Mon 6 Nov 2023 — SO1 Ten Tors Lieutenant Colonel Tim Gilbert

My name is Lieutenant Colonel Tim Gilbert and I’d like to introduce myself as the new lead for the Ten Tors Team. The Team consists of three Army Officers who work part time throughout the year, ensuring that the event is as challenging, enjoyable and, most importantly, safe as possible.

I have had the privilege of assisting in running the Ten Tors Challenge and Jubilee Challenge since 2018. This year, knowing that I had been selected for this job, I was able to spend most of the Saturday of the Event out on the moor meeting participants. I was struck by how motivated and enthusiastic the participants were, and just how much the civilian and military enablers valued the event.

I know how important Ten Tors is to you all, and I know that some of you have been assisting or participating in the event since well before I was born. Ten Tors is in a great place, thanks to the hard work of the countless people who have been involved over the years; my main challenge is ensuring that I continue to improve the event for the three years that I am responsible for it. The Team will strive to refine the management and delivery of this fantastic event whilst maintaining it’s important history and legacy.

Please email the team (swhq-tentors-mailbox@mod.gov.uk) if you have any suggestions for improvements. My aim is that Ten Tors 24 will be the best event yet, and I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible between now and the end of May.

Thu 19 Oct 2023 — Ten Tors Planning Map Traces

A few Establishments have expressed interest in having sight of the map traces used to develop the TT24 routes. The Ten Tors map traces are not made available to Establishments as this would be against the requirement for Establishments to take responsibility for their own training programmes and would undermine the self-sufficiency commitment of each team during their Challenge.

Fri 13 Oct 2023 — Observational Quiz Where's To?

An observational quiz for participants of Ten Tors

Dartmoor is exciting, full of history and wildlife. Understanding its special qualities will help you navigate and enjoy the open, wild moor.

Keep your eyes peeled during your walks on Dartmoor as well as using books and the internet to discover the answers to this Quiz.

Fill in the answers to the questions and complete a training log.

You can submit your completed quiz either online or by sending a paper copy but either way we hope this quiz enhances your knowledge of this wonderful place.

Good hunting and enjoy Dartmoor.

Lt Col (Retd) A H Clark OBEAdvisor to Director Ten Tors

Where's To? 2024 can be found on the Ten Tors website in 'Information', 'Forms & Cards'.

• A4 Single Page Where's To?
• A5 Booklet Where's To?
• Interactive Where's To?

Fri 13 Oct 2023 — Ten Tors 24 Entry Cost

• Ten Tors Challenge £210 per team
• Ten Tors Jubilee Challenge £20 for each participant
• Ten Tors Jubilee Challenge Plus £25 for each participant

Payment - The payment section on TMs Dashboard’s will open on Tue 2 Jan 24 to Tue 30 Jan 24. Payment is only accepted via the PayPal link which will be in each of the TMs Dashboard once live. A PayPal account is not required just follow the instructions when live. Further detail will be published just before the payment window opens.

Tue 10 Oct 2023 — Head of Establishment Assurance

The HoE Assurance can now be found on TMs Dashboards. This needs to be read and acknowledged via the tick box by the HoE before any training can commence.

Fri 6 Oct 2023 — Ten Tors 24 Routes and Training

The Ten Tors 24 routes have been published under the respective Challenge tabs. You may wish to glance through them before tomorrow’s briefing. Please note that the list of staffed locations list has not yet been updated. The layout will be changed to make the routes matrix more printer friendly, so we suggest that you don’t waste paper ink and paper now. The Training page has also been updated. We suggest you have a quick look through in case you wish to ask any questions during the Briefing or the breaks.

Fri 29 Sep 2023 — Team Managers Brief - Sat 7 Oct 23

The mandatory Team Managers’ Brief will be held at 1000hrs on Sat 7 Oct 2023 at Okehampton Camp, EX20 1QP for all selected, provisional and reserve Team Managers. Representatives must be available for the whole of the Brief; early departure will result in forfeiture of the Establishment’s place(s) on TT24.

TMs must have attended a Briefing within the 3 years preceding the Event - if they have, a member of the Team Staff (who is registered on the TMs Dashboard) may attend in their place. Establishments entering more than one challenge (TTC, JC and/or JC+) must send an attendee for each. Attendance at the TM’s Brief is mandatory and failure to attend will result in Establishments being de-selected from the Event.

Arrival reception opens from 0930hrs to 0950hrs, the brief will start at 1000hrs, with an expected finish time of 1330hrs.

Please bring a travel mug with you, as hot drinks and a hot sandwich will be provided.

