GRAMP and SOA have teamed up to put on a taster event at Hazlehead Park on Sat 12th September as part of the sportscotland-led Summer of Sport programme, designed to encourage children and young people across Scotland to participate in sport and physical activity. The £20 million investment from the Scottish Government, aimed at creating inclusive, inspiring and accessible sport.
These sessions are aimed at beginner families looking to try a new sport. You will learn navigational skills and gain the confidence to use an orienteering map. From taking part in this session you will gain a free entry to a Grampian Orienteering club event on 26th September at Seaton Park which will be the perfect opportunity to apply your new skills learnt in the first session.
How well do you know the back alleys around Aberdeen Old Town? Or the nooks and crannies of Duthie Park? Fancy a nose around the RGU Garthdee Campus on a new map?
Come and join us for the next five Wednesday evenings from 6pm – 8pm at various venues for our Urban Sprint Series, starting at Westburn Park Wed 26th. Sprint is just the name for a style of orienteering with lots of twists and turns and changes of direction on lavishly detailed maps, all designed to keep you concentrating hard right to the end. But if sprinting is your thing then go for it!
Check our Events page for the full list of dates and venues. Everyone welcome, you can go as a group or individually, the only thing to note is that for insurance purposes under 16’s must be accompanied by an adult on any courses that involve public roads.
Please also check this guide to Sprint map symbols, especially the “Out of Bounds” or “Uncrossable” aka “Do Not Cross” as we don’t want to stray onto private property. Thanks!
And as a final incentive for you to come and have a go, we’re reinstating the Urban Sprint League this year with a chance to win one of our much-coveted trophies. You know you want one!
In O terms, “sprint” means short distances between controls, plenty of route choice and changes of direction or even loops to keep you on your toes. Whether you actually sprint or jog or walk is up to you so if you’ve been put off by the “sprint” bit in the past, why not give it a go this year and join us?
We will be reinstating the Urban Sprints Trophies again this year to add a competitive element for those that want it. Points will be awarded depending on your finishing position in each race and your best 3 results from the series of 5 events form your final score. Trophies will be up for grabs for Urban Orienteering age categories – for details see the bottom of this post. Good luck!
Join us for a final weeknight event before the darkness takes over. No equipment or experience required. If you can find us near the University library building then you’re good to go. Come participate by yourself or as a group. Opportunity to do 4 different courses so if you mess up once, then go again. No running required if you don’t fancy it.
Parking: Unrestricted car parking on Bedford Road (don’t go through the bus gate.) Voi and bike parking 20m from start.
Registration/Start/Finish: Outside Aberdeen Uni Meston Building, near the Duncan Rice Library building (go to library entrance, turn round and you should see us) w3w: land.shed.loses
Registration: 18:00 – 19:00 Starts: 18:00 – 19:00 Courses close (i.e. be back at Registration): 19:30 Seniors £6, Students/Juniors £3 contactless payment or cash Under-16s should be accompanied by an adult for BOF insurance purposes.
Courses: Long Sprint course ~3km TD3/Orange/medium difficulty. Do this one for the League points.
Sprint [A, B, C] ~1km Do as many of these as you want just for the hell of it or for practice. These shorter sprint courses have been designed with (informal, relaxed) head-to-head style in mind – start at the same time as people on the same course and then decide: – Go left when they go right? – Or risk your friendship, hang back and follow until the final moments then send? 😉
All courses cross relatively quiet roads on the University campus. Long Sprint leaves the immediate University campus for a couple of controls.
N.B. urban distances are measured as-the-crow-flies, optimal routes on the ground can be anything up to 1.5 times as long.
Urban O age categories: MJU16 WJU16 (Under 16 and shadowed) MJ WJ (Junior 16 – 20) Open anyone can run in this category MV WV (Vet 40 – 50) MSV WSV (Supervet 55 – 60) MUV WUV (Ultravet 65+) Best Newcomer
Participants who are not members of either British Orienteering or ScottishOrienteering are not covered by their respective public liability insurance. By entering this event, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
In O terms, “sprint” means short distances between controls, plenty of route choice and changes of direction or even loops to keep you on your toes. Whether you actually sprint or jog or walk is up to you so if you’ve been put off by the “sprint” bit in the past, why not give it a go this year and join us?
We will be reinstating the Urban Sprints Trophies again this year to add a competitive element for those that want it. Points will be awarded depending on your finishing position in each race and your best 3 results from the series of 5 events form your final score. Trophies will be up for grabs for Urban Orienteering age categories – for details see the bottom of this post. Good luck!
Parking/registration: RGU Campus Garthdee Exact car park location TBC so here’s the link to the entrance to the site w3w: hips.blank.lance
Registration: 17:45 – 18:45 Starts: 18:00 – 19:00 Courses close (i.e. be back at Registration): 19:30 Seniors £6, Students/Juniors £3 contactless payment or cash Under-16s should be accompanied by an adult for BOF insurance purposes.
Course: Sprint course ~3km TD3/Orange/medium difficulty. There may be a shorter course for Juniors. N.B. urban distances are measured as-the-crow-flies, optimal routes on the ground can be anything up to 1.5 times as long.
Urban O age categories: MJU16 WJU16 (Under 16 and shadowed) MJ WJ (Junior 16 – 20) Open anyone can run in this category MV WV (Vet 40 – 50) MSV WSV (Supervet 55 – 60) MUV WUV (Ultravet 65+) Best Newcomer
Participants who are not members of either British Orienteering or ScottishOrienteering are not covered by their respective public liability insurance. By entering this event, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
In O terms, “sprint” means short distances between controls, plenty of route choice and changes of direction or even loops to keep you on your toes. Whether you actually sprint or jog or walk is up to you so if you’ve been put off by the “sprint” bit in the past, why not give it a go this year and join us?
We will be reinstating the Urban Sprints Trophies again this year to add a competitive element for those that want it. Points will be awarded depending on your finishing position in each race and your best 3 results from the series of 5 events form your final score. Trophies will be up for grabs for Urban Orienteering age categories – for details see the bottom of this post. Good luck!
Parking/registration: Small car park on Coast Road to Nigg. Car park is small so car share if possible. Additional parking on the coast road if required. w3w: bowls.august.called
Registration: 17:45 – 18:45 (probably open earlier.) Starts: 18:00 – 19:00 Start control is a short walk along the coast road pavement to the start. 5 minutes max. NB: Check and clear will be on exit from the car park NOT at the Start as usual. Don’t forget and walk straight past in your eagerness to get going!!
