Course Setter's Workshop, Santa Clara

September 29, 1998

This workshop is designed primarily for people who are interested in designing and setting courses but feel that they do not have enough skills to do so. However, it might also be of interest to anyone who wants a review of basic course setting principles. Topics to be discussed are the aims of good course planning, criteria for good legs and control placement, selection of the start and finish areas, developing complete and accurate control descriptions, guidelines for the beginning, intermediate and advanced courses, drawing board course design, field work, map preparation, course setter's notes, and hanging controls.

Approximately 50% of the session will be spent in reviewing the theoretical considerations of course design. The remainder of the session will be devoted to letting you design a few legs of the beginning, intermediate, and advanced courses. We will then go over the course legs that you designed and critique them. Upon completion of this workshop, you should be able to design and set the beginning courses at an orienteering event with the supervision of a more experienced course setter.

Pizza will be available at 6:30 p.m., and the workshop will begin at 7:00 p.m., and probably last until 10:00 p.m. Although not absolutely necessary, it would be nice if you would contact me to indicate you are coming so that I know how many handouts to prepare and pizza to buy.

 Directions: The course will be held at the conference room of my daughter's housing complex in Santa Clara. The address is 2950 Mauricia Avenue, Santa Clara. From I-280, take the Stevens Creek-Lawrence Expressway exit and head east on Stevens Creek Blvd. Turn left (north) at Cronin (or if you miss Cronin, left onto Woodhams), and then right onto Mauricia. The conference room is at the corner of Redwood and Mauricia, on the right-hand (south) side of the street.

If you have any questions, please contact me at evancustersprintmail.com or 925-254-5628.

--Evan Custer