click here to download the Final Instructions.

Montane (Phoenix) 2009 – 22nd & 23rd August

Final Instructions

Thank you for your entry to our 14^th Long O event in the Barrowburn (Northumberland National Park) area. Montane, a NE based supplier of lightweight technical clothing, are supporting the event and we are very grateful to them. They will be present at the event and showcasing some of their range of products.

Please read the Safety Notice carefully. Note that cagoules or windproof body cover must be carried.

Note that you will need a permanent red marker pen to mark your map (just to draw lines linking the relevant control points).

Accommodation and Facilities

Camping and bunk barn accommodation is available at Barrowburn, and you should pay the camping fees directly at the Barrowburn Tea Rooms arrival. Pre booking is advised (phone 01669 621176 or email stay@barrowburn.com).

There is a pub (Rose and Thistle) in Alwinton but other facilities are limited.

Your Entry: Start times have not been allocated for Day 1 - competitors can just turn up and go using the punching start. Start times are from 10:00 to 12:30 hrs on Day 1. Note however that you must report to registration first to complete a safety declaration and you will be issued a token authorising you to start.

Your SI card number will be checked at registration. If you are hiring an SI card, you can pick it up at registration. Note that on Day 2, you must be ready for your assigned start time if you are in the Chasing Start. Others will have a punching start shortly after 10:00. Day 2 only competitors should first report to Registration for the SI card check and Safety Declaration.

Travel: The only access to Barrowburn is from Alwinton. You are advised to approach Alwinton from the east as the road in from the west is currently closed just north of Harbottle.

Enquiries/Registration and Car Parking: Parking and registration will be near the Barrowburn Tea Rooms at NT868 107. Campers can of course leave their vehicles by their tents. Registration will handle SI card hire, entry on the day, and entry changes, as well as any queries.

Saturday – open from 8:30 to 19:30.

Sunday – open from 08:00.

Hired SI Cards: Those hiring an SI card/dibber will be able to collect it at Registration. The rental charge per dibber is £1 for both days (50p for a single day) and will be collected from you if you did not include it with your entry fee (applies to all 'hiring' online entries). Note that these must be returned at the download station on your last day – there is a charge of £30 for non returned/lost dibbers, but we hope this will not be necessary!! Should you forget to hand one in, please post it in a padded envelope or wrapped in bubble wrap (they need some protection) to Andrew Nicoll, 47 Holywell Avenue, Whitley Bay, NE26 3AQ. Remember to use the correct postage - an ordinary 1st or 2nd class stamp is insufficient due to the thickness of the package

Map: A section of Harvey’s Cheviot Hills map.

Scale 1:40,000 for courses A to D & enlarged to 1:25,000 for courses E & F

Contour Interval 15m

Approx. A4 in size, printed on waterproof paper. Controls pre-printed with control descriptions on the front.

Legend printed on the map. For those unfamiliar with mountain marathon maps blank copies of the map will be on display at Registration and at the Starts.

Course & control descriptions: All controls for each day together with their code and control descriptions are printed on all maps. You will be issued with your map and your course control descriptions (also on waterproof paper) at the start. These descriptions tell you which controls to visit in sequence on your course. Note that you must visit all the controls on your course in the given sequence. Maps will be displayed in the start lanes showing each course. Note that you will need a permanent marker pen to mark your route on the map (most people find red to be a good colour) – red biro will not work on the waterproof paper.

Terrain: Sheep grazed moorland at a height of 300m to 600m with generally good running although there is some heather (nowhere near as bad as Kielder!) on the higher parts and a patchy bracken covering low down. An interesting valley network gives many route choices and spectacular views. There are good paths on most ridges.

Course lengths:

* only used for the Junior Long-O – see below

Starts: Day 1 start will be approx. 1Km level walk from registration..

Day 2 start will be approx. 400m walk with 30m climb from registration.

Finishes: Finish for both days is near the Registration area and car parking. Tea and cake will be provided by Barrowburn Tea Rooms on Day 1 as part of your entry fee (on completion of your course!)

Day 1 course closing time is 18:30

Day 2 course closing time is 16:30

Please ensure that you finish by these times, even if you have to retire. See the Safety Notice.

On Day 2, controls will be collected progressively, starting with the first controls on the courses at 12noon and completing shortly after the course closing time.

Boundaries and Crossing points: Where the map shows crossing points, these must be used. Uncrossable boundaries will be overprinted in red. Elsewhere, cross fences and walls with care.