Courses close (i.e. be back at Registration): 19:30 Seniors £6, Students/Juniors £3 contactless payment or cash Under-16s should be accompanied by an adult for BOF insurance purposes.
Course: Sprint course 3.2km TD3/Orange/medium difficulty. Junior course 1.5km TD2/Yellow/easy N.B. urban distances are measured as-the-crow-flies, optimal routes on the ground can be anything up to 1.5 times as long.
Urban O age categories: MJU16 WJU16 (Under 16 and shadowed) MJ WJ (Junior 16 – 20) Open anyone can run in this category MV WV (Vet 40 – 50) MSV WSV (Supervet 55 – 60) MUV WUV (Ultravet 65+) Best Newcomer
Participants who are not members of either British Orienteering or ScottishOrienteering are not covered by their respective public liability insurance. By entering this event, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
In O terms, “sprint” means short distances between controls, plenty of route choice and changes of direction or even loops to keep you on your toes. Whether you actually sprint or jog or walk is up to you so if you’ve been put off by the “sprint” bit in the past, why not give it a go this year and join us?
We will be reinstating the Urban Sprints Trophies again this year to add a competitive element for those that want it. Points will be awarded depending on your finishing position in each race and your best 3 results from the series of 5 events form your final score. Trophies will be up for grabs for Urban Orienteering age categories – for details see the bottom of this post. Good luck!
Parking: at the Northern Entrance to the Park off Polmuir Road and behind greenhouses or on roads nearby. w3w: sailor.swear.wires N.B. this has changed since first advertised and is not “the usual”.
Start and Finish within 100m of Park Entrance. Registration: Grassy area on right hand side of path as you come through northern gates w3w: deals.divisions.latter
Starts/Reg 18:00 – 19:00 Courses close (i.e. be back at Registration) 19:30 Seniors £6, Students/Juniors £3 contactless payment or cash Under-16s should be accompanied by an adult for BOF insurance purposes.
Courses: Long Sprint 2.9 km (optimal route 4.1 km) Short Sprint 2.4 km (optimal route 3.2 km) Both TD3/Orange/medium difficulty. Both cross public roads, take care, and therefore U16’s must be accompanied by an adult.
Yellow 1.4km TD2/Yellow/easy Yellow Course is all within the Park so juniors can run unaccompanied.
N.B. urban distances are measured as-the-crow-flies, optimal routes on the ground can be anything up to 1.5 times as long.
The course will use both Duthie Park and the surrounding streets in Ferryhill. There may be a park-only course for Juniors who want to run unaccompanied TBC.
Urban O age categories: MJU16 WJU16 (Under 16 and shadowed) MJ WJ (Junior 16 – 20) Open anyone can run in this category MV WV (Vet 40 – 50) MSV WSV (Supervet 55 – 60) MUV WUV (Ultravet 65+) Best Newcomer
Participants who are not members of either British Orienteering or ScottishOrienteering are not covered by their respective public liability insurance. By entering this event, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
Urban O age categories: MJU16 WJU16 (Under 16 and shadowed) MJ WJ (Junior 16 – 20) Open anyone can run in this category MV WV (Vet 40 – 50) MSV WSV (Supervet 55 – 60) MUV WUV (Ultravet 65+) Best Newcomer
Participants who are not members of either British Orienteering or ScottishOrienteering are not covered by their respective public liability insurance. By entering this event, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
Many thanks to Tim for planning and to Richard, Fiona, Dennis & David for helping out on the night. Check our Facebook page for some photos.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
Although we’re 50 years old and counting we’re still trying to stay young and with that in mind we’re now on Instagram. You can follow us @grampian_orienteering.
We don’t have any formal organised events during the summer holiday season so make sure you put a reminder in your diaries for the start of the traditional autumn Urban Sprint Series at Westburn and Victoria Parks on Wed 26th Aug, followed by four more events around Aberdeen including the RGU and Aberdeen Uni campuses.
We are going to rekindle the competitive element to this series, awarding points based on your result at each event and best 3 out of 5 results count towards your overall score. Urban races have a different age category system and we will be using that and awarding much-coveted Lego trophies for each category.
In the meantime, members should have received info via Spond/email about a cunning plan to keep your orienteering skills ticking over by using some of our Maprun courses. If you’re not a member yet and are intrigued then why not use this as the nudge you’ve been waiting for to join the club? 😉
GRAMP had 3 juniors this year at the Jamie Stevenson and had a podium result from Vaila! Great to see so many juniors from all over the country – lots of fun was had with the warm-up, parade, treasure hunt, and racing.
Congratulations to our fellow northerners, Invoc, on winning the Jamie Stevenson Trophy. Gramp came eighth equal with FVO, a great result from Vaila, Samantha and Joanna. Go GJOs!!
Once you’ve got the O bug your thoughts may turn to getting hold of some specialised orienteering kit like shoes with spikes/dobs or a compass that settles really quickly. Few of the main sports kit shops stock things like that, or even if they do the range is limited, so where can you go?
Compass Point is a UK family-run business dedicated to orienteering equipment. They pop up at many of the major events in the UK with their mobile shop but if you don’t go to things like championships, JK or The Scottish 6 Days then they also offer an online version with help and advice readily available online or by phone from Rom, a former elite orienteer. They supply equipment for everyone from complete beginners to experienced competitors, including compasses, shoes, race accessories and other essential orienteering kit.
As well as the website they have an Instagram account (@compasspoint_uk) where they post regular updates on which events they will be attending, new products and orienteering kit advice.
Thanks to Ros in conjunction with Scottish Orienteering Association, Aberdeen City Health Improvement Fund and Aberdeen City Rangers sponsorship we have been able to install posts and markers for 3 brand new Permanent Orienteering Courses at Hazlehead Park: a Short ~1.2km linear course, a Long ~3.2km linear course and a Score course where you have to find as many controls as you can in either 45 or 60 minutes, you choose.
All courses start and finish close to the entrance to Pets Corner. You can park in either the old tram terminus carpark w3w delay.remove.pans or in the car park closest to the cafe w3w trio.year.beard.
Check our POC page for links to pdf’s of the maps complete with instructions and lists of controls, print them out, take a pen to write down the letter codes found on each control marker, invite a friend if you like and then go have some fun hunting out those red and white markers in corners of the park you may never have visited before.
Thanks to Ian H for organising; Ros, Hugh, Tim, Fiona and Dennis for control collecting; everyone who came along despite the wet weather.
That concludes our Summer Series. Keep watching for news of our Autumn Urban Sprints, featuring the return if the much coveted Lego Trophies (if you still have one please send it back to one of the committee) and a cunning plan to keep you o-ing in the interim.
