There were lots of entries for the Bramshaw armchair planning competition and, whilst we await the results, I thought we should kick off another competition! This time the venue is an urban location: Fleming Park and its surrounds in Eastleigh. There is another major difference this time: the winning entry will be used as a MapRun course. Permissions willing, we'd like to to have this as an evening event mid-August so you don't have long to get your entries in. The submission deadline is midnight on Monday 10th August.
Once again, we're looking for a Green course. See Section 11 of the British Orienteering course planning guidelines that covers urban events for more details on what this entails. As we're actually planning to use the course, this time there are some limitations to keep in mind when planning:
- The start and finish should be in the vicinity of The Pavilion on the Park.
- As with all MapRun courses, to avoid punching the finish by mistake, the course should not pass near it until the end.
- If your course crosses to the west of the motorway, please make sure competitors will use the pedestrian underpass in the middle of the map, not where Leigh Road passes underneath the motorway at the north of the map. The road junction is very busy and, although there are pedestrian lights, they are often slow to change and we don't want competitors to be tempted to cross without waiting.
The OCAD file can be downloaded from the Members' Area. You're welcome to visit the area but Google Maps and Street View should be sufficient! Note that the map needs further work around the new leisure centre and the new Hendy garage. I'll look to get these updated before the course goes live but don't rely on detail in these areas for controls.
