EA Urban LeagueBedford UrbanSun 09 June, 2024
Near: Bedford
Level of event: Regional
Type of event:
Race, Urban
Location Info
- Postcode: MK42 0BQ *
- Lat,Lng: 52.13180,-0.45819
- Grid Ref: TL056492
- Google Map
- Streetmap (OS 50k)
- Bing Map (OS 50k)
- OpenStreetMap
* Postcodes are not very precise in some areas, so don't rely on them for an exact location.
Summary
WAOC invites you to Bedford for an Urban event on a brand-new map.
All courses visit the beautiful riverside of the Great Ouse. Senior courses head to Bedford town centre and the remains of its Castle. Junior courses are in two traffic-free park areas, linked by a marshalled road crossing. The area is mainly flat, so there is minimal elevation change (apart from some steep footbridges!).
This is part of an exciting weekend of Urban orienteering, following SMOC’s double-sprint event in nearby Milton Keynes on Saturday 8th June.
This event is part of the 2024 EA Urban League.
Directions / Parking
We have secured exclusive use of the ‘overflow’ carpark at Mill Meadows.
Postcode: MK42 0BQ (close but not exact)
What3words: tools.shaky.farm
Grid reference: TL056492
Lat, Long: 52.1317724, -0.4581899
We encourage you to travel by public transport and/or on foot/by bike.
The site is accessible by foot/cycle from the North side; please note that direct routes into the site from the city centre will cross through the competition area. Please take particular care on the footbridges across the river, as you might encounter competitors at speed.
Vehicles will enter the carpark from the South.
By bus: Bus station is at MK40 1LT, about a mile from the event site.
By train: Rail station is at MK40 1DS, about 1.2 miles from the event site.
By foot/cycle: If possible, please access the event site via the footpath on the south side of the river from the Town Bridge (A600/High Street) by the Mercure Hotel. This route will avoid the competition area.
By car: Postcode MK42 0BQ should bring you to the carpark entrance, but may not work in all satnavs. Alternatively, MK42 0BX covers the site, but will probably take you to the Girls School slightly to the West. Look for the O-signs.
We recommend approaching the site from the A421 (either the A600 junction if approaching eastbound or A603 approaching westbound), and then via Cardington Road. After passing a big Tesco on the right, the event site is at next roundabout, between the 2nd and 3rd exits.
(From the North or West, Satnavs will direct through town, which is likely to be congested. Route choice is up to you!)
Mill Meadows has two car parks, a small public one and a large overflow. We have exclusive use of the overflow for the day; parking marshalls will be on hand to direct you. (Please leave the other car park to the general public). There is no height or length restriction but please contact the organiser if you intend to bring a coach or other very large vehicle.
We will need to lock up the carpark when we leave. We encourage you to visit Bedford while you’re here, but please leave the carpark by 3.30pm. There is an adjacent public carpark if you need to stay longer.
The carpark exits directly onto a roundabout. If it is busy, please take the first exit (rather than blocking the roundabout).
Course Information
The following courses are available:
| Course | Mens Classes | Womens Classes | Controls | Distance |
| 1 | Mens Open (MO) | |
| 10.2 km |
| 2 | M40+ (MV) | Womens Open (WO) |
| 8.4 km |
| 3 | M55+ (MSV) | W40+ (WV) |
| 6.4 km |
| 4 | M65+ (MUV) | W55+ (WSV) |
| 5.0 km |
| 5 | M75+ (MHV) | W65+ (WUV) W75+ (WHV) |
| 4.0 km |
| 6 | M16- (MJ) | W16- (WJ) |
| 4.5 km |
| 7 | M12- (MYJ) | W12- (WYJ) | 2.3 km |
Distances are based on Shortest Optimal Route and may change subject to final controlling.
For course 1-5, competitors must be aged 16 or older on the day of the event.
Courses 6 and 7 are open to all, and utilise 2 traffic-free areas, with a marshalled crossing in between.
To be competitive in the EA Urban League you should enter the course corresponding to your age class.
Controls will be set up in beacon mode to allow non-contact punching if using a SIAC dibber. Start and Finish units will not be in beacon mode and must be dibbed by all competitors.
Entry Details
Advance entry is preferred and will be set up via fabian4, see www.fabian4.co.uk, with a 50% discount for helpers. Please contact the organiser for the discount code before you enter. We are happy to accept help from members of any EAOA club.
Advance entry will close at midnight on Thursday 6th June. Entry on the day (EOD) will be available between 10 am and 12 noon, subject to map availability.
| "Early bird" entry (up to 11:59 pm on 2nd June) | Standard entry (after 2nd June and EOD) | |
| Seniors aged 25 and older (Members of BO) | £10 | £12 |
| Seniors (non-members) | £12 | £14 |
| Juniors (U25) | £4 | £4 |
| Students in FTE | £4 | £4 |
| SI-card hire | £1 | £1 |
| SIAC hire | £3 | £3 |
Entry charges cover car parking within the specified orienteering parking area.
We will be using SportIdent electronic timing. SI cards (dibbers) can be hired if required.
Registration and Start Times
Starts from: 10.30am until 12.30.
Courses close at 2.30pm.
Terrain and map details
All courses visit the beautiful riverside of the Great Ouse. Courses 1-5 visit Bedford Castle, most adult courses go to the town centre, and longer courses visit housing areas.
Junior courses will have a marshalled, timed out road crossing and are otherwise traffic free.
Bedford is mainly flat, so there is minimal elevation change across the area. However, you may encounter bridges, underpasses and steps depending on route choice.
Map scale will be 1:4000. Maps will be A3 sized for courses 1-5, and A4 size for courses 6 and 7. Courses 1 and 2 will be double sided.
Course maps will be printed on waterproof paper and will include control descriptions. There will be loose control descriptions in the lanes. Courses 6 and 7 will have text control descriptions, with pictorial descriptions for all other courses.Dog restrictions
No dogs on courses. Dogs with well-behaved owners are welcome in the car park and park areas.
Contacts / Officials
Organiser: Jonathan Ward entries@waoc.org.uk
Planner: Richard Powell
Controller: Mike Bennett (HH)
Important Event Information
Safety and Risk: A risk assessment is carried out by the organiser in advance of each event, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event.
Insurance: Please note that if you have participated in three orienteering events/activities and not joined an orienteering club that is a member of British Orienteering then you are not covered by our public liability insurance.
Privacy:
WAOC process entrant information on the basis of legitimate interest to produce competition results, to provide participation and results information to British Orienteering, and we retain details for a period to meet our insurance requirements. Published results may include (but not limited to) name, any club affiliation, race times and age group. Read our data protection page for further information about how we look after your personal information.
Welfare and Safeguarding:
We want everyone to feel safe and welcome at our events. As a club, we support and follow British Orienteering’s safeguarding policies,which can be found via the links below:
We also have our own child welfare policy. See also our Safeguarding and Welfare page.
Taking Photographs:
In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or videos showing children should register their details with event volunteers before taking any such photos or videos. The event organisers reserve the right to ask people to refrain from taking photos or videos and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
Club's use of Images:
We may sometimes publish photographs of event participants in news items or publicity. At events where we have arranged for photography we will advertise this at the event and in advance in the event details.
We aim always to obtain the permissions of parent or responsible adult before we publish any picture showing a junior participant as the main focus. Although we cannot guarantee that an event photographer will not take photographs of any given individual, we will do our best to avoid publishing images of individuals who have told us they do not wish to be photographed.
Read our data protection page for further information about our policy on photography and use of images.