WOC Tour

Assistance/Help

Our volunteer officials will all be wearing distinctive sky blue tops and will be pleased to help with any queries.

Collecting your race items

On Thursday 11 July  (only) South Hall Complex, Pollock Halls of Residence, 18 Holyrood Park Rd, Edinburgh EH16 5AY will be open from 13:00-19:15 for you to collect printed WOC Tour programme, race numbers (bibs), event memento, any hired SI cards, pre-purchased transport passes and souvenir publications. From Friday 12 July onwards you must collect everything from the Information Point at the Day Event Centres. We will have a small selection of merchandise available to purchase at Pollock Halls on Thursday 11 July on a first-come, first-served basis which will include some exclusive items not previously available, thereafter on selected days while stocks last. (Location: 55.93810, -3.16964 and ///dance.finely.when)

Day Event Centres

The Day Event Centres will have Information, space to leave kit bags at your own risk, limited entry on the day, a small selection of WOC merchandise, equipment trader on most days, toilets, first aid provision and Download. Some have cafes (please support them).

Dogs

Dogs are not permitted on the courses or inside any building used by the WOC Tour.

General Health Information

First Aid will be available every day. There are three Accident & Emergency Hospitals in Edinburgh plus several Minor Injuries Units. For non-severe/non-life threatening injuries/illness phone 111 and you will be told which one to attend. Note for non-UK residents, if you turn up at any medical unit without phoning 111 you will be not be seen until you have phoned. If your injury/illness is severe/life-threatening phone the emergency number 999 and request an ambulance.

Information Point

An Information Point will be open each day in the Day Event Centre for collecting bibs, programmes, mementos, hired SI cards, items pre-purchased, complaints/protest forms, lost property, key drop.

Leaving kit and keys

Kit bags left in any of our Day Event Centre spaces should be safe but they are left at your own risk. Keys (only) may be left in a box at the Information Point.

Late, On the Day and Substitute entries

Late entries for all courses will be available on SiEntries until 23:59 hrs the evening before each event while maps are still available. Entry on the day of the event is also possible while maps are still available. Please be aware that you may not get to run your first choice of course without pre-entering. Payment must be made by card only – cash will not be accepted. Substitutions are allowed but only within the same course, with proof of agreement from the person passing on the entry. To cover the administration involved there will be a charge of £2 for each day of the substitution plus an additional one-off £1 if we need to issue a new race number (bib). For all changes please visit the entries team in the Day Event Centre and complete the form they provide.

Parking

There will be no organised parking for WOC Tour. All venues are accessible by public transport, and Park & Ride options are available for competitors using accommodation outside Edinburgh but you should check for height restrictions on tall vehicles.

Photography

There may be photographers in the area. If you do not want your photograph published please speak to the officials at the Information Point. If you have concerns regarding inappropriate or intrusive photography please report it to any event official.

Race clothing/footwear

There are no restrictions on clothing apart from the warmup race but you should bring a lightweight waterproof jacket to wear in case of heavy rain. Shoes with some grip are recommended for Holyrood Park (whatever the weather), and for Riccarton if there has been rain beforehand. Metal spikes/dobbs are only allowed at Holyrood Park, and are not permitted at any other races. Trail shoes would be a good overall choice if you only want to bring one pair of running shoes.

Rubbish/Garbage

Please take all rubbish away with you.

Orienteering kit and equipment trader

CompassPoint will be present most days.

Toilets

There are toilets available at all venues, you must not use public or private gardens as toilets. You will be disqualified if you are seen using unofficial places.

Transport information

The best source of bus and transport information comes from our sponsor, Lothian Buses‘, smartphone app. There is a single tram route from the airport going via Princes Street and onto Leith but their website journey planner does allow the option of including buses in the result. Scotrail have timetables for all trains but have recently instigated an emergency timetable. For car users, Day Event Centres are not within the Edinburgh Low Emission Zone (LEZ), which fines older cars entering the city centre, but beware of travelling through the zone.

Water

Avoid dehydration. If the weather is hot, drink plenty of fluids. Please bring your own water and do not leave plastic bottles at the Starts. You may leave bottles at the Warmup race Finish which you pass close to going to the Start, and in the arena on Day 4. Starts and Finishes on other days are very close to the Day Event Centre.

Amendments

Changes to SI card number will remain free unless it includes hiring an SI card when the hire fee will be charged. Amendments to the course you wish to do will only be possible if there are maps available, and there will be an administration charge of £4 per day (payable by card).

