(2/2) Autumn SeriesSpring WoodSat 26 September, 2020

Local level event

Results

• • Results and Splits
• • Routegadget

Report

Planner’s view:

Another lovely day and a great turn out!

Spring Wood is a small area and suitable for the shorter courses up to light green. Most of the features are within 20m of a path and so the challenge was to include a technical course which used some of the more interesting features with the keyhole mapping by hiding the path network on the Part 1 map. The use of the field through the underpass also enabled increased course lengths without having to climb to the top of the wood or crisscross the map too many times.

Those astute amongst you on the technical will have noted that the diameters of the keyholes decreased with each control but there were clues in the surrounding ground with part stream or footpaths exposed. The most challenging control appeared to be the depression ‘133’ in the open field; the whole area is knobbly and crossed by tracks with man-made knolls and jumps, with the added stress of avoiding the mountain bikers.

Thanks to everyone who competed and helped on the day, a special thanks to George for his input into the planning, hope you enjoyed it. And the ice cream van did turn up in the afternoon - we hope some of you treated yourselves!

Mike and Kath Wallis PFO - Planners.

Organiser's view:

First of all, I'd like to extend a massive thank you to Mike and Kath for their challenging courses. Lot's of compliments at every level and a few tales of woe. I did manage to get a run towards the end, but declared myself non-comp because of my prior knowledge of both the area/map and the courses. I reckon 10 minutes advantage to me, especially through the keyhole section.

Parking proved to be a problem with the pre-entry numbers and the middle of the day starts. My thanks to Helen Ashton and Garry Alexander who together directed O-traffic to our two overflow areas. And thank you to all our competitors who arrived on time in their start window and thereby ensured minimal social contact.

Other helpers should be thanked. The Ellis family for all SI (pre-reg, dibber hire, download, results), the PFO ladies Start team of Wendy, Joanne, Gillian, Kath, Kay and Emma. And to control collectors, drawn from the above.

The two controls in the BMX part of the fields could not be secured to anything, so Mike and Kath took turns to oversee and to warn competitors of impending danger from fast moving bikes. The two controls hereabout were in the two mappable parts, whereas the main jumps area has so many knolls and depressions that the symbols would overlap and be unreadable. That area was marked as broken ground. M&K also secured pipe lagging bumpers to the overhead girders at the underpass - extra protection for tall folk!

Due to both the parking limitations and the printed map quantities we had to close pre-enties a day earlier than originally advertised at 75 (i.e. 75 mins start window). I do know of a few people who were thwarted by this - if you are reading this, our apologies to you.

Finally, we are working on holding another pair of events later this year, but all depends on permissions which, due to Corona virus, have been denied by some of our area land owners. Watch the PFO and/or BOF websites for details.

Oh, I nearly forgot. Thanks to Lancashire County Council, owners of Spring Wood, for the toilets facilities with hot water. This must be a first!
And, on a personal not - the ice cream was delicious!

George Crawford-Smith PFO - helper.

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Last updated: Sun 27 September, 2020

PRE-ENTRIES NOW CLOSED. There is No EOD available.

PFO are very pleased to confirm that the Spring Wood event will take place as advertised. New lockdown rules that apply in Lancashire permit participation in outdoor sports.

PFO has adopted extra procedures at the event both for your safety and the safety of others.
Keeping apart is important in preventing virus transmission.

• Entry on-line only (see below). There will be NO Registration and NO entry on the day.
• Do not leave your vehicle until your start block time.
• Wear or carry a face covering, e.g. Buff, at all times other than when you are competing.
• Hand sanitiser will be available.
• There will be an individual 2m queuing system in place at the Start.
• There will be no loose control descriptions. They are on the map as usual.
• After finishing, go straight to Download. Observe the 2m queuing system.
• Before and after your run, minimise contact. Keep 2m apart and wear your face covering.
• Return to your vehicle ASAP.

Conduct whilst competing:

• Give way to members of the public and other competitors.
• Move away from controls after punching.
  

Loose descriptions will NOT be available at the Start, but you can download and print copies here

Location Info

Near: Whalley
Lat,Lng: 53.82022,-2.39508
OS Grid Ref: SD740360
Postcode: BB7 9UE

Open an interactive map in:
GoogleMap - Streetmap (OS 50k)
OpenStreetMap - BingMap (OS 50k)

Directions / Parking

Nearest postcode is BB7 9UE, but this is 300m from the car park and on the opposite side of the A671.
The entrance to Springwood car park is at the traffic lights where the B6246 joins the A671 dual carriageway.

What3Words parking entrance location reference is: indicated.october.demanding

Take care at this traffic light controlled junction as there may be fast approaching traffic or turning traffic. Bring coins to pay at the meter. Take care on exit from the car park. [The meter was 'out of order' on our last visit, but bring coins just in case.]

Overflow parking: In the event that the main car park is full, you will have to use side-road parking instead. On exiting the main car park, turn left at the lights, after 150m take the slip-road left signed for Sabden. Portfield Road is wide enough for parking for only about 150m. Park here, half-on and half-off the verge. Take care.

Map / Terrain

The main area is open deciduous woodland with a good path network. The sloping terrain is mostly runnable, but with patches of bramble and regenerating rhododendrons of various densities. An underpass leads to a second small area of woodland and a larger area of open fields with contour features from past activity and current BMX digging.

Registration and Start times

Registration: ALL entries must be made through SI-Entries- https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?elid=Y&event_id=7495
For pairs entries (or small groups), it is only necessary to register one name, pay for one entry and hire one dibber.
Dibber hire: If you do not possess a dibber (SI-card) you must book and pay £1 when entering on-line.
Your hired dibber will be sanitised then placed in a sealed bag, for you to pick up at the download tent.
Starts: 13:00 to 14:15 (24/092020 10:00am - start window extended by 15 mins to allow more entries.)
When entering, choose a 15 minute start block window from the drop-down menu. On the day, arrive at the Start during your window. Starts will be allocated by the Start marshal at one minute intervals.
Courses close: 15:45.

Course Information

Technical Difficulty: TD1= Very easy, TD2=Easy, TD3=Moderate, TD4=Difficult, TD5=Very difficult.

Start & Finish: Close to parking. Keep a 'social distance' at all times.

Contactless punching: All SI boxes on courses are contactless. However, the Start and Finish boxes are not, so you must punch these. There will be hand sanitiser available at pre-Start and pre-Download.

Underpass: The A671 dual carriageway divides the competition area, with an underpass linking the two parts (see photo). This is the ONLY permissible route in competition, with the gate on the east side being a mandatory crossing point. Applies to Orange, Light Green and Technical courses only.

Entry Details

Entry fees: Adult (M/W21+) £6.00
Junior £2.50 (M/W20-)

Dog restrictions

Dogs allowed on courses under strict control. Adjacent fields may have sheep. Dogs may also be exercised in the woods after your run.

Facilities

Maybe an ice cream van!
Toilets. Due to Covid-19 restrictions the toilets MAY not be open. Make your own arrangements.
[On our last two visits the toilets have been open, so keep you fingers (and legs) crossed that this will be the case on Saturday. There will be sanitiser at pre-Start and at pre-Download.]

Contacts / Officials

Organiser & Planner - Kath & Mike Wallis PFO
Controller - N/A

For general enquiries -