British Sprints Championships 2025
EAOA welcomes you to the UEA for the British Sprint Championships 2025
Preliminary Details
Click the box below for preliminary details in PDF format (as of 15 April 2025)
Contact information
For general enquiries: sprintcoordinator@britishorienteering.org.uk
For entry enquiries: sprintentries@britishorienteering.org.uk
The Terrain
The UEA campus has been used for sprint orienteering in the past but has never before been the venue of a major event. The combinination of density of buildings, unusual architecture, and raised walkways with passageways beneath make this a technically challenging area that is perfect for the sprint orienteering format.
Running surfaces are predominantly concrete.
PLEASE NOTE that ALL courses will involve negotiating steps and or staircases. We will plan appropriately for different age classes, but you must expect to encounter some steps on your course.
Format of the Event
In the morning, competitors run a heat (qualification) race which determines their start time in the afternoon final race, and also determines if they qualify to run in an "A" final in which they can win a championship medal, or a "B" final in which runners cannot win a medal.
BO ranking points are awarded separately for the heat races and the finals. Runners are eligible for ranking points irrespective of which final race (A or B) they run in.
The timetable for the day is yet to be finalised, but we expect heat starts to operate from about 10am to noon, and Finals starts to commence at around 2pm. The constraints of the event format mean that start times cannot be selected by entrants nor can individual early/late preferences be taken into account.
We are looking into whether we can make any provision for parental split starts.
Please bear all this in mind when planning your travel arrangements.
Entries
All entries for championship classes must be made on-line in advance. There will be no facility to enter on the day or after on-line entries have closed. See the entries page for all details concerning entering the competition.
Non-championship courses (Yellow & Orange) will be available for entry on the day as well as in advance.
Eligibility
Only members of British Orienteering who are British citizens are eligible for Championship prizes. The full rules of competition and Eligibility are contained in British Orienteering competition Rule C, which can be viewed on the BO website.
Start times
The championship event comprises two races – a morning qualification race (the heats) followed by the Finals in the afternoon.
Qualification race start times
Start times for the qualification races are expected to be between 10:00 and 11:30. Start times for the Finals will be from approximately 14:00 to 15:30. Start times will be allocated according to the championship rules. All entrants in a given age class will start in a contiguous block, with start times within the block assigned according to BO rankings, with higher ranked runners starting later. It will not be possible to accommodate individual start time preferences other than parental split starts.
Start times for the qualification races will be allocated after entries close, according to Competition Rule C. Start times will be published on the SportIdent website at least a week before the event and all entrants will be informed when the start times have been published.
Qualification race cut-off time
Anyone finishing later than 30 minutes after the last published start time in the qualification races will be assigned to the B final.
Finals start times
Start time blocks for the finals will be published in advance, but individual start times for the finals are determined on the day, according to the results of the qualification races.
When you enter, you can choose to provide a mobile phone number that we could use for broadcast text messages on the day, for example to announce when finals start times are available to view.
Parental Split Starts and helper starts
Where necessary, “Out of block” start times will be allocated to parents with young children requesting split starts, and to some helpers. Where possible we will achieve the parental split by allocating an early start to one parent whilst the other runs at their normal assigned time.
Out-of-block start times will be assigned to also be outside block times for other classes on the course in question. Those allocated an out of block start time in the qualifier races run competitively and are eligible to qualify for the A final subject to the cut-off time (see above).
In the finals, out of block runners starting earlier than their age class start block are again competitive. However, if we need to assign a start time later than the starter’s age class block in the finals, the run will be competitive for ranking points but will not be eligible for a podium place (championship medal).
Seeding
There will be seeding for all championship classes except for M/W 10/12.
M/W 14/16 will be seeded based on the 2025 Junior Seeding list.
M/W 18/20/21 will be seeded in the usual way for elite competitors according to the 2025 Rules of Orienteering.
M/W 35+ classes will be seeded and allocated to heats as described in Competition Rule C based on the British Orienteering ranking list.
Course Maps
The map has been produced for this event by Caroline Louth (WAOC).
Competition maps will be printed on waterproof paper and will be approx. A4 in size.
Punching
This event will use SI electronic timing. Controls will be enabled for contactless punching with SIACs. SIACs will be available for hire.
Layout
Starts
The starts for the morning qualifiers and the afternoon finals will both be less than a 5 minute walk from the arena. There will be a 5 minute call up.
Warm up
There will be very limited room for warm up at the start/pre-starts. Earlham Park is nearby (park entrance about 250 m from assembly) and provides plenty of space for warming up.
Model controls
The compact nature of the campus means that we will not be able to offer a model course. Instead, model controls will be displayed near the starts showing how controls have been mounted.
Finish
The finish run-in will be visible from arena and there will be space along the run-in for spectators.
Travel to the event
Directions
Norwich is easy to reach by rail and road. The nearest airport for commercial flights is London Stansted.
A summary of the options for public transport to UEA are summarised here. https://www.uea.ac.uk/f/185167/x/4097914524/travelling-to-uea-guide-2024-25-cycle.pdf
By Rail
UEA is about 4 miles from Norwich City centre. Norwich is served by a direct rail service from London Liverpool Street. The journey from London takes about 1hr 45 mins, and there is a departure every 30 mins on weekdays and Saturdays, and hourly on Sundays.
