Event Details - Updated 18/02/2026
Introduction:
The main event is a closed inter-club competition for the Qualifying Round of the Compass Sport Cup / Trophy and entries are made via your respective club captains.
All WIM members should have been notified via a MailChimp of the method of entering this event. If you missed this and want to run for the club, contact the Club Captain, Tom Alcock captain@wimborne-orienteers.co.uk
Alongside the main competition we will be providing some colour coded courses for non-Compass Sport Cup/Trophy competition runners.
Please refer to the Colour Coded Courses - Event Entry: section further down this page where there is also a link to Race Signup.
There will also be a "Come and Try Orienteering" activity. Please see the Beginners Activity Event: section further down this page.
Wimborne Orienteers would like to thank Forestry England for granting permission to use this area.
Clouds Hill has not been used for competitive orienteering for 25 years, so it is effectively a new area to all competitors.
Location:
Clouds Hill, Bovington, Dorset
Grid Reference: SY827895
Nearest Post Code: BH20 6JD
Security:
The event is taking place adjacent to the Bovington Army Camp and parking is kindly being provided by Babcock Engineering.
Please follow all signs on the day and the instructions of any event officials or military personnel.
Parking:
Parking will be on hardstanding adjacent to the event area.
Please follow any signs on the day and please park within marked bays only, which will be the driver's responsibility.
Event officials may be periodically checking vehicles are parked within marked bays.
No large motorhomes or towed caravans will be permitted due to the tight nature of the car park.
Assembly Area Layout:
The assembly area is located to the southern part of the carpark as shown below.
There is a competitor area which will be vehicle free, toilets, catering area and event official's tents.
The catering area is dog free.
Map:
Courses 1 and 3 are printed at 1:10000 scale.
All other courses are printed at 1:7500 scale.
Map sizes are shown in the Course Info section further down this page.
All maps are printed on waterproof material.
Control descriptions are on the map and loose descriptions will be in the start lane.
The following symbol has been used on the control descriptions to indicate a Mandatory Passage Through Out of Bounds.
The following symbol has been used on the control descriptions to indicate a Mandatory Crossing Point.
There are numerous hides present in the area, but these are not mapped.
Competitors should also be aware that since the map was finalised multiple features that are mapped as dry may be wet.
This is due to the persistent recent heavy rain falls. These "temporary" wet features may dry out by the competition date.
No fences are to be crossed as these either lead competitors off the map or into out of bounds areas.
Competition Rules:
The new 2026 Compass Sport Cup / Trophy Rules can be found on the following link.
Timings:
Enquiries will be open from 09:30 to deal with any changes.
Starts will be between 10:30 and 12:30.
All courses close at 14:30.
Event officially closes at 15:00.
Start and Finish:
The start and finish are both remote from the assembly area.
There will be a clothing dump near the start. This will be un-supervised and uncovered, so competitors will need to provide their own waterproof bags. Wimborne Orienteers will not accept responsibility for any clothing left at the clothing dump in the event that it goes missing.
The start will be approximately 1.0km from the assembly area.
The finish is approximately 1.4km from the assembly area, or 2.1km if competitors' detour via the clothing dump.
Start Lane Process:
There will be a 4 minute call up to the start lane.
Competitors are responsible for ensuring their SIAC cards are cleared and turned on prior to entering the start lane.
At T-4min competitors will punch the check box.
At T-3min blank maps will available.
At T-2min any notices and safety instructions will be available.
At T-1min competitors will wait for their start time.
At T-10 seconds competitors can step over the line.
At T-0 competitors must punch the start box and then pick up the correct map.
The start flag is approx. 90m from the start box and is along a main path.
Finish Process:
The finish is remote and will be supervised.
There is no map collection facility at the finish. As the route back from the finish as well as the route to the clothing dump is shared in part by finishers and those yet to race it is imperative that in the interest of fairness competitors must not show their map to any other competitors who are yet to run.
Any instances of competitors unfairley sharing map and course information may be reported to the Organiser at Download.
