Elgin

Event Summary

Moravian Orienteers welcome you back to Moray for a Scottish Orienteering Urban League (SOUL 9) event in the town of Elgin on Saturday 24th September.  Together with the Scottish Orienteering League (SOL 5) event being organised by INVOC in the wonderful Anagach Woods in Grantown-on-Spey on 25th September, this promises to be an exciting and varied weekend of orienteering suitable for all abilities and all ages.

Last updated: Mon 19th Sep, 2022. See map detail update and public transport information.

Event Centre:  The Gallery Room in Elgin Library in Cooper Park, Lossie Wynd North, Elgin, IV30 1HS (What3words: plan.sector.cross).  There is a café in the library.  Please consider visiting and treating yourself to lunch or some post-run tea and cakes!

Urban
Regional
SI AIR
11.00am-1.30pm
12.00-2.00pm
3.30pm
80510
On Leads
Online
SI Entries

Directions and Parking

Parking:   Please park in Lossie Green car park (circled P on map).  On the A96 running through Elgin, turn north Parking and Public Transport Routes to Event Centre (Library)at the A941 roundabout (towards Lossiemouth) and after 250m turn left into Borough Briggs Road. The car park is immediately on your left and is adjacent to the Town Hall and Elgin Community Centre. There will be signs from the A96/A941 roundabout.  The car park is suitable for motorhomes. Cost is £1 all day for all vehicles. Take care crossing to the other side of the A941 to get to Cooper Park and follow the pond around to the right to reach Elgin Library.  Please do not use the car parks in Cooper Park as these are within the competition area and do not use the pedestrian underpass, as this will be used by runners on the courses.

Public Transport:  Elgin railway station is about 20 minutes walk from the Event Centre (Library). To avoid going through the competition area, cross the road (A941) in front of the station, turn left and follow the road until it meets the A96 at a roundabout, go alongside the A96 (signed to Aberdeen) until you reach a pelican crossing, cross the road by the pelican crossing, then turn right and then left into North Street and right into Cooper Park.

The bus station is about 6 minutes walk from the Event Centre (Library). Facing the main road (A96), turn left along the main road and walk approx 100m to the pelican crossing. Cross the road, turn right and then left into North Street and right into Cooper Park.

Event Centre:  The Gallery Room in Elgin Library in Cooper Park, Lossie Wynd North, Elgin, IV30 1HS (What3words: plan.sector.cross) for:

  • Active Schools participants;
  • Entries on the day for the Come and Try It (CATI) course (limited to map availability):
  • Hired dibber collection:
  • Enquiries;
  • Course 7 junior map collection:
  • And download.

Please do not linger in the building more than necessary as we still need to follow COVID restrictions which discourage gathering inside buildings.  Please try to stay >1m away from people not in your family.

Toilets:  There are toilets in the event centre and also in the St Giles shopping Centre, approx 250m away in the town centre.

Start and Finish

Starts: Start times between 12.00pm and 2.00pm will be pre-allocated for Courses 1-6 and available on the website www.mor.scot, at the enquiries desk and at the start.  Start times will not be allocated for Course 7, Active Schools and Come-and-Try It (CATI) courses.  Please come to the Start when you are ready between 12.00pm and 2.00pm.

The distance from the library to the start is approx 200m along a marked route adjacent to the pond.  Entry to your start lane will be at -3 minutes.  Punching starts will be used.  SI AIR will be enabled, but you must punch the start and finish controls.

Clothing:  Shorts and road shoes are suitable for all courses, but this is northern Scotland so dress appropriately for the weather on the day.  If the weather is severe, a waterproof top may be compulsory and there will be a clear sign to this effect on the beginning of the route to the start.

Warm up:  There will be a small warm up area on grass adjacent to the start. Please stay in the marked area.

Late starters:   Late starters will be fitted in when there are available time slots.

Loose Control Descriptions:  These will be available in the start boxes.

Finish:  All competitors must punch the finish control. Please follow the marked route back to Download (approx 250m).  You MUST download even if you do not complete the course.  COVID precautions are still in place for inside venues, so please do not linger inside the event centre.

Courses

Course Information:  There will be seven courses suitable for all abilities.

