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O in the Oaks '08

Joseph D. Grant County Park

Date: Nov. 14 - 16, 2008
Location: San Jose, CA
Event Director: - 408.568.6740
Course Setters: François Léonard, Kent Ohlund, Dan Greene, Nick Corsano
Type: A; Full-featured "A" meet, including U.S. Trail Orienteering Championships

Table of contents
Please note that fees and time limits apply, unless otherwise mentioned below. Events are typically not canceled due to bad weather.


Note: Results are available here.


An A-meet Including Four Orienteering Events in 48 Hours

This 3-day Orienteering Festival will include

BAOC will present four orienteering events in forty-eight hours at our A-meet to be held Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, November 14–16. The event will cover a wide range of disciplines: there will be one Trail-O (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_Orienteering) event (the U.S. Trail Orienteering Championships) and three Foot-O events: a Short course (also known as a Sprint) on Friday afternoon, a Middle-distance course on Saturday morning, and a Long (“classic”) course on Sunday morning.

The event will take place in beautiful Joseph D. Grant County Park on the slopes of Mt. Hamilton, just east of San Jose. The oak-studded hillsides and open woods of the park can make for fast orienteering. The park is only a twenty-five minute drive from downtown San Jose.

Our very experienced team of course setters and vetters is making every effort to design courses that are physically reasonable, fair, and fast, and that still present interesting orienteering challenges.

Schedule

Tue, Oct 21 – Early entry deadline

Wed, Nov 5 – Preregistration deadline

Fri, Nov 14 – Short (Sprint) course, start times from 1 PM to 3 PM

Fri, Nov 14 – Packet pickup at Milpitas Courtyard Marriot, 6:30 PM–10 PM (See Lodging or the map below for the location.)

Sat, Nov 15 – Middle-distance course, start times from 9:30 AM to Noon

Sat, Nov 15 – U.S. Trail Orienteering Championships, start times from Noon to 3 PM (See the note below about a USOF Trail-O Team meeting.)

Sun, Nov 16 – Long (Classic) course, start times from 9 AM to 11 AM

Sun, Nov 16 – Awards Ceremony, 1:30 PM

Note: Packets may also be picked up at the park on each day of the event, starting about an hour before the first start.

Courses and Classes

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Foot-O

Friday: There will be two courses, a Short (Sprint) course and a White-Yellow course. The USOF classes for the White-Yellow course are F–10, F–12, F–14, M–10, M–12, M–14, F-Open, M-Open, Gr-Open. All other age classes are on the Short (Sprint) course. (There are no open categories on the Short (Sprint) course; everyone can fit into an appropriate age category.)

Saturday: There will be Middle-distance courses for White, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Green, Red, and Blue. The classes will be distributed among those courses in the standard way. You can see a table of this distribution on the standard USOF entry form (http://www.us.orienteering.org/Forms/standard.pdf).

Sunday: There will be Long (“classic”) distance courses for White, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Green, Red, and Blue. The classes will be distributed among those courses in the standard way. You can see a table of this distribution on the standard USOF entry form (http://www.us.orienteering.org/Forms/standard.pdf).

Short, Middle, and Long courses are described here.

Course statistics for the Foot-O events are available here.

Course Setters' Notes for the Foot-O events are available here.

Trail-O

There is one course for the U.S. Trail Orienteering Championships. There are two classes: Open and Paralympic. The Paralympic class is for competitors who have some permanent physical disability (including hidden disabilities) that gives a significant disadvantage in Foot Orienteering competitions.

Trail-O is described here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_Orienteering).

Registration and Fees

You can register in one of two ways, either by mailing in a form or by registering online. Please note that either way you must sent in your payment via mail.

The list of registered participants can be seen here (https://www.mountainwebsoftware.com/oreg/baoc08/reglist).

Any questions can be directed to the Registrar, Marsha Jacobs, by or at 916-408-8052.

