Sprint San Francisco
Presidio of San Francisco and Golden Gate Park
Date: Dec. 9 - 11, 2016
Location: San Francisco, CA
Event Directors: - 408.313.3753, - 408.568.6740
Course Setter: Erin Schirm
Type: C & A; C & A; Friday PM: Sprint Relay at Presidio of S.F. (Ft. Scott); Saturday AM: 3-round Sprint Tournament at Golden Gate Park (Old Speedway Meadow Picnic Area); Sunday AM: Sprint Qualification & Final at Presidio of S.F. (Main Post)
Related Event Information
Current Registration List (https://www.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/reglist/home/sfsprint2016) 2016 Presidio of S.F. Event 2015 Golden Gate Park Event Event Results
Dec. 9 Update:
- Detailed Saturday schedule added.
Dec. 7 Update:
- Registration is closed. A list of registrants is available here (https://www.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/reglist/home/sfsprint2016).
- Directions to all three venues have been revised and updated.
- Much information has been added to the Race Information section
- Teams for Friday are posted here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1c9vWWSrAmR4-nfWpvpQLqIYczg9x6BrxjDlAgqo7ovc/edit#gid=2006938125).
- Start times for Saturday are posted here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1c9vWWSrAmR4-nfWpvpQLqIYczg9x6BrxjDlAgqo7ovc/edit#gid=1034661759).
- Start times for Sunday have been posted here (https://www.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/reglist/home/sfsprint2016).
Dec. 6 Update:
- Information about the map for Friday's relay has been added.
Schedule
Monday, Dec. 5: Last day to register. No late registration, no day-of-meet registration.
Friday, Dec. 9: Night-O Sprint Relay at the Presidio of San Francisco, Ft. Scott.
6:30 PM Mass start
Saturday, Dec. 10: Three-round Sprint Tournament at Golden Gate Park, Old Speedway Meadow Picnic Area.
9:00 - 9:50 Packet pickup 10:00 - 10:09 Round 1 heats 11:00 Round 1 course closes 11:00 Semifinalists posted 11:55 - 12:05 Round 2 starts for non-qualifiers (*) 12:15 - 12:18 Round 2 Semifinals (*) 13:00 Round 2 course closes 13:00 Finalists posted 14:15 - 14:30 Round 3 starts for non-qualifiers (*) 14:45 Round 3 Finals (*) 15:15 Award ceremony 15:30 Help with breakdown and clean up
- (*) Note: Times for Round 2 are tentative. We will announce exact times when we announce the qualifiers for the Semifinals around 11:00. Similarly for Round 3.
Sunday, Dec. 11: Sprint Qualification and Sprint Final at the Presidio of San Francisco, Main Post.
9:00 - 9:33 Qualification round assigned starts 11:30 - 11:40 A-Final assigned starts 12:10 Award Ceremony 12:20 - 12:45 B-Final assigned starts
Race Information
General
- Bring your own food and drink: We will try to have some light refreshments available, but you'll be out at these venues for a long time, so it's best if you bring all the nutrition you'll need: lunch, water, snacks, electrolyte drinks, water, energy bars, whatever. Oh, and did I mention water? We haven't identified any sources of water near the assembly areas, so bring as much as you need. Those of you who live in the Bay Area: please throw and extra gallon jug of water or two into your car to help out our out-of-town guests. And though we'll be in the middle of a city chocked full of eateries, there won't be time to go out and get food, so, again, bring everything you need.
- Shoes: Any sort of metal metal tipped spikes or shoes are not recommended. On Friday and Sunday, either running shoes or trail shoes (shoes with rubber cleats) should be fine. On Saturday at Golden Gate Park, there is plenty of off-pavement running, so some sort of rubber-cleated shoes would be preferable.
- Courses will close roughly 45 minutes after the last starter in each round on Saturday, an hour after the last starter on Sunday.
- Late starts: If you miss your start, and if there is still a reasonable amount of time prior to course closure, the Start crew will let you start at a time when they are not busy starting other people. However, your start time will still be your originally listed start time. So, don't be late.
- Start triangle: For all races, when you receive your map, you will either be in the Start triangle or you will be able to see a control marking the Start triangle.
- Start punch: All interval-started races will have you punch a START unit before you begin; people in mass-started races (Saturday heats and qualifiers for the Semifinals and Finals) will not punch a START unit.
- Parking: Specific instructions about parking are included in the directions below. At the Presidio (Friday and Sunday), you must purchase a parking sticker wherever you park.
