Date: Nov. 4 - 5, 2006
Location: Livermore, CA
Event Directors: 
- 925.516.7622, - 925.516.7622
Course Setters: Martin Kunz, Hannu Haarma
Type: A; 2-day event, with separate results for each day
| Table of contents |
By Marie-Josée Parayre and François Léonard
Welcome to the Bay Area Orienteering Club's O in the Oaks IV A meet. We hope you enjoy this beautiful park and fun orienteering over the weekend.
This is a two-day event with separate results on each day.
Terrain and Map
The area for this A meet will be on some of the nicest terrain in the Bay Area. The terrain is approximately 50% open oak forest, 40% grassland, and 10% fight. It is not very steep by Bay Area standards, but there will still be some amount of climb. The white forest has good visibility and running, except on the steep slopes. There is a moderate trail network. There are numerous rock features and some fine contour detail, which will provide interesting and challenging orienteering. The map was produced by Zoran Krivokapic for the "O' in the Oaks" World Ranking Event in 2001.
The green "O" map symbol is a lone tree. The green "X" is either a fallen dead tree or tall stump. If used for a control, the control description is a single tree followed by the ruined symbol. If a stump is used for a control, the height in meters is indicated on the control description. There are some very steep areas on the map, indicated by rocky cliffs, earth banks, or very close contour lines. In many case the steepest of areas will not only slow you down, but put you in danger.
All maps will be printed at 1:10,000 with 5-meter contours on a high-resolution Epson Stylus printer with waterproof pigment-based (as opposed to water-soluble dye-based) ink on coated paper in plastic map cases.
Courses and Classes
The standard 7 courses and 43 USOF competition classes will be provided at the event.
Final statistics for the Saturday courses:
Course Length Climb Controls
White 2.6 km 85 m 11 Yellow 3.0 km 105 m 10 Orange 3.6 km 180 m 10 Brown 3.1 km 145 m 10 Green 3.9 km 190 m 13 Red 4.9 km 225 m 14 Blue 5.8 km 285 m 21
Final statistics for Sunday courses:
Course Length Climb Controls
White 2.1 km 25 m 7 Yellow 3.1 km 60 m 8 Orange 4.4 km 225 m 10 Brown 4.0 km 280 m 8 Green 5.0 km 320 m 8 Red 5.8 km 365 m 12 Blue 8.2 km 505 m 14
Recreational Courses
White, Yellow, and Orange recreational courses will be available both days. Different courses will be offered on Saturday and Sunday.
Day Course Length Climb Controls
Saturday White 2.5 km 85 m 9
Yellow 2.9 km 100 m 9
Orange 3.3 km 160 m 9
Sunday White 2.1 km 30 m 8
Yellow 3.0 km 55 m 9
Orange 4.4 km 225 m 10
Pre-registration is not required for those courses. The entry fees will be the standard recreational fees for White and Yellow courses at a BAOC "B" meet. That is, $6.00 for an individual adult or first member in a group, and $3.00 for each additional adult in a group. The corresponding fees for juniors are $3.00 and $2.00.
Registration opens at 9:00 a.m., short beginner's clinics will be offered between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m., and start times will be available from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.
Driving Directions and Parking
Take I-580 east to the North Livermore Avenue exit in Livermore. Everyone is strongly encouraged to carpool from a point near the highway exit, since parking at the park is very limited — see below for details.
To get to the park, head north on North Livermore Ave until forced to turn left onto Manning Road. Take the next right onto Morgan Territory Road, and continue 5.6 miles to the Morgan Territory Regional Preserve parking lot on the right. The road is very narrow with many sharp curves, so allow extra time and drive carefully. Parking and park admission are free. Parking on the road outside the park is not permitted.
Carpool Site
Carpooling is strongly recommended from Wal-Mart Store #1972, which is just off I-580 at the North Livermore Avenue exit. The address is 2700 Las Positas Road, Livermore, CA 94550. Exiting I-580, turn south onto North Livermore Ave, and turn left at the second light (Las Positas Rd). Make a left at the next light (Arroyo Plaza/Hilliker Pl) and meet in the Wal-Mart parking lot. All participants must park on the east side of the Wal-Mart store, in the Receiving area — not in front of the store.
Assembly Area
The Assembly Area for both competition days is the Picnic Area adjacent to the parking lot at the crest of Morgan Territory Road. Event registration, toilets, shuttle pick-up (day 2 only), first aid, and vendors will be located at the Assembly Area.
Start and Finish Locations
Note: Be sure to plan ahead for the time it will take you to get to the Start area.
There are two starts for Saturday and two starts for Sunday: one for the White and Yellow courses, and one for the Orange, Brown, Green, Red, and Blue courses.
For Saturday, the Start for the intermediate and advanced courses is a 1.8-km walk from the Assembly Area. The Start for the White and Yellow courses is a 300-m walk from the Assembly Area. There are no restrooms at either start area. All courses share the same Finish, which is a 300-m walk back to the Assembly Area.
