South Powys Primary & Secondary Schools Championships 2016-17

Date of event: Thu 02nd Feb 2017
Level of event: School
Nearest town: Presteigne

Results

Full Splits and Individual Results

Congratulations to all of you for successfully completing your course in muddy underfoot conditions.

The Individual results can be seen by clicking above.

The Team results are set out below (which is calculated by adding up the three fastest times per course per school).

White Course:

1st Llanbister 71mnis 48secs

2nd Knighton 101-33

3rd Crossgates 108-27

Yellow Course:

1st Crossgates 95-28

2nd Presteigne 143-31

See below for selection policy for the Inter-County event in June.

The South Powys Primary & Secondary Schools Orienteering Championships for 2016-17 (will once again be organised by Mid Wales Orienteering Club in conjunction with Powys Sports Development) and will take place on Thursday 2nd February 2017 @ Nash Woods, Presteigne courtesy of Natural Resources Wales.

County Championships Entries Eligibility:
A “selection policy” will be used again this academic year, namely that the first 3 School teams to finish at a “single” Cluster for a course (Yr. 3/4 on White and Yr. 5/6 on Yellow) and the first 5 School teams to finish from a “double” Cluster day (double cluster applies to the Builth/Llandrindod) for a course will be eligible for the County Championships + any pairs who finish in the first 10 per course at their Cluster but their school (single or double Cluster) did not qualify through the “Team” event. However, School teams that have qualified are restricted to bringing a maximum of 20 pairs per course.
If a school does not enter the Cluster event, then they won’t be able to compete at the County Champs. The only exceptions to this will be an Estyn Inspection at time of Cluster event + Primary schools in South who may not have had a Cluster Festival, e.g. Ystradgynlais, Brecon, Crickhowell & Gwernyfed.

All Secondary Schools in South Powys are eligible to take part. Entries must be received no later than Friday 27th January 2017 on the Excel spreadsheet (see below for a downloadable copy) - entries received after this date will not be accepted (unless by prior agreement with Bill Marlow). Maximum numbers – 20 pairs or individuals per school per course may enter.

Entries must be received no later than Friday 27th January 2017 on the Excel spreadsheet - entries received after this date will not be accepted. We operate an "all inclusive" policy, so if you have any Special Needs children they may enter and be accompanied by an adult so long as it is declared on the entry form (this will be sent to the schools before the end of term). In the interest of fairness, no Adults will be allowed to accompany any other children.

Entry Fee: If you entered the Primary Schools Cluster event for your area you will have already paid a £15.00 fee (which covers all events in this academic year), so there is no further fee to pay. However, those Primary Schools that still have not paid their entry fee for the Cluster events, will need to send their £15.00 cheque (payable to “Mid Wales Orienteering Club”) to your Community Sports Development Officer. This must arrive no later than Friday 27th January 2017.

Individual event: Those competitors on the White to Yellow will be allowed to go around individually, in pairs or at the worst in threes. I have written in to the software that if a control is missed out then a 5 min Time Penalty will automatically be added. This means that no one goes away with "Disqualified" next to their name in the results (unless they forget to Clear before the Start, or forget to Dib at the Start and/or Finish or go around in the incorrect order!), i.e. a positive result occurs.

Those competitors on Orange may go around as individuals or in pairs. Those on the Long Orange and Light Green may only go around as individuals.
Year 3/4 - White Course - 2km
Year 5/6 - Yellow Course - 2.7km
Year 7 - Orange Course - tba

Year 8/9 - Long Orange - tba

Team event: As well as an "Individual" Championship, a "Team" event will operate within each colour course. Namely, after the competition has finished then the three fastest times per school will be calculated per course and the school with the lowest aggregate time per course will win that colour course/Year group(s), etc., etc.

Prizes: It is hoped to award medals to the first three pairs on each course + Team winners.

Equipment used: The Sportident hardware and software (as used at the Cluster events) will again be used for this event. Collection of Dibbers will be from Download/Enquiries beforehand (located under the archway, which leads to the courtyard and cafe); all dibbers must be returned at Download afterwards. Each Dibber costs £30 to replace, so please ensure that the children secure it on the index finger using the adjustable elasticised strapping, otherwise your school will be billed for any losses. See downloadable attachment below for more information.

Map: The map will be a pre-marked (per course) 5-colour map on water-proof paper, with bi-lingual control descriptions on the back of the map. The scale is at 1:5,000 i.e. 1cm on the map represents 50m on the ground. The map was produced in 2006 by a professional mapper, with updates in 2016 ready for this event.