Fuller version, splits etc will be posted in due course.
Thanks to Ros for planning and everyone who helped out on the night. Last of the Summer Series is at Crathes next week and please bring cash if you can.
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Participants who are not members of either British Orienteering or ScottishOrienteering are not covered by their respective public liability insurance. By entering this event, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for (e)bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded/rural areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
What a superb evening over at Balmedie – a couple of very clever 50-themed courses followed by a meal at the White Lion and a very entertaining talk by Chris Aust, one of the club’s founding members, summarising the first ten years of the club’s activities and events including some cracking photos from the good old days of hand-drawn maps, pin punches, some dodgy looking sports gear and oh-so-70/80’s hairdos and ‘taches!
Can anyone beat Phil Campbell’s Strava plot for the Long course to trace out 50?
And did anyone else spot the notice on the long ridge between 190 and 191 warning about “Invasive species control”. Could it possibly be referring to the lesser spotted Itinerum Peritus Grampus?
Many thanks to Samantha for planning great courses! Also many thanks to Ian, Bob, Fiona & Dennis for helping putting out/Collecting controls afterwards!
Apologies for 239 control being in the wrong place. We have voided that control in the results. (Affects Long & Orange courses)
Hope everyone enjoyed todays Score event at Balmedie Beach planned by Tim and organised by Adrian. As part of the event we hosted the Scout Orienteering Champs for NE Scotland. Many thanks go to Sean (MAROC) and Tim for organising this!
Scottish Orienteering and Gramp have joined forces to bring you a taster event for you to have a go at orienteering for the first time or refresh the memory cells if you’re returning to the sport.
Meet up: in front of the cafe Time: 18:30 – 20:00 Fee: FREE!! but we do need you to sign up in advance by completing this form please or scan the QR code below
Under 16s should have adult supervision
We’ve noticed an increase in folk riding electric bikes and scooters around some woods so watch out for ninja-riders appearing suddenly without any noise or warning.
Spread the word, invite your friends, everybody welcome!
Participants who are not members of either British Orienteering or ScottishOrienteering are not covered by their respective public liability insurance. By entering this event, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for (e)bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded/rural areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
Oops! Somehow last year’s (JD)2C results slipped through the publishing net on our side of the fence. Apologies for that but here they are (better late than never) and congratulations to all our Gramp Junior Orienteers who took part and the age class winners from both clubs.
Participants who are not members of either British Orienteering or ScottishOrienteering are not covered by their respective public liability insurance. By entering this event, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded/rural areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
Many thanks for Dennis for planning the courses and for Fiona & Samantha for running the event on the night. Also to Bob and David for helping collect controls afterwards.
Participants who are not members of either British Orienteering or ScottishOrienteering are not covered by their respective public liability insurance. By entering this event, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded/rural areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
Hope everyone enjoyed themselves today at Glen Dye. Many thanks to all the Gramp volunteers, but in particular reference to Paul Duley (Organiser), Bob Daly (Planner) and to Eddie Harwood of Moravian Orienteering Club (Controller)
Fellow orienteers, our dear friend, Neil McLean, passed away at 1:00 this morning in Turriff Cottage Hospital. It seems too short a time since his last event at the start of December, just before his illness was diagnosed.
Neil was simply “Mr. Orienteering”, our sport ran though his veins. Neil had been orienteering longer than most of us, and was probably responsible for many of us developing as orienteers. All of us will have been touched by him at some time – as coach, trainer, mapper, planner, controller, committee and SOA board member, and especially as competitor. Neil had done it all. His knowledge of orienteering runners, maps and events across the world was unequalled. He just loved talking orienteering to everyone, he encouraged us all, he was always at hand with suggestions and advice, and just loved some post event competitive banter.
But when I remember Neil, the phrase that comes to mind is “be deliberate” – in your preparation, navigation, technique and life.
Neil, you will be greatly missed by us all, thanks for all the support and encouragement you gave us over forty plus years.
To Leena, Kirsti, Peter, Ryan, Lewis, Skye, Emily, Jaelyn, Oaklyn, and Archer, thank you for sharing Neil with us, our thoughts are with you.
AUOC are putting on a Sprint around Aberdeen Uni Campus (aka old Aberdeen) on Saturday and invite anyone to come along and have a go. Full details on the BOF website or their Insta page.
Time: 11:00 – 14:00 Venue: Taylor Building, Aberdeen Uni Campus Fees: £2 Junior/Student, £4 Senior, £1 to hire a dibber (timing device)
2 courses: 1km suitable for beginners or juniors under 16 3km technical sprint still suitable for beginners wanting a longer run or experienced orienteers alike. N.B. Distances quoted are straight line distance between controls but you can expect to run about 1.5 times that as you can’t run through walls (or can you?)
Club coaches will be on hand to help get you started and answer any questions. Find the registration and start outside the Taylor Building near Foodstory cafe.
We are delighted to announce that we are hosting a training day at Crathes Castle catering for all levels of experience. Please fill in the google form in link below if you are interested in coming.
Can you find the speediest route to a series of checkpoints in the city, using the map provided & maybe some local knowledge?
Hosted by Out & Back in association with Grampian Orienteers the Aberdeen Checkpoint Challenge will take place on Sunday 8th March 10am.
We’ll give you an electronic timing device called a ‘dibber’ to record your time which you’ll need to punch every checkpoint with. At the end you’ll get a print out of your time splits so you can compare your times and route choices with other runners.
No previous map reading experience is necessary, although it might be helpful!
Short course~6km Long course~10km but course lengths will vary according to the route you choose.
Meet at 10am at the Out & Back Store, 45 The Green to register, pay £3 & collect your map & dibber.
Mass Start at 10.15. Please return to the start/finish by 11.45 even if you haven’t found all the controls.
Join us for a blether/coffee afterwards at Contour cafe next door.
Please complete this sign up form if you wish to participate and bring £3 with you on the day.
Can you help us spread the word? Download the flyer and pass it on to friends and colleagues, especially those who’ve never tried orienteering before, and challenge them to give it a go.