What to do before you attend:

• Print the Attendance Certificate (here) complete and hand it in on arrival on Sat 7 Oct 23 (the Head of Establishment form will be completed and submitted online at a later date).
• Read TT 24 Green Card Rules For Training On Dartmoor.
• Read TT 24 Pink Card Rules for Participants.
• Read TT 24 Orange Card Rules for Team Staff.

Ensure you allow plenty of time to travel to Okehampton Camp: the entrance will be busy! Also be aware that some GPS systems do not give accurate directions to the Camp so in the finest traditions of Ten Tors use them as an aid to navigation – the Camp is well signed from Okehampton Town Centre. Once in Okehampton Camp you will be marshalled to the car park and further directions provided to the hangar where the Brief will take place.

We look forward to seeing you at the Briefing and if you have any queries, please email us at SWHQ-TenTors-MAILBOX@mod.gov.uk.

Wed 27 Sep 2023 — Ten Tors Selection Committee Update

The Ten Tors Selection Committee met on Tuesday 26 September 2023 to select the teams for Ten Tors 24 and allocate reserve places. This was a difficult task as the entries were again much greater than the capacity of the Event, with many of the entries being made in the last few days. This required careful consideration of all the entries and some hard decisions.

The team allocations will be available to view under the relevant Challenge tab on the website on Thursday 28 September.

Jubilee Challenge (JC)

All the applications for the JC have been accepted.

Jubilee Challenge Plus (JC+)

This additional challenge is now a full part of the event. All entries for the JC+ have either been offered a place or a reserve place.

During the Pre-Registration phase, TM will be required to declare the number of challengers in each of their JC and JC+ teams. There is no need to change the number of challengers before the Payment Phase, unless an establishment wishes to reduce the numbers entered. It is unlikely, given the number of entries, that there will be any capacity for further entries.

Ten Tors Challenge (TTC)

The TTC received 489 entries for the permitted 400 places. One of the Ten Tors’ Strategic Objectives is to broaden participation within the South West to a greater range of establishments and teams. Consequently, all entries from establishments outside of the South West that did not meet the eligibility criteria were declined. To further reduce numbers, all Establishments requesting more than 4 teams were reduced to 4. All entries from within the South West that have not been accepted have been placed on the Reserve list. This brings the total accepted entries to 464 with 21 Reserves. It is anticipated that the usual quantity of withdrawals will bring the quantity of teams starting the Challenge down to 400.

By 30 November 2023, TTC TMs are requested to email the Ten Tors Secretary at SWHQ-TenTors-MAILBOX@mod.gov.uk with the required distribution of their accepted TTC teams so that changes can be made.

Reserves may be allocated a place once the number of accepted entries drops, typically immediately after January’s Payment Phase. Reserve teams’ entry fees are to be paid either during the Payment Phase or immediately on acceptance of the offer of a place. The allocation of Reserves will favour those within the Southwest first.

Establishments will not usually be permitted to have more than 2 teams at any one distance.

Refunds

There will be no penalties for teams who withdraw before their entrance fees are paid during the January 2024 Payment Phase. Once payment has been made, there will be no refunds.

Dashboard actions

Some of the accepted entries and the reserve places have a code in the Qual (qualification) column. TMs must remedy their administrative error(s) through their dashboard by 15 October 2023, otherwise their team’s place will be forfeited. Once corrected, the Ten Tors Secretary will remove the code.

The relevant codes are;

Area = Establishment outside of the South West.

Co = Cohorts need adding. This is the quantity of pupils/members in each of the relevant age group.

D = Declaration not completed.

Estb = A TM may only represent one Estb.

N = Name of the Establishment. Please check that the name of the establishment has a maximum of 30 characters and is lower case with, where appropriate, the first letter of each word in capitals. To assist indexing ‘The’ must not be the first word.

Q = Qualifications. No qualified walking leader. This person does not have to be the TM. From the Ten Tors perspective, the required qualifications may be made up of an amalgam of 2 or more team staff. Note that Scout qualifications may only be used by Scout Establishments.

Staff = Add qualified walking leaders.

T = Telephone number or email missing/corrupted.

In addition, all TM are requested to add other qualified walking leaders to their Team Staff as this demonstrates the Establishment’s depth of hill walking expertise.

TM are also requested to double check that their telephone numbers and email addresses entered on their dashboard are correct as they are a key part of Ten Tors’ communications.

Team Managers’ Brief

The mandatory TM Brief will take place on Sat 7^th Oct 23. If an establishment is not represented, (more details will be published on the website very soon), they will be removed from the event. There will not be a second Team Managers Brief ran later on in the year. All TMs must have attended a TM Brief within the last three years, and must send a representative if they are not attending themselves.

Summary

It is fantastic to see that the event continues to grow and we are again oversubscribed for TT24. We regret the disappointment that establishments and their prospective challengers may feel, but we assure you that every effort has been made to be consistent, balanced and to make decisions that support Ten Tors’ policy and rules.