Clothing: Trainers should be adequate footwear for all courses – there may be a few muddy and/or slippery areas on all courses at this time of year. You are recommended to bring a waterproof jacket, as February can be cold and wet! Please note: We reserve the right to refuse a person(s) from taking part if he/she/they is/are wearing inappropriate footware.

Results: A full set of Individual results and Team results will appear on the Club website (www.mid-wales-orienteers.org.uk) as soon after the event as humanly possible.

Primary Schools Inter-County event: Selection will be based purely on the North and South County Champs. Selection for this year (2017) will follow the same principle, i.e. the first five pairs to finish will get automatically selected + those finishing in 6th & 7th places will act as "reserves" (last year some of the reserves were called upon to run). The good news is that this year (2016) there will also be a White Course for Yr.3/4. This event will take place provisionally on Friday 16th June 2017, venue tbc with starts from 11.00am.

Location & Directions
Directions - Coming into Presteigne from the north, follow the A488 until just before Monaughty turn left onto the B4356 then onto the B4355. When you reach Presteigne continue until you reach the Leisure Centre on your left.
Coming into Presteigne from the south, follow the A44 until you reach Walton turn left onto the B4362, continue until you reach the roundabout take first exit onto the B4355 and then look for Leisure Centre on the right.

There is limited parking at the assembly area where the registration tent will be situated therefore you are advised to use the car park at the Leisure Centre, which is approximately 500m from registration.

Directions from the Leisure Centre - follow Broadaxe Lane which crosses the B4355, continue along lane until you reach the tee junction, turn right on to forestry road until you reach a small car park where the assembly area is situated.

Start Times
9.30am - 2.30pm (write on your entry form whether you prefer to compete in the morning or afternoon – specify a particular time if need be and we will try to keep to that time, unless there is a high demand for a particular time!).

Course information
Year 3/4 - White Course - 2km
Year 5/6 - Yellow Course - 2.7km

Year 7 - Orange Course - tbc.
Year 8/9 - Long Orange Course - tbc

Joining Mid Wales Orienteering Club (MWOC)
You are welcome to come along and compete at any MWOC event during the year, even as a non-member. See the Events drop-down menu for a list of future events.
At most of our events there will be available Yellow, Orange and Light Green courses. Although, as we cover the whole of Mid Wales, some events will be nearer than others of course, so why not persuade the whole family to come along and try the sport?
However, after a couple of competitions or even straight away, you might wish to join MWOC. Why not download the form below and send it to our Club Membership Secretary (Robert Griffiths)? This form is ready for 2017.

Email: membership@mid-wales-orienteers.org.uk

Advantages of joining MWOC include:-
Cheaper entry fees; availability of Colour Coded courses as you progress; invitation to go along to Welsh Junior Squad training (many training weekends are run in Mid Wales) with the possibility of representing Wales (Boys and Girls age group teams) at the Junior Home Internationals or Regional Championships for those with true potential.

Location:

Nearest town: Presteigne
Grid Ref:
Postcode:
Latitude: 52.26591
Longitude: -3.00615
Google Map (aerial) - Bing Map (OS)

Officials:

Planner: Terry Smith
Organiser: Terry Smith, Bill Marlow & Katie Hamer
Controller: Bill Marlow

Info for dog owners

No dogs permitted

Facilities

There will be one portaloo available at registration other wise toilets, food and drink can be found at the Leisure Centre.

Downloadable Documents

Notes on using Sportident Dibbers etc, ,

About the area/map

Nash Woods

The area is very popular with walkers, horse riders, mountain bikers and runners. But most of these use the main forestry tracks and some of the larger pathways, the rest of the forest is rarely accessed.

The area has been used for major League events and provides challenges to most technical abilities, testing your navigational skills as well as your map reading skills.

The terrain is mainly wooded with conifer and deciduous trees situated on a hill which runs the length of the area, with steep sections in places. The ridge of the hill runs west to east with the north side in Wales and the south side in England. The conifer areas are covered in brashings (small cut branches), which makes running difficult; the deciduous areas have varying degrees of undergrowth. The area has a number of forestry tracks and numerous paths some indistinct.

The map has been updated several times to accommodate changes after felling operations in different parts of the forest. The latest version was updated in 2018 and is now georeferenced, further small changes have been made the last being on 26th September 2021.

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Posted by Bill Marlow

Mid Wales Orienteering Club