Scottish Night Championships (SNC), rules and guidelines-Scottish Orienteering

Scottish Night Championships (SNC), rules and guidelines

Purpose

The Scottish Night Championships is intended to provide a high level of technical night orienteering competition in Scotland.
Updated the course 5 classes.

Rules

The SNC will be hosted by each of the three Areas within Scotland : North > West > East. in rotation. Each Area Committee will invite offers from their own Clubs to host this Championship in the later part of the year.

The rules of orienteering apply to night events in the same way as they do to events held in daylight: e.g. TD2 means all controls on paths or very obvious line features. However, the conditions of darkness and reduced visibility need to be taken into account in the planning and organising, to ensure that they provide safe, fair and enjoyable competition.

The SNC will take the form of Cross-Country Orienteering at night at BOF event level 2.
The area to be used shall be approved by the Competitions Convenor and thereafter the event should be registered with the Fixtures Secretary. Competitor safety and technical merit are the key criteria. The selection of the area is vital to the success of this event. Areas with potential for injury or with dense undergrowth eg bracken, brashings, nettles etc shall be avoided. The challenge of Night Orienteering, no matter how simple it may look on paper should not be underestimated.
First Aid cover shall be available on the night.
Courses for each age group above M/W16 shall be offered. Eligibility for Scottish Champions is the same as for the Scottish Orienteering Championships.
There are no championships for short classes or below M/W16. All courses have an "open" catagory which may be run by any competitor of any age. This must be made clear in preliminary information.

Guidelines

The following minimal six-course combinations may be used -

Course	Age Classes	Trophy(s)	TD
1	M21L M20L M35L	Men	5
2	M40L M45L M50L W21L W20L W35L M Open	Women M40, M45+	5
3	M18A M55L M60L W40L W45L M/WOpen	M18A W40L+	5
4	M16A W18A W50L W55L M/WOpen	M16A W18A	5
5	M65, W16A, W60, W65, Novice M/WOpen	W16A	5
6	Novice		2

Each course should also offer an open category for those not eligible for A/L classes, entered in advance. Any juniors is eligible to run in an older age class (up to 21L) and any senior may run a younger age class (down to 21L). Women may run in men's classes.
If entries are large enough, courses may be split into men's and women's.
There are no designated "S" Classes. Competitors not wishing to tackle the L course should enter an open course matching their ability, rather than specified by age. Competitors should not be encouraged to “run up”. For those with very limited experience of orienteering, be it day or night, it is vital that success is achievable, and organisers should advise inexperienced entrants to enter appropriate courses.
Controls should not be hidden - reflective or lit controls may be used at the planner’s discretion.
Where possible an indoor area should be used for assembly, registration, results and prizegiving.
The decision whether or not to accept entries on the night is left to each organising club. Where possible, changes to shorter courses should be accommodated, if necessary by hand-drawing maps.
Competitors should be advised that spare torches and mobile phones are useful safety features. If possible, a contact phone number for competitors to call the finish team may be provided.
The following parameters for planning have been compiled in conjunction with BOF Event Guideline J. Times relate to top quality competitors in the relevant classes: for small entry these may not be achieved in practice.