Event Volunteer Instructions
Here are some guidelines for administering functions at BAOC meets. For more information, talk to the club's technical director or event quality director.
Start Instructions
- One person should assign start times. The other person should watch the clock and call off the times when people should start.
- Double check that the maps are in their correct boxes. Ideally, the timer should check again before each participant goes out that the each map is in its appropriate box.
- Have at least 4 minute intervals between participants on the Orange, Brown, Green, Red, and Blue courses. Try to have 4 minute intervals on White and Yellow courses, but if you get a big backup, the interval may be reduced to 2 minutes on White and Yellow.
- Ask the participant when he or she wants to go out on a course, and assign the appropriate time slot for that course to him or her. Write the participant's name, course, and start time on the starter sheet.
- Write start time on punch card.
- Make sure that participants have written their first and last names legibly on punch card and stub.
- Make sure that participants have written their license plate number on the stub.
- Remind people that everybody has to report to the finish whether or not he or she has completed the course so that we know that they are not lost or injured.
- Remind everybody that the courses close at 2:00 p.m., and that they must report to the finish by that time whether or not they complete the course.
- Check to see that every individual or group has a whistle.
- Instruct the participants not to turn over the map until the start whistle blows.
- Give 1 minute, 30 seconds, 15 seconds, and 5 seconds advance notice before the person's start time.
- When the start time comes, blow the whistle and say "Go!"
Finish Instructions
- Press the button on the Seiko printer stopwatch when a participant crosses the finish line.
- For groups, do not punch the finish button until the last member crosses the finish line.
- Collect punch card from finisher and write the finish time on the punch card.
- If a lot of finishers are coming in close together, encourage recent finishers to leave the finish chute as quickly as possible so a collision or backup across the finish line does not occur.
- Record the finisher's name and finish time on the log sheet.
- Sort punch cards into the different color coded courses.
- Collate the participant's punch card with his or her stub, when it is brought down from the start area..
- If time permits, steps 1, 2, and 3 of the results may be done.
Results Instructions
- Check the punches using the card of another competitor on the same course as a guide. If correct, initialize the front of the card in the punches checked area. If there is a question about whether the punch is the correct one, contact the event director.
- Calculate the elapsed time between the start and the finish. If available, use the special calculators for subtracting time.
- Write the elapsed time in hours, minutes, and seconds, or minutes and seconds (as requested by the Event Director) on both the punch card and the stub. For minutes and seconds, for example, 1 hour, 11 minutes, 5 seconds would be written 71:05.
- Staple the stubs on the results line, sorted by course, with the fastest time on the left. The courses should be hung, from top to bottom, or right to left, (depending on the number and length of strings) Blue, Red, Green, Brown, Orange, Yellow, White, and Start-O'. Keep the punch cards at the results table.
- If the participant does not punch all of the controls, write DNF (did not finish) on both the card and stub, and place stub on the extreme right of the results for that course.
- If the participant punches the wrong control, write MSP (mispunched) on the card and stub. Post the stub just to the left of any DNF's.
- If the participant takes over 180 minutes for a course, write the elapsed time and OT (overtime) on both the card and the stub. Post the stub just to the left of any MSPs.