Mon 25 Sep 2023 — Ten Tors 24 Selection Committee-Tue 26 Sep

The TT24 Entry Registration closed on Fri 23 Sep @ 2359 hrs. Entries are now being collated ready for the Selection Committee taking place tomorrow morning, Tue 26 Sep.

Below is a summary of the entry numbers and additional information on the Selection Committee criteria and considerations for participation numbers. The Selection Committee discuss establishments’ performance over the past 3 events. Consistent errors in admin, training, performance, and infringements will be considered.

Out Of Area Establishments

Given the difficult balance between meeting the Strategic Objective of Broadening Participation within the Southwest, and respecting the historical involvement of some out of Out Of Area (OOA) establishments, the Ten Tors Policy Committee agreed that the protocol for OOA team selection for TT24 will be:

• A maximum of 1 team per establishment, up to a maximum of 12 teams in total (representing 3% of total places available), may be allocated to any establishment from any OOA establishment which has a historical involvement of participation in Ten Tors of 10 years or more (does not need to be consecutive or the most recent 10 years).
• Depending on the total number of applications, an additional reserve place may be offered. These will be offered as a lower priority than establishments from the SW region.
• No new OOA establishments will be offered places.

Ten Tors Challenge

The Ten Tors Challenge (TTC) received 487 Team entries for the permitted 400 Team places.

With 489 entries for the permitted 400 places, reductions will need to be made. Where possible teams with reductions may receive reserve places.

Jubilee Challenge & Jubilee Challenge Plus

Jubilee challenge received 471 individual entries and Jubilee Challenge Plus received 35 individual entries.

Reserve Places

Reserves will be allocated once the number of accepted entries is agreed, typically immediately after January’s Payment Phase.

Dashboard Errors

There are still establishments with errors on their Dashboards, this will be highlighted at the Selection Committee and may affect entries. TMs must remedy their administrative error(s) through their dashboard by 0900 hrs Tue 26 Sep 23. Current errors:

• Cohorts need adding. This is the quantity of pupils/members in each of the relevant age group.
• TM Assurance Declaration not completed.
• A TM may only represent one establishment.
• Name of the establishment. Please check that the name of the establishment has a maximum of 30 characters and is lower case with, where appropriate, the first letter of each word in capitals. To assist indexing ‘The’ must not be the first word.
• Qualifications. No qualified walking leader. This person does not have to be the TM. From the Ten Tors perspective, the required qualifications may be made up of an amalgam of 2 or more team staff. Note that Scout qualifications may only be used by Scout establishments.
• Staff - Add qualified walking leaders.
• Telephone number or email missing/corrupted. This information has been sent via email today to all TMs email addresses recorded on their Dashboards. Please check you have received the email as some have failed to send and been returned. Some have been rejected stating 'email address suspects your message is spam and rejected it'. Please make sure SWHQ-TenTors-MAILBOX@Mod.gov.uk is recognised by your email account or you will not receive email updates. Other emails have returned undelivered due to incorrect email addresses.

If you have any questions regarding your Dashboard please get in touch (incl Estab code in title). As usual Selection results will be communicated via the Ten Tors website (TTC, JC, JC+ drop down ‘Teams’), we aim for Thu 28 Sep.

At a similar time, the Team Manger Brief detail will be posted on the Ten Tors website; for those trying to make planning/transport considerations I can say at this stage the arrival reception is from 0930 to 0945 hrs with presentations starting at 10am on Sat 7 Oct 23.

Sat 23 Sep 2023 — TT24 Entry Registration Final Check

Dear Establishments,

Thank you for all your entries; the TT24 Entry Registration is now closed. As previously posted, I would urge all TMs to check their Dashboards to confirm they have ‘5’ green ticks as shown below.

There are still some Establishments with red crosses on either Team Staff details or TM Assurances (or both) meaning their registration is incomplete at this stage. Those Establishments have until 0900 hrs on Tue 26^th Sep to update their Dashboards before the Selection Board.

.

Tue 19 Sep 2023 — Ten Tors Entries – Pour Memoire

Team Managers are reminded that entries for TT24 close at 2359hrs this Friday, 22 September 2023.

Do please check that you have 5 ticks on your application. Common faults are not ticking agreement to the Assurances on the last page and/or not entering the required qualifications. “Ideally, the Team Manager should hold a full set of the required competences, however it is acceptable if other staff hold the requisite competences.” You will know that everything has been completed, when you have 6 ticks and ‘application complete’.

Thu 31 Aug 2023 — Ten Tors Staff Qualifications

Although Mountain Training has discontinued its Expedition Skills module, team staff should continue to declare attendance at this module, if held, as per Ten Tors Rules Annex C. As an interim solution, the Duke of Edinburgh Supervisor qualification may be entered if held. Until an alternative supervisory module is available for Walking Group Leaders and Hill and Moorland Leaders, entries by establishments will not be penalised if no member of their staff holds a supervisory qualification.

