JEC x EUOC Fundraiser Knock-Out Sprint

Sunday 10th May 2026

Join us back in Edinburgh this May to try out Knockout Sprint — orienteering’s newest and most exciting format. Held in Wester Hailes, previously used for WOC 2026, it promises to be a high-quality day of orienteering — perfect preparation for the British Sprint Champs and Senior Selection Races in June. Featuring both an elite and open class this event is open to all!

IMPORTANT INFO

See the Knockout Specifics section for more details on how the format works.
Watch out for competitors and members of public, especially bikes on the canal.
Junior courses will have marshals on busier road crossings but may still encounter very slow moving cars. Make sure they take care crossing roads and car parks.
Don’t forget money for the bake sale!

About JEC

JEC (Junior European Cup), is one of a few international junior races held each year. It’s an important competition for both performance and development as we can send 24 athletes to experience what it’s like to race at the highest level. However, the associated cost of sending a full team is large, and so we’re putting on this event. All proceeds will go to supporting this year’s and future years’ team — helping our juniors continue to achieve their potential.

Parking

No official parking will be provided. We’d recommend parking in Westside Center car park (///fact.stone.port), please note parking charges apply. There is also an excellent bus link (number 3, 30, 33) to the area from the center of Edinburgh to Hailesland Place, from which it is a short walk.

Assembly

We’re going to be based in Canal View Primary School (4 Hailesland Place, Edinburgh, EH14 2SL, ///riots.veal.fields). Entrances to the school are shown below:

There’ll be a hall for leaving bags, hang out between rounds, download, enquiries, as well as toilets. There’ll also be a bake sale accepting cash donations. Please no muddy shoes in the school. The finish for a few of the knockout rounds will be around the school, please watch out for competitors.

Timings

9:00 – Hall opens
10:00 – 10:45 – Morning race starts
11:30 – Courses close (be at the finish by this time!)
12:00 – Heat selection for elite races in assembly
13:00 – 13:30 – QF race starts
14:00 – 14:30 – SF race starts
15:00 – 15:30 – Final race starts
15:45 – Prizegiving

Terrain

Wester Hailes is a classic Scottish housing estate, with many buildings providing interesting route choice, and small alleyways rewarding fine navigation. The Union Canal cuts through the area, with it’s many bridges. Courses will be predominantly tarmac (80%) with short sections of grass in places (20%). Expect flat and fast running where clinical execution is key!

Safety

While the racing will be fun and fast, we want everyone to stay safe! Please watch out for other competitors, cars and members of the public, especially bikes on the canal. There is some broken glass in the area. If needed, first aid will be available at assembly.
Knock out involves a lot of head-to-head racing – so please pay extra attention when coming round blind corners and be courteous to your competitors!
If there are any issues, safety or otherwise, please report at finish.
This is a big day with 4 races. If you feel like sitting a round out, just let us know, you will still be able to race in the future rounds.
The nearest defibrillators are: 159 Sighthill Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 4PY and Dumdryden Drive, Edinburgh, EH14 2QR

Morning

Course	Distance (km)	Controls
Long	3.2	22
Medium	2.7	18
Short (and Junior)	2.0	14

Start: Follow tapes from assembly for 900m. Starts will run from 10:00 – 10:45, with start times found on SiEntries. Call-up -3 mins. It is possible to leave clothes here and pick them up on the way back from the finish.
Courses: EWT 10 mins. Planned by Tommy Rollins and Michael Bishenden.
Map: 1:4000, single sided A4 map, Dave Peel 2023. Old map here https://www.soa.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#83
Artificial barriers: may be used, will be marked on the ground with tape and watched by a marshal.
Control descriptions: loose control descriptions will be available for the morning races only.
Safety: The short course will have marshals at two quiet road crossings. Please listen to the marshals and stop if they tell you to!
Finish: Remote finish ~1km, follow tapes to route back to assembly. Remember to collect your things from the start!
Courses Close: 11:30, please finish by then as we’ll start collecting controls.
Heat selection (Elite Knockout only): At 12:00 sharp in the assembly. Please make sure you’re there otherwise we’ll have to choose for you!

Afternoon

Course	Distance (km)
Quarter Final	2.0
Semi Final	2.1
Final	1.9

Start: Same for all 3 rounds. Follow tapes from assembly for 500m.
Start Times: Will be displayed in arena as soon as possible after the previous heat. Expect to have around an hour between races. Call-up will be 2 minutes before the start of your heat, but please try and be there at least 5 mins before, as we can’t offer late starts!
Courses: EWT 6 mins. Planned by some of our fantastic JEC team:
- QF – Joel and Emily Atkinson
- SF – Dan Heppell and Finn Duguid
- Final – Freya Tryner and Laurence Ward
Map: 1:4000, A5 map, Dave Peel 2023. Old map here https://www.esoc.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#112
Artificial Barriers: will be used on some rounds. Will be marked with tape on the ground and watched by a marshal.
Special Symbols: There is a spiral staircase in the area, and bridges with an uncrossable road on top. Please familiarise yourself with these symbols below, and the allowed routes.

Safety: There are a few marshaled road crossings, if a marshal asks you to stop then please obey them!
Finish: For QFs there is a remote finish ~1.2k away. The SF and Final both finish in the school grounds, stick around to cheer in your fellow competitors!
Courses Close: We don’t anticipate any runners taking too long but please report to download by 16:00 at the latest.
Prizegiving: Will take place immediately after the finish of the last final. We have some excellent prizes courtesy of Swiss O Week, as well as tops and chocolates. These will be awarded to the top 3 in each knockout along with some spot prizes!

Knockout Specifics

Knockout Progression: Rounds will mostly consist of 6 runners, with a few of 5 or 7 depending on numbers. The first few (see table) to cross the line progress to the next round. If you get “knocked out” then you will be placed in randomised heats with others from your course for the future rounds, so you still get to race!

Class	QF -> SF	SF -> Final
Elite (M and W)	4 go through	3 go through
Open	3 go through	2 go through

Heat Selection: Elite knockouts only! For those of you who don’t know, athletes will get to choose one by one which quarter final they would like to be in. The order in which they choose will be based on the results of the morning race. This will happen in the hall at assembly at 12 o’clock, please be there! The Open Knockout will be allocated beforehand.
Gaffling: As knockout is a head-to-head event, different forms of gaffling may be used. To give you an idea of what this might entail, see some examples below
- Butterfly loop: Competitors will do loops in a random order, returning to a common central control. Make sure to do the loops the right way round and punch the central control each time.
- Phi loop: Competitors either run around a big loop before cutting through the middle, or vice versa. Pay attention to which control comes next!
- Runners Choice: Competitors will be taken aside before starting and be given 20 seconds to choose between 3 short sections of course. After the 20 seconds are up, you will secretly declare which of the options you chose. You will then be given a map with that section of course. Note that this is not the entire course, just a small segment.