Venue Donard Forest
Date Sat, 25th Oct 25
Starts 11:00 to 12:30
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Event Description
| Date | Saturday 25 October 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Venue | Donard Forest | ||||||||||||
| Event Format | Autumn Trophy (Club Event) | ||||||||||||
| Online Entry | . |
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| SI Entries |   |
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| Online Entry closes | Midnight, Monday 20 October 2025
Limited Entry on the Day is available at non-member rates, depending on map availability. See here for Terms. |
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| Registration & Start | Registration is in Donard Carpark from 10:00 to 12:00 (look for the LVO flag) – for entry-on-the-day, dibber hire, changes and key drop (keys will be taken up to the Finish/Download for collection). The Start is 1.5km and 160m climb via taped route from Donard carpark (allow about 30min walk).
Courses close at 2.30pm and controls will then be collected in. Please remember to download before you leave. |
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| Price |
Sociable group / family fee where all are going round a course together – entry fee is per required number of maps – one entry = one map. There is no fee to hire an SI card if required, but lost cards are charged at £30. *Orienteering club members only. Avail of our reduced event rates by joining our club today: https://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/join_online **A family charge is for two seniors and one junior. Additional juniors go free. |
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| Terrain Summary | Donard Forest lies overlooking the seaside resort of Newcastle and Dundrum Bay from the lower slopes of Ulster’s highest mountain, Slieve Donard. As a result, the terrain is quite steep in places. The Glen River divides a mixed forest and is bridged by several forest roads. It includes some reasonably runnable deciduous areas as well as plantation and dense vegetation. A significant amount of recent felling and storm damage has affected the area, with the map showing Out Of Bounds areas (OOB) to avoid the worst of these.
Due to storm damage some smaller / indistinct paths are partially obstructed by fallen trees and branches. All are passable, but some may be a little slower than anticipated and they may be harder to distinguish on the ground. All the ‘main’ paths are clear and fully passable.
You may encounter some sites that have been used for wild camping or partying. Please look out for litter, especially broken glass.
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| Previous Maps/Routegadget | Donard map was used at the NI Score Championships in February 2025. Previous Routegadget map and courses can be found here: https://www.lvo.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#560 | ||||||||||||
| Course Notes | 🟡 Yellow – 1.4km + 30m climb – map scale 1:7500, 5m contours – along paths with more route choice decisions. Appropriate for newcomers and younger juniors with some experience. 🟠 Orange – 1.9km + 80m climb – map scale 1:7500, 5m contours – skills needed to navigate away from paths and more route choice decisions, some compass skills are expected. Aimed at novice adults and improving juniors. 🟢 Short Green – 2.8km + 90m climb – map scale 1:7500, 5m contours – a technically challenging course but not too long and physical. 🔵 Short Blue – 4.1km + 190m climb – map scale 1:10000, 5m contours – technically and physically demanding course. |
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| Finish & Download
First Aid and Safety |
The Download will be in the LVO van adjacent to the Finish at Greenhill YMCA. [NO PARKING there]
Keys can collected at Download There will be a first aid kit and a qualified first aider available at download in the Greenhill YMCA car park. Registration is also a safe place for lost children to wait. Please do not come to the event if you are unwell. Please bring and carry any medication you might need, especially inhalers and EpiPen’s. If you come across an injured or ill person, please stop, help and get further help. There will likely be qualified first aiders on the course who can stop to provide support. All participants must return to download, whether they complete the course or not. This is to account for all competitors, ensuring everyone’s safe return. Courses will close and controls collected in at 2.30pm sharp. If you are still out on the course at this time return to finish and download immediately. |
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| Kit requirements | Full body cover is mandatory.
A whistle (emergency alert is 6 loud blasts per minute) is mandatory. A waterproof jacket may also be mandatory if the organisers decide the weather requires one, so bring one along just in case. |
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| Parking | Parking (available for free) is in the Donard Forest public car park. Please do not park in Greenhill YMCA car park. | ||||||||||||
| Toilets | There are public toilets in the main car park. Please do not use the Greenhill YMCA toilets. There are plenty of cafes/pubs with facilities in the town and the Newcastle Centre along the promenade. |
Location
Donard Forest
Donard Park
Newcastle
BT33 0HL
Volunteers
To volunteer at this event please email volunteer@lvo.org.uk. You can find information on each role here as well as the current list of volunteers.