Location

Nearest town: Ballater

• Grid Ref: NO404981
• Postcode: AB35 5SD
• Lat/Lon: 57.06956,-2.98159
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Pre Event Info

Come and join us at beautiful Cambus O’May Forest, near Ballater, for our next Local Event. This stunning woodland has a great network of paths to explore! Suitable for all ages, we have White (beginner), Orange (suitable for adult newcomers) and Green (advanced) courses available.

Newcomers are very welcome at this low key event and help will be on hand for first timers or anyone requiring assistance. Ideal for family groups or pairs too - you can walk, jog or race!

No special equipment is required, bring a compass if you have one and there are SI timing chips available to hire. Please dress in suitable clothing and sturdy footwear, bearing in mind we have had a lot of rain recently and it’s likely to be wet underfoot.

Thanks to Forest and Land Scotland for access permission.

Directions / Parking

Parking is available in the Forestry car park accessed off the A93 North Deeside Road, approx 4 miles West of Dinnet/3 miles East of Ballater.  A parking charge of £1 for 1hr,  £2 for 3hrs & £3/day can be paid via the Ringo app.

There is a bus stop for the 201 bus at the entrance and good access for cyclists via the Deeside Way.

Registration & Start Times

Registration, Start and Finish are all adjacent to the car park area.  

Please could all competitors check-in at Registration before going to the start and please remember to download at the same place after your course even if you don't finish it.

Registration opens at 10.30am

Starts from 11am to 12.30pm

Course closes at 2.00pm

No start time allocations - just turn up at the start and the start official will set you off at an appropriate gap from others running the same course.

Waterproofs and whistle may be compulsory depending on the weather. Please be aware of other forest users.

Course Information

The following courses are available:

• Green:    5.9km
• Orange:    2.7km
• White:    2.2km

Timing will be SIAC activated with a punching start and finish.

Important:  Please remember to download even if you don't complete your course.

For more information on orienteering click here.

For more information on course suitability click the link below:

Explanation of colour courses

• White are very easy with all controls on paths. They are mainly used by 6-10 year olds and family groups.
• Yellow use simple linear features like paths, walls and streams. They are mainly used by under 12’s and family groups.
• Orange progress to basic use of the compass and route choice. They are ideal for novice adults or experienced youngsters.
• Light Green are ideal for improvers as the navigational difficulty begins to increase and uses simple contours and point features.
• Green are used mostly by experienced under 18’s and adults wanting a short but challenging course with a very hard navigational difficulty.
• Blue are a longer, more physically demanding course in comparison to the green. The distances are more varied between controls and the course attracts experienced orienteers.
• Brown & Black are very physically demanding and have a very hard navigational difficulty. They are for experienced orienteers only.
• Score means visiting as many controls as possible in any order in a specific time, like 45mins.

Entry Details

Closing date midnight Sunday 19th November 2023.

Pre-Registration-form

The link above will take you to a pre-entry form. Completing this guarantees that a map will be held for you until mid-day on the day of the event. You will need to complete one form per person. Pre-entering greatly helps the organiser and event volunteers with map printing and smooth running of the event. Payment is made at Registration on the day but if you pre-enter and cannot attend you will not be charged. Entry on the day may be possible depending on map availability.

Entry £7 for Seniors £3.50 for Juniors and Students. £1.50 for SI hire (please bring cash)

Facilities

Public toilets available in Ballater, behind the church in the main car park.

Contacts / Officials

Organiser: Pat Graham

Planner: Yann Newey

Safety and Risk

A comprehensive risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event.
Participants in orienteering should be aware of the risk of tick bites - more information here.

SPORTident timing will be used

Please note that a lost hire SI-Card will be charged for at a rate of £30, unless the Club Commitee agrees that there are special circumstances.

Privacy

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