Congratulations to the winners of this season’s DNC Cup and Mini Cup: Long Course 1st Male Matthew Gooch MAROC 2nd Luke Graham MAROC 3rd Drew Tivendale MAROC 1st Female Eilidh Campbell MAROC 2nd Ruth Gooch MAROC 3rd Sam McDonald GRAMP
Short Course 1st Male Jon Musgrave MAROC 2nd Paul Chapman MAROC 3rd Julian Robinson GRAMP 1st Female Joy Cameron MAROC 2nd Lesley Gomersall GRAMP 3rd Rosslyn Nicholson GRAMP
Full results a few events were cancelled due to big snow making travel difficult so it was agreed that best 7 of 13 events should count to final score
As voted for by everyone who went along to the supper/prize giving: Course of the Year: Balmedie – Julian Robinson Toughest of the Tough: Birsemore – Alan Bennett
And unofficially: The Biggest Glutton for Punishment (ran in all 13 events): David Esson
The following is a quick read summary of the AGM held in January: – Executive Committee (formed following the EGM) have all agreed to continue in post this year and were unanimously voted in but we are on the look out for a couple of people to take on Safeguarding and Fixtures Co-ordinator next year so speak to either Claire or Paul if you’re interested – funds received from SOA for mapping projects and plans for things like a new Stonehaven urban map are in the pipeline – Claire was thanked for all her hard work in helping ensure Gramp complies with the new government and SOA guidelines on safeguarding – where are the Musgrave Trophies? couldn’t be awarded this year as we don’t know where they are. Are you a past winner and still have one somewhere? – some discussion on making the Urban League more competitive again and reinstating the Lego trophies – what do you think? – new jackets were very popular and Ros is happy to order some more if we can get sufficient interest as minimum order is 10 jackets – SI controls are aging and will need new batteries in the next couple of years but other than that no big kit expenditure planned so what are we going to do with the funds sitting in our new higher interest savings account – do you have any ideas for projects to boost membership for example?
Congratulations to those who won club champs trophies:
Junior Men
Junior Women
Fergus Gallagher
Samantha McDonald
Senior Men
Senior Women
Ian Morrison
Veteran Men
Veteran Women
Julian Robinson
Fiona McDonald
Super Veteran Men
Super Veteran Women
Ian Hamilton
Laura Farquharson
The Chairman’s Quaich was presented to Dave Kirk for doing a such a brilliant job in organizing the really successful Grampian Mountain Challenge in 2025.
Chairman’s AGM Report 2026
At last year’s AGM, we changed out the three main committee posts and I’d like to thank those who took on new posts and those members who continued in their current roles. In June we held an EGM in order to update our constitution and define an Executive committee for PVG and safeguarding purposes. So we now have an Executive committee of Chairman, Secretary (Fiona), Treasurer (Adrian), Mapping & POCs (Ros), Safeguarding /Child Protection (Claire Gallagher) and Coach (David). In addition we have a Membership Secretary (Sam and Lesley), Fixtures & Permissions coordinator (Paul), Event Registration (Mark), Website /IT (Rachel) and Equipment (Jonathan). I’d like to thank them all for their efforts this year in enabling us to run as a club and put on so many events – this year Gramp organised 28 events (versus 34 in 2024 and 29 in 2023).
Events: The biggest event of the year was another 6 Day in Deeside which many of the club took advantage of to compete in. Our day to help was on Glen Dye – thanks to everyone who turned out to help. As a local club, we had been asked to supply members of the central organising committee but were unable to find anyone. Many of these roles were filled by members of other clubs but the 6 day committee is facing a challenge in finding enough volunteers to run future 6 day events and is seeking feedback from clubs. The choice seems to be more professional help (and higher entry fees) or simplification and fewer helpers (and maybe lower standards). If you have an opinion (or even have time to serve on the 6 day board), let me know.
The highlight of the year as a club was another very successful GMC, held in splendid weather in October. Having declared that 2023 was his last, I’d like to thank Dave Kirk for stepping up again and making the GMC happen, along with Ian Hamilton who planned the courses. It remains very popular and is filling a need as the only Mountain Marathon currently in Scotland (except when the OMM comes). The GMC is also the most profitable event the club organises by far and underwrites a lot of our activity (and mapping projects) so thanks to everyone who helped make it a success again. How’s the plans for 2027 Dave?
Besides these 2 big events, we also organised a DNC night O series and a forest sprint series (with Maroc), a summer series and 3 Sunday events. One of these included an inaugural Scout competition which we hope to repeat and attract more scouts in the future.
Membership: At the end of 2025 we have 103 members (including 10 juniors), up from 95 in 2024 of which 14 are new members. It is encouraging that we are growing in numbers and we need to focus on events that both attract new members and keep those we have in the sport and provide opportunities to improve.
At the end of 2024 the committee conducted a survey about what events the club should provide and we have tried to honour the survey results in setting fixtures and areas. We are looking for opportunities to run more training events, either standalone with Maroc or in conjunction with a weekend event. Please support these if you see them advertised.
Mapping: Our map stock has required an upgrade since the storms of 2021 and Ros has been making steady progress in updating old areas and adding new. In 2025 we have completed maps of Hazelhead (with approximately 50% funding help from SOA), Glen Dye (sponsored by the 6 days) and Crathes will be remapped in the spring (with about 50% help from SOA). In 2026 we are looking to map part of Stonehaven (at our expense) for use in urban events and possibly a SOUL. As you can hear, the committee has been busy applying for grants and squeezing money from various sources, including £1500 towards the cost of the 2022 Glen Dye update for the Scottish champs that year. We have also had support from SOA in running a beginners session in Hazlehead and a 1 day coaching course.
Ros has also been busy upgrading our POCs and planning a new one. We are working with Duthie Park rangers on upgrading the POC there (with hopefully 50% funding from the Friends of Duthie Park) and planning a new course at Hazlehead (with the help of a £300 grant obtained from the Aberdeen Health Improvement fund by the SOA on our behalf). We have also helped the scouts renew the Templars course.
Club Successes this year :
Despite being one of the smaller clubs in the UK, Gramp is currently ranked no 13 based on the performances of our members in major events. In the season long SOL series, David, Adrian and Neil won their classes. It was great to see so many members including new members at the Scottish champs on Barry Buddon where Adrian won his class and 6 others won medals. We had 5 teams competing in the Scottish relays again including some new members experiencing relays for the first time (and showing us old timers how its done). We had 2 teams at the British champs in the Lakes but our biggest success of the year was in the schools championships where Fergus was 1st in P7 boys, Hazlehead won the S2 Girls trophy (Joanna 2nd, Willow 3rd and Rowan 6th); Samantha came 3rd in S4 in the Scottish Schools. The British schools were in Scotland this year and Samantha won G12, Fergus was 7th in year 8 boys and the Hazlehead team of Joanna, Willow and Rowan won the G9 trophy. British champions! This success was due to the hard work Fiona & Zoe have put in at Hazlehead Academy where 7 pupils took part in the afterschool club and 14 came to the ‘Wellbeing Day’ session. As a result of their results, Joanna and Samantha are both in Scotjos and Samantha has been selected for the British Talent Squad.