- Rules: A specific condition of our permit for the Presidio is that we ask everyone to abide by a certain set of rules. They are listed below. Please read, memorize, and obey.
- Hazards:
- The biggest hazard is moving vehicles. On all three days, you will be running on and crossing roads that can have vehicular traffic. Please exercise extreme caution in these situations. Risking life and limb is not worth it for a few seconds in the results (not even with our fabulous prizes on the line).
- The other potential hazard is wet pavement (of which there will be plenty). It's very easy to slip and fall, especially if you are changing directions. Be particularly cautious on the sidewalks around the building shown in the Ft. Scott map snippet below (which is on the southern part of the map). Those sidewalks are paved with bricks and are very slippery.
- Emergencies: At the Presidio, contact the U.S. Park Police, Presidio dispatch, for emergency assistance. From a cell phone, you must call 415-561-5656. From a land line you may call either that number or 911. Emergency room services reasonably close to all three venues are provided at California Pacific Medical Center, Pacific Campus, 2333 Buchanan St.
- Restroooms: Not as straightforward as we'd like, but manageable. Please see the sections for each day for details.
- Help at the end of the day: You'll be out there for a long time on Saturday and Sunday, and our (small) meet staff will be, too. We're not asking for help from competitors during the event, but if you can lend a hand at the end of each day, breaking down tents, carrying stuff to cars, whatever, that would be most appreciated.
Friday, December 9: Sprint Relay at the Presidio, Ft. Scott
- Two-person teams, with each person running two legs. Teams will be formed so as to make for interesting competition, but if there is someone you want to be on a team with, you can note that during registration and we will try to honor that.
- The map. The Fort Scott map is a 1:4000 (20 ft contours) blow-up of a map made a long time ago. It is not an ISSOM (i.e., sprint) map; it uses an old ISOM symbol set. We have made many map corrections, and believe that for the most part the map is now a reasonable representation of the terrain. The following notes should help you interpret the map.
- There are two symbols that may be unfamiliar to you that are featured prominently on the map. Both can be seen in the map snippet displayed at the right. It appears that these two symbols were once part of ISOM, but were dropped when ISSOM came into existence.
- ISOM 506.5, "Paved trail": This is a thick line with alternating segments of black and beige. It is used to represent sidewalks (as opposed to roadways or other paved areas, which are all beige).
- ISOM 506.6, "Foot path": This is a series of short, black line segments perpendicular to the direction of the path. On this map, it is used to represent stairways. (Fortunately, the symbol looks like a stairway.)
- Note that many of the sidewalks in the terrain have short stairways within them that are not marked on the map, so be careful. The mapped stairways all seem to be ones that extend the length of the path (e.g., from one road or sidewalk up or down to another).
- Some symbols appear oversized, presumably as a result of the blow-up. For example, the map uses the symbol for "ditch" (officially, "small erosion gully"), a series of brown dots. The brown dots are a bit large, though, and it might appear to you as a line of small knolls. It's not, it's a ditch.
- Some of the paved areas are littered with small junk piles and various machine parts strewn about, so they may not be as runnable as they appear. Nevertheless, they are easy to get through or around without loss of time.
- In one case, what used to be a small paved area is now piled high with dirt and is impassable. We couldn't represent this adequately on the map and just marked it as out of bounds.
- Two or more trees close enough together so that their canopies touch are generally mapped as a small patch of white. Sometimes, two very prominent trees are mapped as a patch of white because their branches touch, while next to them a rather less prominent tree is mapped as a "distinct tree" because its branches aren't touching the other trees. The mapping of trees is fairly easy to understand if you keep this in mind.
- There are many small unmapped bushes, generally right next to buildings. They won't affect your route choices in any way.
- Please respect all out-of-bounds areas. The vertical red hatching is used to let you know not to run on the property of private residences. In many cases the hatching doesn't extend all the way to the sidewalk, but that is not an invitation to run on people's lawns. The rule of thumb is that if something looks like a private residence, avoid stepping on the property. This is an important condition of our permit.
- There are two symbols that may be unfamiliar to you that are featured prominently on the map. Both can be seen in the map snippet displayed at the right. It appears that these two symbols were once part of ISOM, but were dropped when ISSOM came into existence.
- There is a restroom 70 m NE of the assembly area, in a small building on the north side of the basketball court. Please do not use the restroom at the U.S. Park Police Station on the east side of Fort Scott.
