Last updated:10 April 2000
You can enter most events at the start. The cost
is usually between 3 and 4 pounds (3.75 - 5 euros). Most of the championship
events require pre-entry and entry forms will be circulated beforehand.
I hope to be able to provide enough information here for you to either
enter without an entry form or to get an entry form. If you are really
stuck (eg. not living in Ireland), email
me and I'll see what I can do.
Northern Ireland Championships:25 September 1999. This is the championships of the Northern Ireland Orienteering Association. There may be some courses that you can enter on-the-day, but, in general, you MUST ENTER BEFOREHAND.
Leinster Champs: This is the premier event in Leinster.
Munster Champs: This is the premier event in Munster. There will be some courses that you can enter on-the-day, but,for the competition, you MUST ENTER BEFOREHAND. I will add more info when I get it.
Irish Champs: This is the premier event in Ireland. It consists of an individual competition on Sunday 30 April 2000 and a relay on Monday 1 May. There may be some courses that you can enter on-the-day, but, for championship classes, you MUST ENTER BEFOREHAND. The closing date is 14 April. You can download the entry forms in rft format. There is one for the individual and one for the relay.
Details
From: FRANK RYAN
Date: Thu Mar 23, 2000 2:25pm
Subject: IOC 2000 General Information
Irish Orienteering Championships 2000 Sunday 30th April and Monday 1st May 2000
General Information
Event Centre: Tullamore Harriers Athletic Club, Tullamore , Co. Offaly
Entries: For convience entries may be emailed to
ndonagh@b... and cheques made payable to IOC 2000 sent in
the post to IOC 2000, Barrybeg lodge, Barrybeg, Athlone, Co.
Westmeath. Entries can also be posted to above address.
Fees: Individual competition Adults £10, Junior £7, Family £21.
Relay competition Seniors and Ad Hoc Teams £18, Juniors Teams
£12
Closing date: Entries close on Friday April 14th 2000 and be advised
that no entries can be accepted after that date.
Accommodation: Floor Space Accommodation in the Boxing
Club/Scout Hall, Tullamore, Co. Offaly. Contact: Tom Talbot Telephone
067-34660
Sport Ident Cards: We have to allocate a SI card number to each
competitor in advance. If you have a SI card enter the number in the
relevant box. Otherwise we shall allocate one of our stock to you at a
charge of £1.00 for the event. Collection being made at Registration.
Cards may be purchased for £15. Lost cards will incur a charge of £15.
Day 1: Individual Championships
Venue: Bunnreagh, Burleigh Cottage, Slieve Bloom Mountains GR N
295019
Date: Sunday 30th April 2000
Time: Start times from 11am to 2.00pm
Map: 1:10,000 5 Metre Contours Surveyed 2000 by Padraig Higgins
Terrain: Large mixed forest with path drain and bank network. steep
slopes interspersed with shallow re-entrants. Little felling but some
windblown damage. 60% runnable
Classes: All classes subject to demand.
Organiser: Noel Donagh, Midland Navigators
Planner: Padraig Higgins, Midland Navigators
Controller: Ted Lucy, Bishopstown Orienteering Club
Presentation of Prizes: Tullamore Harriers Athletic Club, Tullamore at
7.00pm followed by IOA AGM and Table Quiz
Day 2 Relay Championships
Venue: Charleville Estate, Tullamore, Co. Offaly GR N 315234
Date: Monday 1st May 2000
Start Time: Mass Start 10.00am
Map: 1:10,000 5 Metre Contours Surveyed 2000 by Padraig Higgins and
Billy O'Neill
Terrain: The area is subdivided into a southern mainly deciduous flat
forest with gentle hills, drains and banks. The northern half has farmland
and scattered forest with paths, depressions and small knolls.
Classes: Premier Open, Womens Open, Open 40+, Womens 40+, Open
50+, Open 18-, W18-, Open 14- W14-, Ad hoc Club (Long, Medium and
short legs), Ad hoc mixed (Long, Medium and short legs)
Organiser: Padraig Higgins, Midland Navigators
Planner: Billy O'Neill, Curragh Naas Orienteers
Controller: Frank Ryan, Galway Orienteers "The Western Eagles"
Presentation of prizes at the event as soon as possible after the winners
are known.
Irish Interprovincial Championships: This is an annual competition where each of the four provences compete against each other. It is usually held in conjunction with another championship event.