Enclosed farmland must only be crossed using marked tracks/paths or rights of way. This farmland is shown as yellow on the map. It is not marked in any other way as out of bounds as this would clutter the map. Open fell is white. If you need to open a gate to pass through it, make sure it is closed behind you! Should you damage a wall or fence, or see such damage, report it at registration so that we can arrange to have it repaired.

River Crossings: It is unlikely that any of the streams/rivers will pose a serious risk to cross, but you are expected to use your own judgement of the conditions you meet. Depending on rainfall, it may be advisable to cross the river on Day 2 using the bridges on or near the optimum routes. These will be highlighted on the maps in the start lanes.

Controls: These will be marked with a control banner on a stake. The SPORTident control box will be on the ground and the control code ( a 3 digit number) will only be displayed on the box. In case the control box malfunctions, there will be a punch at each control. Start and Finish boxes will be mounted on a stake.

SPORTident Electronic Punching - The event is using SPORTident electronic punching. Each competitor (or pair) has an SI card (dibber). ‘Punching’ a control is done by inserting your SI card/dibber into the hole on the control box sited on the ground at each control until it beeps and flashes (this is almost instant, it may beep more than once but try not to let it beep more than two or three times) – in the event of no beep or flash, there is a conventional punch at each control. Use this to punch the edge of your map to prove you have been there. There will be a ‘clear’ station just before the start – this clears the previous event from your dibber. You will be asked to ‘punch’ a check box on the first start line and there will be a start control box at the last start line which must be ‘punched’ (so it is a punching start apart from those in the Day 2 Chasing Start between 0900 and 1000). All this will be very obvious once you are there!

Remember to use your SI card/dibber at each control and at the finish. Also after finishing, return to the download station (same location as Registration). Here the contents of your SI card are read into the computer which checks that you have visited all the controls in the correct sequence. You will then receive a detailed results printout. If you should miss out or forget to punch a control or if you take them in the wrong order, then you will be disqualified! For those new to this system, it quickly becomes familiar but feel free to ask questions either at registration or at the start.

You must report to Download after you have finished (or retired), so we know that you have finished and don’t start organising search parties for you!. Results will be displayed at Download.

Start Times, Day 2 - There will be a Chasing Start on Day 2 for all those finishing within 60 minutes of the leader on each course (C and C Pairs are on the same course and are combined for this purpose, likewise D and D Pairs). There is a timed start for people in this group. You must be on time! Those not in the Chasing Start and those who entered only for Day 2 will have a punching start from shortly after 10:00.

09:00 – 10:00 Chasing starts Timed start

10:00ish onwards Others Punching start

Lists of Day 2 start times will be posted at Registration on Saturday evening. By 4 pm or so on the Saturday, the results for Day 1 should give you a very good idea of your likely start time on Day 2.

Pairs Classes: a reminder that competitors in the Pairs classes must keep together. In particular both members of the pair must visit each control together and must arrive at the finish together.

Veterans’ Competition: this uses our normal handicapping system - details on the web site.

Prize Giving: we hope to hold the prize giving at about 14:00 on the Sunday near Registration.

Orienteering Event – The Junior Long-O event run in conjunction with the main event uses courses C to F as follows:

Note that competitors in the junior event on courses C and D will be combined with the main event when calculating start times for Day 2.

Slow Competitors - Slow competitors are just as welcome as fast ones! However it will be helpful to let us know (at Registration) if you intend to walk on a longer course or if you expect to be out for more than 6 hours. Whilst you are responsible for yourself at the event, we do make a check that everyone has returned and this will help us avoid the premature arrangement of a search operation. You must be back by the course closing time each day – see above.

Responsibility and Safety: please note that competitors use the event facilities and take part in the event at their own risk. See Safety Notice.

GPS Systems and similar: may not be used during the event. Altimeters are permitted.

Dogs: may not be taken with competitors on their course.

Results: Results will be posted at the Download Point each day. Results and split times will be posted on the web site.

Toilets: Portaloos at Barrowburn. Also public toilets in Alwinton.

Telephoning: Mobile reception is very variable in the area, but mostly non-existent. There is a public telephone in Alwinton and at Barrowburn (only uses phone/credit/debit cards)

Once again, thank you for supporting the event and we look forward to another enjoyable weekend.

Entries Andrew Nicoll Tel : 0191 252 2383 email : andrew@nicoll.co.uk

Organiser Colin Matheson Tel : 0781 4398145 email: freefall.matheson@btopenworld.com

Planner Adrian Barnes

Controller Patrick Smyth

Event web site http://www.newcastleorienteering.org.uk/phoenix/phoenix.html