Saturday, December 10: Three-round Sprint Tournament at Golden Gate Park
- These three races will involve head-to-head competition. Several people will start at the same time, with butterfly loops, and "Score-O boxes" used to separate competitors. The results of each round will be used to form the groupings for the following round.
- Round 1, the Prelims: Entrants will be divided up into four heats of 8 to 12 people, with the heats starting en mass a few minutes apart, beginning at 10:00. The course contains a multi-winged butterfly loop, which means there will be many permutations through it. Eventually everyone will have run all the same legs, but not all in the same order. So, you may be running with someone for a few controls, and then you won't be. The top three in each heat, plus a few of those remaining with the fastest times (the exact number depends on the total number of entrants), will qualify for the Semi-Finals.
- The Start for Round 1 is directly across Chain of Lakes Drive from the parking area.
- Round 2, the Semi-Finals: Those who qualified will be divided up into two heats of roughly equal strength. The heats will go off a few minutes apart around 12:15. The top three people in each heat, plus the two other people with the fastest times, will qualify for the Finals. Also, those who did not qualify for the Semi-Finals will be given an opportunity to run the course in traditional, interval-started fashion (30-second start interval) beginning approximately 20 minutes prior to the first Semi-Final. No pre-assigned start times for the non-qualifiers; just queue up at the designated time.
- The course has a "Score-O box" in the middle: 6 or 8 controls that must be visited, but in any order you see fit. (This will be very interesting!)
- To get to the Start for Round 2, go north on Chain of Lakes Drive, cross Kennedy Drive, and take the path headed NE. Allow 5 minutes to get there.
- Round 3, the Finals: The eight qualifiers will have a mass start at about 2:45 to determine the top finishers in the tournament. Everyone else will have an opportunity to run the course in traditional, interval-started fashion (30-second start interval) beginning approximately half an hour prior to the Final. No pre-assigned start times for the non-qualifiers; just queue up at the designated time.
- The Round 3 course will have a map exchange.
- The Start for Round 3 is about 150 m northeast of the Finish, in the meadow.
- Round 1, the Prelims: Entrants will be divided up into four heats of 8 to 12 people, with the heats starting en mass a few minutes apart, beginning at 10:00. The course contains a multi-winged butterfly loop, which means there will be many permutations through it. Eventually everyone will have run all the same legs, but not all in the same order. So, you may be running with someone for a few controls, and then you won't be. The top three in each heat, plus a few of those remaining with the fastest times (the exact number depends on the total number of entrants), will qualify for the Semi-Finals.
- Cool prizes will be awarded to the top three men and the top three women, as determined by their placing in the Final. (There won't be any age categories.) Note: In the event that there are fewer than three people of a particular gender who qualify for the Final, the remaining places for that gender will be determined by total time over the three rounds (presuming valid finishes in each round).
- The map scale is 1:5000 with 2.5 m contours.
- To get to the nearest restroom, walk north on Chain of Lakes Drive to the intersection with Kennedy Drive, cross both streets and go about 100 m west on Kennedy. It's about a 5-minute walk altogether from the assembly area.
Sunday, December 11: Sprint Qualification and Final at the Presidio, Main Post
- These two races are sanctioned by OUSA as National Events (aka A-meets). The results of the Qualification round will be used to seed starts for the Final round. Everyone who runs in the Qualification will receive a start time for the Final.
- Preliminary course lengths: Qualification – 2.7 km; Final – 2.9 km. These distances are calculated along the optimal route.
- Sunday's races will be held on a brand new ISSOM (http://orienteering.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/International-Specification-for-Sprint-Orienteering-Maps-2007.pdf) map made by Matej Å ebo this past summer.
- For each race, everyone will be running on the same course. Nevertheless, you can register for any OUSA class for which you are eligible. For the purposes of OUSA rankings, you will be compared only with people who have registered for classes that are on the same "course" as you. For example, if you sign up for the M−45 class, you will be compared with people who have signed up for F−21+, M35+, M40+, and M45+ (that is, the usual classes on the Red course); you won't be compared (for ranking purposes), for instance, to those who sign up for the M−21+ class.
- The Qualification will have individual, pre-assigned start times, one minute apart, beginning at 9:00AM.
- The 8 fastest men and 4 fastest women in the Qualification round will compete in the A-Final. Everyone else will participate in the B-Final.
- The first start time for the A-Final will be at 11:30; it will be assigned to the slowest qualifier for the A-Final. One minute later, the second slowest qualifier for the A-Final will start, and so on.
