ASO Rules

Who can join ASO

Any school, scout, guide or other youth group who feel that they are near enough to benefit from membership. For the purposes of this document all references to “school” and “pupil” may be taken to apply equally to all youth groups and their members.

To apply for a membership form please visit the contact page.

League events

There are normally eight events in the League year which coincides with the school or academic year. Dates and venues are advertised through the Bristol Orienteering Klub newsletter, at previous ASO events in ASO mailings and on the fixtures page. In addition there is usually an Individual Championship and a Team relay event.

League register

To compete in the League schools must register themselves and each competitor annually.

Group leaders must register their competitors with the ASO statistician before they can score points in the League. This is quite separate from event registration, need only take place once during a pupil’s school career and must include competitor’s name, date of birth and school year.

Pupils may be registered retrospectively but may only score points in the one event immediately prior to registration. In the event that a late-registered pupil beats a previously registered winner then both will be awarded 100 points and all other previously calculated scores will remain unchanged.

League funding

The League is funded by an annual school registration fee (currently £10 ) payable at the start of the season plus a per capita payment (£1.00 from Sep 2006) for each registered competitor payable at the end of the season.

Age Classes

There are sixteen League classes in total with separate classes for Girls and Boys based on the individual competitor’s school year. Pupils compete on Colour coded courses appropriate to their school year and gender according to the following table

School Year and Class	Boys' Class	Girls' Class
Year 5 and below	WHITE	WHITE
Year 6	WHITE	WHITE
Year 7	YELLOW	YELLOW
Year 8	ORANGE	ORANGE
Year 9	ORANGE	ORANGE
Year 10	LIGHT GREEN	LIGHT GREEN
Year 11	GREEN	LIGHT GREEN
Year 12 and 13	BLUE	GREEN

Courses

An indication of the level of difficulty for each of the colour-coded courses is given below. The ASO commitee select appropriate courses for score or regional events where the course classifications are different.

Course	Distance (km)	Notes	Route Choice	Controls
BLUE	5-6.0	Technically difficult (club training)	Significant	Any feature
GREEN	4-4.5	Technically difficult	Significant	Any feature
Lt GREEN	3-4.0	Fairly technical, not too physical	Significant	Any feature, no complex contours
ORANGE	3-3.5	Fairly difficult, longer easy route	Simple	Include prominent feature or contour feature
YELLOW*	2.5	Technically easy using line features	None	Near line feature
WHITE*	2.0	Technically very easy, all line features	None	On line feature

* on the White and Yellow courses pupils may see or mark their map before entering the Start boxes
* a NO WHISTLE NO RUN policy is operated

Scoring

For each event there will be Individual scores in each age class. The winner of the class will receive 100 points, those behind receive a score determined as ( 100 * winner’s time / own time) and rounded to the nearest integer. Those failing to complete a course successfully receive no points.
A School or Group score for one event will be the best 6 individual scores from that event
Individual scores for the season will be determined from the individual’s best 5 performances
School scores for the season will be determined from the school’s best 5 scores.

Pairs

Pupils may compete in pairs on all courses (in the age class of the eldest of the pair) but will only score half points.

Running down a class

Pupils may run down a single class (eg a Year 9 may run as a Year 8) but will only score half points. Pupils running down more than one class score no points. Pupils running down a class in pairs score one quarter points.

Running up a class

This should not be encouraged by teachers. Exceptional orienteers should be allowed to run up a course if they feel that the normal course for their age is inappropriate for their experience. Tactical switching between classes on the same course (eg a Year 8 running as a Year 9 when both use the same Orange course) is not allowed. There are no extra points for running up a class. If a pupil running up a class finishes in a shorter time than the fastest runner in that class then that runner scores 100 points and all other runners in that class are scored against the younger runner’s performance.

Shadowing

Shadowing is defined as the following of a runner within view where no communication about route finding takes place. It is necessary to indicate at registration that the runner will be shadowed with a “+1” on the entry. Shadowed runners will score half points for the time of their run. If a shadow does have to help a runner then this then becomes a training run with no points available.

Running a second course

If a pupil runs a second course at an event they must register themselves as non-competitive (N/C). Failure to do so will mean that the competitor will receive the lower of the two scores.

Schools organising events

Pupils from schools organising events may compete in that event but if they have helped plan courses they cannot score points (enter N/C at registration).

Awards

There will be a trophy for the winning school
There will be individual trophies for each class in proportion to the number of registered competitors – 1 trophy for 1-4 competitors, 2 trophies for 5-9 competitors and 3 trophies for 10+ competitors
The Committee shall have the discretion to award additional trophies in any class if they feel it is appropriate
Certificates will be awarded to all competitors scoring in excess of 100 points over the course of the season

Responsibilities

Pupils are responsible for registering their details correctly at each event to enable points scores to be calculated. Individual details are registered by completing the Control Card for traditional events or at registration for events using Electronic Punching and must include

Class School Year and Gender
Course Blue, Green, Lt Green, Orange, Yellow or White
Club Name or Abbreviation of School or Group
Name Surname and Christian name or at least one initial
Number ASO or BOK number

Start Times

Pupils from one school running on the same course must have start times at least 3 minutes apart. Anyone starting within 3 minutes will be regarded as a pair and given half points. Pupils competing in the Schools League may not be accompanied by, or start within 3 minutes of, an adult or teacher from the same school.