NSL 2019-20 Prize Winners

Men - Gross Points (best 4 to count) - 1. Sam Drinkwater (MDOC)

Women - Gross Points (best 4 to count) - 1. Siobhan Henn (MDOC)

Men - Handicap Points (best 4) - 1. John Embrey (DEE), 2. Warren Mason (Ind), 3. Peter Gorvett (SYO).

Women - Handicap Points (best 4) - 1. Cecilia Fenerty (MDOC), 2. Kate Bryant (MDOC), 3. Pat Moody (DEE)

Non Orienteers Prize (based on Handicap Scores) - Julian Brown and Jo Miles (Macc H)

Junior Prize (based on Handicap Scores) - Edward Corden (Stockport)

Most Improved (based on 4 runs) - Mike Wharton (MDOC)

The "Level Best" Trophy (Most Consistent, Least Deviant) (based on 4 runs) - Andy Smith (MDOC)

The Hydrant Trophy (Cup Final) - Paul Hunt (MDOC)

Congratulations to them all.

Overall Results

The Overall League Tables after all 8 events :

• Gross Scores as a PDF
• Handicap Scores as a PDF

For people unfamiliar with the Overall League Tables:

• There's separate tables for gross and handicap scores.
• Over the 8-race season, your best 4 scores count.
• Organisers and Planners get a yellow blob on their event, and are rewarded with a 4th score equal to their 3rd best.
• The "average" column on the end is a good indicator of where people with less than 4 scores at the moment will end up when they get a 4th score.
• After each event, please check your results carefully for spelling/club/handicap factor/correct timing and score, and let us know asap of any errors. If your score is not what you were expecting, and you don't feature in the wrong-answers list, one of us has made a mistake.

Don't forget that if you can't make a particular event, you can get the map and questions from Grahame , and run by yourself before or after the day, and have your score included.

Format

A series of 8 events between October and March, plus a 'Cup Final'  where trophies and prizes for the 2019-20 series will be presented.

All the events are SCORE events using specially drawn maps, with a time allowance of either 40, 60, or 75 minutes. The control sites will mostly be items of street furniture (telegraph poles, hydrants, green boxes, post boxes etc.). and evidence of your visit will involve noting down a (hopefully obvious) identification mark on an answer sheet supplied at registration. There will be no O-kites and, although we plan to use SI timing for the start and finish, there will be no SI boxes at individual controls.

The controls will have a range of point values, adding an additional dimension to route choice and planning. As usual in score events, there will be (severe!) penalties for exceeding the time limit.

Event Schedule

(Clicking the Map name will take you to the individual Event page for more information on parking, food etc.)

* Street League Cup Final (Prize-giving) Event 

Essential Equipment

• a high visibility top (you will not be allowed to start without one, and we have a few available to borrow)
• dibber (lots available to borrow if necessary)
• pen / pencil (maps and answer sheets will be printed on waterproof paper)
• torch / head torch
• compass (optional)
• a backup light and a whistle (or an alternative means of summoning attention / assistance)
  NB A mobile phone with a torch app would serve as a backup light AND a means of summoning assistance

Please also read the updated Safety Notice for the 2019/20 season

MapRun

Two of the events (Heaviley and Withington / Didsbury) have been planned as Virtual Events (as for the 2018/19 Cup Final event).

You run with a paper map, having downloaded the MapRun app and selected the evening's event - the app records your route and the controls you visit and beeps when it registers a control (if you really want to go slower you can look at the map on your phone).

SI dibbers are used as usual for the Start and Finish, so timings are accurate and independent of whenever your phone decides to register them.

Using this option is highly recommended for anyone with an appropriate smartphone. There will be the usual question sheet on the back of your map so that if you suspect your phone of not registering a control you must write the answer in the usual way to get due credit (so don't forget to carry a pencil!).

There will also be a Demo event so you can make sure you are happy that your phone is working right and that you can hear the beep. eg. the Heaviley Demo is 200m long, with Start, 2 controls and Finish, all close to the FingerPost.

As you will have a paper copy of the map, and an answer sheet, it is, of course, possible to complete the event without any need for a phone and the app - but we would encourage you to give the smartphone option a try. The overwhelming majority of the people that tried it last year were keen we should do it again!

Further Information

You may run individually, or in pairs; however, under 16s MUST be accompanied by an adult, and they must stay together at all times - i.e. no shadowing is allowed; 16 and 17 year olds may run unaccompanied, but must have written consent from a parent / guardian.

As the events form a league, scores from each event will be added together to reveal the eventual winners; your best 4 scores from the 8 events will produce your overall total. Trophies will be awarded to the winners of the Handicap Competition. This will take place at the "Cup Final" event in March 2020.

All the events will be based in Pubs / Sports Clubs - offering food and drink at reasonable prices, if you wish to stay for a chat and post-event analysis (highly recommended!)

If you can't get to the event on the night, you can contact us to get hold of a map and question sheet. You can then run the course when convenient, submit your answers and time taken, and we'll incorporate your score into the results.

Please contact the series co-ordinator before the event to reserve your map and indicate whether you plan to eat - so that we can give the pub a realistic estimate of numbers.

Newcomers to street league events may also find John Britton's words of wisdom helpful:

• What are you looking for? There will be a display board in the pub explaining every type of control in use, with helpful photographs. This board will be at every event. Given that you get your questions when you register, you have plenty of time to look through them all and make sure you understand what you're in for. It won't be long before TP, LP, H and GB become second nature.
• Controls with different values. This seems complicated but is essential for street league to work - it means you have to think carefully about where the value is and how much of it you can get to. One useful thing I always do is to take a highlighter and pick out the top values (the 40s and 50s, say). It takes a few seconds, but gives you a very quick feel for the distribution.
• Sensible watches are essential for score events. I always carry a little compass just in case of disorientation. And a spare writing implement - pencils are most effective for waterproof paper.
• Thinking time. Even on a 40-minute event it has to be sensible to spend some time thinking about your strategy before charging off. I usually take a good couple of minutes to highlight the values and ponder the consequences before leaving the start. I'm trying to decide what I'm going to do for the first 15-20 minutes, where big decision points might be, and what return route leaves most options available.
• Studying the blank map display - first, you can work out where the start/finish is, so you don't have to hunt after you've started. Second, you can work out possible shapes of course and make some advance decisions about bits to do first or bits you won't be able to get to. It's also useful to know where North is and suss out the possible ways of leaving and returning while you warm up.
• Some words of warning ... map scale, number of controls, values of controls, penalty rate are not guaranteed to be the same every week. Check them all before you start, to make sure your decisions are going to be correct for the way each event is set up.

Handicap Factors

The Handicap table is intended to equalise running speeds according to age and gender. When people run in pairs or groups, we use the person whose handicap would be most generous. 

The handicap factors for the 2019-20 series are the same as for the 2018-19 series, and can be seen on the Night Street League Series 2018-19 page.

Series co-ordinator: Grahame Crawshaw (0145 786 6264; mob 0758 720 6420)

Enquiries to: 

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