Night O Safety
This is useful summary for those who is thinking about to run on night orienteering
With orienteering at night comes some added enjoyment (for most) but also some additional hazards, we all need to be aware of and mitigate against as best we can. What if our headtorch fails? What happens if we injure ourself? What if, what if?
Hopefully, we're not teaching anyone to suck eggs here but it is worth reminding ourselves that if something does happen and we are not prepared, then others may be inconvenienced or worse, because of this. So, a few items that we should all seriously consider carrying with us on our run - some should not really be for discussion!
- Primary headtorch (obvious!)
- Compass (obvious!)
- Spare headtorch or equivalent light source (essential)*
- Whistle (essential)
- Mobile phone – the organiser/planner's number is on the map for a reason!
* NOTE: Spare battery for your main headtorch, is not a replacement for a separate spare torch, as it could be more than your battery that has runout/failed.
It is colder at night, so consider what you wear. What if you did injury yourself or maybe just weren't up to feeling running at your usual speed – you will become cold very quickly if you are not running or going at your usual speed. We do night O though the winter, so keep that in mind.
If you are new to night orienteering be aware it may take you longer than 'normal' – much longer for some. Also, if you are not at TD5 level, you really should be doing this in the daylight before taking on night orienteering as the Deeside Night Cup (long) and the mini-cup (short) is planned with NO dispensation for it being dark. Maybe you are at TD5 level but never night O'd before – speak to someone about a shadowed run. Use the club member email to put a message round that you'd appreciate some mentoring and which DNC events you plan to attend and someone will respond.