This event is being run in accordance with the latest guidance from British Orienteering.

The key points for orienteering participants are:-

Orienteers should take the following steps to reduce the risk of transmission when attending and participating in an orienteering activity:-

1.  Check for COVID-19 symptoms.

Before attending any orienteering activity, orienteers, officials, volunteers and coaches should self-assess for symptoms of COVID-19.  These are:

• A high temperature.
• A new, continuous cough.
• A loss of, or change to, your sense of smell or taste.

If you, or anyone you live with, have one or more of these symptoms you should not attend any sporting activity, even if your symptoms are mild.  You should follow NHS guidance on testing and self-isolation.

If you have been informed that you need to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace (or are required to self-isolate in relation to travel), you must do so.

You must not leave your isolation location in order to participate in sport and physical activity.

Important note:  There is emerging evidence that, especially in young or vaccinated people, the symptoms of COVID-19 mimic the common cold, with runny nose and sore throat being more common than fever or cough.  If you have these symptoms please (a) do not attend these events, and (b) get a COVID-19 test, even if you feel you only have a cold.

Anyone who has to withdraw for COVID-related reasons will receive a refund of their entry fees.  Requests for such refunds should be made by email to the Organiser.

2.  Take part safely.

As orienteering is a naturally socially distanced sport, the risk of transmission of COVID-19 whilst participating is low.  However, participants should continue to:

• Follow good hygiene practice.
• Avoid socialising in large groups.
• Consider the wishes of other participants; e.g. if they do not wish to shake hands when receiving an award.
• Avoid sharing water bottles or other refreshment containers.  Where possible, you should take your own drinks.

Face coverings are no longer required by law, but the Government expects and recommends that people should continue to wear them in crowded and enclosed settings in order to protect themselves and – particularly – others.

South Gare is on the coast just west of Redcar.  Parking will be along the south side of South Gare Road, starting at grid reference NZ 574256 and extending westwards.  The nearest postcode is TS10 5BE, but please note that this is at the NW edge of Redcar and you will need to drive another 0.8 mile to get to the event.

Click on the link to see a map.  You can zoom in (and, optionally, switch to Satellite mode) to see the details of the final approach to the event.  You can also get directions if you specify your starting location.

The event will be signed from the junction of the A1085 (Trunk Road) and the A1042 (Kirkleatham Lane) in Redcar.

Please park carefully along the south side of South Gare Road.  Although this is a no through road, there can be significant traffic, so please take great care getting in and out of vehicles and when walking to and from the competition area.  Walk along the verge where possible.

Access to the competition area is at the point shown in the aerial photo below.  The What3words reference is ///helps.tricky.ankle.
In order to avoid entering the Out of Bounds areas, you must access the competition area via this entry point.

Please note that the road is out of bounds for competitors during their runs.

The location of the Arena is shown below.

In the Arena there will be:-

• Download.
• First Aid.
• Space for club tents.

Please note that there will be no toilets in the Arena.  The toilets will be near the road at the entrance to the competition area.

South Gare is a spit of land created in the 19th Century to extend and improve Teesport.  Dorman Long – and probably other Iron Masters – dumped lines of slag from the blast furnaces to create the base for the breakwater and the road.

Sand dunes and slag ridges give a very technical relief with a profusion of small hills, knolls, gullies and depressions.  Paths offer fast progress.  Nearly all of the paths are mapped and can be used for navigation, but it's still wise to use other features for confirmation, as dog walkers tend to create new paths quite rapidly.

The sand is quite consolidated on the landward side, but becomes soft close to the beach.  The Marram grass can make running off the paths quite uncomfortable.

Due to the potential for cuts and scratches, all competitors must wear full leg cover.

Please note that there is some litter and flotsam/jetsam debris hidden in the grass.  There are also the remains of barbed wire and wooden fences in the area, and although the courses have been planned to avoid needing to cross them except where there are gaps, fence wire hidden in the Marram grass can still pose a trip hazard to the unwary.

SPORTident electronic punching will be used.

The control boxes will be activated to enable SIAC cards to operate in touch-free mode ..... but please note that you will need to punch the old-fashioned way at the Start and Finish.

There will be no pin-punch backups at the controls.  If you believe that a control box has failed, please explain this at Download.

As part of the arrangements to prevent the spread of Covid-19, SI-cards will not be available for hire on the day.

If you have pre-arranged a hired SI-card, please collect it from Download.  It will be in an envelope labelled with your name.  For one-day hire, return your SI-card as you download.  For two-day hire, please keep your SI-card safe after your Saturday run and remember to return it as you download on the Sunday.

There will be a £20 charge if you lose your hired SI-card.

The Long Distance event on Saturday is the NE Orienteering Championships.  To qualify, you must be a member of an NEOA club and you must run a course for which you are eligible.  Most people will run the course allocated to their age class, but you can "run up" if you wish to do so.

To qualify for an October Odyssey certificate you must run the same course on both days and it must be a course for which you are eligible.

Note:  If you run the course allocated to your age class you will be assumed to be competing in your age class.  If you "run up", you will need to specify, before the event, which age class you are competing in.  For example, an M60 running the Brown course can't wait until after the results are available before deciding whether to compete as an M21, M35, M40, M45 or M50!

Toilets near the entrance to the competition area.   First aid in the Arena.

No drinks will be provided.  Please bring your own refreshments.

WiFi results will be available during the event.  Connect your device to the clok results network (no password needed) and then point your browser to clok.net to bring up the results index page.  Select a course from the drop down menu and tick Display Detail for more information.

Full results, split times, Splitsbrowser progressograms and RouteGadget will be available on the CLOK web site as soon as possible after the event.

Please see the Covid-19 section at the top of this flyer.

Please make sure that you download even if you do not complete your course.

The Organiser has done a comprehensive risk assessment, but please remember that competitors take part at their own risk.  Orienteering is an adventure sport – your safety while orienteering is your own responsibility.

CLOK strongly recommends that you carry a whistle at this (and every) orienteering event.

If you have a relevant medical condition, you may leave the details in a sealed envelope, with your name and SI number on the front, at Download prior to your run.  The envelope will only be opened if you need first aid treatment and you are unable to inform the First Aider verbally.  You can collect your envelope after your run.  Any uncollected envelopes will be securely destroyed after the events.  (Please don't put any staples in your envelope, as they're not kind to shredding machines.)

Scale 1:7,500   The map for the Brown and Blue courses will be A3 size.   The maps for the other courses will be A4 size.

The maps will be printed on waterproof paper.

The control descriptions will be printed on the maps, and loose copies will be available at the Start.

Please use the provided hand sanitiser before taking your control descriptions and map in order to avoid any risk of contaminating other people's control descriptions or maps.

Follow these links to see previous maps:

• Northern part (September 2019)
• Southern part (December 2020

Please note that the Junior Inter-regional Championships will be using the same competition area on the Saturday afternoon.  Due to this, course maps will be collected back in at the Finish.  You'll be able to retrieve your map from near Download on the Sunday afternoon.

10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

The Start is approximately 1 km from the Arena.  Allow 20 minutes.  The route to the Start goes past the toilets.

The Finish is in the Arena.

Scale 1:7,500   A4 size.

The maps will be printed on waterproof paper.

The control descriptions will be printed on the maps, and loose copies will be available at the Start.

12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

The Start is about 300m from the Arena.  The route to the Start does not go past the toilets.

The Finish is in the Arena.