Bus service 25 from Norwich station runs directly to UEA, with departures every 10 mins and journey time 25 mins. Use the main UEA stop (University Drive). Please note the P&R service to UEA does not operate on weekends.
It is possible to cycle from Norwich Station to the UEA campus, a distance of about 3.5 miles.
By Road
UEA is easily accessible by road from the A11 if arriving from the south and from the A47 if arriving from the east or west.
Google maps: here
Streetmap.co.uk: here
What3words: ///having.lanes.kings (main car park W entrance, via Earlham Road)
///mock.blank.issued (main car park E entrance via Bluebell Road)
Postcode: University Drive, Norwich NR4 7LP
Parking
All participants arriving by car should use the main UEA car park. You may use either entrance. This car park has no height restriction but there is a width restriction at the entry and exit barriers – see section below on wide vehicles.
When entering please indicate number of vehicles you are bringing to the event and if any may exceed the width restriction.
Main car park
You must use the main car park on University Drive if parking on the campus.
All users of the main car park must pay £1 for all-day parking on the day of the event. Card payments only.
Once parked, to reach the arena on foot, you must leave the car park by the signed route from the SW corner of the car park.
PLEASE NOTE: Any vehicle wider than a transit van will not pass through the entrance barriers to the main car park and will need to park elsewhere. A VW camper van will be OK – larger motorhomes will not.
Whatever your vehicle, unless we advise otherwise, other car parks at the UEA are OOB for orienteers parking.
It is not permitted to stay overnight in your vehicle in the main car park or elsewhere on the campus.
Wide vehicles
At the moment we are still working to identify suitable day parking for vehicles too wide to get through the entrance barrier of the main car park. At this stage we cannot guarantee that parking for wide vehicles will be possible on the UEA campus itself. Eaton Park pay and display car park is suitable and involves a 0.8 mile walk to assembly.
If you are staying in a motorhome or campervan of any size, you must NOT stay overnight at the UEA. There is a campsite at Whitlingham Broad a couple of miles around the ring road to the south of Norwich, about 5 miles from the UEA: https://www.whitlinghambroadcampsite.com/
Arena
The event arena is about 150 m from the signed pedestrian exit from the main car park. The route to the arena will be marked. Do not stray from this marked route as you will be entering OOB competition areas and be liable to disqualification.
In the arena you will find:
- Enquires, Bib collection and hired e-card collection (indoors)
- Toilets (indoors)
- Download (indoors)
- First Aid
- Trader: CompassPoint
- Food and Refreshments provided by UEA (indoor cafés and - if demand justifies - a restaurant)
- Display of Start lists and results (for those not able to access these online)
Steps in the arena will be used as a podium for medal presentations.
Snacks and some sandwiches will be on sale in the coffe bars. To help us gauge demand, please indicate when entering, if you would make use of a restaurant serving more substantial food (eg veggie chilli and spud).
Club tents
There will be NO space available for Club tents. There should be space for Club feather banners to be tied to railings in the assembly area.
In the event of adverse weather, indoor shelter will be available close to assembly. If the weather is bright and sunny, the Square might be a bit of a sun trap. Please remember to pack suncream, headgear and water if the forecast looks sunny.
First Aid
Third party first response cover will be provided, located in the assembly area.
The nearest A&E hospital is Norwich and Norfolk University Hospital, Colney Ln, Colney, Norwich NR4 7UY. This is 2 miles by road from the UEA campus.
Bibs
All competitors must wear their individually numbered bibs when running. We will be operating a “No bib – no run” policy. Bibs will be available for collection at the registration/download area.
Please fill out the reverse side with any medical conditions you wish to declare.
M/W 18, 20 & Open competitors who qualify for the A Final will be given a coloured final race bib which must be collected after the final start lists are published. Other competitors must wear the same bib for the qualification and finals races.
Late starts
Please ensure you get to your pre-start (start time minus 5 minutes) on time. If you are a minute or two late for your call-up time the start official will slot you into your correct start box for your start time.
Otherwise, if you are later than your allocated start time the start official will guide you to the late start lane where you can start at the next available half minute. You will punch a start box but your race time will calculated based on your allocated start time.
No fault late starts
If you arrive late at the start but you believe that this is the fault of the organiser then you should follow the start team’s instructions and go to the enquiry desk after you have downloaded.
Dogs
Dogs are allowed in the car park, and nearby Earlham Park provides a green space for exercising etc. Please note that there is otherwise no suitable space on the campus for dogs to relieve themselves.
Dogs must be kept on leads and under control at all times, and are strictly not allowed indoors or in the competition terrain at any time. Dogs should not be brought to the arena area. Dog owners are required to clean up after their dog and are responsible for disposal of their waste.
Start times cannot be adjusted to allow for supervision of a dog.
Photography
British Orienteering has an agreed national guidance policy on the taking of photographs at events. If you are unsure about the agreed acceptable practice, please speak to the event organiser.
Privacy & Personal Data
Entrants’ personal details (name, age class, club) will appear in the results section on the website and on bibs. Data provided when entering may also be used to trace missing runners and hired SIAC cards.
Event Officials
Organiser Peter Woods WAOC
Planners Ben Bethell NOR Glen Richardson NOR
Controller Stephen McKinley (SN)
Acknowledgements