Under 12s MUST enter Course 7 or the CATI course which is entirely within the park and similar adjacent areas, crossing only minor roads with good visibility within the park.  It is suitable for families and buggies.

Under 16s MUST enter either Course 6 or Course 7. Course 6 uses similar areas to Course 7 with additional paths alongside and crossing minor roads with good visibility outside of the park areas.

The River Lossie runs through the park and there is also a pond. Parents/guardians of junior competitors (under 16) must ensure that juniors understand the road and water hazards and decide whether shadowing is appropriate for each individual.

Any course can be entered non-competitively (ie Open 1, Open 2 etc).

Course Category Estimated Actual Course Length Direct Course Length Controls

Course 1

Men Open (M18+, M21+), Open 1

9.0 km

 6.4 km

28 controls

Course 2

Men Veteran (M40+), Women Open (W18+, W21+), Open 2

7.8 km

 5.4 km

23 controls

Course 3

Men SuperVet (M55+), Women Vet (W40+), Open 3

5.8 km

 4.2 km

18 controls

Course 4

Men UltraVet (M65+), Women SuperVet (W55+), Open 4

4.2 km

 3.5 km

17 controls

Course 5

Men HyperVet (M75+), Women UltraVet (W65+), Women HyperVet (W75+), Open 5

4.0 km

 3.2 km

17 controls

Course 6

Men Junior (M16-), Women Junior (W16-), Open 6

3.6 km

 3.2 km

17 controls

Course 7

Young Junior Men (M12-), Young Junior Women (W12-), Open 7

2.3 km

 2.1 km

13 controls

CATI

Active Schools and Come and Try It (CATI).

2.3 km

 2.1 km

13 controls

Terrain

Courses:  The courses are all within Elgin town, consisting of open parkland with grassland and well-defined paths, and mixed urban areas of traditional housing estates, pedestrianised town centre and intricate narrow alleyways, sometimes less than 1m width.  There is no significant climb.

Map Details:  1:4,000 with 5m contours for all courses. Map size will be A3 for courses 1-5 and A4 for courses 6, 7 and Active Schools/CATI participants. All courses will be on a single side of the map.

Notes:  

  • Courses 6 and 7 are entirely in the Cooper Park and Lossie Green, and will not involve any street running, although there may be very low-density traffic on the road leading to the library.
  • In the town centre, the map shows a large, covered area which is the St Giles Shopping Centre.  This is a possible route choice for some of the adult courses; if you use it, please be considerate towards shoppers.
  • The busiest sections of road (A96 and A941) near the town centre are mapped as out of bounds and must be crossed only at marked crossing points (two underpasses and a footbridge).

Entry Details

Online at SI Entries for the SOUL 9 event.  Closing date is Monday 19th September 2022 (11.59pm).

Moray Active Schools:  Please enter the Come and Try It (CATI) course via the Active Schools online JOT entry system. 

Come and Try It:  Some CATI entry on the day available.  Pre-entry preferred.

Seniors - £12 (£1 discount for BOF/SOA members); Juniors - £2. All entries - £1 discount if using own SI-Card.
SI Entries

Final Details

Start List (152.59 KB)

Safety Information

First Aid:  First aid is at the event centre. The nearest A&E hospital is Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin (5mins drive). A map to find the hospital can be obtained in the event centre.

Safety:  Competitors take part in this event at their own risk. Competitors must be aware of and take care to avoid other path users and road traffic on the courses.  Please be aware of trip hazards, slopes and steps, slippery paths (moss), uneven surfaces, litter and dog fouling.  Please take care near the river which runs through the park and the pond adjacent to the Start. The competition area includes numerous narrow alleyways, sometimes <1m: please be careful and avoid collisions with members of the public and other competitors.

Event Officials

Morag McLuckie (moragmcluckie@yahoo.co.uk)/ Liz Campbell (andrewandlizcampbell@outlook.com)
Peter McLuckie
Andrew Campbell
Morag 0797 432 0106/Liz 0776 391 7088
Dave Summers INVOC

COVID-19

COVID-19 Guidance (Updated March 2025)

If you have symptoms of COVID or have tested positive to COVID, then do not attend the event or activity to help avoid spreading infection.  

Results (770.29 KB)
Route gadget