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West Anglian Orienteering Club

Park-OHinchingbrooke Country ParkSat 26 June, 2021

Near: Huntingdon
Level of event: Local
Type of event: Race

Results

Report

Thanks to Helen for her excellent courses which made the best of a small area while keeping us mostly away from nettles. It was great to go out into the newly-mapped urban area on the Extra Long course (thanks to Caroline for the map!) which added a whole new dimension to Hinchingbrooke Country Park for those of us who've been going there for years.

There was quite a high number of participants who did not punch the Finish (shown as a double-circle on your map) before downloading. This may have been because the finish banner was not as prominent as usual because of us having to share the field with the running festival. On the medium course, a few people punched the wrong last control. Remember to always check the control number and not be distracted by controls that are not on your course. As Park-O events are rather informal, the results have been adjusted to not penalise either of these errors.

Photos from the event, including the annual prizegiving, can be seen here.

Pre Event Info

Location Info

* Postcodes are not very precise in some areas, so don't rely on them for an exact location.

Stop Press

The nettles at Hinchingbrooke are quite high now. We advise you to wear long trousers to the event ("full leg cover") and preferably long sleeved tops if you wish to run direct routes on Long and Extra Long.

Entry on the day will be available, subject to available start slots.

Prizegiving

We will be taking the opportunity to present our annual club awards and trophies at this Hinchingbrooke Park-O (tricky to do this on a Zoom call!). Prizegiving will be at about 3:30pm.

Park-O Series Info

Our Park-O events are an easy way for juniors and adults to try orienteering. Based in parks around Cambridge, each Park-O takes place on a Saturday afternoon 1pm-3pm once a month during the school year.

What happens at Park-O? Click here to find out

Park-O How-to Guide

Read more about this series

Directions / Parking

Parking at Hinchingbrooke Country Park.  Please note that there is a £2.00 parking fee for up to 6 hours.  Registration is approximately 300 m from the car park.  Start and Finish are adjacent. 

There is a café that serves home-made hot and cold foods, which may or may not be open (TBC) and there are toilets located at the back of the Visitors' Centre. 

Course Information

Courses available

Short     ~ 1km Very easy 

Medium ~ 2km Easy 

Long      ~ 3km Medium

Extra Long      ~ 5km Medium (over 16 years old only)

Please maintain social distancing throughout the event, moving away from controls as soon as you have dibbed and waiting for others to move away from the controls before you dib.

Entry Details

For entry fees, See Park-O page.

Entry on the day will be available, subject to start slots being free.

To pre-register to ensure a start slot, go on-line to WAOC entries at oentry.uk.

When you register you will be allocated a hire dibber if you do not have one, and you may choose your preferred start block time. No payment is required until you turn up for the event.

We will accept entries on the day, subject to our need to comply with coronavirus distancing guidelines and British Orienteering policy.

If you haven't been to a Park-O before, please read the information on our Park-O page so that you know what to do - we will have officials around to help if needed.

Registration and Start Times

In order to ensure a run, we recommend that you pre-register on-line to book a start slot between 1pm and 3pm. Entry on the day will be available, subject to start slots being free.

If you have pre-entered, remember to allow enough time before your start time to collect your dibber and pay, and get ready- probably about 20 minutes before you start.

Starts will operate between 1pm and 3pm but please only come to the start in your 15 minute window.

If you are entering on the day, come to registration when you arrive.

Please note that courses close at 3:30pm. If you wish to do the long (or extra-long) course, you need to start by 2:30pm, unless you have sufficient experience that you will be able to finish before 3:30pm. This applies to entry-on-the-day as well as for pre-registered runners.

Terrain and map details

Maps will be A4 sized, printed on waterproof paper.

More about Park-O

Our Park-O events are an easy way for juniors and adults to try orienteering. Based in parks around Cambridge, each Park-O takes place on a Saturday afternoon 1pm-3pm once a month during the school year. It’s a great way to enjoy the local parks and our friendly volunteers will help you choose the course right for you and get you started. Read more at https://www.waoc.org.uk/events/parko

COVID-19

People should NOT attend any this or any orienteering event:

  • If they are unwell with a cough, fever or other respiratory symptoms.
  • If they have been in close contact with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 until they have completed the prescribed quarantine period, even if they are completely symptom free.
  • If they have returned from any overseas country until they have completed the self-quarantine period for 14 days, even if they are symptom free.
  • If they are undergoing COVID-19 testing, until they have received negative results and are symptom free.
  • If they have been advised to stay at home by a health professional.

If you have been asked to isolate by NHS Test and Trace because you are a contact of a known COVID-19 case, do not exercise outside your own home or garden and do not exercise with others. We also advise competitors who fit within the higher at-risk groups to take particular care and/or make decisions on attendance with due consideration to the risks associated with COVID-19.