For Sunday, the intermediate and advanced Start area requires a short shuttle ride to a drop-off location approximately 3 km north of the Assembly Area on Morgan Territory Road. There is no parking at this drop-off location, so don't try to drive to it yourself. From the drop-off location, it is a 200-m walk to the starting area. The Start area for the White and Yellow courses will be an 800-m walk from the Assembly Area. There are no restrooms at either start area. All courses share the same Finish area, which is a 250-m walk back to the Assembly Area.
The warm-up area for all courses on day 1 is the trail between the Assembly Area and the Start area. The warm-up area for intermediate and advanced courses on day 2 is the trail from Morgan Territory Road to the Start area. The warm-up area for the White and Yellow courses on Sunday is the trail leading to their Start area. On both days, runners can also warm-up on Morgan Territory Road at their own risk-please — be careful and watch for vehicles on the road.
All e-punch downloading will take place at the e-punch download tent in the Assembly Area.
Hazards
There is a moderate amount of poison oak in the park. Poison oak will have mainly lost its leaves in November, and can be seen as a groundcover with short stems, about 1 foot high, vines, and occasional bushes. The stems and stalks still have the antigen that causes the rash, so the best policy is to identify the plant, avoid it if possible, wear long pants and long-sleeve shirts, strip and wash off with Tecnu (available at most drug stores) right after the race and again when you get back to your hotel or home, place your competition clothes, including shoes, in a plastic bag and do not touch them again until they have been washed. Use a high-strength topical steroid cream (e.g., Fluocinonide, 0.05%) as soon as you feel any itching or notice any small red bumps or lines on your skin, usually about 24 to 48 hours after exposure. If you use the topical steroid cream early, you can virtually eliminate any severe rash, but if you wait until the rash has appeared, it takes much longer to get it under control.
Mountain lions, coyotes, and rattlesnakes live in the park, but spotting them this time of year would be rare. If you encounter any of these predators walk slowly away (Do not run!).
Safety
Whistles must be carried by all competitors. If you do not have a whistle, ask for a free one at Registration. If you are injured or hopelessly lost, give 3 short blasts on the whistle, and repeat every 30-60 seconds. Any competitor who hears the emergency whistle is required to come to the aid of an injured orienteer, so please do not blow the whistle unless it is a true emergency.
The safety bearing for all Intermediate and Advanced courses is south-west. You will eventually reach Morgan Territory Road. Note, however, that this will take you through some steep terrain. Walking uphill on Morgan Territory Road will bring you back to the Assembly Area.
Start Procedure
For A-meet competitors, you will be called up 4 minutes before your start time. Your name will be checked off and an official will use the Check unit to double check your finger stick. At two minutes before your start, you will advance to the start line. When the horn sounds and you are told to start, punch the Start unit, and start running to the start triangle. At the start triangle, pick up the appropriate map from the map box and begin navigating to your first control. It is your responsibility to pick up the correct map.
Control description sheets will be available in your registration packet and will also be printed on your map.
Electronic Punching
SPORTident electronic punching will be used for all classes on both days of the A meet. Each competitor must have his or her own SI card. SI cards may be rented through Registration.
After you have finished the course and walked back to the Assembly Area, proceed as soon as possible to the Download station (in the blue e-punch tent). Download your card into the computer. You will receive a printout of your splits after you download.
Note: Be sure to punch the Finish unit and download your results even if you do not finish your course. Telling the Finish crew that you retired from the course is not sufficient, as the computer will not know you have returned unless you download your card. If you do not download, we will have to assume you are lost or injured, and may have to send out a search party for you.
Course Closure
All A-meet competitors will have the full three hours to complete their courses. Therefore, the courses will probably close about 3:15 on Saturday and 2:15 on Sunday.
Please punch the Finish control and download your results at the download station, regardless of whether or not you have completed your course. If you do not check in, we will have to assume you are either lost or injured, and will have to institute a search party for you. Also, please be considerate to the organizers, and report to the Finish by course closure time. If you cannot complete your course by the course closure time, please retire from the course and return to the Finish in order to arrive before course closure time.
According to USOF rules, if you go over three hours, your time will not be counted anyway and you will be marked as Overtime (OVT). Please do not try to get "one more control" if it means you cannot return to the Finish by closure time.
Awards
The awards ceremony will begin at 2:00 p.m. on each day.
The top three finishers in the F-10, F-12, M-10, M-12, F-14, M-14, F-16, M-16, F-18, and M-18 categories will receive ribbons. In the other categories, the top three finishers will receive tickets for a drawing. First place will get 3 tickets, second place 2 tickets, and third place 1 ticket. Prize winners will be drawn from the collection of all tickets, for each day.
Saturday Night Dinner
The dinner will be at 6pm at:
- Cielito Lindo
- 2417 First Street
- Livermore
- 925-371-8757
Food will be ordered and paid for at the restaurant. We hope to set-up a projection of the Saturday courses so that competitors can describe their route choices.
From highway 580, take the North Livermore exit and proceed South for approximately 2 km. Turn left on First Street.
Child Care
Child care will be available on site and must be arranged with the event director ahead of time.