What is there to look forward to in 2026?
The Scottish Nights is in Deeside followed by a Gramp regional event on Potarch in mid February. The Scottish middles and CSC heats are also in February on the Trossachs if anyone is looking for a challenge. This year the JK 4 day event comes to Scotland at Easter for the first time since 2012 which, like the 6 days, is a great opportunity to run in a big event. Our day to help is Friday at the Perth sprint so please come and help. Gramp are hosting a SOL event for the first time in a few years on Glen Dye on May 3rd. Paul is organising and Bob planning and would welcome help on the day.
I’d like to end by thanking everyone, in whatever capacity, who helped put on the wide range of events the club organised this year – it is only with this willingness to step forward that we get to run the events we do.
Thankyou.
Tim Griffin
Some of our 2025 Successes showing what a broad range of orienteering disciplines our members enjoy competing in:
Scottish O Champs 1st M50S Adrian Will 2nd M12A Fergus Gallagher, M70L Paul Duley 3rd M80 Neil McLean, W14A Jo McDonald, W45L Fiona McDonald, W55S Ros Nicholson
Scottish Relay Champs Junior Total BOF Age 44-: 4th Maroc Stars incl Fergus Gallacher 17+ points class: 4th ‘Gramp3’ Ian Morrison, Adrian Will, Gavin Morrison 5th ‘Gramp2’ Pete Lawrence, Fiona McDonald, Dennis McDonald 6th ‘Gramp1’ Tim Griffin, Samantha McDonald, Bob Daly 8th ‘Gramp4’ Matthew Humphreys, Lesley Gomersall, Sam Gomersall
Scottish Orienteering League 1st M45S David Esson, M50S Adrian Will, M80 Neil McLean 2nd M50S Julian Robinson
Scottish Urban Orienteering League 6th Womens Supervet Laura Farquharson
Scottish Middle Champs 3rd M12 Fergus Gallacher 5th W Vet Fiona McDonald 6th W16 Sam McDonald, M Supervet Tim Griffin 8th W Ultravet Oonagh Grassie
Full colour-coded event in conjunction with the Scottish Night Orienteering Championships held the evening before by our neighbours Mar Orienteering Club.
RouteGadget remember that some folk had a golf style handicap applied which meant they didn’t have to visit as many controls to figure out the answer
Many thanks to Sam & Fiona for planning a great themed event and to Matthew/Gavin/Bob/Dennis & Tim for collecting the controls afterwards
Objective Your mission is to deduce – who murdered the Club Secretary? – where the crime took place? – and what weapon was used?
To do this, you must visit various ‘Game Card’ locations across Hazlehead Park. Each ‘room’ will eliminate one suspect, one location, and one murder weapon (3 controls in each room).
Game Play – Participants can play individually or in pairs, if preferred. – Time limit: you have 45 minutes to visit as many ‘Game Card’ locations as possible. – Game Cards: at each control, you will find a clue that eliminates one possibility from your list of suspects, locations, and weapons. – Everyone starts at the same time and may choose to visit any of the ‘rooms’ on the map. Once you have finished finding the clues in that ‘room’ you must return to the start/finish where you will ‘roll the dice’ by punching the ‘dice control’ (#204) marked on the map. – Secret Passages: there are also 2 secret passages marked on the map (control #192 and #198) which allow you to move from one ‘room’ to another ‘room’ without needing to visit the dice control. The secret passages are non-scoring and can only be visited once each.
Scoring: – 10 points for each Game Card visited – 30 bonus points for correctly solving the mystery – 10 points will be deducted for every minute not back after 45mins
– The winner is the first person back to correctly solve the mystery.
Handicap: some of the players will inherit work completed by the local police force, so will not need to visit all rooms to achieve maximum points.
Estimated distance if all controls visited is approx 5km but handicapping will reduce distance to approx 2.5km or approx 1.5km.
We’re excited to let you know that the second instalment of SOA’s Adult Beginner Workshop will be going ahead on 29th March at Hazlehead, led by local orienteer Katja Neumann. Date: 29th March Location: Hazlehead Park, Aberdeen Duration: 10:00 to 16:00 Age: 16+ Cost: £30 – book & pay via Eventbrite by scanning QR code below or searching “Orienteering for Adult Beginners” in the Eventbrite app.
For more info, scan the QR code below or contact louise@scottish-orienteering.org
GRAMPS – please help us spread the word by forwarding a link for this post to friends/family/colleagues/clubs or downloading the flyer to display somewhere.
There is a now a need to carry the following mandatory equipment: · Spare (head) torch – fully charged. A spare battery is not acceptable; · Whistle; · Mobile phone, with plenty of charge; and · Water/windproof jacket or spare layer – this can be worn if preferred. This is to negate competitors only wearing an O-top and/or thermal top.
N.B. We endeavour to make both courses as TD5/Green (i.e. technically hard) as possible depending on the area. For this reason runners must be confident of doing a Green standard course or ask someone who is that standard to run with them.
Night O Safety With orienteering at night comes some added enjoyment (for most) but also some additional hazards, we all need to be aware of and mitigate against as best we can. What if our headtorch fails? What happens if we injure ourself? What if, what if?
Hopefully, we’re not teaching anyone to suck eggs here but it is worth reminding ourselves that if something does happen and we are not prepared, then others may be inconvenienced or worse, because of this. So, a few items that we should all seriously consider carrying with us on our run – some should not really be for discussion!
– Primary headtorch (obvious!) – Compass (obvious!) – Spare headtorch or equivalent light source (essential)* – Whistle (essential) – Mobile phone – the organiser/planner’s number is on the map for a reason!
* NOTE: Spare battery for your main headtorch, is not a replacement for a separate spare torch, as it could be more than your battery that has runout/failed.
It is colder at night, so consider what you wear. What if you did injury yourself or maybe just weren’t up to feeling running at your usual speed – you will become cold very quickly if you are not running or going at your usual speed. We do night O through the winter, so keep that in mind and maybe take a bumbag with extra clothing.
