Final Details

Important Information

Saturday Event Centre

The Victoria and Albert Halls in Ballater will be open on Saturday 26th July from 13:00 until 17:00 for you to collect commemorative coasters, printed programme, race bibs, hired SI-cards, pre-ordered merchandise (ie no sales) and tickets for the social programme (card sales preferred).
Orienteering kit/equipment trader(s) will also be present.

There are several cafes in and around Ballater for refreshments.

Late Entries

Entry at the event will only be available for colour-coded courses (adults or juniors). This is subject to map availability. This limited entry can be made at the Event Centre on Saturday 26th July or online up to 17:00 on the day before each of the individual days. If there are still maps available on the morning of a particular day, entry can also be made at the Information Tent from 09:00 until 12:00. Only card payments will be accepted.

Race Numbers (bibs)

Please remember to collect your bib at the Event Centre. If you do not wear a bib you will not be allowed to start. Bibs will be organized alphabetically and can also be collected on individual days from strings next to the Information Tent.
Please write medical and contact information on the back (using template).

Respect for other users

Many of the competition areas are popular with residents and holiday makers and you may encounter walkers, dog walkers, cyclists etc while competing. Please respect these other users.

Emergency and General Health Information

Accident and Emergency: Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZN
For non-emergencies you can contact NHS24 (dial 111) or visit nhsinform.scot for details of GP practices, pharmacies etc. in the local area.
Ticks are common in the competition area. Check carefully after each day and remove any ticks with a suitable removal tool. Lyme disease does occur in the area: if you develop a rash at the site of a bite, we advise you to seek medical
advice.
E-coli O157 may be found where farm animals have been grazing in fields used for Parking and Arenas. Livestock will have grazed recently in the Arena and String course fields on all days. Sanitiser will be available next to the toilets and we strongly recommend washing your hands thoroughly before eating.
Dehydration: If the weather is hot, drink plenty of fluids. Please bring your own water – water will only be provided on WRE courses on Days 4 and 5.
Wildlife: Britain’s only poisonous snake, the adder, can be found on Deeside and may bask in open areas if the weather is hot & sunny. It is highly unlikely that you will encounter one but if you do leave it alone and in the even unlikelier event of being bitten make your way calmy to the Arena and First Aid.

General Information for all days

Daily Updates

Daily news will be posted on the website. We will use email to update competitors if there is are urgent messages.

Day Parking

Please adhere strictly to road signs and to one-way systems where in operation.
All cars must be in the car parks by 12:30 each day and no cars will be allowed to leave before 13:00.

Event Arenas

The Arenas will have an information tent, traders, merchandise, toilets, first aid and download.

Rubbish

Please take all rubbish away with you.

Dogs

Dogs are permitted in the parking areas and arena provided they are under control, on a lead and cleared up after. On days 1 and 2 dogs are only allowed in the parking area and must be on a short lead. Please clean up after your dog as livestock graze the fields we are using on most days.

Photography

There will be photographers in the area. If you do not want your photograph published please speak to the officials in the information tent. If you have concerns regarding inappropriate or intrusive photography please report it to any event official.

Safety

Please take great care when driving and walking in car parks.
When walking along roads from car parks to the arena or to the starts please be aware that, even if the road is closed, there could still be local or emergency traffic.
In the event of poor weather, cagoules may be compulsory and you will be advised of this with notices at the car park and in the arena.
You are strongly encouraged to carry a whistle on your run.

Information & Merchandise Tents

The Information Tent will be open from 09:00 until 16:00 each day in the Arena for collecting maps; collecting hired SI-cards; complaints/protest forms; social programme tickets; lost property; coasters; unclaimed maps from previous day(s); and certificates.
Merchandise can be collected or purchased from a separate tent.

String Courses

Each day will have a String Course and Off-String course.
As we are required to have details of all participants for insurance purposes, a one-off pre-registration (free for those who are not running competitively) is necessary. This is not required if you have your own race bib.

Minibuses and Coaches

If you are planning to bring a minibus or coach please contact nic@scottish-orienteering.org to discuss arrangements.

Training Maps

Unfortunately we have been unable to provide training areas this year owing to storm damage to permanent orienteering courses

Technical Information

Amendments

Changes to SI-card numbers will remain free unless it includes hiring an SI-card when the hire fee will be charged.

White and Yellow maps

White, Yellow, M/W10B, M/W10A and M/W12B maps must be collected from Information Tent before going to the Start.
A copy of each will be on display in the Arena.

SI punching system will be used

All versions of SI-card are accepted, including SI-Air cards (SIAC). Only courses 1E and 2 on Day 5 have more than 25 controls (max 28) where a Series 9 card or above which holds more than 30 controls may be advisable. It is essential that all competitors visit the download tent by course closing time whether or not they have finished their course.

Control Codes

Will be displayed on the SI punch box only. Please ignore any other coding you may find at the control site or elsewhere in the forest.

Mapping Standard

All the Forest event maps are prepared to the current ISOM 2017 spec. All areas have recent storm damage and the ISOM 410 “green bar” symbol has been used for areas of windblown trees. Not every single fallen tree is mapped but the mapping is a depiction of the density and runnability directions that can be expected. All areas are mapped at 1:10,000 scale and enlarged or reduced for 1:7,500 and 1:15,000 scales respectively.
The Ballater sprint map is prepared at 1:4000 using the ISSprOM 2019-2 v6 standard.

Courses & Classes

Due to high demand some courses are split into Men’s (M) & Women’s (W) classes. They have separate maps and different controls. Please pick up the right map!
Colour coded courses use numbered courses that are also used by age classes. Maps and start boxes will be labelled with both the number and colour.
Please see individual day information for map scales.

Course Closure

For the main days all courses close at 16:00.

Finish and Download

The Finish will be a run-through contactless system using a ground mat. There are physical punches for competitors without SI-Air cards.
Competitors must proceed directly to Download.

Results

Results will be available online at https://results.scottish6days.com/2025/.
If necessary there may be local Wi-Fi (details in the arena)

Scoring

For Elite classes, scoring is based on cumulative time over the week, i.e. competitors need to complete every day.
For all other classes, points are awarded for each day’s result: Class winners receive 1 point, 2nd placed competitor 2 points, and so on. Competitor’s overall score will be the sum of their best 3 scores of the week.
In the event of a tie between 2 or more competitors, the competitor with the lowest individual day score will win; if that is the still the same, it will be a tied position.
Competitors who fail to finish, do not start or are disqualified will be awarded a points score which is higher than the total number of active competitors in that class.

Prizes

Prizegiving will take place at 15:00 on the last day .
There will be medals for the top 3 overall in each class (M/W10-85 A/B or E/L/S) with certificates for places 4-6 in M/W10-16 A/B.

Junior Certificates

Certificates for 1st-3rd place each day on M/W10-16 A/B. These can be collected on the following day from Information tent. Day 5 certificates can be emailed out after the event.

Complaints, Protests and Appeals

Complaints should be made to the Day Organiser either orally or in writing via the standard Complaints/Protests form available from Information tent up to 16:00 on the day of the competition.
There is no fee for a complaint. The Day Organiser is the adjudicator of a complaint. A protest can be made against the Organiser’s decision, in writing to the Controller.
Protests and appeals will be handled under Rule 13 British Orienteering Rules v3.12 January 2025.

Start Procedure

• When you leave the arena signs will remind you about wearing a bib (no bib, no go), having an SI-card and compass, and collecting white and yellow maps.
  Full leg cover is mandatory for all forest days. Routes to starts will be marked with appropriately coloured tape.
  If the Organiser has declared cagoules compulsory (through Daily News, notices in Arena) this will also be checked.
• It is competitors’ responsibility to start at their allocated times; there will not be a name call-up and the minus 4 clock will be prominently displayed with times called out.
  Latecomers, those with split starts and helpers should speak to an official at the start.
• Remember to clear and check (SIAC test also available) before entering the correct minus 4 box for your course, which will be labelled with the course number and/or colour-coded course name.
• Minus 4 is individual boxes. A check box will be used to ensure you have cleared your SI-card.
• Minus 3 is one large box with loose control descriptions: odd courses on the left and even on the right.
• Minus 2 is one large box with blank maps. Note there may be different scale maps depending on which courses are at this start.
• Minus 1 is one large box. There may be safety information/reminder given.
  At 10 seconds to go you may step over the line then go on the long beep.
  Remember to punch the start unit.
• Check that you picked up the correct map and enjoy your course.
• The Elite start procedure for WRE races on Days 4 & 5 is different and is described in WRE Bulletin 2.

Key Officials

This year, the Central Organising Team is drawn from several clubs across Scotland.