Hindhead is back - 25 Nov!

[Happy]

After 20 years Hindhead Common will be back in use for the SN Trophy on Sunday 25th November.

[Tim]

Now that the A3 is in a tunnel and the section of the old road north of Hindhead has been dug up does the area have the potential to extend further to the east?

[MacMan]

I was going to mention this under a thread entitled “what price orienteering”.

As a committee we deliberated long and hard on the merits of remapping this fantastic area. After a long period in the wilderness, the opening of the Tunnel has also been met by a landowner who now would like to encourage the use of the land. So whats the problem ? well creating a new map to do the area justice! We knew within the club we had no one with the time or energy to create a new map that was desperately needed.

So we decided to dip into the SN coffers and accept that we will probably make a lost (even only trying to cover 40% of the mapping costs) – so we have gone ahead and professionally remapped the area (Valter Sohler, Slovakia) put one of our best planners on it and hope that when you’ve run on it you’ll believe it was the right choice.

However with the second item of our constitution forward in our mind - did we really have any other choice ?

2. The objectives of the Club shall be to encourage the sport of orienteering by:
a. staging orienteering events
b. holding regular training sessions
c. producing orienteering maps
d. entering teams for competitions

[Big Jon]

So we decided to dip into the SN coffers and accept that we will probably make a lost (even only trying to cover 40% of the mapping costs) – so we have gone ahead and professionally remapped the area

I don't understand this "loss" bit - is SN a company that is trying to make a profit? or is it an orienteering club that might pay some money to get a good map of a great area which can then be used time and again over the next 10 years?
Mapping for O events is not a "loss" or "profit" making exercise for the clubs - it should be regarded as part of their role to develop orienteering.

[roadrunner]

I can't see a map of any area being usable for 10 years - especially one like this, where (given the removal of the old road etc) the vegetation is likely to change quite a bit over the near future. You might get away with small updates for a time, but I think you'd need a full remapping well within 10 years.

[MacMan]

get a good map of a great area which can then be used time and again over the next 10 years?
Mapping for O events is not a "loss" or "profit" making exercise for the clubs - it should be regarded as part of their role to develop orienteering.

Totally agreed, the problem is the landowner has made it clear he will not guarantee any more than a one off open event and one of local schools event; then they will review. So we are playing a game of chance. If the event goes well in their eyes; then more events may be sanctioned.

[Tim]

Well, I last ran there on 28 Oct 1984 - 6.3km with 350m! climb. And I'll be back in November.

[Spookster]

Well, I last ran there on 28 Oct 1984 - 6.3km with 350m! climb. And I'll be back in November.

I'm guessing I probably ran that course too.

[Roger]

Well, I last ran there on 28 Oct 1984 - 6.3km with 350m! climb. And I'll be back in November.

I'm guessing I probably ran that course too.

A near-novice in the Oxford minibus (who had previously done white and orange at a Come And Try It event) asked
"If I've been entered for 'M21B' at the 'November Classic' next week, what course should I do here?"
"Blue" was the answer.
90 minutes, 6.2km and 350m climb later, my trainers, tracksuit bottoms and I slithered into 58th place of the 116 competitors on the blue course.

[SeanC]

Well if you want to recoup more of the investment then probably best to start a thread talking about the event

I guess what's happening here is that SN are taking a risk with their reserves. This seems like a good thing to do. IMHO there should be more of this in orienteering to try out new things that might work but could also risks loosing money... not just on new mapping projects, eg development initiatives, publicity initiatives, providing minibus/public transport from stations where the demand isn't known etc etc. Many clubs do have quite healthy reserves so it seems sensible take some calculated risks and that's a good argument for clubs to ensure that events generally make a "profit".

6.3km and 350m climb... good place for another South East fell race like the Box Hill fell race?

[madmike]

After 20 years Hindhead Common will be back in use for the SN Trophy on Sunday 25th November.

Happy,

surely it was less than 20 years ago that it was last used?

[Nimby]

After 20 years Hindhead Common will be back in use for the SN Trophy on Sunday 25th November.

Happy,

surely it was less than 20 years ago that it was last used?

I thought that too and have just dug out a Devil's Punchbowl map of the SLOW OK Nuts Trophy dated December '98.

Maybe Hindhead Common is separate from the Devil's Punchbowl.

[Tatty]

When do entries open? It's advertised as being with Fabian 4, but not on there yet.

[Simon E]

Hindhead Common is the other side of the old A3 from the Devil's Punchbowl. My map collection has the 1981 Southern Night Champs and the 1995 SN O-Cross.

Leg 1 in that race had 75m descent in the last 250m, but there are steeper bits than that

[MIE]

After 20 years Hindhead Common will be back in use for the SN Trophy on Sunday 25th November.

Happy,

surely it was less than 20 years ago that it was last used?

I thought that too and have just dug out a Devil's Punchbowl map of the SLOW OK Nuts Trophy dated December '98.

Maybe Hindhead Common is separate from the Devil's Punchbowl.

Hindhead Common and The Devil's Punchbowl are adjacent. They were seperated by the
A3, which has now moved West a bit and has gone underground.
Both areas are partially National Trust and the old A3 line has been converted into
a track way to allow access to the YHA in the Punchbowl and competely removed at
after that.

Historically. orienteering-wise, the Punchbowl has been SLOW and Hindhead is SN