We are pleased to announce that this event will be the inaugural SCOA Sprint Championships, held in the intricate modern Ladygrove housing estate in Didcot, Oxfordshire. Each entrant will run two races, which will be much shorter and with more controls than typical urban events. Your total time will be the sum of your times for the two races.
SCOA Sprint Championships – Ladygrove, Didcot
Level C
27th September 2026
A message for newcomers and infrequent orienteers
We would be delighted to see you at this and other TVOC events. This event, like all our events, offers a range of courses to suit everyone from newcomers to experienced orienteers. If you are not sure which course to enter, please contact the organiser (contact details at the bottom of this page).
Please note that, if you’re not a member of British Orienteering, you won’t be covered by the organisation’s public liability insurance for this event. You’re very welcome to take part, but please be aware that you do so at your own risk. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered by British Orienteering’s insurance.
Helping
TVOC members – PLEASE contact your team leader to offer to help, or contact the organiser. They will give you the discount code to use when you enter.
Directions / Parking
All races will have a common start and finish in Ladygrove Park, Didcot.
These will both be near assembly, which will be tents located roughly at the what3words location splits.ambushes.reclining, which is just to the north side of Tyne Road.
We strongly encourage competitors to use public transport wherever possible. This is much easier than for most orienteering events since the start is less than 1km easy walk from Didcot Parkway Station and also lies on National Cycle Route 5.
Parking is available at the Didcot Town FC ground, OX11 7GA – ///boils.tops.reinstate
Terrain Description
This is an urban race mostly on tarmaced surfaces with some areas of grass.
Courses 1 to 5 have many road crossings on which cars may be encountered. However, the entire Ladygrove estate has a 20 m.p.h. speed limit and with the exception of a small number of key routes, roads have almost no traffic. There are also many paths on which pedestrians, dogs, bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters may potentially be encountered, though we have observed the area to be very quiet. All courses will use fairly large areas of grass parkland, sometimes with steep slopes (which can be avoided by running around if desired) and courses 1-5 will visit a small area of woodland. In the woodland it is expected that most runners will want to stay on the paths.
Course 6 does not cross any of the key routes but does cross minor cul-de-sac roads with almost no traffic.
Course 7 does not cross any roads. It stays mostly within the area of the two Ladygrove Hills. Note that several likely routes on this course pass close to two small fishing lakes, and the safety aspect of this should be borne in mind when considering whether to shadow young juniors.
Both junior courses 6 and 7 do cross bike and pedestrian paths on which bikes, e-bikes and scooters may potentially be present.
Appropriate footwear will depend on weather conditions in the lead-in to the event, but trainers are likely to be appropriate. Due to the very dry summer, some moderately large cracks may be encountered in the grassy areas. Shorts can be worn at this event.
The Map
Your races will be on two separate maps, Didcot Ladygrove NW and Didcot Ladygrove SE. Both will be printed on SRA4 paper. They are drawn to the latest ISSprOM standard at scale 1:4000 and were revised by Bob and Pattie Beresford in Summer 2026 based on earlier maps.
Courses
The courses offered will be 1-5 for adults and courses 6 and 7 for juniors. Each course will have two races A and B, which will use essentially disjoint areas. The combined length of the courses will be similar to a standard urban, but with more controls. Details of the lengths of these courses are given in the table below.
If you wish to be competitive in the SCOA Championships then you should run your age-class (as listed below) or above. Otherwise, you are welcome to run any course of your choosing, and newcomer adults are welcome to run one of the junior courses.
When selecting a course for your juniors, please read the terrain notes above and consider them carefully.
Course lengths below are for the two races combined and are quoted as straight line distances. The actual distance you will run may be 20-30 percent or so longer. Distances are indicative and are subject to final course planning and controlling. The area is essentially flat except for two 10-metre high man-made hills which are partially climbed by some courses, particularly the junior courses.
| Course | Length (km) | Climb (m) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6.6 | 20 | Mens Open (M18-M35) |
| 2 | 5.5 | 20 | Men Veteran (M40+) Women Open (W18-W35) |
| 3 | 4.9 | 25 | Men Super Veteran (M55+) Women Veteran (W40+) |
| 4 | 4.1 | 20 | Men Ultra Veteran (M65+) Women Super Veteran (W55+) |
| 5 | 3.3 | 20 | Men Hyper Veteran (M75+) Women Ultra Veteran (W65+) Women Hyper Veteran (W75+) |
| 6 | 2.5 | 40 | M/W16- Juniors 12-16. Will cross minor culs de sac and estate roads. |
| 7 | 2.1 | 30 | M/W12- Juniors 12 and under. Contains no road crossings. |
Start Times
There start will be a very short distance to the north of assembly. There will be one start for all courses.
Race A start times will be from 10:30 to 11:30.
Race B start times from 12:00 to 13:00 (TBC)
Courses close at 14:00 (TBC)
If the short start windows are likely to prove challenging for anyone shadowing juniors, please contact the organiser and we will do our best to accommodate you.
Please note, this is not a heat / group / mass start race. There are no qualification rounds and no there is no final.
The finish will be an equally short distance to the south-east of assembly. You must download after each of your runs. After your first run (A), we will collect your map so it cannot be seen by other competitors, who may have similar legs on their second run (B).
How To Enter
When you enter, please select a 15-minute window during which you which to start your first race. You will start your second race 90 minutes later.
We will use a punching start, but please try to arrive during your window. Runners will depart at 1-minute intervals.
Entry Cost
| Up to Sunday 2oth September BOF members £12 / non-members £14 Course 6 & 7 – £8 Juniors & Students £4From Monday 21st September onwards BOF members £14 / non-members £16 Course 6 & 7 – £8 Juniors & Students £5Timing chip hire (SIAC) £2 extra (Lost SIACs charged at £65) |
Facilities
Portaloos will be available.
White Star Medical will be providing first aid cover.
There is a Co-operative Food market very close to the event as well as the Ladygrove pub.
Dogs
As this event is taking place in a public park dogs may be present, however TVOC’s policy is that dogs are not permitted on courses.
Further Information
Etiquette and behaviour: orienteers must be aware of, give way to and be courteous towards members of the public encountered on their courses, most of whom will live on the area we are using for the event. Failure to do this could jeopardise our use of the area. Under no circumstances should any runner cut corners over private garden areas, or enter any area marked as out of bounds (olive green) on the map.
The assembly/start/finish are opposite a childrens’ playground; please bear this in mind when getting changed ready for your run and afterwards.
Some routes may take you past two fishing lakes. Please be respectful of anyone fishing there – keep your distance and keep any disturbance to an absolute minimum.
Officials
Organiser: Peter Rose, TVOC email organiser Phone: email your number for a call backPlanner: Ben Green, TVOC
Controller: Katy Stubbs, BKO