The Annex C Qualification chart is in the process of being updated to reflect the above interim solution.

Thu 31 Aug 2023 — Selection of Out Of Area (OOA) Establishments for Ten Tors 24

Given the difficult balance between meeting the Strategic Objective of Broadening Participation within the Southwest, and respecting the historical involvement of some OOA establishments, the Ten Tors Policy Committee has agreed that the protocol for OOA team selection for TT24 will be:

• A maximum of 1 team per establishment, up to a maximum of 12 teams in total (representing 3% of total place available), may be allocated to any establishment from any OOA establishment which has a historical involvement of participation in Ten Tors of 10 years or more (does not need to be consecutive or the most recent 10 years).
• Depending on the total number of applications, an additional reserve place may be offered. These will be offered as a lower priority than establishments from the SW region.
• No new OOA establishments will be offered places.

Tue 15 Aug 2023 — Team Entries and Key Dates

When – Ten Tors 2024 (TT24) Event will take place from Fri 10 May 24 to Sun 12 May 24.

Entries – Establishments will be able to submit entries for TT24 through the TT website via Team Managers (TMs) Dashboards, which open from Fri 01 Sep 23 to 2359 hrs Fri 22 Sep 23. Entries received after this date may result in your establishment not being allocated the teams requested. Prior to applying for teams, please ensure you read the Rules, particularly Annex C – Staff Qualifications.

Out Of Area Establishments – The Out Of Area protocol will be published on the TT website on Fri 01 Sep 23.

Selection Results – Published on the TT website via the TMs Dashboards on Thu 28 Sep 23.

Cost – TT24 entry fees have not yet been confirmed. Below is an example of TT23 entry fees:

· Ten Tors Challenge £210 per team

· Ten Tors Jubilee Challenge £20 for each participant

· Ten Tors Jubilee Challenge Plus £25 for each participant

Team Managers’ Brief – The TMs’ Briefing will be held on Sat 07 Oct 23 in Okehampton Camp. TMs must have attended a Briefing within the 3 years preceding the Event - if they have, a member of the Team Staff (who is registered on the TMs Dashboard) may attend in their place. Establishments entering more than one challenge (TTC, JC and/or JC+) must send an attendee for each. Attendance at the TMs Brief is mandatory and failure to attend will result in Establishments being de-selected from the Event. Further detail will be published nearer the Event.

Payment - The payment section on TMs Dashboard’s will open on Tue 02 Jan 24 to Tue 30 Jan 24. Payment is only accepted via the PayPal link which will be in each of the TMs Dashboard once live. A PayPal account is not required just follow the instructions. Further detail will be published just before the payment window opens.

Key Dates – All Key Dates can be found on the TT website under the ‘About’ tab, drop down to ‘Key Dates’.

Enquiries - Any questions regarding Ten Tors can be emailed to SWHQ-TenTors-MAILBOX@mod.gov.uk

Fri 4 Aug 2023 — Backpack Camping on Dartmoor

The Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) has highlighted at 'leave no trace' - how to backpack, what backpack camping is and where it is allowed. The Ten Tors 24 Green Card, which will be available shortly, gives specific direction for Ten Tors training and the Event.

DNPA is not currently updating the camping map for the following reasons:

Should the Darwalls pursue, if so, if they are then successful in their case going to the Supreme Court.

Secondly, it is meeting with access, landowner, and conservation groups to have an agreed, consistent and transparent process for adding and removing land onto the camping map. This had previously caused a lot of angst with access groups as well as landowners.

Whether people agree with the above, we should all remember that the success at the Court of Appeal means that the public now have the right, rather than permission, to backpack camp on close to 100 square miles of common land as shown on the DNPA backpack Camping Map.

Tue 1 Aug 2023 — Ten Tors 24 Date - 11/12 May 24

Following Ten Tors 23 and various feedback, a survey was distributed to Team Managers and the Ten Tors Policy Committee met to debate potential dates for Ten Tors 24. After much consultation and discussion, the Committee has agreed that Ten Tors 24 will be held on 11/12 May 24.

Check out the Ten Tors website 'Key Dates' for 23/24. Team Managers Dashboards will be reopened on 1 Sep 23, this includes new Team Manager accounts.

Tue 1 Aug 2023 — Team Managers' Brief Date

The Ten Tors Team Managers' Brief will take place the morning of Sat 7 Oct 23 In Okehampton Camp. All timings and further detail will be updated on 1 Aug 23, along with all other Ten Tors key dates. We look forward to seeing all new Team Managers' and staff in Oct.