Complaints, Protests and Appeals

Complaints should be made to the Event Organiser either orally or in writing using the standard Complaints/Protests form available from the Information Point within 15 minutes of the course closure time on the day of the competition. There is no fee for a complaint. The Event Organiser is the adjudicator of any complaint. A protest can be made against the Event Organiser’s decision, in writing to the Controller. Protests and appeals will be handled under Rule 13 of the British Orienteering Rules (v3.11 January 2024).

Control Codes

Will be displayed on the SI box only. Please ignore any other coding you may find at the control site.

Control descriptions

All courses will have pictorial control descriptions. They will be on the maps and available loose in the start boxes. Note that there are no loose control descriptions for the indoor race on Saturday 13 July.

Course lengths

Course lengths for the urban races are calculated using the “shortest sensible route”. The warmup event is straight line, and the indoor race is an approximation.

Electronic punching

The SportIdent electronic punching system will be used. All versions of SI card are accepted, including SI-Air cards. Controls will be enabled for SI-Air but you must punch the Start and Finish manually. Important information about Course 1 on Day 3 (Riccarton) – this requires a high capacity SI card. Course 1 on Day 4 has close to the v8 capacity card. Check the day details for both.

Finish and Download

Both the Finish and Download must be punched (not contactless).

Map legend

the urban maps only have a very short legend on them, highlighting out of bounds and uncrossable features. The warmup and indoor maps have different legends, see the individual day information.

Map Sizes

All maps are single-sided A3 size (or cut down slightly from A3), apart from the indoor race which is single-sided A4 size.

Mapping Standard

See the individual day information but note that map scales vary for some courses on some days.

Race Numbers (bibs)

Can be collected from Pollock Halls on Thursday 11 July from 13:00-19:15, and after that from the Information Point at the Day Event Centre each day. The race number (bib) must be worn on your front and you will not be allowed to start without it. Complete the medical/ contact information on the back (using the template). Please bring safety pins to attach your race number (bib) to your clothing. IMPORTANT – Check that the SI card number on your race number (bib) matches the one you are using – this avoids problems later at Download.

Lost Race Numbers (bibs)

Your race number bib is to last for all six days. Lost ones must be replaced at a cost of £1 each.

Results

We aim to provide an enjoyable and varied six days of racing without the pressure of scoring or prizes but we will produce a cumulative total for everyone for the five urban days (Friday 12 July until Tuesday 16 July) so that you can compare your results with others. Every competitor entered by 18/6/24 will receive a memento of their participation when they collect their race items. Mementos for later entries subject to availability.

Starts

All routes to Starts will be taped using red/white stripe tape apart from Day 1 (Leith) and Day 4 (Central Edinburgh) when there are separate Starts for Course 10. For the short distances involved for C10 we will use a predominately white tape with green/red/black orienteering logo.

WOC team members and officials are responsible for ensuring that they comply with WOC embargos whilst travelling to any WOC Tour events.

Going to the Start

Check that you have your SI card and race number (bib). If the Event Organiser has declared waterproof jackets compulsory this will be checked as you leave the Day Event Centre.

At the Start

It is competitors’ responsibility to start at their allocated times. We are operating a quiet Start so there will not be a name call-up but the minus 4 clock will be prominently displayed with times called out. Latecomers, helpers and those with split starts should speak to an official at the Start.

Clearing your SI card

Remember to Clear and Check (SI-Air battery test also available) before entering the correct -4 box for your course, which will be labelled with the course number or colour-coded course name. There will be an SI-Air battery test in the Day Event Centre for the warmup and the Central Edinburgh races as well as in the pre-start area. Remember that an SI-Air card can still be used manually if the battery fails.

• -4 is individual boxes:
  SI-Air users can check that your card is working here.
• -3 is one large box with loose control descriptions:
  Odd-numbered courses on the left and even on the right. Colour-coded courses suitably marked.
• -2 is one large box with blank maps:
  Note there may be different scale maps on display.
• -1 is one large box:
  You will be asked to “punch” a manually-held Check unit. There may be safety information and reminders given. Pick up your map, quickly check that the course is correct then immediately hold your map against your body until 10 seconds to go.
• At 10 seconds to go:
  You may step over the line then go on the long beep.

This is not a timed start –
Remember to punch the start!

Warmup Race Information >>