Summer Sprint Format

Following a request for more information on the sprint series for newcomers over on the SROC Facebook group, here are a few notes which may help explain what we are up to:

The basic format is borrowed more or less from the major Sprint Orienteering events such as the British Champs. In essence there are two separate races, each quite short (though not as short as a sprint on the track!). The first is a qualifier or prologue, and in the British Champs the results from this determine which of several finals you qualify for. Because our events have much smaller numbers of competitors we have just one final. The qualifier is used to determine the start order in the final, with fastest starting last. We use shorter time intervals (15-30 seconds at the discretion of the organiser) in the final and the course has two or more variants. This means that you can't just rely on following the man or woman in front of you since they will probably be taking the controls in a different order. Unlike score events you must follow the order of controls as marked on your map. Everyone ends up doing the same course but parts will have been taken in a different sequence. Overall results (for our events) are simply the total time taken, adding both races together. Straight line distances are typically around 2-3 km and probable winning times are 10 mins and 15 mins for the two races. However some folk will take a lot longer. Everyone is welcome and help is always at hand.