Schools League events are all on Wednesday evenings. Registration begins at 5pm and the first runners start at 5.30pm. However, if the courses have been set out and are ready earlier, these times may be brought slightly forward.

Verulamium Park : Westminster Lodge car park, off A5183 600m south of its junction with A1081.

Priory Park : EVENT CANCELLED
We regret that this schools league event has had to be cancelled.
At such short notice we have been unable to put on an event in its place.
Best approached from the south along the A600 from Hitchin. Cross over the by-pass and come to a roundabout where a pub is directly opposite to you. Go straight ahead at this roundabout until you reach a 'T' junction where you turn left. Go over the first roundabout (Tesco and the Pyramid Swimming Pool to your right). At the next roundabout you turn right (3rd exit) again keeping Tesco to your right. Go over the river and past the cinema. Turn right at the next roundabout (3rd exit) and follow signs to the Country Park.

Phasels Wood : May be accessed only from the northbound carriage way of the A41. From M25, junction 20, follow A41 (the 'new' bypass) northwards for 3 km. Turn left into layby, then into car park.

Stockgrove Park : Follow A418 SW for 1.8 km from A5 then turn right - signed to Stockgrove Park.

Ampthill Park : Car park is 50m east on B530 from Junction with A507 (Ampthill North Junction).

Campbell Park : The car park location has changed since originally published. Parking is now at Milton Keynes Parks Trust Headquarters, Campbell Park. New directions are provided below.
From A5 : Take the Portway junction A 509 and go East along A509 (H5 Portway). Straight over 6 roundabouts to North Overgate Roundabout and turn right ('O' Signs Here).
From M1 : Come off at Junction 14 and go West along A 509 (H5 Portway). At 4th Roundabout (North Overgate) turn left ('O' signs start here).

These details, and any changes. will be on the HH website: www.happyherts.org.uk/schools/

Format : The courses are aimed at children of 11 years and older, but younger children may take part. At the individual events (the first five), there will be three courses of differing length and technical difficulty, corresponding (terrain permitting) to Yellow, Orange and Light Green (British Orienteering Federation Standards). Children would normally run the course appropriate for their age ( See details in table below ) and would normally run singly. Those lacking experience may run a simpler course. Runners on the same course would start at one-minute intervals: runners from the same school and on the same course would start four minutes apart. Staff, helpers, and pupils older than Year '13' may compete on the longest course.

On the sixth evening there are team relays. Teams of three compete on a long or short course according to age and experience. Each leg of the relay is run by a single runner: consider carefully whether children who have previously run as a pair have the skill to run on their own in the relay. Further details of the relay evening, including entry forms, will be made available at one of the earlier events.

Scoring : Please note that the revised scoring system will again operate in 2002.

An 'Ideal Winning Time' will be estimated for each class. Points will be awarded to each competitor according to the formula:

Points = 100 × [ ( Ideal Winning Time ) / ( Competitor's Time ) ]

( The longer you take to complete the course, the fewer points you will score )

Competitors running as a pair would share the normal points between them; those lacking experience and wishing to run a simpler course would be awarded half points. Those running in groups of three or more, or with adult help, do not score. For those attending all the first five events their 2002 league score will be the aggregate of their four best scores (maximum 400 points): for those attending four or fewer events all points will count. A shield, to be held for a year, is awarded to the boy and the girl winner of each age group. Medals will be awarded to the first three in each class. A Schools Shield is awarded to the school with the most points, calculated thus: at each of the individual events a school's team score is the sum of its six best individual scores; the school's score for the season is the sum of the four best team scores achieved at the first five events or, for those not attending all five events, the sum of all the team scores at the individual events.

A runner should commit him/herself to a class at the start of the series and will be eligible for a medal or the shield in only that class.

Help : The six events are organised for the Schools League by members of the Hertfordshire, South Midlands, and West Anglian Orienteering Clubs ( respectively. HH, SMOC and WAOC ). Most club members are at work and therefore unavailable to help at schools events: if teachers, parents, or older pupils were willing to help, before or during an event, we should be extremely grateful.
 

This is an award scheme introduced by The British Schools Orienteering Association.
It is designed to encourage young people, by using maps, to venture into the outdoor world.
It is a four stage incentive scheme based on participants successfully locating checkpoints.
The four stages are as follows:

At each stage a multi coloured woven badge and / or A4 certificate is awarded. Achievement is monitored by recording checkpoints on a progress card ( Explorer‘s Personal Logbook ). Schools League will participate in this scheme. The results will show the number of checkpoints to be awarded at each event. ( Each control correctly visited will be worth one checkpoint - a competitor who retires or mis-punches will be awarded checkpoints for any controls correctly visited ). Schools will be responsible for keeping the logbooks, and for obtaining and presenting the awards. Further details available at the events.