Here are some tips for organisers, planners and controllers that may hopefully help make holding a SENiLe event easier. They are not intended to be comprehensive but are a collection of thoughts and ideas that may help and are grouped together under the following headings:

The SENiLe guidelines also contain information that may be helpful, e.g. league scoring and night colour badges.

Remember - non-running helpers can earn "helpers points" in the SENiLe league scoring.

Organisation

There is no requirement that events are complex or have all facilities. Events are expected to be small, no-frills affairs where the focus is on ensuring the event takes place with fair courses. Consider holding more than one event on the area on the same weekend to spread some of the organisation "overhead" (e.g. common controls, start, finish, car park etc). Having car park, start and finish all close together certainly help, both in terms of manpower and also safety.

BOF guideline 9 (old rules) on night events contains a lot of very useful information on holding night events. The new rules & guidelines do not seem to have included anything on general night orienteering so these are still very relevant. [Top]

Safety

Safety is very important and especially applies to the following areas:

In advance of the event it is important that the planner and controller feel safe going out into the area. They should not do so alone if they do not feel comfortable and should always inform someone of their plans. Safety suggestions would include carrying a whistle at all times and a mobile phone (if reception allows). Also wear suitable clothing since events are in winter and conditions could be poor.

For the event it may be essential that the police are informed, as well as nearby local residents. Selecting the route competitors take to the car park, and getting into and out of the car park are also important considerations for the competitors as at night time hazards and other traffic may not be so obvious.

With regard to the courses it is important to consider safety to the start and from the finish. Having these close to the car park makes things easier and helps communications. Consider potential hazards out on the course that may be obvious in daylight but at night become a far greater risk (e.g. barbed wire, ponds, deep pits, cattle grids). Having a check system over the number of competitors out in the area is essential, particularly for newcomers and juniors.

Remind competitors of their responsibilities, particularly with regard to reporting to the finish and course closing times. A suggestion would be to have some spare compasses and whistles at the start, and insist that all competitors carry a whistle.  [Top]

When?

Almost without exception, over the years SENiLe events have been held on a Saturday evening. There is no specific reason for this and some regions hold their night events at other times, e.g. Wednesdays. If a club wants to hold an event on a different day from Saturday then that is their choice.  [Top]

Type of events

SENiLe events are more normally organised as cross country events similar to day time colour coded events. The standard courses of Ochre to Navy are differing lengths and technical difficulty and are designed to enable a progression to be possible from one course to the next.

SENiLe events can also be score events. At these events there will be a time limit in which all competitors attempt to find as many controls as possible. There should be a mixture of controls at a score event, some easy, some hard, some very near the start or finish, some possibly quite a long distance away, and generally not all of them attainable within the time limit. The skill in completion is judging what can be achieved within the time and then continually revising the plan as you progress around the course.  [Top]

Course lengths / times

Ochre will be about 2km long and should be fairly straightforward. Controls should be on obvious line features or right next to them. The next course up, Olive, will be about 3.5km long and should provide a bridge between Ochre and the harder Navy course. Controls may well be a mixture of some controls from the Ochre course and some of the easier controls from the Navy course, possibly starting a little easy and then getting a little more difficult nearer to the end of the course as competitors get into the swing. The Navy course will be about 5 to 5.5km long and controls can be as hard as they come, provided they are fair.

For score events there should be a mixture of controls, some very easy, some hard, some very near the start or finish, some possibly quite a long distance away, and generally not all of them attainable within the time limit. The skill is judging what can be achieved within the time. Score times of 30, 45 and 60 minutes could be used to match the Ochre to Navy course options in a normal cross country event.   [Top]

Controller or not?

Ideally all events should have a controller. For night events this is particularly relevant as the objectivity offered by a controller helps with safety in mind. The SEOA regional controller, currently Neil Crickmore (SO), has an up to date list of controllers in the region who are willing to consider controlling at night. Failing finding a controller, then the planner should obtain an experienced night orienteer to check all the control sites at night and ensure they are fair and safe.  [Top]

Publicity

Getting the event publicised is half the battle in getting competitors to turn up. Getting the event onto the fixtures list, informing Dave Moore (Saxons) and informing Keith Tonkin (SENiLe online website and emails) are all steps in the process of maximising publicity for the event. Most clubs will also have their own website and may have other local clubs or societies that may be interested in trying night orienteering (e.g. venture scouts, schools).  [Top]

Night orienteering tips

Peter Chapman of SO has put together some night O tips giving some personal observations on what to expect, what preparation and equipment is needed and some general observations on strategy. Check out these night-O tips.  [Top]