Register by Mail

Mail the standard USOF entry form (http://www.us.orienteering.org/Forms/standard.pdf), and a check made out to BAOC, to the Registrar:

Marsha Jacobs
2077 Fallen Leaf Lane
Lincoln, CA 95648

Please indicate your choice of course and class for the Friday Foot-O event in the "Special Events Course/Category information" section of that form. Also, indicate in that section your class for the U.S. Trail Orienteering Championships, and your eligibility status for a U.S. championship (see the Awards section below).

Register Online

To register online, click here (https://www.mountainwebsoftware.com/oreg/baoc08) and then follow the instructions. Again, please note that you must send in your payment by mail even if you register online. Your registration is not considered to be confirmed until your payment is received by the Registrar (see above). (BAOC gratefully acknowledges Kent Shaw for making his online registration system available for the O in the Oaks '08.)

Registration Fees

Your registration fee for this event depends on the following four factors:

  1. Which events you register for,
  2. When you register,
  3. Whether you are an adult or a junior (less than 21 years of age), and
  4. Whether you are a member of USOF (or some other national orienteering federation).

The first three factors are encapsulated in the table below; the last factor is addressed below the table.

Postmarked by October 21 Postmarked by November 5 Day of Meet
Individual Foot-O event (adults) $24 per event $30 per event $36 per event
Individual Foot-O event (juniors) $8 per event $10 per event $12 per event
All 3 Foot-O events (adults) $60 $75 $90
All 3 Foot-O events (juniors) $20 $25 $30
U.S. Trail Orienteering Championships (adults) $12 $16 $18
U.S. Trail Orienteering Championships (juniors) $4.50 $6 $8

Adult members of USOF may subtract $3 from their total fee for each event entered; juniors who are members of USOF may subtract $1.50 for each event entered.

Recreational Courses

Recreational White, Yellow, and Orange courses will be available on Saturday and Sunday. The entry fees will be the same as for standard local BAOC events. On Saturday, the Start and Finish for the recreational courses will be a short walk from the assembly area. On Sunday, the Start and Finish for the recreational White and Yellow courses will again be a short walk from the assembly area. However, Sunday's recreational Orange course will require taking a shuttle ride and walking for a kilometer or two. Please allow ample time to get to the Start. Detailed information is in the Logistics section.

The schedule for recreational courses is as follows:

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Saturday

  Registration available       9:30 - 11:00
  Beginners Clinics available  9:45 - 10:30
  Starts available            10:00 - 11:00

Sunday

  Registration available       9:00 - 10:00
  Beginners Clinics available  9:15 -  9:45
  Starts available             9:30 - 10:30

Maps

The Friday and Saturday Foot-O courses will utilize our existing map of Joe Grant South. The Sunday Foot-O course will use our existing map of Joe Grant North. These maps can be purchased in advance for $4 each.

Maps for the Friday Short (Sprint) course will be printed at 1:5000. Maps for the other Foot-O courses will be printed at 1:10000.

A map of a nearby park with similar terrain can be obtained for training—see below.

Shadowing

As used here, shadowing refers to an adult following a young child on a course solely for the comfort and safety of the child. If an adult accompanies a child for the purpose of assisting a child with navigation, that is not considered shadowing; in that case, the adult and child should enter as a group. For this meet, shadowing is allowed for children in the F-10 and M-10 categories. An adult shadower should stay a reasonable distance from the child, and should not be in communication with the child except in an emergency. The adult shadower may not carry a map with the child's course on it.

On Friday and Saturday, any adult shadower who is also entered in the A-meet must complete his or her own course before shadowing a child. There is no such restriction on Sunday. Note that due to Sunday's logistical complications, adult shadows are probably better off shadowing prior to shuttling to the remote start for the Orange through Blue courses. Please ask the registrar for start times appropriate to your situation.

T-Shirts

Special commemorative T-shirts for this event have been designed by Steph Maclean. You can see the design at the top of this page. These Gildan 100% cotton short-sleeve T-shirts are available for $15, and can be ordered in the following sizes:

Adult: S, M, L, XL, XXL

Kids: XS, S, M, L, XL

Awards

Separate awards will be given out for each of the Foot-O events. Awards for all three events will be given out at a ceremony early Sunday afternoon.

