tidswell.com or message
(510-644-0788)
This meet is being staged so that a group of elite Swedish orienteers can get some training in, and so BAOCers can meet, train and get to know each other somewhat. I'll first give the logistics, and then the description of the event.
Check-in 3:15-3:45pm, mass start 4:00pm prompt.
Location/Directions: Briones Regional Park - meeting at the Alhambra Valley Road entrance, NE portion of the park: From Route 24 in the East Bay, take the Pleasant Hill Road exit, and head north towards Concord. Go for about 1 mile and turn left onto Reliez Valley Road. Continue on this road for about 5 miles, and look for O' signs at the entrance to the park on the left.
Suitable for: Advanced and strong intermediate orienteers in at least moderate shape. Sorry - no white, yellow, or new orange competitors
Pre-registration: Strongly recommended by e-mail iantidswell.com or message
(510-644-0788)
Afterwards: Those with energy can pick up controls. All can party at Evan Custer's house in Orinda (see bulletin)
The course: This will be a "Swiss Team Relay" - suggested by the visitors. There will be 3-4 runners per team (1-2 elite runners, 1-2 less competitive). The course will have about 20 controls (7.5k, 700m climb. Welcome to Northern California!) Each team has one punchcard and must visit all controls in order (from 1 to 20), BUT for most of the controls only one member of the team has to pass by! Some of the controls are however obligatory for everyone to pass at the same time, let's say control 5, 9, 10, 14, 19 and 20. These obligatory controls will be clearly marked on the map and on the clue sheet
An example of how it can work is given below: Lets say we have a team of James, Bob, Penny and Mark: They start together, Bob runs to control 1 and 2, Penny runs straight to control 2 and James straight to control 3. When Bob arrives at control 2, he gives Penny the punchcard and Bob then runs straight to the obligatory 5th control. When Penny arrives at control 3, James takes the punchcard and runs to Controls 4 and 5. Meanwhile, Penny can jog to control 5. The very slow Mark walks straight to control 5 from the start. At control 5, they all meet up, talk tactics for a few seconds and then do the same procedure again...
Note that for a few (short) legs both controls will be for everyone, so the team will run as a group. As you can see, strategy can be adjusted for the strengths of each team, and can be adjusted mid-course. Just make sure you recognize your team-mates! Also, less competitive orienteers will not be a significant drag on the team. Teams will be selected as much as possible so that they are balanced ability - with a mixture of Swede's and BAOCer's on all teams. It should be fun.
Let me know if there are any questions. Please also pass this on to others who are e-mail impaired.
Thanks
Ian
Please note that because of the special nature of this event, there will be NO BEGINNERS COURSES OR INSTRUCTION (the social following will be open to all - see here (edit: bad link to "s990318e.html" removed). Pre-registration will be required to guarantee a start. We will have a limited number of starts available.
Offers of help will be accepted at 510-644-0788, or iantidswell.com
--Evan Custer