Shamrock O-Ringen:This event is so good that I've given it it's own page, here. Basically, it's a 3 day event - a short event on Friday evening, a classic on Saturday and a chasing start on Sunday. The events are all on excellent, mainly open hillside areas. The real charm, however, is the holiday atmosphere and relaxed, but efficient, organizing style. The Irish Champs may be the most important event in Ireland but this is the best!
Student Championships: This is the
Inter-college championships. This year it seems to consist of a classic competition, followed by a park event.
Cork Champs: The Cork Champs is a once-off event with a format similar to the Cork League. Despite its grandiose title, it is a normal 'local' type event and you do not need to pre-enter, ie you can just turn up on the day. Courses are not usually too difficult.
Kerry Autumn League: This is a series of events held in Kerry during the autumn. They are low key events, held on very good maps.
Cork League: The Cork League is a series of events held in forests near Cork city during the autumn. There are 3 courses ranging from approx. 8km to 3Km. None are very difficult. The entry fee is usually #3 for adults.
Cork County League: This is a league run by Bishopstown Orienteering Club near Cork.
Inter-firm
League: There are two inter-firm leagues during the summer. One is
in Cork and has been going for several years. The other is in Dublin and
has started up this year.
The Cork league is run by CorkO on Tuesday evenings from approx. 6pm
to 7pm from the end of May to the end of July. CorkO provide one very easy
course, Beginners can walk around while good orienteers are expected to
race very hard. This is a VERY competitive league.
The Dublin league is more company based - teams enter rather than individuals.
Evening, Inter-Firm, Business Houses League:There are several of these leagues during the Summer in Cork & Dublin. The CNOC Evening League is based in Kildare & Wicklow. This is followed by another Evening League in Dublin. In Cork, CorkO organise an Inter-firm league & BOC organise a Business Houses league. Start times are from approx. 6pm to 7pm. There are usually one or two fairly easy courses. They are all great fun and highly recommended.
Squad League: This league is organised around Dublin by members of the Irish Orientering Squad to raise funds.
Munster League: The Munster League is a series of 6 events held in forests in Munster during the late spring/early summer. They are normally further away than Cork League events and more challenging.
Kerry Spring League:
Four colour coded courses may be available at each event for inclusion
in
the spring league :-
Brown (8km-9km)
Blue (7km-8km)
Green (4km-5km)
Orange (2.5km-3.5km)
A wayfarer's course will also be available at some events.
Keeping to the same colour and completing 4 events out of 5, is necessary
for the Spring League.
Points will be awarded to each competitor based upon their results
in each
event as follows :
SCORING :
1st 12 points
2nd 10 points
3rd 9 points
4th 8 points
5th 7 points
6th 6 points
7th 5 points
8th 4 points
9th 3 points
10th 2 points
1 point for all other finishers.
Four out of five events will qualify. If any class leaders have
equal
points, the winner is the one with the most event wins.
Evebt organisers / controllers will be awarded 10 points for the event
which
they organised. Only one event as controller or organiser will
qualify.
The participants with the highest accumalated points after the last
event
will be deemed the winner.
Participants should stick to running the same colour course for the duration of the Spring League.
Winners of each course must move up to the next grade for the next league
Inter Parish League: This is a series of events run by BOC in and around Cork city during the autumn. I'm not sure about the format but it think there are two fairly easy courses available.
(Cork) Winter League: This is a series of events run by BOC in and around Cork city during the winter.
Brass Monkeys League: This is a series of events run by Cork O in and around Cork city during the winter.
Cork Summer League: This is a series of events run by BOC in and around Cork during the summer. I'm not sure about the format. I think all these events are on Thursday evenings.
Ballyhoura 3-day: This is a 3 day event run by BOC and BVOC in and around the Ballyhoura area in North Cork/Limerick at Easter. I'm not sure about the format. You can pre-enter or you can enter on-the-day.
South Eastern League: This is a series of events in and around Co. Waterford. I'm not sure how many courses are on offer or how difficult they are.
Connacht League: This is a series of events in Connacht - mostly near Galway. I'm not sure how many courses are on offer or how difficult they are. I do know that some of the maps being used are quite technical/physical.
Leinster League: This is a series of events, mostly in the Dublin/Wicklow area. The format has changed recently so have a look at the Leinster League web page for more details.
