Venue Lower Drummans

Please see also the IOC 2025 final information page which adds substabntially to the information below.

Following the loss of Drum Manor and Garvagh Forests due to storm damage, the Irish Relay Championships will now be held on the Lower Drummans on the western side of the Magilligan area.

The low lying mixed terrain of sand dunes and grazed farm land will be fast and furious promising intense, head-to-head team racing.
With a handicap system, the Irish Relays make for a fun day as outside of the Premier and Junior classes, runners from different clubs can form teams. Individuals wishing a relay run will be able to enter by selecting an option to be assigned to a team.

Event Location

Magilligan West

26 Point Road
Limavady, BT49 0LP
United Kingdom

Map

The map was fully updated in March 2025 by Graeme Francis (LVO). 
Map scales are:

• Scale 1:10000 with 2.5m contour interval for Open and Women’s Premier classes.
• Scale 1:7500 with 2.5m contour interval for all Handicap and Junior Classes

Parking

Parking will be on the field on the terrain – opposite the main entrance to Magilligan used for the Middle and Classic Championships. 

There is a 10 minute / 600 metres walk to Assembly Area. 

Costs

Senior Team	Junior Team
£30	£15

Relay Entries

Relay Entries and payments should be made by Team Captains on the IOC SI Entries page by Monday 21 April:

If you are interested in a relay run, either as a club team member or making up an inter-club ad hoc team, please check the appropriate box when making your individual event entries on SI Entries.

Relay Team Declarations

Team Declaration forms will be emailed to Team Captains upon entry with further instructions for completion.

Team Captains are requested to submit their final team declarations by 1600 on Sunday 4 May. There will be a Relays Team Declaration tent in the Assembly Area of the Classic Championships.

Ad-hoc teams will be possible subject to map availability. Competitors wishing to form an ad-hoc team should contact the Organiser in advance and confirm at the Team Declarations as above by 1600 on Sunday 4 May.

Team Declaration forms will be emailed to Team Captains upon entry of one or more teams with further instructions for completion.

Click here to download a pdf copy of the declaration form for your information.

Relay Team Classes

Team Captains should refer to the IOC Relays Guidelines for details of the criteria to determine eligibility for the respective classes – especially the handicap points system.  Teams in all of the classes, except Women’s Premier, can be made up of both male and female competitors.

To be eligible, teams in the Junior 48 and Junior 36 classes should have a combined age of up to 48 years and 36 years respectively using their ‘orienteering age’.

Similar to the Junior system, the Handicap classes are based on the combined ages of the team members using their ‘orienteering age’. Handicap Points are allocated to the various orienteering age groups as follows, and these are used to calculate the total points for the team that determines their handicap class. 

Age Class	HANDICAP Points
M21	0
M20, M35	1
M18, M40, W21	2
M45, W20, W35	3
M16, M50, W18, W40	4
M55, W16, W45	5
M14, M60, W14, W50	6
M65, W55	7
M70 and over, W60	8
W65	9
W70 and over	10

Any questions should be submitted using the Contact Form / Ad-hoc query below.

Class	Recommended Winning Time	Example Team Combinations
Open Premier	32 mins	Any combination
Women’s Premier	32 mins	Any combination
Handicap 6	32 mins	6 to 11 handicap points: – three M40’s; – one M35, one W21 and one W60; – two M21’s and one W70; etc.
Handicap 12	32 mins	12 to 17 handicap points: – three M50’s; – one M55 plus two M60’s; – one M21 and two M70’s; etc.
Handicap 18	32 mins (Lap 3 – 25 mins)	18 handicap points and over:   – three M65’s; – one M21 and two W70’s; – two M60’s and one M70; etc.
Handicap 24	25 mins	24 handicap points and over: – three M70’s; – one W18 and two W70’s; – two W65’s and one W50; etc.
Junior 48	25 mins (Lap 3 – 18 mins)	– three M or W16’s; – two M or W18’s plus one M or W10; – three M or W14’s; etc.
Junior 36	18 mins (Laps 2 & 3 – 12 mins)	-three M or W12’s; – one M or W16 plus two M or W10’s; – one M or W14 plus one M or W12 plus – one M or W10

IOC Relay Course Combinations

Class	Course 1	Course 2	Course 3
Open Premier	3 x Legs each 5.5km
Womens Premier	3 x Legs each 4.5km
Handicap 6	BROWN 5.5km	BLUE 4.5km	SHORT GREEN 3.1km
Handicap 12	BLUE 4.5km	GREEN 3.4km	VERY SHORT GREEN 2.6km
Handicap 18	GREEN 3.4km	VERY SHORT GREEN 2.6km	LIGHT GREEN 2.8km
Handicap 24	VERY SHORT GREEN 2.6km	LIGHT GREEN 2.3km	LIGHT GREEN 2.3km
Junior 48	LIGHT GREEN 2.8km	LIGHT GREEN 2.3km	ORANGE 2km
Junior 36	ORANGE 2km	YELLOW 1.8km	YELLOW 1.8km

Pictorial Control Descriptions

Please note that all courses will have pictorial (IOF) control descriptions (including Yellow).

Entry (for club Team Captains only)

• Enter Online
• Edit Entry
• Cancel Entry
• Entry List

Event Timings

• Car parking from 0845
• 10 minute / 600 metres walk to Assembly Area
• Mass start at 1000
• Prizegiving at 1230

IOC Relay Prizes:

Prizes will be awarded for each class.

Irish Championships Relay Rules

Specific guidelines for the IOC Relays including details of team compositions are in Guideline 4:
https://www.orienteering.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Guideline-4-Irish-Relay-Championship.pdf

Toilets

These will be located in the assembly area.

Safety

All competitors take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety. First aid will be available at the assembly area. All competitors are advised to carry a whistle.

There is a wide ditch across the length of the area – this is fenced off on both sides and is out of bounds. Competitors should only cross at the designated bridge crossings on the map.

Parts of the competition area are grazed. Animals will be moved out of the competition area for the day of the event.

Competitors should be aware that there is a possibility of coming across animals carcases / remains on the terrain.

Note that if you either do not start or retire early from your course you must report to SI Download at the assembly area so that event officials know that you are safe

Contact Form / Ad-hoc query

Runners wishing to enter an ad-hoc team should use the form below.
Please also use this form for any other queries.

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