BOK Blast

[sloaner]

Please note that entries are still open at Fabian4 for the BOK Blast weekend, this year being held in the World Heritage City of Bath.

Day 1 (A double sprint at Bath Uni) should be a good warm up for the British Sprint Champs just one week later.

Day 2 will give you the opportunity to see all the wonderful sites of the City of Bath

Further details on the BOK website

http://www.bristolorienteering.org.uk/e ... ugust-2014

http://www.bristolorienteering.org.uk/e ... ugust-2014

[Freefall]

I will be there representing Scotland in the M60 class

[gaffled]

As mentioned above, Day 1 promises to be good practice for the British Sprint Champs at Keele University the following week with the same prologue and final format. Also looking forward to running around the centre of Bath. Hope it proves as challenging and varied as the BOK Blast event in Bristol last year.

[Freefall]

Very technical area - good fun with multiple levels. Looking forward to Bath tomorrow

[Tatty]

Thank you BOK. As Freefall says, very technical courses both for Prologue and final. Seems everyone made errors. Enjoyable. Shame my brain wasn't up to it. Roll on City of Bath today.

[nooomember]

Great City urban orienteering race around Bath today, glorious weather and not many tourists around at 09.30, and a wonderful start in front of the Royal Crescent. Thank you Organiser and Planner, and all officials....
Headcam video to follow tomorrow...

[IanD]

Great weekend, two splendid areas and maps. Actually surprised that the university was used for this event rather than being reserved for a JK sprint or British Champs.

On one of my Sunday legs, I had the option of running into the rugby club stadium and across their pitch. Did anybody actually have the nerve to do this? I bottled out and used the riverside path (which was probably a shorter route anyway).

Normally I think that a timed out road crossing is a shame because it allows one to study the map instead of having to interpret on the run. However on this occasion it was good because there's no way I could have understood the Milsom Place area (control 137) without standing and peering through my magnifier. Perhaps a future edition of the map could have a enlarged inset of this bit?

I walked back around most of my course after my run, and I can confirm that the controversial gate (see Organiser's comments) along Nicholl's Place was definitely locked at around 2pm. I tried it from both sides, gave it a good shake, and even tried the incantation "Open Sesame", but to no avail, it stayed locked. I suppose I shouldn't have expected "Open Sesame" to work, no use trying Arabic magic on a Roman town.

Many thanks to all concerned, especially whoever arranged the weather.

[awk]

On one of my Sunday legs, I had the option of running into the rugby club stadium and across their pitch. Did anybody actually have the nerve to do this? I bottled out and used the riverside path (which was probably a shorter route anyway).

I did (I did check for OOB as I did so!) Having measured the difference, there appears to be virtually nothing in it, but I'd misread your route and for some reason convinced myself I had to go further round to avoid uncrossable barrier. Amazing what you can do under pressure!

Normally I think that a timed out road crossing is a shame because it allows one to study the map instead of having to interpret on the run. However on this occasion it was good because there's no way I could have understood the Milsom Place area (control 137) without standing and peering through my magnifier. Perhaps a future edition of the map could have a enlarged inset of this bit?

I went back to take a look at this. It's a valiant effort to map the unmappable, but unfortunately it's just wrong in a couple of key areas. Our course (3, MSV) wasn't really affected, but OH's course (4, WSV) was: features around control 136 were both wrongly drawn and interpreted by the description: the control was positioned to the south of what should have been marked as an uncrossable wall (unless you were capable of jumping 15 feet into the air and over the balcony edge); the description was 'on top of the canopy', but the mapped canopy was actually above the control (it had just been mismapped, as a continous canopy when it was in fact split into two seperate lengths with a gap in between).

I walked back around most of my course after my run, and I can confirm that the controversial gate (see Organiser's comments) along Nicholl's Place was definitely locked at around 2pm. I tried it from both sides, gave it a good shake, and even tried the incantation "Open Sesame", but to no avail, it stayed locked. I suppose I shouldn't have expected "Open Sesame" to work, no use trying Arabic magic on a Roman town.

It was certainly jammed shut when I arrived at just after 10. I rattled it and it didn't give way! The organiser later told me that it had been open before, and remained open. When I went up to see it (around 12) it was open.

I was the complainant referred to. I said that I wanted only to make a formal complaint if the leg was not going to be voided. I didn't do it from my point of view: as Alan rightly says, it wouldn't have significantly altered my position (I reckon I lost about 45 seconds directly - it also lost me a bit of time later as trying to recover, but that can't be taken into account). I said at the time, that this wasn't the issue and that I wanted to 'complain' to keep the competition fair. The result isn't fair: one of those affected was Gavin Clegg, who lost far more time than he is behind the winner. Others were affected in different ways, not only on this course (it also affected the top three in the WV): we have no way of knowing what the result should be given the numbers affected. I'm disappointed in the decision.

Having said all that, it was a super weekend, well worth the trip down, and big thanks to all those involved: we thoroughly enjoyed both days. Like you Ian, I'm surprised Bath Uni hasn't been saved for a 'big' sprint, but am grateful for the entertainment it provided as a precursor to next weekend.

[Simon]

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/owls-coun ... 098494762/

[drobin]

I'm slightly confused . . which gate is being referred to? Nicholl's Place according to google maps is near the Spa, whereas the only gate I can recall on course 13 controls 3 to 4 was into Hedgemead Park.

A discussion after the University races suggested that perhaps green ticks (and red crosses) are more identifiable that having red for both? Perhaps also, a thin line could be drawn across a path/canopy when it enters a permissable building? Or does that just confuse things?

[IanD]

I'm slightly confused . . which gate is being referred to? Nicholl's Place according to google maps is near the Spa, whereas the only gate I can recall on course 13 controls 3 to 4 was into Hedgemead Park.

Google search doesn't come up with this Nicholl's Place. You can just see the alleyway name (it's a very minor alley - "Place" is a rather pretentious name for it) if you drop the little streetview man in exactly the right spot in Lansdown Road, and then zoom in - but if you don't already know where it is, you'll be hard pushed to find it.

Easier for me to describe the route from 3 to 4 which encounters it:...
From 3 (126), head east along the north side of the out-of-bounds, then drop slightly down and pass through a covered passage into Morford Street. Down Morford St, ignore a dead end on the left, and then left through a covered passage. On to what Google identifies as the Museum of Bath at work (spent an hour there - very interesting), and right down a flight of steps. Left twice around the building by the steps, and then right along a narrow passage which should lead to Lansdown Rd, which would be followed by a right and left into the park containing number 4 (130). Except that many (most?) people who tried this route failed to get through the gate across the alley which must be just west of the north line. While we're whinging, both ends of the alley should be mapped as covered passage rather than open to the air.

Or wait for Routegadget - I assume all three weekend maps will appear in due course. At the time of typing, only Saturday's prologue has arrived.

[Kitch]

Is this what used to be the BOC Trot ?
A much nicer name, but when you're competing with Grand Theft Auto I guess you have to jazz things up a bit.

[drobin]

'Blast' is either the hyper-speed some runners go at, or what is said when you find your route is a dead end.

I took the soft option 3 - 4, exiting 3 through the passage, as you Ian, but staying on the main roads (south, then east, entering the park from the south, but then failed by taking the path east of the hedge. Though I would have been better to have gone south straight away from 3.

On RG, the University map around 111 looks so much clearer when blown up! You can even see the base of the staircase.

[BenM]

Is this what used to be the BOC Trot ?

Nope, that still exists too

[nooomember]

Headcam video here, with Mens vets/M40+/Womens Open course...
http://youtu.be/-rxksqpbfZI