Briones

11th annual Scout-O Championships

Orinda
Sunday, Oct. 13, 2002

Contact: Gavin Wyatt-Mair, 925-934-6567

We have another new map this year (fourth year in a row)! We return again to the southwest portion of Briones, where the map extension provides options for lower climb percentages and a better technical challenge.

All courses will be pre-marked. All courses will have e-punching. White, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Green, Red and Blue courses will be offered. Grass stickers and thistles are usually abundant, so be sure to wear gaiters and long pants.

The annual Scout-O will also be held concurrently with the regular BAOC event, so expect a sizable crowd. Although pre-registration is required for the scout-o, it is NOT required for the BAOC B-meet. BAOC members please note that your showing is very good publicity for the club, and sets an example for hundreds of scouts and adults to see!! Please do come, with your best o-gear, a smile and a word of encouragement for the youngsters.

Registration

Registration opens at 9:00. Starts will be at the usual times - from 10:00 to 12:30. Allow an extra 15 minutes to get to a slightly remote start.

Directions

Registration will be at the West entrance to the park, off of Bear Creek Road. To get there, take route 24 West from 680 or East from 80. Exit at Orinda heading North on Camino Pablo. After about 2 miles, turn right on Bear Creek Road. After about 3.5 miles, the park entrance will be on your right (don't be fooled by the parking area on the left - that's not it), and is well sign-posted. There is a charge of approximately $3.50 for parking. Please car-pool if possible, since there will probably be many scouts attending.

If you are able and willing to help out on the day of the meet or before, we sure could use your help! Please let me know&

BAOC Event

All courses will be pre-marked. All courses will have e-punching. White, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Green, Red and Blue courses will be offered. Grass stickers and thistles are usually abundant, so be sure to wear gaiters and long pants. 

Color      Distance (km)    Climb (m)    Navigational Difficulty   Physical Difficulty

White         3.8             150                Easy                   Easy
Yellow        4.1             170                Easy                   Easy
Orange        5.5             220                Moderate               Moderate
Brown         4.5             210                Hard                   Moderate
Green         5.7             250                Hard                   Hardish
Red           6.3             290                Hard                   Hard
Blue          7.1             305                Hard                   Hard
10 reasons to do Briones:
1. Tune up for the Almaden Quicksilver A meet on October 26-27.
2. Another new map.
3. Be on show for hundreds of scouts to see our esteemed club in action.
4. Get outdoors and do something healthy for your body and mind.
5. Poison oak is minimal - mainly stalks and ankle-high leaves.
6. Courses are fast and have variety - one part is fine navigation in the forest, another is fast open running and the third is coarse navigation in the forest.
7. E-punching everywhere!
8. Incredible views - take a second to look!
9. Chance to see deer, eagles, coyote, skunks, buzzards, orienteers... and more.
10. Orienteering- the thinking sport.

The start is about 1500m from the parking lot, on the trail - it takes 20 minutes to get there. The scout-o overlaps the white, yellow and the orange courses. Please be tolerant. Also, remember that horses have the right of way, and try not to scare them. The terrain is rough! You will need good strong shoes, full leg covering and advanced courses need good cleats. Registration for regular o will be open from about 9:00. Earliest start is at 10:00, latest start at 12:30. Bring water.

Scout-O Championships

We are pleased to announce the eleventh annual Bay Area Scout Orienteering Championship. Register by October 5 to participate! Our co-champions last year were Troop 804 from Danville and Troop 32 from San Jose. Our top girl scout troop last year was Troop 321 from Los Altos. Our top juniors were Girl Scout Troop 2485 from Dublin. Who will be champions this year? Everyone stands a chance!! Some practice, some fitness, and some thinking will get you a long way. So come on out - bring your compasses, running shoes and your brains - and have fun!

The format for this year's championships will be similar to last year's, and is described below. Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of all ages are welcome, and the competition is arranged to accommodate any skill level. In addition, the courses are arranged to meet the map and compass requirements for First Class, Second Class or the Orienteering Merit Badge.

Yes, there will be patches. Anyone who has not yet received a patch for a prior year's event can get it at this year's. Or by contacting the meet director. The patches are "progressive", so that a scout can participate in multiple scout-o's and add to his or her patch sequence.

We will have electronic punching again. We have corrected the computer trouble we had last year, and are expecting to get early results this year! Accurate, too! And, for the fourth year running, we will have a brand new MAP!