USOF Championship awards will be given out for the Trail-O event. These awards will also be given out early Sunday afternoon. A competitor is eligible to be U.S. Trail Orienteering Champion if:

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  1. They are a current USOF member, and
  2. They meet at least one of the following citizenship or residency requirements:
    • They are a U.S. citizen and a citizen of no other country.
    • They hold dual U.S. citizenship and reside primarily in the United States.
    • They hold dual U.S. citizenship, reside primarily outside of the United States, and agree in writing that they have not and will not compete for a trail orienteering championship title for another country in 2008.
    • They have permanent residency status in the U.S. (i.e. have a "green card").
    • They are a full-time student in the U.S. holding a current student visa.

Child Care

We will make every effort to put entrants who indicate a need for child care in touch with one another so that they make cooperative child care arrangements.

Lodging

We have arranged for a discount rate at the Marriott Courtyard Milpitas (http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sjcmp-courtyard-milpitas-silicon-valley/), 1480 Falcon Drive, Milpitas, CA, 95035, (408) 719-1966 (see the map below). The price is $79 + tax per night for a room with two double beds. (The regular rate is $179/night.) This includes a hot buffet breakfast for two people. Reservations must be made by October 31. Ask for the "O in the Oaks 2008" discount.

You can make a reservation at the discounted rate in one of two ways:

  1. Contact Kailee Lunsford (408.719.1966 x647 or kailee.lunsford@marriott.com). You are supposed to be able to get the discount by calling the front desk as well, but the best bet is to get in touch with Kailee directly.
  2. Reserve a room online. Start by clicking here (http://cwp.marriott.com/sjcmp/ointheoaks/).

Logistics

On Friday and Saturday, starts and finishes for all courses will be a short walk from the assembly area. On Sunday, the starts and finishes for the White and Yellow courses will be near the assembly area. However, the starts and finishes for the other courses will be a 15-minute shuttle ride from the assembly area. In addition, there is a 20-minute walk to the Start once you have gotten off the shuttle. Shuttles will run approximately every 15–20 minutes. Please allow ample time to get to the Start. Restrooms are available near the assembly area. A single porta-potty is available at the remote shuttle drop-off point on Sunday.

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Embargo and Demonstration

An embargo has been placed on Joseph D. Grant County Park: After September 13, 2008, you may not enter the competition area for any of the O in the Oaks '08 events in which you will participate in a competitive class prior to competing in that event. In particular, the following restrictions apply to the campground area:

  1. If you plan to enter a competitive class for the Friday Short course, you may not enter the campground area prior to competing on that course.
  2. If you plan to enter a competitive class for the Saturday afternoon U.S. Trail Orienteering Championships, you may not enter the campground area prior to competing in that event (except that you may do so while competing in the Friday Short course).

If you wish to train in terrain similar to that used for the O in the Oaks '08 events, we recommend Sunol Regional Wilderness. You can purchase a map of Sunol directly from the BAOC Mapping Director.

Driving Directions

Take the Alum Rock Road exit off I-680 in San Jose, and head for the hills (east). This exit is about one mile northeast of the 280/680/101 interchange. Continue on Alum Rock Road for about 2 miles, and turn right onto Mt. Hamilton Road. Go about 7.5 miles to the park entrance, which will be on your right. The assembly area for all three days is the Stockman’s Picnic Area at the southeastern terminus of the road from the park entrance, about a half of a mile away. There is a daily parking fee of $6. Allow 30 minutes for driving from I-680 to the park.

The closest airport is San Jose (SJC), but Oakland (OAK) and San Francisco (SFO) are also options, and are less than an hour by car from the San Jose area. A rental car (or carpooling) is recommended, as the park is not directly accessible via public transportation.

The following map shows the locations of the park, the event-center hotel, and area airports. Click on the pin icons in the map to get location names and driving directions.

Map Legend

Joseph D. Grant Park
Event-Center Hotel
San Jose Airport (SJC)
Oakland Airport (OAK)
San Francisco Airport (SFO)