Photo gallery image (click to enlarge)

U.C. Berkeley

Date: (Sun.) Apr. 13, 2014
Location: Berkeley, CA
Event Director: - 510.526.9071
Course Setter: George Minarik
Type: C; Sprint, Middle, Long and Beginner courses on the campus map

Related Event Information

Main Event Page


Course Setter's Notes

By


Friday, April 11, Update

On Friday, several large tented pavilions were seen being erected for weekend events. We don't think any of these will disrupt our meet, but you may be forced to circumvent some areas that look open on the map.

Also, you may notice that a construction area that is mapped, and as of last week was, fenced off has vanished (poof!). It is now just an open forest area with no sign of construction or fences. It's too late to change the map, but it actually makes a control easier to spot.


Welcome to the University of California at Berkeley. CAL! Go Bears! In addition to being ranked the top public university in the country, the beautiful and complex hillside campus is great for orienteering.

Afterward, stick around for the BAOC Annual General Meeting. Review plans for club activities and vote for this year's officers. (You might want to bring a chair for the meeting, since the area is a shaded courtyard with just a few benches.)

Courses

Because of the campus location, all the courses will have "sprint" characteristics.

Here are the course statistics: 

    Course      Length    Climb   Controls
    Beginner    2.4 km     43 m      14    
    Sprint      2.6 km     45 m      19   
    Middle      4.5 km     98 m      23   
    Long        7.3 km    143 m      45  (See note below)

Which Course to Choose?

Beginner Course: This is a good way for newbies to be exposed to orienteering map conventions. The course winds around the campus offering relatively easy route choices, and gets more technical as you progress along it. If you would like a short class in orienteering and how to read the map, please come between 9:30 and 10:30 for a free beginner's clinic.

Sprint Course: A short course set to international sprint standards that tests precise map reading and quick decision-making. This course shares no control points with the Middle course, and can be done as a second course to it. If you do this course, you should not then do the Long course, because part of the course will be a duplication.

Middle Course: A middle-length sprint-style course with more route choice challenges than the Sprint course. This course shares no control points with the Sprint course, and can be done as a second course to it. If you do this course, you should not then do the Long course, because part of the course will be a duplication.

Long Course: A long-length sprint-style course with 45 controls. (Maybe the most controls ever for a BAOC Course.) Roughly a combination of the Sprint and Middle courses. Do not run the Sprint or Middle course before or after the Long, as you will just be repeating yourself. Note: The Long course has too many controls for some E-punch sticks. You must use an SI-6 or SI-9 stick. If you own another model, or if you're not sure what you have, see the note below.

Some Course Guidelines

We are guests on campus and need to make sure our presence is as unobtrusive as possible. Here are some guidelines to follow while on your courses:

You may encounter weddings, parties, large touring groups of prospective students, and sports games (organized and unorganized). Please give these activities a wide berth as to not disturb them.

Fast-moving bikes and slower-moving cars, trucks, and people have the right of way.

Stay out of garden areas and the newly-laid bark mulch areas. Any area mapped as olive or dark green is prohibited to enter. Grassy areas (mapped as yellow) and forested areas (mapped as white) are okay to cross.

Any walls marked as uncrossable (thick black line) are not to be crossed, even if you are able to cross them.

Stay out of buildings except for the mapped passageways.

Stay out of the numerous construction areas. Most are mapped with purple hatching. Note, however, that new construction tends to crop up overnight, so some might not be marked on the map.

The two branches of Strawberry Creek are nicely flowing and can be crossed, but there is usually an alternative route with a bridge if you want to keep your feet dry.

Good news ... no poison oak has been seen.

Running shoes and rubber dobbed shoes are okay. No metal spikes or metal dobbs are allowed.

Some Logistical and Technical Matters

The map was produced by Ben Legg in 2011. It is mapped to ISSOM standards. The map scale is 1:3750. Why? Because it makes the symbols large enough to read and fits on an 8-1/2 by 14 sheet. (Think 25% of 1:15000.) The contours are mapped at 2.5-meter intervals, and are difficult to read on the run.

The Start and Finish are adjacent to Barrows Hall.

Restrooms and drinking fountains are inside Barrows Hall.

No snacks will be served, so bring your own lunch or find food places a few steps away along Bancroft Way.

Courses run through around and on top of some multilevel buildings. An attempt has been made to set controls in these areas in a way to minimize confusion.

Have fun and let us know how you enjoy the day.

– Joan Roos (Event Director) and George Minarik (Course Setter)


Note for Long Course E-Stick Limitations

If you're going to compete on the Long course, you will need an E-stick with sufficiently high capacity, namely, a model SI-6 or SI-9 (information on how to identify an E-stick model is below). (SI-10 and SI-11 sticks cannot be used for this event because of software issues.) If you have an E-stick that is not an SI-6 or SI-9, you can deposit your stick at Registration, and use one of the club sticks for the Long course free of charge. Of course, if you don't have an E-stick at all, you'll have to rent one (for $3).

Different Models of E-stick

How do you know what model of E-stick you have? Check the ID number and look below: