MORAVIAN SATURDAY ORIENTEERING LEAGUE 2011 RULES

 

 

1.          The competitive league will run for the entire calendar year and will generally be held on Saturday   mornings.  It is open to registered members of Moravian Orienteering Club only.  The league runs in parallel with the Moray Schools Leagues, details of which is published separately, and in which any school pupil can take part.

 

 

2.         A counting Moravian Saturday league event will consist of two courses.

 

Seniors and experienced juniors will compete on a Sprint O ‘style’ course planned for a winning time of 25 minutes, normally 3-4km in length and with a technical difficulty no greater than 4.  This course is the designated course for secondary school pupils running in the Moray Schools League.

 

Juniors will compete on a Yellow ‘style’ course normally 2-3km in length and with a technical difficulty of 2/3 (Senior absolute beginners are welcome to compete on this course but will not score in the league).  This course is the designated course for primary school pupils running in the Moray Schools League.

 

 

3.         The Senior and Junior races will have their own separate league.  To promote fair competition, points will be scored separately depending on gender, age and experience.  Points will only be scored from competitors who meet the criteria for that league.

 

 

4.         Between the two leagues there will be six competitive categories; the winner of each category will be awarded a trophy.  The competitive criteria is as follows:

 

Senior league - Male senior age 17 and over (age as at 31 Dec 11)

                        Female senior age 17 and over (age as at 31 Dec 11)

                        Experienced male junior up to age 16

                        Experienced female junior up to age 16

 

Junior league – Male up to age 14 (as at 31 Dec 2011)

                        Female up to age 14(as at 31 Dec 2011) 

 

To score with in the league all competitors must register as an individual.

 

Junior league competitors will still score if they are shadowed but not if they are escorted.  Juniors who therefore want to score must declare themselves competitive at registration and are to run as an individual either shadowed or not.

 

Shadowed – for safety reasons and major navigational errors only, the person shadowing should remain discreetly at distance from the competitor!  Absolutely no assistance should be given on the course to assist with competitive performance.

 

Escorted – the competitor can clearly receive navigational instruction and competitive assistance from another person in their close company.  This includes pairs and teams of competitors.

 

In the spirit of orienteering and fair competition the above practices requires your absolute honesty.

 

 

5.         The runner finishing in first place within their category will score 100 points, 2nd scores 99, 3rd scores 98 etc.  All runners who fail to compete the course will be given joint last place, but will still score points appropriate to that placing.  Runners who do not score because they fall out side the criteria will still appear in the timed results for that particular event and course.

 

 

6.         Scores will accumulate throughout the year. The championship will be determined by adding together each competitor’s six highest scores if there are 10 or fewer events during the year.  If there are 11 or more events, the number of counting events will be from 60% of the total number of events (rounded down to a whole number).  In other words, if there are 12 events during the year, the best 7 results will count.  If there are 15 or 16 races, the best 9 results will count etc.  Competitors who have taken part in less than 60% of the events will still qualify for the final league table but will obviously be at a bit of a disadvantage.

 

 

7.         In the event of a control being wrongly placed at an event, results from such an event might be discounted from the league at the league organiser’s discretion.  This is subject to discussion with any affected competitors taking into account the spirit of the overall competition.  Formal protests and such like will be very much frowned upon. 

 

 

8.         Only Moravian members will score points and appear in the league table.  Other clubs and non-members may participate and their timed results will appear in the event and course results as per normal, but their results will be ignored when calculating points.  Allowing outside club members to score would only dilute, confuse and ultimately disadvantage the regular scoring club members.

 

 

9.         As there is now a dedicated junior race, it is important to remember that junior runners will only score and appear in the league table if they declare themselves competitive as per rule 4 criteria at registration.  PLEASE REMEMBER - No declaration – no score!  For the purpose of this competition, junior league runners will be those aged 14 or under on 31 December 2011.

 

 

10.        The organiser/planner of any Saturday league event in the competition will be awarded a score of

97 points.  Any junior planning the junior course supervised by a parent will also score 97 points. A maximum of 3 points scores as a result of officiating will be allowed – in other words your overall points score must he at least half derived from running.

 

 

11.       These rules may be further developed as the competition progresses at the discretion of the League Organiser and the Moravian Committee.

 

 

 

Chris Spencer

League Organiser                                                                                                    Updated 8 January 2011