- B-Finalists are encouraged to cheer on the A-Finalists. There will be spectator opportunities. The order of start times in the B-Final will be analogous to the order in the A-Final. The first start in the B-Final will be approximately 12:15.
- Even cooler prizes will be awarded to the top three men and the top three women, as determined by their placing in the A-Final. (There won't be any age categories.) A short award ceremony will be held when the A-Final is complete and before the B-Final starts.
- The map scale is 1:4000 with 2.5 m contours.
- The restroom situation is a little complicated. Restrooms at the Transit Center are available for our use. The Transit Center is on the NW corner of Lincoln and Graham, a 5-minute walk from the assembly area. (There is a decent cafe in that building, but it appears that it is closed on Sundays.) We are also allowed to use the Officer's Club "back-up restrooms". Those are only 100 m from the assembly area, but they don't open until 10:00. Not easy to find, either: you have to go through the courtyard of the restaurant whose entrance is near the NW corner of the building. Finally, we are not allowed to use the restrooms at the Disney Family Museum; however, if you purchase something at the cafe in that building, then of course you can use the restrooms. That building is just across the parade grounds from our Finish, but it doesn't open until 11:00.
Registration
Registration has closed. You can see who has registered here (https://www.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/reglist/home/sfsprint2016).
Entry is by preregistration only, via Event Register (https://www.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/register/start/sfsprint2016) only. Entry deadline is Monday, December 5, 11:59 PM PST. No late registration, no day-of-meet registration.
Entries are limited to sixty people. Register early to guarantee your spot!
The entry fee for the combined three-day event is $85.
Priority will be given to those entering all three days. It is also possible to enter days individually, with the following fees: $15 for Friday, $45 for Saturday, $40 for Sunday.
Members of OUSA or other national orienteering federations will receive a $4 discount if entered for Sunday (but not for the other days, since they are not National Events).
For juniors, all the aforementioned fees and discounts will be divided in half.
If you need to make a change to your registration, please do not attempt to do it on Event Register. Instead, please contact the .
Normally, BAOC events include beginners (White and Yellow) courses and an intermediate (Orange) course. However, because of the special nature of this event, beginners courses and an intermediate course will not be available at this event. We apologize to all who would have liked to do one of those courses. Please look at the Schedule for another event to attend (on that page, select "BAOC" in place of "All Clubs" and click on the Reload button).
Important Information Regarding the Presidio
A requirement of our permit is that we make sure that all participants are aware of the following:
- Parking is allowed only in designated parking spaces and payment at the kiosks is required, even if there is no sign saying so near the place that you park. There are many kiosks with automated machines where you can purchase a sticker. Rates are $1.20–$1.50 per hour or $7–$8 all day. All the pay stations accept credit and debit cards, and many accept coins (more info here (http://www.presidio.gov/transportation/driving-and-parking)).
- Participants must follow all normal traffic and safety rules. Any roads crossed by the courses may have vehicular traffic on them. Please exercise extreme caution when crossing roads.
- Participants may use only designated restrooms. On Friday at Ft. Scott, the restroom is just east of the assembly area. On Sunday at the Main Post, the Transit Center main restrooms and the Officer's Club back-up restrooms are available for our use.
- Participants are not permitted to use restroom facilities in the U.S. Park Police Station, Rob Hill Campground, Disney, the Log Cabin, or any residential housing unit.
Brought To You By ...
Your Sprint San Francisco 2016 Team: Erin Schirm, Dennis Wildfogel, Tori Borish, Jeff Lanam, Trinka Gillis, and Jay Hann, with a little help from their friends.
- Concept: Erin
- Event Directors: Dennis, Jeff
- Course design: Erin, Dennis (relay)
- Vetting: Tori, Erin (relay), Dennis (GGP)
- Map corrections: Erin, Dennis, Matej Sebo (Main Post)
- Permits: Jeff (GGP), Dennis (Presidio)
- Registration: Trinka
- Equipment: Jeff, Jay, Erin
- Results: Western Race Services (Jay)
- Webpage content: Dennis
- Onsite staff: Erin, Jeff, Tori, Trinka, Jay, Dennis
- Their usual thing: Bob Cooley (maps), Marina Keating (insurance), Chuck Spalding (webpage), Sharon Evans (moola)
Driving Directions
There's a map here that shows the locations of the event. To use that map, drag it to center San Francisco in the panel, then use the "+" button to zoom in. Repeat dragging and zooming to get the desired area shown. You can click on the Satellite button to see an aerial view.
