Indian Valley Open Space Preserve
Date: (Sat.) May. 19, 2007
Location: Novato, CA
Event Director: - 415.895.6039
Course Setter: Rex Winterbottom
Type: C; White, Yellow, and Orange courses; Sprints (4-round tournament)
Request for Volunteers
Are you an experienced orienteer planning to come to Indian Valley, but not planning to participate in the Sprints? If so, we need you! I need one or two wise souls to handle beginners clinics and in general answer beginner questions, and also to be available just in case a control sprouts legs and goes wandering. Your reward: you get to do the Long Orange course later (or the regular Orange if you prefer). Let me know. Thanks.
Indian Valley Event Director
After several years of winter events, orienteering returns to Indian Valley in the glorious springtime on Saturday, May 19, 2007. The action will be centered around the College of Marin Indian Valley campus, which has a network of trails and woodsy hills and meadows, in addition to standard campus fare. White, Yellow, and Orange courses will be offered, as well as a series of four Sprint courses, which will be the Finals of the 2007 BAOC Sprint series. All courses will have e-punch. Rex Winterbottom will be the course setter and master of ceremonies.
How does the 2007 BAOC Sprint series finals work?
- There will be prizes and medals in all USOF age classes!
- Anyone may participate; it is not necessary to have run in the qualifying series events.
- There will be 4 courses, about 1 km each, and the overall distance will be about 5 km (see the Final Course Stats below). Climb will not be high, and the courses won’t be physically demanding, although they will go off trail.
- You may run less than 4 courses and drop out at anytime. There is no requirement to do them all, unless you are competing for a championship award.
- Runners will be seeded initially according to the Sprint Series standings before the event.
- Each of the first 3 courses you run, you will start in a group of 4. A little party! Your fourth and final course will be head-to-head with your closest competitor.
- First start is 11:00; there will be one-minute intervals between starts. You will not run the same course twice. Be on time—otherwise you may be running as a lower seed.
- After you finish a course, go immediately to the staging area, as you will be starting again very soon. Each sprint result will move you into a higher or lower bracket.
- See the E-Punch Notes for information about the special procedure for this event.
- Don't forget to stick around for the awards ceremony, to be held soon after the fourth Sprint course has been run. We invite you to stay and picnic/socialize at the staging area.
The Sprints are recommended for experienced orienteers. It’s not required, but would be very helpful if you pre-registered by emailing your name, birth date or USOF age class for 2007, and gender. You’ll still pay and register normally on the day of the event, but it will help Rex get the logistics organized.
There will be three other courses for people not interested in the Sprints. Pre-registration for these courses is not necessary (but we would like to know about groups of 8 or more, so we can print enough maps).
- The White course is for beginners, about 1.5 km to 2.0 km in length, all on trails.
- The Yellow course is for advanced beginners, about 2.5 km to 3.0 km in length; ventures off trail, although many routes will be on trails.
- The Orange course is for intermediate orienteers, about 3.5 km to 4.5 km in length; best routes will be off trail with good catching features.
Registration and Schedule
Registration will be next to the swimming pool—the same spot we have used in the past.
Note that the event schedule is a bit different than normal:
- Registration opens at 10:00 A.M. and closes at 1:00 P.M.—not the normal 9:00–noon.
- Short, repeating, beginners clinics will be available from approximately 10:30 until 11:30, depending on demand.
- You can start a White, Yellow, or Orange course anytime between 10:30 A.M. and 1:30 P.M. (The Start for these courses is close to Registration.)
- The Sprint series starts at 11:00 A.M. sharp. Be registered and ready at the Start by that time, and be aware that there is a 5-minute walk from Registration to the Sprint Start area.
- All courses close at 2:30 P.M., and control bags will be picked up at that time. Please honor the course closure time and come to the Finish, even if you have not completed your course by 2:30.
Once again, if you are participating in the Sprint finals, it is important to be registered, at the Start, and ready to run by 11:00. Sprint late-comers may run in a lower-seeded bracket. Also, see the E-Punch Notes for information about the special procedure for this event.
Final Course Stats
Here are the course stats. See the Course Setter's Notes for more information.
Course Length Climb
White 1.7 km 35 m Yellow 2.3 km 40 m Orange 3.3 km 250 m Sprint 1 1.2 km 45 m Sprint 2 1.1 km 80 m Sprint 3 1.3 km 20 m Sprint 4 1.3 km 45 m
All courses use E-punch. Rental E-sticks will be available at Registration for a nominal fee.
Driving Directions
To get to Indian Valley, take Highway 101 through Marin County to southern Novato, and exit at Ignacio Blvd. Go west on Ignacio Blvd as far as you can until it terminates at the College of Marin Indian Valley campus entrance. Follow the campus road to its end, and park in the huge parking lot. Registration will be next to the swimming pool—the same spot we have used in the past.