Course Info:
There shall be 12 different CSC courses planned to the colour coded standards shown below. Note the inclusion of M18- in courses 2 and 9M, and W18- in courses 5 and 9W. (This is to provide a progression from junior to senior classes for those ready to compete at TD5 but not on the respective open courses, whilst still enabling others to compete at appropriate levels).
The following table sets out the course details with age class and planned course standard and other information.
Courses 1-9, Blue and Red: These courses will cross a NE/SW farm track, and the crossing points will be via one of two gates marked as crossing points on the map. The northern crossing is shown as a "Mandatory Crossing Point" and the southern one as a "Mandatory Passage Through Out of Bounds" due to the presence of FE imposed OOB alongside the track. This track leads to Snelling Farm, which is a popular parking place for walkers, so competitors should be mindful that they may encounter vehicles at the crossing points.
Course 1: There is a road crossing to access the northern area of the map. The road, which is out of bounds and is indicated as such on the map, has light but fast traffic. The road crossing is not timed out so care has to be taken when crossing. This takes competitors onto the old Culpeppers Dish area where the terrain is more physical than south of the road. No competitors under the age of 16 are allowed to run on course 1, due to the un-supervised road crossing. Course 1 competitors ages will be checked when entries are received. Anyone who appears to be under 16 may be challenged by the start team.
Course 10 and Yellow: These courses stay within the fenced eastern area of the map where competitors will not encounter any traffic. Course 10 includes a butterfly loop, so competitors should be made aware that there is a control that they will visit twice.
Courses 1, 9M and 9W: The climb-corrected course lengths for courses 1, 9M and 9W are aligned with the CSCRules and are longer than the lengths of standard colour courses of the same names.
Safety Bearing Information
The following safety bearing information is also displayed on the maps.
Course 1:
If north of road head south to road
If west of NE/SW track head east to track, locate crossing point and follow track to finish
If east of NE/SW track head east and follow track or fence to locate finish
Course 2-9, Blue and Red:
If west of NE/SW track head east to track, locate crossing point and follow track to finish
If east of NE/SW track head east and follow track or fence to locate finish
Course 10 and Yellow:
Head east and follow track or fence to locate finish
Timing System:
Control punching will be using the SPORTident SI Timing system.
All controls out on the courses will be SIAC enabled.
Start and finish controls will need to be physically punched.
Non SIAC cards are available to hire at £2.00 per card.
Lost hired cards will be charged at £40.
Results:
Live results will be displayed in the assembly area.
Additionally, if 4G signals allow, we will publish results online periodically throughout the event.
All results are provisional until the event has officially closed at 15:00 and final result checking has been undertaken by the event officials after this time.
Complaints and Protests:
Any complaints must be made to the Organiser on the day at the event before 15:00 (30 mins after course closing time) using the Complaint/Protests Form which is available on the following link.
Any complaints and protests must be made in accordance with the British Orienteering Rules of Orienteering.
Facilities:
Toilets will be in the event assembly area adjacent to the carpark.
Please note there will be no toilets at the start or finish.
Catering - Details to follow once we have received confirmation.
First Aid is available in the assembly area. First aid is provided by qualified voluenteers from Wimborne Orienteers.
The nearest A&E hospital is located in Dorchester.
A&E Dorset County Hospital
Williams Ave
Dorchester
DT1 2JY
Tel 01305 251150
Any competitors with pre-existing medical conditions are invited to complete a BOF medical form which can be found on the following link in the Safety Resources section.
Club Tents:
Club tents will be allowed in the competitor area only, however it is a hardstanding area and as such suitable weighted alternative for securing tents will be required.
These alternatives must be provided by the competing clubs.
Dogs:
Dogs are not allowed on the course with competitors under any circumstances.
Please keep all dogs on a short lead in car park and assembly areas.
Dogs are not permitted in the catering area.
You must clean up after your dog and remove any waste from the event responsibly. any competitors.
Event Officials:
Planner: Andrew Howard (WIM)
Controller: Terry Smith (SOC)
Safety:
It will be compulsory for competitors to carry whistles, and this will be checked at the start. No whistle No Go.
