached to each control and record the punch on the map.

• The system to be used at this event consists of 23 x 17 x 3cm Touch-Free Pro (TFP) control units (pictured right).  This has a maximum communication range of about 70cm, dependent on the orientation of the emiTag.  It is recommended that the emiTag passes within 30cm of the control face; the emiTag must be within range of the TFP for at least 0.07 seconds in order to record a ‘punch’.  Several people can punch at the same time as long as they are all within range and each e-tag will record correctly.  If you run close past another control it will also record this punch but as each e-tag can hold 500 reads, so this is not a problem.
• The TFP control units will primarily be hung vertically on street furniture for this event and will be in conjunction with a standard orienteering kite and a back-up pin punch (as there are no back-up cards for the touch free system).

Courses:

The courses are summarised in the following table:

Course Age Group Distance Height Controls

A Mens 0pen 8.4km 110m 28

B Mens Vet,Women 0pen 7.2km 95m 25

C Men Super Vet, Womens Vets 5.7km 60m 18

D Men Ultra Vet, Women Super Vet 4.1km 55m 15

E Women Ultra Vet 3.5km 40m 14

F Men Junior, Women Junior 3.0km 15m 16

G Men / Women Young Junior 2.2km 10m 12

The current distance is the straight line between controls, and actual distances will be further than those published. However the nature of the area means that there are no large detours between controls and course distances are towards to the top end of course guidelines for this reason.

Planner’s Comment: Nettles have come up a lot in the last week. Although I don't want to stop anyone wearing shorts, some of the woodland, particularly with undergrowth, will have significant bracken and nettles.  In most cases going round is only a small detour 

Mapping:

• For courses A-E (and possibly F - to be confirmed), two maps are being used for the event, printed back to back, both at 1:4,000, A3.  On the second map, the final control on Part 1 is the start triangle on Part 2.  At this point in the control descriptions, it states: "Please turn over the map".
• Great Hollands has been completely resurveyed for the event by Katy Stubbs. The Birch Hill map has been updated as necessary from the 2012 map with the addition of a new area joining the two maps.

• In Great Hollands nearly all the parking areas within the estate have low walls or low fences partially surrounding them which can be crossed easily by an adult.  Every effort has been made to map these and the breaks in them, which vary from parking area to parking area.  In some cases they have multiple small gaps, which would make the low wall symbol very difficult to read especially at running speed, therefore the gaps have been omitted.  Runners should have minimal difficulty finding a gap to cross these longer walls. 
• Individual trees have usually been mapped except where there is a significant area where the scattered trees symbol has been used.

• Special symbols:

‘X’ has been used for a bench,

‘O’ is a statue or monument,

‘X’ is a large tree stump/partially fallen tree.

• Where high or low fences and walls surround the settlement (olive green) symbol these have not been mapped.  Due to the intricate nature of the estate these would only clutter the map and cause problems with readability.  No competitor is permitted to cross into the settlement areas regardless of whether they are surrounded by walls or fences or not. 

For the previous maps of the areas being used, see:

• Great Hollands map, see: http://www.bko.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#87
• Birch Hill, see: http://www.bko.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#75 

Safety:

• Be warned that mown grass areas where cars have often been parked off road within the estates are frequently rutted with ankle twisting ruts and small holes (as the mapper has found to her cost!).
• Car keys may be left at Registration.
• Please remember, Great Hollands is residential estate and that there will be pedestrians, cyclists and dog walkers around the courses.  Please be courteous to other users of this area.
• ALL COMPETITORS MUST DOWNLOAD EVEN IF YOU DO NOT FINISH THE COURSE.

Results: Results will be posted on http://www.bko.org.uk

Course Closure: Closure time for all courses is 2.00pm.

Acknowledgements:  We would like to thank Fujitsu for permitting us to use their car park and Bracknell Town Council for their support and for permitting us to use the football pitch for our assembly.

Officials: 

• Planner: Mark Foxwell (BKO)
• Organiser: Fiona Clough (BKO) – Contact: events@bko.org.uk
• Controller: Bernie Fowler (BAOC)