Planners Manual

Last updated: Thu 9 Dec 2021

This is a work in progress - please send contributions to the webmaster.

Introduction

Read the Organisers' Manual to understand your role and the relationships with the other event officials. Liaase with the others early, and if you are unsure, ask. For example, you will need to know what contact the Fixtures Secretary and Organiser have had with the landowner.

Read the British Orienteering Rules and Guidelines, particularly Appendix B (Course Planning) and Guideline A (Colour-coded events) or B (Badge Events).

Read the updated Course Planning Guide.

Remember that everything takes longer than you hope it will.

Look after the Controller (give him lots of information in good time) and he will be helpful.

Mapping

If you are very lucky, the area will have been recently surveyed, or in the process of being re-mapped. It is more likely, however, that the map will be a year or so old. You can do as much re-mapping as you like, but as a minimum you will need to make major corrections such as newly felled areas, and will need to check and correct the mapping around your control sites and perhaps the routes between them.

If you do not feel confident in using OCAD, the Mapping Officer will make the corrections for you. He will also draw the courses on the map if necessary, althogh most people will find it easier to learn how to use the OCAD course setting feature themselves, so that they can use it during the process of planning as well as for drawing the final courses.

Manual Punching

All the equipment you will need is available from the Equipment Officer.

Electronic Punching

As well as programming the control boxes, you will need to set up the event in the computers ready for the on-the-day results team. Martin Sellens has started a SPORTident guide on how to do this, which you are encouraged to update. Also take a look at Derwent Valey O C's instructions.

Environmental

Please do not leave control site tags in the forest. Remove unused ones before the event, and ask the control collectors to remove the tags as they collect controls at the end of the event.