If you are new to night orienteering be aware it may take you longer than ‘normal’ – much longer for some. Also, if you are not at TD5 level, you really should be doing this in the daylight before taking on night orienteering as the Deeside Night Cup (long) and the mini-cup (short) is planned with NO dispensation for it being dark. Maybe you are at TD5 level but never night O’d before – speak to someone about a shadowed run. Use the club member email to put a message round that you’d appreciate some mentoring and which DNC events you plan to attend and someone will respond.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
Insurance – Participants who are not members of either British Orienteering or Scottish Orienteering are not covered by their respective public liability insurance. By entering this event, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered.
Many thanks to Rachel for planning great courses, and to Pete/Ros/Hugh/Dennis& Samantha for helping collect controls
Parking/registration: in Haddo CP visitor car park – please pay for parking at machines w3w: logic.flopping.hedgehog NJ 867344 Follow B999 from Pitmedden north towards Tarves and watch out for brown tourist sign to Haddo House on turning to right 500m before Tarves. (There was a ‘Road Closed’ sign at this junction 16th Jan and if still there follow diversion signs via Tarves.) Once through the main gates of the estate obey the speed limit or suffer consequences of surprisingly stiff little speed bumps on the approach road.
Starts/Reg 17:30 – 19:00 (Rachel says reg prob be open ~17:00) Courses close (i.e. be back at Registration) 20:00 Seniors £7, Students/Juniors £3 contactless payment or cash
Fast and runnable parkland and woods in the main, the Long course will visit the far eastern section of the map which is rougher pasture. If there has been prolonged rain then likely to encounter areas of standing water and/or muddy stretches churned up by public footfall so spikes/dobs advised. Ditto icy patches. The open areas have loads of young saplings planted over the last couple of years but only the larger, more mature trees are marked on the map with single tree symbols or, if several of them clustered, as white runnable forest.
Courses: Medium 3.5 km 40m 21 controls Long 5.2 km 75m 20 controls Both courses will be on two-sided maps, 1:4000, using the new(ish) IOF control description symbol for map flip.
There is a now a need to carry the following mandatory equipment: · Spare (head) torch – fully charged. A spare battery is not acceptable; · Whistle; · Mobile phone, with plenty of charge; and · Water/windproof jacket or spare layer – this can be worn if preferred. This is to negate competitors only wearing an O-top and/or thermal top.
N.B. We endeavour to make both courses as TD5/Green (i.e. technically hard) as possible depending on the area. For this reason runners must be confident of doing a Green standard course or ask someone who is that standard to run with them.
Night O Safety With orienteering at night comes some added enjoyment (for most) but also some additional hazards, we all need to be aware of and mitigate against as best we can. What if our headtorch fails? What happens if we injure ourself? What if, what if?
Hopefully, we’re not teaching anyone to suck eggs here but it is worth reminding ourselves that if something does happen and we are not prepared, then others may be inconvenienced or worse, because of this. So, a few items that we should all seriously consider carrying with us on our run – some should not really be for discussion!
– Primary headtorch (obvious!) – Compass (obvious!) – Spare headtorch or equivalent light source (essential)* – Whistle (essential) – Mobile phone – the organiser/planner’s number is on the map for a reason!
* NOTE: Spare battery for your main headtorch, is not a replacement for a separate spare torch, as it could be more than your battery that has runout/failed.
It is colder at night, so consider what you wear. What if you did injury yourself or maybe just weren’t up to feeling running at your usual speed – you will become cold very quickly if you are not running or going at your usual speed. We do night O through the winter, so keep that in mind and maybe take a bumbag with extra clothing.
If you are new to night orienteering be aware it may take you longer than ‘normal’ – much longer for some. Also, if you are not at TD5 level, you really should be doing this in the daylight before taking on night orienteering as the Deeside Night Cup (long) and the mini-cup (short) is planned with NO dispensation for it being dark. Maybe you are at TD5 level but never night O’d before – speak to someone about a shadowed run. Use the club member email to put a message round that you’d appreciate some mentoring and which DNC events you plan to attend and someone will respond.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
Insurance – Participants who are not members of either British Orienteering or Scottish Orienteering are not covered by their respective public liability insurance. By entering this event, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered.
Due to the ongoing adverse weather and the ground conditions, we are having to cancel Wednesday’s event at Dunnottar. Apologies to all
Parking: Southern car park just off the A92.
Post code / grid reference:
AB39 3XX, NO863843
W3W: delusions.symphony.reported
Registration and Starts: 18:00 to 19:00 Courses close: 20:00 Fees: Seniors £7, Students/Juniors £3
Courses: Long 5k(ish) Short 3k(ish)
There is a now a need to carry the following mandatory equipment: · Spare (head) torch – fully charged. A spare battery is not acceptable; · Whistle; · Mobile phone, with plenty of charge; and · Water/windproof jacket or spare layer – this can be worn if preferred. This is to negate competitors only wearing an O-top and/or thermal top.
N.B. We endeavour to make both courses as TD5/Green (i.e. technically hard) as possible depending on the area. For this reason runners must be confident of doing a Green standard course or ask someone who is that standard to run with them.
Night O Safety With orienteering at night comes some added enjoyment (for most) but also some additional hazards, we all need to be aware of and mitigate against as best we can. What if our headtorch fails? What happens if we injure ourself? What if, what if?
Hopefully, we’re not teaching anyone to suck eggs here but it is worth reminding ourselves that if something does happen and we are not prepared, then others may be inconvenienced or worse, because of this. So, a few items that we should all seriously consider carrying with us on our run – some should not really be for discussion!
– Primary headtorch (obvious!) – Compass (obvious!) – Spare headtorch or equivalent light source (essential)* – Whistle (essential) – Mobile phone – the organiser/planner’s number is on the map for a reason!
* NOTE: Spare battery for your main headtorch, is not a replacement for a separate spare torch, as it could be more than your battery that has runout/failed.
It is colder at night, so consider what you wear. What if you did injury yourself or maybe just weren’t up to feeling running at your usual speed – you will become cold very quickly if you are not running or going at your usual speed. We do night O through the winter, so keep that in mind and maybe take a bumbag with extra clothing.
If you are new to night orienteering be aware it may take you longer than ‘normal’ – much longer for some. Also, if you are not at TD5 level, you really should be doing this in the daylight before taking on night orienteering as the Deeside Night Cup (long) and the mini-cup (short) is planned with NO dispensation for it being dark. Maybe you are at TD5 level but never night O’d before – speak to someone about a shadowed run. Use the club member email to put a message round that you’d appreciate some mentoring and which DNC events you plan to attend and someone will respond.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
Congratulations to everyone who survived the heather.
Thanks to all the helpers and especially to the Organiser Dave Kirk and Planner Ian Hamilton for all their time and considerable effort in putting on another excellent GMC. It is a unique event and is one of the few Mountain Marathon opportunities in Scotland.