The wearing of cagoules may be compulsory if the weather is inclement. If required, this will be advised on this event page and in the assembly area.
To be sure please bring a cagoule to the event anyway.
Safeguarding, Welfare and Photography:
All Safe Guarding and Welfare information applicable to events organised by Wimborne Orienteers is available on the following link.
Safeguarding & Welfare
Any photography under taken at this event must be done so in accordance with the British Orienteering policy for Photography, Videos & Live Streaming Guidance which is availalable on the following link.
Photography, Videos & Live Streaming Guidance
Biosecurity and Environmental:
The event is taking place on bio-sensitive heathland.
All competitors must pre-wash their shoes at home before attending the event.
Any competitors with dirty shoes may not be allowed to compete.
The competition area has multiple out of bounds areas that have been identified by the landowner.
These areas must not be entered unless you are on a designated pathway which are indicated on the map by crossing points.
Courses have been planned to take these restrictions into account.
Please refer to the Map section of this page for details of specific control symbols used on the control descriptions.
Compass Sport Cup/Trophy - Event Entry:
For the Compass Sport Cup/Trophy competition pre-entry will be direct to Wimborne Orienteers via your club captains only. There will be no individual online entries for this inter-club competition.
Entry on the day is not permitted for runners competing in the Compass Sport Cup/Trophy competition.
The cutoff date for entries to allow SI Timing processing and map numbers to be finalised is Friday 13th February 2026.
Competing Clubs are:
Cup Competition: BOK; DEVON
Trophy Competition: KERNO; N WILTS; SARUM; SBOC; SOC; QO; WIM; WSX
Entries submitted by each club are now finalised and the full entry list can be found on the following link.
Colour Coded Courses - Event Entry:
Alongside the inter-club competition, we will be offering a limited number of colour coded courses as set out below.
The Blue course will utilise pictorial control descriptions and the Red and Yellow courses textural control descriptions.
Entries for the non-Cup/Trophy courses may be made on RaceSignUp
Closing date for entries for the colour coded event is Sunday 15th February 2026 at 18:00.
Cost:
Compass Sport Cup/Trophy Entry Costs will as follows:
£14 per Senior (M/W21 Class and above)
£7 per Junior (Up to and including M/W20 Class)
Costs per club will be calculated based on each clubs' entry numbers as declared at the cutoff date of Sunday 15th February @ 18:00. No refunds will be given after that date but depending on map availability it may be possible to accommodate additional runners if spare map numbers allow.
Costs will be advised to each competing club, and payments will be made to Wimborne Orienteers via BACS transfer. It is therefore the responsibility of each competing club to collect its own entry fees.
Colour Coded Entry Costs will as follows:
£14 per Senior (M/W21 Class and above)
£7 per Junior (Up to and including M/W20 Class)
Beginners Activity Event:
There will be a free "Come and Try Orienteering" event.
This will be open to all but will be classified as an activity under BOF guidelines and as such no results will be published on the website.
This event will be suitable for complete novices or young competitors. An introduction to the basics of orienteering will be available on the day from one of our club members/coaches.
Further details including how to register for this activity are available on the activity flyer which can be found on the following link.
Employees of Babcock Engineering are welcome to take part in this activity.
Entry for this activity is direct to Wimborne Orienteers using the contact details on the Come and Try Activity Flyer not via Race Signup.
Cancellation:
Cancellation is a last resort, however if very bad weather is forecast or some unforeseen event makes it necessary to cancel, a notice will be placed on the WIM website (www.wimborne-orienteers.org.uk).
If the event is cancelled, Wimborne Orienteers reserve the right to retain part of the entry fee to cover any un-recoverable costs.
Risk:
Orienteering is an adventure sport; you are responsible for your own safety at the event and must not do anything that puts yourself or others at unnecessary risk.
Care must be taken due to the even nature of the underfoot conditions.
The area is adjacent to a military training area. Do not touch or pick up any metal objects as they may be dangerous.