Leinster Inter Club: This is an annual competition between all Leinster clubs.
Sunday League:This is a series of events based in and around Fermanagh. They are organised by FermO and take place on Sundays (mose events in Northern Ireland take place on Saturdays).
Dublin By Night: This is a 5 event Night Orienteering league based in Dublin. There are 3 courses (long medium and short). The long course may be made up of the medium followed by the short course.
TIO Trophy:This is the All-Ireland inter-club competition sponsored by The Irish Orienteer magazine. The format is now, one big knockout competition in September with two sections (big clubs and small clubs). The winning club is eligable to compete at the Compassport competition in Britain.
Northern Ireland Series:This is a series of events held on Saturdays in Northern Ireland. Most, if not all, of the maps used for this series have been used before for championship events, so they are of a reasonably high quality.
Rogaine: A rogaine is basically a very very long score event. The only one in Ireland at the moment is the Setanta Wicklow Rogaine.
Mountain Marathon: Currently there are 2 mountain marathons held annually in Ireland - the Surf Mountain Mourne Mountain Marathon and the Lowe Alpine Wicklow Mountain Challenge. Basically, a MM is a very long orienteering event. It takes place over two days with an overnight camp between. Course lengths are usually between 30km and 70km. However, because that's too easy, you have to carry all your gear (tent, cooker, sleeping bag, food etc.) with you!
National Adventure Marathon: You should be able to get more information about this on the Cappanalea web site.
Long O: These are basically the same as a normal orienteering event but they are much longer (Up to about 20 Km). Usually they are held on a big O map, a combination of O maps or an Ordnance Survey 1:50000 map.
Street O: This takes place on city streets rather than in the countryside.
Score Event: In a score event, competitors are given a time limit to collect as many points as possible with a penalty for any time, over the limit, out on the course. There are up to 30 controls in the forest with different points for each one, depending on it's difficulty and remoteness. Competitors have to plan a route to get as high a score as possible. Score events are usually much easier to organise than normal events.
Short-O: There seems to be some confusion about what exactly Short-O is. One thing that it is NOT, is Sprint-O. As the name implies, courses are shorter than normal, but the legs are the same length. This means less controls. Short-O courses can be just 60%-80% of normal courses. The alternative is competitors having to run two courses, one after the other. Both short with a winning time of 20-30 mins. The winner is the competitor with the shortest accumilated time. The second run may even be a chasing start, based on the first run.
Sprint-O:Sprint-O courses are shorter than normal courses but with the same number of controls. The main feature of sprint courses, therefore, is very short legs. This means that competitors are using close-in navigation skills at high speed. Do not confuse this with Short-O - I know some organisers do!
Park O: Park O is very short with winning times of about 15 minutes. As the name suggests, they usually take place in parks. The navigation is usually quite easy with the emphasis on speed.
Butterfly: This it is a "one man relay" where each competitor runs three short courses, back-to-back, making up the normal distance. This format is usually used to provide better viewing for spectators.
Open: A term that isn't used much any more. These events are open to all. They should provide several courses of various length and difficulty. They were previously called Grade 2 events. Nowadays, open events are usually Colour Coded. The Leinster League comprises mostly Open events.
Relay: Usually consists of teams of 3 running in age categories.
Local Event: These could be anything but usually provide betwen 1 and 3 reasonably easy courses , very suitable for beginners
Introduction Events: These are events specially for beginners. They have easy courses and experienced orienteers are available to explain what you should do.
Closed Event: Most events are open to all. However, there are a few that are not. Examples are some Student events, Army & FCA competitions.
Colour Coded: Previously, most events had courses called 'A', 'B', 'C' etc. The A course was usually more difficult than the B course and so on. This was fine except the A course at one event, in a park say, could be quite easy while the A course at another event, on open mountain, could be very difficult. To overcome this inconsistency the Colour Event was created.
In a colour event, each course is given a colour coding. These colours and their associated difficulty are pre-defined and are the same for all colour events. This way, the hardest course in a park could be 'Red' say, while another event on open mountain could have a 'Brown' course. The basic colours and their difficlties are shown below. Any colour coded event will have some or all of these courses. This is not a definitive list as some organisers add others (eg. Light Green - a shorter version of Green):
Last updated:10 April 2000