April Street-O (4/9)WhalleyWed 19 April, 2023

Local level event

Explanation of Event levels

Training events are non competitive events used for training and coaching, aimed at members of the club, but they can attract people from neighbouring clubs, and are often ideal for newcomers to try the sport.
Local events are usually low key and in the 'localised' area, ideal for newcomers to try the sport. Most clubs run some 'mini series' throughout the year as local mid week events.
Regional events attract participants from around the local Region.
National events are high quality competitions that will attract people from far away,
Major events are Major Events such as a British Championships or the annual JK competition.

Results

• Points based results

Report

Thank you to everyone who came to run on Wednesday evening, on what turned out to be a glorious Spring evening. We had a great turn out, from seasoned orienteers, local running clubs and some people trying street-o for the first time. It seemed like everyone enjoyed the event and were able to see this beautiful area of the Ribble Valley in its best light.

Thanks also to the Dog Inn for hosting us and providing the post-run refreshments.

After planning last year's Clitheroe Street-O I'd mulled over the idea of another event in Whalley but was concerned that the area was too spread out and much of the event would be running out & back legs. On closer examination of the map I came to the conclusion that if we could use footpaths to link up the built-up areas then it would work - the only caveats being that we'd need to run the event in daylight so that runners weren't forced to navigate open fields by headtorch using an Open Orienteering Map!

The other challenge I had as a planner was the ever changing landscape due to the ongoing house building in Whalley & Barrow. I spent some time updating the base map, in the process of which I discovered a couple of new linking paths which would otherwise have been unmapped.

The control point scores were more or less balanced evenly across the 4 quarters of the map, there was no optimum route in mind when I planned it. I tried to include a good number of higher scoring controls relatively near to the start so that all runners could get these ticked off.

It seems that the higher scoring runners spent their time on the flatter areas to the North and the lower parts of Billington. 3 intrepid runners took on the challenge of the "Bowland Bloodhounds" up on Whalley Nab, and survived, well done, you were rewarded with the best view from up there!

On the answer sheet for control 56, "community hydro", there was a typo which threw a couple of people so I've accepted any sensible answer for this one.

Allan Hodkinson - planner

RouteGadget

Is a web browser app for sharing and comparing orienteering routes. You can draw your own route or upload a GPS track from your watch. It also allows you to watch an animated replay with a simulated mass start.

Go to the Pendle Forest Routegadget now

Pre Event Info

Planner comments and warnings:
"As far as I know the last Whalley Street-O was held in 2009 by our friends at SROC. Since then the Ribble Valley has had a house building boom; whilst not welcomed by most of the residents, the upside is that it has given us plenty more options for street-orienteering! The competition area will stretch from Billington in the South, up to Barrow in the north. In order to link up some of the built up areas, competitors may be using paths across fields which can be muddy especially at this time of year so trail shoes are advised. The main roads A59 & A671 are very busy and will be OOB but there may be a couple of places where competitors need to cross over so care will be required. Likewise there are a number of footpath railway level crossings which need care.Sunset is 20:18 so even the latest competitors on the 75 min course will be running in the daylight (yay!)"

This event is pre-entry only for Solo, Pairs or Trio teams. Entry is limited to 60 starts.

All participants must wear a hi-viz vest and must carry a torch and/or head-torch for winter or twilight events. In case of light failure, backup lighting is advised.
Each single competitor or team will need a dibber (your own, or hired at £1 on entering), a watch, a pen/pencil/clipboard.

For age rules concerning junior participation, see 'Entry Details' below.

Location Info

Near: Whalley
Lat,Lng: 53.82247,-2.40653

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

Directions / Parking

Event centre at the Dog Inn (a real ale pub), 55 King St, Whalley. BB7 9SP. What 3 words: ///haggis.instructs.feared

Parking: on local streets, the best options being Church Lane/The Sands or George St/Spar car park, both just to the North of the pub. There is a car park outside the Co-op but this is pay & display.

Map / Terrain

Street-O competition is on local streets, main roads, parks, ginnels, semi-rural areas and footpaths.
You can choose either a 60 minutes score or a 75 minutes score aimed at faster runners. There are two league tables.

MAP SCALE: The competition map for this event is 1:12500, in simplified format.

Cobbled alleys, pavements, stairways and paths, some steep, may be slippery when wet.
Wear suitable studded footwear.

Registration and Start times

Starts from 6:00PM to 7:00PM at minute intervals.
You can choose your 15 minute start block when you enter the event.

Course Information

Start and Finish will be close to the parking and meeting point.

Each individual or team will be issued with one Dibber (if hired), one clue/answer sheet (issued pre-Start) and one course map (issued at the Start).
Example maps and clue sheets of previous events will be available to view.

Scoring: Controls are numbered 10 to 64. The first digit multiplied by 10 is the score value. Thus there are 10 x 10 points controls, 10 x 20, 10 x 30, 10 x 40, 10 x 50 and 5 x 60. The higher the score value, the greater the distance and/or difficulty.
Time limits: There are 2 course options, either 60 minutes or 75 minutes. Choose when entering.
Penalties: Finishing after your chosen race time limit incurs 1 penalty point for each 3 seconds you are late, equivalent to 20 points deducted per minute late.

Entry Details

Entry and dibber hire (£1.00) will be via SI Entries.
Online entries will open approximately one month in advance of competition date.
[**Note: £40 charge if dibber is lost during hire period.]

Entries will close at midday on race day. However, entries after midnight on the Monday prior to the event will be limited by map availability.
An individual entry can be amended to a Pair or Trio if you want to add a buddy to run with, but this must be done on-line in advance via SIEntries. We cannot make changes at the event.

	Lead	Second	Third
Solo	£4.00
Pair Team	£4.00	£2.00
Trio Team	£4.00	£2.00	£1.00

An individual entry can be amended to a Pair or Trio if you want to add a buddy to run with, but this must be done on-line in advance via SIEntries. We cannot make changes at the event.

Rules concerning junior entries:

Age 15 and under must be accompanied by an adult (as a pair or trio).
Age 16 & 17 may run as a pair, or be accompanied by an adult (as a pair or trio).
Age 18+ may run as an individual.

If the event needs to be cancelled the PFO Event Cancellation Policy will apply.

Dog restrictions

Taking dogs on urban courses is not recommended due to the traffic hazard.

Facilities

Usual pub facilities. Only light bar snacks at the Dog Inn, but nearby there are numerous eateries in Whalley.

Miscellaneous

Safety procedures that should be observed in Street-O events:

Give way to members of the public and other competitors throughout your visit.
There are numerous road crossings on the course, take care at all times.
Run wide around corners.
Wear hi-viz so that you can be seen.
Move away from control sites as quickly as possible.
Do not attend if you have any Covid symptoms.

BOF event number 82202

Contacts / Officials

Series organiser: Kay Hawke PFO -

Planner: Allan Hodkinson PFO