Competitive Categories

Scouts will compete against other scouts with the same orienteering experience. Four courses will be offered. 
Course 1:       Daisies, Brownies, Cub scout dens, Webelo dens, Tenderfoot and Junior scouts, and scouts with very 
                little (less than 2) prior orienteering experiences:  Dens and younger scouts will run in groups of
				2-6 with an adult advisor who should follow his or her group, not lead it; Tenderfoot scouts will 
                run in pairs.

Course 2:      Cadettes, seniors, second Class and/or first class scouts, or scouts with minimal (2 to 5) orienteering 
               experiences:
               Compete in pairs.

Course 3:      Star, Life and/or Eagle scouts, or scouts with substantial (more than 5) orienteering 
               experiences:
               Compete in pairs.

Course 4:      Advanced, highly experienced orienteers of any rank:  Run alone on a typical United States Orienteering 
               Federation orange level course.

Adult course:  All leaders and parents are invited to compete on a course similar to but separate from course 3.  They 
               may run in groups or alone.  Leaders/parents should also pre-register.  Leader results are for bragging
			   rights only and will not affect troop scoring.

Note

Choose your courses carefully - there are more points available for doing the harder courses (we are encouraging scouts to "move up" a notch), but don't get on a course you can't finish, because then you will likely lose points. As a rule of thumb, the points available for course 2 are about 10% more than course 1. Course 3 is about 20% more, and course 4 is about 30% more than course 1.

Score meet

All scouts may compete in a troop "score" event in the afternoon. Both morning and afternoon events will contribute to the troop total score to determine the troop championship.

Hint

The more scouts that attend from a given troop, the better the troop usually does. We combine the top N scouts' scores from the morning and afternoon events to get the troop score. The value N is set by the meet director on the day of the meet, based on conditions and attendance.

Registration Information

All troops participating in Scout-O must be pre-registered and prepaid. Registration will close on October 4, 2002. The cost of the event is $4.50 per scout or participating leader. Choose your teams carefully, because they must remain together all day. Mixed category teams are possible, but will compete on the course of the higher ranking scout. Each troop may have one 3- person team to allow for odd numbers. Registration forms are included in this bulletin. Troops may obtain additional registration forms and detailed information from the meet director:

Gavin Wyatt-Mair
20 Folin Lane
Lafayette, CA 94549
Tel: (925)934-6567 at home
E-mail: GavinWMattbi.com

Registration forms and information will also be available at the registration desk at other scheduled BAOC meets in June through September.

Start times

The meet will be held on Sunday, October 13, 2002. Instruction will begin at 9:00 am. The start time of each individual team will be determined by the entry date of their troop. In general, start times will begin at 10:00 am and go until about noon. The Score event will run from 1:30 to 2:30 pm. The awards ceremony will begin at 3:00 pm and the meet will be closed at 3:30 pm. It is advisable to arrive at the meet by 9:00 am. We will stick to the pre-assigned start times - it's less confusing that way. You may call the meet director for advance notice of your troop's starting times. Bring compasses, and remember, we go - rain or shine!

Prizes

Awards will be made to the best teams on each course. The champion troops will be determined by the results in all categories including the score event. As before, there will be medals, certificates and a Troop trophy. There will be awards for the top "Junior" Scout troop (cubs, webelos, daisies, brownies, etc) as well as the top Girl Scout troop if a Boy Scout troop wins, or the top Boy Scout troop if a Girl Scout troop wins. Each participant will receive a progressive (by course) participation patch.

Equipment

You will each need strong trail shoes, long pants (Briones has stickers!), a pen or pencil, a watch and a compass. You may want a water bottle, hat, sunscreen, etc. if it's hot, or rain gear if it's rainy. Bring your own lunch.

Directions

Registration will be at the West entrance to the park, off of Bear Creek Road. To get there, take route 24 West from 680 or East from 80. Exit at Orinda heading North on Camino Pablo. After about 2 miles, turn right on Bear Creek Road. After about 3.5 miles, the park entrance will be on your right (don't be fooled by the parking area on the left - that's not it), and is well sign-posted. There is a charge of approximately $3.50 for parking. Please car-pool if possible. NOTE: we are NOT using the north-east side of the park this year even though we usually alternate north-east and south-west.

Registration

All troops participating in this Scout-O must be preregistered and prepaid. Registration closes on Oct. 5. The cost is $4.50 per scout or participating leader. Make checks payable to BAOC and mail the forms to me (see below).

There are three ways to get registration forms:

When filling out the forms, choose your teams carefully, because they must remain together all day. Mixed-category teams are possible, but will compete on the course of the higher-ranking scout. Each troop may have one 3-person team to allow for odd numbers.