Potarch Regional Event
Incorporating a Jon Duncan Junior Deeside Trophy (JD2) race
Sun 18th May 2025
Type of event: Regional Race, JD2C
Type of terrain: Forest
Info updated: 19th May
Results
A Regional Event for all abilities with a full suite of Colour-coded courses for all abilities from White to Brown. This is a British Orienteering Ranking Event.
A perfect warm-up event for the Royal Deeside 2025 6-Day event in July/August.
Location
Nearest town: Aboyne
- Grid Ref: NO606971
- Postcode: AB31 4BE
- Lat/Lon: 57.06272,-2.64795
- Google Map
- Streetmap (OS)
- Bing Map (OS)
- OpenStreetMap
Pre Event Info
Enter the Event on Fabian4 here
Online entries close on Sunday the 11/5/25. There will be limited entry on the day, so please register in advance to guarantee a map.
Directions / Parking
What3words - skim.trailing.moped
Car parking will be in the Potarch public car park located just off the B993 south of the Potarch Bridge. Parking space is limited, overflow will be along the roadside between the car park entrance and the junction with the café.
Registration & Start Times
Registration: 10:45 – 12:30
Start: 11:00 – 13:00
Course close: 15:00
Registration will be in the public field next to the car park.
There will be no allocated start times. Punching start and finish.
Everyone must report to the finish and proceed to Download, whether they finish their courses or not. Otherwise, you may trigger a search party and/or call to the emergency services.
Course Information
There are two starts, one for the White and Yellow, and one for the Orange, Light Green, Green, Blue and Brown courses.
White/Yellow Start: 800m from registration.
Orange/Light Green/Green/Blue/Brown Start: 600m from registration (with a short cut available up a short, steep slope)
Finish: adjacent to download.
The route to the start for the white and yellow courses follows the Deeside way for 600m (all flat) with a small climb in the last 200m.
The route to the start for all other courses heads out the same way for 200m and then zig-zags up the slope. There is a short-cut available up a short, steep slope for those who feel able to take this.
The terrain is classic Deeside Forest with lots of lovely, runnable sections and some interesting areas of rock. Courses have been planned to avoid the worst of any windblow.
A regional event with Brown, Blue, Green, Light Green, Orange, Yellow and White courses.
| Colour | Length (Km) | Climb (m) |
|---|---|---|
| White | 1.6 | 40 |
| Yellow | 2.3 | 70 |
| Orange | 2.8 | 80 |
| Light Green | 3.3 | 80 |
| Green | 4.1 | 125 |
| Blue | 5.7 | 135 |
| Brown | 7.7 | 220 |
The map scale is 1:10,000 for all courses. Loose control descriptions will be available for all courses. The White and Yellow courses follow a short section of tapes between controls. The longer courses pass close to the B993 road that runs East-West across the North of the map. THIS ROAD IS STRICTLY OUT OF BOUNDS.
SportIdent (SI) electronic timing will be used, with SI Air enabled. If you have your own SI dibber, please bring it. Otherwise, SI dibbers can be hired for £1, but with £30 charge if lost.
The ticks are very active in Potarch woods. Please wear full length clothing and check for ticks after your run.
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
Entry is via Fabian4 HERE
Online entries close on the 11/5/25. There will be limited entry on the day, so please register in advance to guarantee a map.
Entry fees: Seniors £10, Juniors/Students £5 (seniors on the White, Yellow or Orange courses will be charged the junior fee)
SI dibbers can be hired for £1, but with £30 charge if lost.
Facilities
There are public toilets in the car park.
There is a very nice café next to Potarch bridge for drinks and food, details HERE.
Dogs allowed?
Dogs allowed?
Dogs are welcome as long as they are kept under control and dog poo picked up.
Contacts / Officials
Planner: Ali Robertson
Organiser: Kate Robertson
Controller: Chris Low
Info about the area
Part of the original Ballogie map excluding the Carlogie part. Mature forest across the River Dee from Kincardine O’Neil. Usual parking on Potarch Green. Some nice bits of rock detail.
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.
This includes dressing appropriately for the weather conditions, and carrying a whistle.
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.
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