British Orienteering Homepage

Establishing the event framework including land permission, event registration, access, car parking, assembly area, publicity and timescale and with the planner the courses and timetable
Risk assessment, risk management and contingency plans
The equipment to be used including electronic punching, clocks etc
Volunteer helper requirements
Checklists for managing the event on the day and after the event (car park, assembly, registration, start, finish, results)
Creating an event timetable
Event safety and missing competitors procedures

The Rules, Appendices and Guidelines are available to support you in your role as the event organiser.

Rules, Appendices and Guidelines

All events registered with British Orienteering are governed by a set of Rules, and their associated Appendices.

Different types of events are regulated by a set of guidelines, each specific to a type of event, which give competitors and event officials information about what should be expected from particular types of events.

The latest versions of the Rules, the Appendices to those Rules and the Event Guidelines along with valuable information for Organisers and Planners can be found by following the links detailed below:

Rules and Appendices - specifically Appendices E: and G: for organisers
Event Guidelines – specifically Guideline A
Checklists for Badge and National Events
National Badge Scheme
Event Official Newsletters Summary-Organisers
Event Official Newsletters Summary-Controls and Punching

Land Permission

One of the first steps to take is to ensure you have permission to stage the event on the land that you propose.

Most clubs have an experienced orienteer that will have made personal contact with the significant land owners in the clubs catchment area. It is preferable for the same person to be used in discussions with the land owner in order to build a longstanding relationship between the club and land owner.

To assist clubs in arranging land access British Orienteering is trying to build national agreements with some of the national land owners.

Proof of Insurance

Land owners will often require copies of the British Orienteering Public Liability Insurance Cover which has an indemnity of £5,000,000.00

Environmental Considerations

Orienteering is totally dependent upon the existence of suitable areas for the sport, which are usually woodland, heath or moor, preferably with height variation to provide contour detail. Such areas in Britain are increasingly rare, and come under many competing human pressures which can jeopardise the sustainability of wildlife and habitats and bring about conflict between people.

Whilst orienteering is generally regarded as having a low environmental impact, orienteers recognise their part in maintaining the integrity and beauty of the countryside in order that the areas we run in today are available undiminished for all users now and in future generations. British Orienteering is committed to the conservation of our natural environment and to ensuring that all orienteers recognise their responsibilities towards the land.

As an event organiser you can help in the following ways:

Be aware of the need to preserve a healthy environment, and to integrate this principle into the organisation of your event
Ensure that British Orienteering’s Environmental Policy and best practice guidance as included in the Rules and Guidelines are implemented in your organisation of the event particularly in respect for the environment and the protection of flora and fauna
Work in partnership with the landowners, government authorities and environmental organisations in defining and achieving best practice for your event
Take particular care to observe local regulations for environmental protection, to maintain the litter-free nature of orienteering and to take proper measures to avoid pollution
Carry out basic monitoring of environmental performance at your event and collect the data centrally so that overall performance can be monitored and ways to improve the organisation of the event determined

The following documents may assist you:

Environmental Concerns:

(The documents below are all courtesy of IOF website)

Environmental Support

Best of Both Worlds (BoBW) is an informal networking group formed from a range of land management, conservation and countryside recreation organisations. The website is a must read for club and event officials, both novices and those with years of experience, who are seeking permission to run an event. As well as the usual guidance one would expect from such a site BoBW provides a number of case studies showing what worked well and what should have been done differently.

Event Registration Forms

All orienteering competitions, events, training sessions, coaching activities, etc. must be registered with British Orienteering to be covered by its Public Liability insurance. Your Club Fixtures Secretary is able to register events and activities using the online registration system

World Ranking Events

If your event is a World Ranking Event you will need to read the current guidance in the WRE Handbook on the IOF website.

Major Events Procedures and Application Forms

Major events include BOC / JK / BNOC / Harvester / National Events.

An MEO form is used to register the Major Event Officials.

Application procedure for staging a major event

ALL forms must but be routed via the Association Fixture Secretary in whose Region the event is being held. Any queries on this procedure should be sent to the Chair of Fixtures Group.

