3ROC Orienteering News – 1st January 2020

Happy New Year everyone! We’re gearing up for two “Dublin by Night” events this month to start off the new year. This Saturday, 4th January, we’re in the Phoenix Park with a mass start for everyone at 7 pm, registration from 6.15 pm. There will be two courses of 3.8 km and 7.8 km. Start, finish and registration will be close to the camogie car park across the main road from the polo grounds. See the location map here. Turn left off the main road about 400m past the roundabout as you come from Parkgate Street. Public transport: Red line Luas to Heuston or bus 46A to the terminus at Infirmary Road. Both of these involve a walk of about 20 minutes or more.

Night-O is only open to over 15’s for insurance reasons. Maps will be 1:10000 scale on waterproof paper with control descriptions on the map only (no loose descriptions). Courses will be gaffled (i.e. with forking) so that not everyone will be running exactly the same courses but the length and technical difficulty will be the same.

              St Pat’s at night

Our next night-O will be a night sprint in St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, on Saturday 25th January. This will have a range of start times (probably from 6.30 to 7.30 – check closer to the event). Thanks to DCU for permission to run this event. Be warned that there will be a Dubin v Kerry football match in Croke Park at 7.15 that evening so allow some extra time for heavy traffic. More details of this event closer to the time.

Thanks to planner Eoin Dunne and the other helpers at last week’s Christmas Score Event at Three Rock/Ticknock. Early rain may have put off some of the other forest users so the forest wasn’t as busy as it might have been. Well done to 3Rockers Colm Moran, Eoin McCullough, Aidan McCullough, Clíona McCullough and Oisín May who were 1st, 3rd, 7th and joint 9th on the long course. Well done also to all of you who took the trouble to go for fancy dress and grab an extra 50 points – it certainly paid off for Colm Moran with his green dragon outfit! See the full results here and fill in your chosen route on Routegadget as well.

The Dublin by Night events are all on Saturdays: 4th January Phoenix Park; 11th January Ward River Valley, Swords (FIN); 25th January St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra (3ROC); 1st February Crone Wood (GEN); 8th February Sunnyhill, Curragh (CNOC); 15th February Killiney Hill (Ajax) and 22nd February Massey’s Estate (SET).

Normal daytime orienteering resumes on Sunday 12th January with the WatO league event at Castlecomer Discovery Park.

Reminder: Instant online membership (renewals and new members) for 2020 is now open at Fabian4 – see the “Join 3ROC” page here.

See you in the Phoenix Park on Saturday!