Thanks also to all the competitors especially those who travelled far and the ‘repeat offenders’ who continue to support the event. We took the decision this time to remove the solo class which we know has been popular in the past. This was done as pairs are safer than solos especially with the lack of phone signal at the midway camp and over a lot of the area. Thankyou for finding partners and continuing to support the event and we hope you made new friends (or are still talking to old ones.)
The hill maps show the entire courses but due to the change in scale at the transition all the forest section controls had to be crammed into that corner of the map roughly in the right places.
The forest section maps show the forest controls in the correct position on the more detailed map but because RG demands the full set of controls and splits to function properly, the forest section controls still have to be there but are randomly scattered ‘off map’ due to time/brainpower constraints trying to get something up asap! Your route trace for the hill section will look really weird but just ignore that and hopefully the forest section will work properly.
Congratulations to all the GMC 2025 Clachnaben winners and hats off to everyone for persevering with the heather yet still finding time to smile and chat or simply say “thank you” as they passed me at control 190 today. It was lovely to meet you all.
Heather? Heather?!!!! Don’t talk to me about the bloody heather!!!
Links above are to Google Drive stashes. Double click to open a file and you can then use the arrows on left and right sides of the screen to flick thru’ in slideshow mode. *Slideshow seems to freeze about 1/3 way thru’ so try starting from the bottom photo.
If anyone has any snaps they’d like to share please email them or a link to webmaster@grampoc.com or add them in a comment on one of our GMC 2025 Facebook posts.
Several folk asked us about the people-hours and logistics required to make the GMC magic happen so FYI GMC 2025 Clachnaben was brought to you by the following team: Dave Kirk (Organiser), Ian Hamilton (Planner) & Tim Griffin (Controller), David Esson (entries, timing ,results), Rachel Scott (download assist, RouteGadget, photo wrangler, control collection), Jonathon Smith (signage, mid-camp set up, taxi, emergency contact liaison) and Lenny (dog), Sean O’Sullivan (kit transport, hill marshal), Graeme Lornie (kit transport, hill marshal), Donnie Mann (parking, hill marshal), Mike Winn (parking, hill marshal), Pete Lawrence (transition list ticker, hill marshal, control collection), Sam & Lesley Gomersall (starts, transition marshals, control placing/collection and water fetchers), Helen Rowlands (mid-camp facilitator, taxi, emergency contact liaison, random tape and rubbish collector), Liz Kirk (meet and greet, relentless kettle boiler and biscuit unwrapper), Marianne Lang (sports massage), Duncan Grassie (emergency contact in that there London would you believe!), Tim Nash (control checker, test runner) and everyone pitched in with anything else that needed doing from unlocking loos to erecting tents to taping trashed fell shoes back together.
Tim G says “It took c 3.5 person days to visit each site once and that is an area with lots of cyclable tracks. Each site was visited 5 times including collecting the kites. Two people suggested using a drone. This is probably out the question for tagging and placing controls but maybe the controller could bike to a nearby track and check the tag or control with a drone…… Thanks for all the help checking, placing and collecting – all contributions to the 3.5 days much appreciated.”
Many thanks too to the following people, organisations and businesses:
Eddie, James and Scottish Woodlands for allowing us to use Glen Dye Moor and being so encouraging about the event.
Rachel and Glen Dye Estate for allowing us to, yet again, use the beautiful Glen Dye woods.
Sheridan’s for a fantastic dinner again.
Dan and the team from Esslemont Marquees.
Nixons for our lovely loos.
Ordnance Survey for the hill maps.
Most importantly, to all competitors – for the enthusiasm, the smiles, and the many Thank Yous. That makes the whole thing totally worth it.
There is a now a need to carry the following mandatory equipment:
· Spare (head) torch – fully charged. A spare battery is not acceptable;
· Whistle;
· Mobile phone, with plenty of charge; and
· Water/windproof jacket or spare layer – this can be worn if preferred. This is to negate competitors only wearing an O-top and/or thermal top.
N.B. We endeavour to make both courses as TD5/Green (i.e. technically hard) as possible depending on the area. For this reason runners must be confident of doing a Green standard course or ask someone who is that standard to run with them.
Night O Safety With orienteering at night comes some added enjoyment (for most) but also some additional hazards, we all need to be aware of and mitigate against as best we can. What if our headtorch fails? What happens if we injure ourself? What if, what if?
Hopefully, we’re not teaching anyone to suck eggs here but it is worth reminding ourselves that if something does happen and we are not prepared, then others may be inconvenienced or worse, because of this. So, a few items that we should all seriously consider carrying with us on our run – some should not really be for discussion!
– Primary headtorch (obvious!) – Compass (obvious!) – Spare headtorch or equivalent light source (essential)* – Whistle (essential) – Mobile phone – the organiser/planner’s number is on the map for a reason!
* NOTE: Spare battery for your main headtorch, is not a replacement for a separate spare torch, as it could be more than your battery that has runout/failed.
It is colder at night, so consider what you wear. What if you did injury yourself or maybe just weren’t up to feeling running at your usual speed – you will become cold very quickly if you are not running or going at your usual speed. We do night O through the winter, so keep that in mind and maybe take a bumbag with extra clothing.
If you are new to night orienteering be aware it may take you longer than ‘normal’ – much longer for some. Also, if you are not at TD5 level, you really should be doing this in the daylight before taking on night orienteering as the Deeside Night Cup (long) and the mini-cup (short) is planned with NO dispensation for it being dark. Maybe you are at TD5 level but never night O’d before – speak to someone about a shadowed run. Use the club member email to put a message round that you’d appreciate some mentoring and which DNC events you plan to attend and someone will respond.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
N.B. We endeavour to make both courses as TD5/Green (i.e. technically hard) as possible depending on the area. For this reason runners must be confident of doing a Green standard course or ask someone who is that standard to run with them.
Night O Safety With orienteering at night comes some added enjoyment (for most) but also some additional hazards, we all need to be aware of and mitigate against as best we can. What if our headtorch fails? What happens if we injure ourself? What if, what if?
Hopefully, we’re not teaching anyone to suck eggs here but it is worth reminding ourselves that if something does happen and we are not prepared, then others may be inconvenienced or worse, because of this. So, a few items that we should all seriously consider carrying with us on our run – some should not really be for discussion!
– Primary headtorch (obvious!) – Compass (obvious!) – Spare headtorch or equivalent light source (essential)* – Whistle (essential) – Mobile phone – the organiser/planner’s number is on the map for a reason!
