Northern XC Champs - Info for Entrants

The Northern Athletics Cross Country Championships 2013 will take place on Saturday 26h January 2013 at Knowsley Safari Park, Prescot, Knowsley, L34 4AN
Click HERE for facilities map.
Click HERE for course map.

Parking
On arrival at the park advise the kiosk staff that you are taking part in the race. Parking for the event is £3.00 for cars and minibuses.
If you wish to go on the Safari Drive there will be an additional fee of £5 per car.
Guests will have access to the following facilities free of charge; Sea Lion Show, Bird of Prey display, Bat Forest Walkthrough, animal exhibits in the Walk Around Area which include Meerkats, Giraffes, Elephants and Otters, shops and restaurants.
In addition students from John Moore’s University will be presenting an adaptation of the Jungle Book.
Parking is plentiful.

There will be no parking anywhere near the course.

If your club is travelling by coach then parking in the Park is available at no charge, please inform us if that is the intention so that coaches can be allocated parking spaces.

Changing facilities
A building has been provided by the park and is marked on the facilities map as building No 1. It has been divided to male and female areas.

Registration
This will take place at building marked No 4 on the map. Please note that registration will be open from 9.30 am for collection of numbers for U13 B&G; U15 B&G; U17 M&W; U20 M&W.
Senior Men’s and Women’s numbers will be available from 12.30pm onwards.
Event programmes and camera registration will also be located at this point.

Presentation
Individual presentations will take place after each race.
Team presentations will be made as soon as results are available.
All presentations will be announced over the PA System

On Course
Any emergency announcements will be made from the PA System.
St Johns Ambulance Staff will be on site throughout the day.
Lost children must be taken to the PA area and will only be allowed to leave once staff are satisfied that responsibility has been established.
The site is fully accessible to people with disabilities, the course is not. This is due to the undulating topography of the cross country course.
There are no toilets on the course but toilet facilities which are fully accessible are located at building 3 on the map.
Please ensure that all mobility vehicles (eg wheelchairs) remain on paths and walkways at all times.
Athletes should both bring and wear suitable clothing and footwear.
A specific site for club tents will be situated immediately to the left of the pedestrian access to the field and will be signposted.


Travel Directions
Access to the site is via the dual carriageway (A58) towards St Helens and is easily accessible via Jct 2 of the M57 motorway.
If travelling from the North or North East most probably you would travel down the M62 to Jct 6 (M57) and follow the above directions.
Knowsley Safari Park is signposted from Jct 2 of the M57.

Other Considerations
Any spectators bringing dogs to the park will be allowed access to the course area, but not to the area where the birds of prey are kept.
If they wish later to go on the safari at the additional cost of £5 per car, the dogs will be put in kennels at the entrance.

Receptacles will be provided for litter, please ensure that these are used and that as little debris as possible is left on site.

Restaurant
The park are opening their restaurant (building 2 on site map) which will have hot and cold food available all day.
They will also have some available near to the finish area.

The Course
A separate course map shows the event timetable and routes. Chip Timing will be used.
Team managers & athletes are asked to ensure that the correct chip is / are allocated and correctly fixed.

The start area is around 500m from the registration building and athletes are requested to make their way to the start area by following the route on the course / and site map.
There are no toilets at the start area.

The course is on the whole grassland.
All the course laps feature the same uphill start, followed by a fast gradual descent on good quality grassland.
The return to the finish area is relatively flat.
The venue should provide an excellent cross country course.


If you have any queries please contact us at the NA office on 01924 457922.
Any on the day emergency queries related to weather conditions etc should be directed to Judith Temperton (07525 045307) or Event Manager – Arwel Williams (07795 261 458).
Weather updates and all latest information will be posted on the NA website. www.northernathletics.org.uk