British Orienteering Championships Weekend Update

The headline news is that the weekend of orienteering at Braunton Burrows is still on. The team has put a lot of effort into making it a great orienteering experience, and we look forward to welcoming you to the dunes.

The weather is of some concern as the current forecast does report the possibility of storms, so we will be paying close attention to the local forecasts right up to the morning of each race and will do all we can to ensure that races proceed as planned.

Although unlikely, it is possible that there will be some thunder and lightning, particularly on the Saturday. If you experience this on your course, you should adhere to the 30/30 rule. That is, you are likely to be safe from the storm until the time between the lightning and the thunder is less than 30 seconds. If that happens you should seek cover, which in Braunton is best found on low ground to the east of higher dunes. It is then safe to move once the storm has passed on for more than 30 seconds.

More likely is the possibility that we will have to change our plan for car parking, particularly on the Saturday. We have reserve hardstanding parking, some of which will result in an additional 600m walk to your start via the assembly area, so you are advised to allow extra time for your journey.

In order to limit the pressure on our overflow parking it would be really helpful if you could share transport with friends and clubmates at least for the last part of journey to the events.

Although the final decision on the wearing of a lightweight waterproof jacket with a hood/or a hat will be taken on the morning of each race, you would be sensible to assume that you are likely to need one, especially for the long race on Saturday. It is also possible that we will experience low temperatures, so make sure you have warm enough clothing for getting to your start and completing your course.

We realise that any changes we have to make to the arrangements on the Saturday may cause people to miss their allocated start time, in which case they will be given a punching start and start times will be changed.

Please check the British Orienteering Championships website here  for further updates.

See you on Saturday!

Mike Forrest

Co-ordinator