There is also the Major Event Handbook which is a working document providing assistance to organisers of Major Events.

Promoting Your Event

For information on Event publicity materials and Event paraphenalia please click here.

Equipment

British Orienteering holds major event equipment available for hire. A list of the equipment available can be found below.

British Orienteering Equipment List

Seeding Lists

Seeding lists can be obtained by emailing the National Office at info@britishorienteering.org.uk

Standard Event Entry Form

There is a standard entry form for entering most events of badge event status and higher, although some events use 'special' entry forms.

Event Levies for 2009

Event Levies for 2009 (for events held between 1st January 2009 and 31st December 2009) will be calculated using a tiered levy system from the table below:

Participants	Levy Fee
Up to and including 75	No levy charge is made
76 - 250 Particpants	£1.50
251 + Participants	£2.50

e.g. If you have 100 particpants the levy you will pay is 75 free and 25 at £1.50 = £37.50

If you have 300 particpants the levy you will pay is 75 free, 175 at £1.50 and 50 at £2.50 = £387.50

Junior events are exempt from paying levy as long as excemption has been granted through the Junior Competition Group.

Event Levies for 2010

Event Levies for 2010 (for events held between 1st January 2010 and 31st December 2010) will be calculated using a tiered levy system from the table below:

Participants	Levy Fee
Up to and including 75	No levy charge is made
76 - 250 Particpants	£1.60
251 + Participants	£2.60

e.g. If you have 100 particpants the levy you will pay is 75 free and 25 at £1.60 = £40.00

If you have 300 particpants the levy you will pay is 75 free, 175 at £1.60 and 50 at £2.60 = £410.00

Junior events are exempt from paying levy as long as excemption has been granted through the Junior Competition Group.

Risk Assessment Forms

This form MUST be completed by the event organiser. It is an important form that reflects the risk assessment and risk management processes that event organisers must undertake.

This form may be required if incidents occur and the British Orienteering Public Liability Insurance Cover requires these risk assessment and management processes to have been completed.

The completed form should be retained by the organising club for future reference; British Orienteering do NOT currently require a copy.

Cancellations

Events can be cancelled online by the Club Fixtures Secretary.

Accident Report Form

All incidents/accidents that involve personal injury and/or property damage MUST be reported to the British Orienteering National Office as soon as possible, preferably within 7 days, of the accident occurring. Failure to do so may invalidate the Public Liability Insurance Cover.

Accident Report Form

Complaints and Appeals

There is a well established procedure which all competitors should follow if they feel that the Rules or Guidelines are not being followed.

Any non-trivial complaints should initially be brought to you as Event Organiser.

If you are able to reason with the person making the complaint and persuade them to agree you’re your resolution of the complaint that is the preferred way forward. Bear in mind that you will have to deliver the actions agreed. The participant making the complaint should do so in a clear, calm and respectful manner, but bear in mind that orienteers are passionate people and in the heat of competition participants may be quite vociferous! If you feel that a ‘cooling off’ time may improve the chances of a calm discussion ask the person to meet you in 5 or 10 minutes when you will be able to give him/her your full attention.

If the complaint is not resolved satisfactorily then raise a protest with the Controller (at this stage a charge may be imposed which will be returned if the protest is upheld). The Controller will then, if necessary, convene the Event Jury.

For Regional Events and above, British Orienteering Rules Group is currently the final arbiter should an appeal be made against the Jury's decision.

Results and Ranking

The British Orienteering website now has the ability to host results on behalf of clubs.

Club Chairs have been asked to register with British Orienteering up to 4 Club Results Secretaries (CRS) who will be responsible for uploading club results into the website. Registered CRS will then be sent a user guide on how to upload results into the website.

The system is very easy to use as long as the Results file meets the file specification.

Once Results are uploaded into the system they will be displayed here

Events that are “ranked” will be pre-determined by the system and the ranking points will be automatically calculated. The ranking list is updated each Thursday and can be found here

Forms and further guidance:

Badge Times Calculation