* NOTE: Spare battery for your main headtorch, is not a replacement for a separate spare torch, as it could be more than your battery that has runout/failed.
It is colder at night, so consider what you wear. What if you did injury yourself or maybe just weren’t up to feeling running at your usual speed – you will become cold very quickly if you are not running or going at your usual speed. We do night O through the winter, so keep that in mind and maybe take a bumbag with extra clothing.
If you are new to night orienteering be aware it may take you longer than ‘normal’ – much longer for some. Also, if you are not at TD5 level, you really should be doing this in the daylight before taking on night orienteering as the Deeside Night Cup (long) and the mini-cup (short) is planned with NO dispensation for it being dark. Maybe you are at TD5 level but never night O’d before – speak to someone about a shadowed run. Use the club member email to put a message round that you’d appreciate some mentoring and which DNC events you plan to attend and someone will respond.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
This event is cancelled/postponed due to the wintry conditions. The car park is on a steep slope and the Planner was unable to access the car park due to snow/ice. Apologies to all who were looking forward to a run round Tollohill.
Parking/registration: small car park at top end of wood – take South Deeside road from Bridge of Dee and 4th left (if you pass Prosource IT you’ve just missed the turning) w3w: soda.crust.roof NJ923022
Starts/Reg 17:30 – 19:00 Courses close (i.e. be back at Registration) 20:00 Seniors £6, Students/Juniors £3 contactless payment or cash
There is a now a need to carry the following mandatory equipment:
· Spare (head) torch – fully charged. A spare battery is not acceptable;
· Whistle;
· Mobile phone, with plenty of charge; and
· Water/windproof jacket or spare layer – this can be worn if preferred. This is to negate competitors only wearing an O-top and/or thermal top.
N.B. We endeavour to make both courses as TD5/Green (i.e. technically hard) as possible depending on the area. For this reason runners must be confident of doing a Green standard course or ask someone who is that standard to run with them.
Night O Safety With orienteering at night comes some added enjoyment (for most) but also some additional hazards, we all need to be aware of and mitigate against as best we can. What if our headtorch fails? What happens if we injure ourself? What if, what if?
Hopefully, we’re not teaching anyone to suck eggs here but it is worth reminding ourselves that if something does happen and we are not prepared, then others may be inconvenienced or worse, because of this. So, a few items that we should all seriously consider carrying with us on our run – some should not really be for discussion!
– Primary headtorch (obvious!) – Compass (obvious!) – Spare headtorch or equivalent light source (essential)* – Whistle (essential) – Mobile phone – the organiser/planner’s number is on the map for a reason!
* NOTE: Spare battery for your main headtorch, is not a replacement for a separate spare torch, as it could be more than your battery that has runout/failed.
It is colder at night, so consider what you wear. What if you did injury yourself or maybe just weren’t up to feeling running at your usual speed – you will become cold very quickly if you are not running or going at your usual speed. We do night O through the winter, so keep that in mind and maybe take a bumbag with extra clothing.
If you are new to night orienteering be aware it may take you longer than ‘normal’ – much longer for some. Also, if you are not at TD5 level, you really should be doing this in the daylight before taking on night orienteering as the Deeside Night Cup (long) and the mini-cup (short) is planned with NO dispensation for it being dark. Maybe you are at TD5 level but never night O’d before – speak to someone about a shadowed run. Use the club member email to put a message round that you’d appreciate some mentoring and which DNC events you plan to attend and someone will respond.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
Our neighbours to the south, Tayside Orienteers, have been in touch about a couple of events they’re putting on in parks in Dundee that they think would be ideal for newcomers or novices to practice their skills: Balgay Hill Sat 27th Sept Camperdown Park Sun 16th Nov
Both areas are well-bounded with a mixture of woodland and open areas with scattered trees. Good for newcomers or novices to advance their skills with map (and compass on Orange and above).
Green course at Balgay will involve some urban in neighbouring streets. Longer courses (tbc) at Camperdown will combine fast running and a need for accurate navigation to hit the controls economically.
At both events there will be TAY club members on hand to help anyone get started. Check for details on their website and make a day of it at the V&A or DCA.
In O terms, “sprint” means short distances between controls, plenty of route choice and changes of direction or even loops to keep you on your toes. Whether you actually sprint or jog or walk is up to you so if you’ve been put off by the “sprint” bit in the past, why not give it a go this year and join us?
Parking/registration: at Car Park next to the Edward Wright Annexe, Aberdeen University AB24 3RT, off Old Machar Drive (A978) w3w: stand.milk.grain
Starts/Reg 18:00 – 18:50 for 19:00 last start Courses close (i.e. be back at Registration) 19:30 Seniors £6, Students/Juniors £3 contactless payment or cash Under-16s should be accompanied by an adult for BOF insurance purposes
Courses: Long Sprint 2.9km TD3 or Orange standard Short Sprint 1.1km The short sprint will suit juniors and beginners although please note that it’s not quite as easy as a yellow course as there are more decisions to make. Juniors will need accompanied by an adult as there are roads to cross.
N.B. urban distances are measured as-the-crow-flies, optimal routes on the ground can be anything up to 1.5 times as long.
Safety – A risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. We’ll be sharing parks/streets/woods with others so be courteous to other users and watch out for bikes/dogs/horseriders.
Health – Full leg and torso cover is required in wooded areas due to ticks.
Privacy – when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Grampian Orienteers data privacy policy
Photography – In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or video 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 video and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.
Results Routegadget the keen eyed amongst you will spot that I had to use the old 1:3000 map to get the controls to place properly on RG. Should still work OK for the purposes of RG so get drawing/uploading please.
Many thanks to Adrian for planning and to Fiona, Jonathan and Matthew for helping collect the controls afterwards.
Results RouteGadget Who went in-abouts and who went out-abouts between 3 and 4?
Big thank you to David Esson for stepping in at such short notice to plan and organise tonight. Thanks also to Sam P who helped put out the controls with David, and to the McDonald family and Adrian for helping collect the controls afterwards.
Apologies for the confusion with the controls on Sprint course around 5-8. Turned out the control codes were in the correct place just not immediately obvious which was which on the map due to the haste to get something planned and printed in time. It caught a few of you out, though by looking at the control descriptions it should have been obvious which controls were the correct ones.
Thanks to all who attended tonight’s event at Duthie & Ferryhill. Many thanks to Ros for planning courses with route choice, and to Jonathan (Maroc), Hugh and David for helping collect controls.
GRAMPIAN ORIENTEERS 