Directions to Presidio of San Francisco, Ft. Scott, for Friday, Dec. 9
Note: Read the directions carefully, as no signs will be provided because of park rules.
All the action will start from the west part of Fort Winfield Scott at Building 1205. This is the location we've used in past years. The approximate coordinates are 37.802,-122.4753.
A map showing the event location is at the right. You can use the + button to zoom in to see the details, and click on the Satellite button to see an aerial view. (A larger map is available here.)
Coming from the South or East: Head to the Golden Gate Bridge. Take the last SF exit on Doyle Drive, just before the toll plaza. Turn right onto Lincoln Blvd. Continue under the overpass. Take the first left (Storey Ave). Park right there, on the right (in the parking area NW of the soccer field that is surrounded by buildings—this is Fort Scott). Be sure to purchase a parking sticker at the kiosk in that lot. Walk south about 200 m, with the soccer field on your left, to Building 1205.
Coming from Marin: After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, exit immediately after the toll plaza onto Merchant Road. At the four-way stop with Lincoln Blvd, continue straight, onto Storey Ave. Park right there, on the right (in the parking area NW of the soccer field that is surrounded by buildings—this is Fort Scott). Be sure to purchase a parking sticker at the kiosk in that lot. Walk south about 200 m, with the soccer field on your left, to Building 1205.
Parking
No matter where you park at the Presidio you must purchase a parking sticker, even if there is no sign saying so near the place that you park. There are many kiosks with automated machines where you can purchase a sticker (with credit or debit card, possibly with coins). Rates are $1.20–$1.50 per hour or $7–$8 all day.
We are asking you to park in the lot bounded by Storey Ave, Lincoln Blvd, and Stone St. Note that this is not the lot that people have been directed to in recent years (the one between Lincoln and Ralston).
Wherever you park, please be mindful of conserving space so we can fit in everyone's cars, and consider the affect your car might have on traffic, pedestrians, etc. (Also, be aware that the park police office is nearby, so there's a good chance they will see your car.)
Note: Please do not park near the Log Cabin! Those spaces are reserved for events at the Log Cabin.
Directions to Golden Gate Park, Old Speedway Meadow, for Saturday, Dec. 10
The approximate coordinates are 37.7659,-122.5.
A map showing the event location is at the right. You can use the + button to zoom in to see the details, and click on the Satellite button to see an aerial view. (A larger map is available here.)
Coming from the Bay Bridge: After crossing the bridge, take exit 1B to merge onto US-101 N toward the Golden Gate Bridge and continue onto Octavia Blvd. Use any lane to turn left onto Fell St. At the west end of the Golden Gate Park "Panhandle", turn slightly left to stay on Fell St. Shortly after entering Golden Gate Park, turn left onto Kezar Dr. That road merges into Lincoln Way. Continue on Lincoln Way to 41st Ave (on the left) and Chain of Lakes Dr E (on the right). Turn right onto the latter. Just past the second stop sign, there is a parking lot on the right. This is where you should park.
Coming from the South: From I-280, take the (left) exit (49B) to 19th Ave. After 0.3 mile, exit onto Brotherhood Way heading west. At the "T" intersection with Lake Merced Blvd, turn right. Stay on Lake Merced Blvd until it becomes Sunset Blvd. Continue on Sunset Blvd into Golden Gate Park, and turn left onto Martin Luther King Jr Dr. Turn right onto Chain of Lakes Dr E. Just past the first stop sign, there is a parking lot on the right. This is where you should park.
Coming from Marin: After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, exit shortly after the toll plaza onto 19th Avenue. Continue on 19th Ave through Golden Gate Park. At the south edge of the Park, turn right onto Lincoln Way. Continue on Lincoln Way to 41st Ave (on the left) and Chain of Lakes Dr E (on the right). Turn right onto the latter. Just past the second stop sign, there is a parking lot on the right. This is where you should park.
Directions to Presidio of San Francisco, Main Post, for Sunday, Dec. 11
Note: Read the directions carefully, as no signs will be provided because of park rules.
The approximate coordinates are 37.7984,-122.4582.
A map showing the event location is at the right. You can use the + button to zoom in to see the details, and click on the Satellite button to see an aerial view. (A larger map is available here.)
From the Bay Bridge: Take exit 2C to merge onto Fremont St. Cross Market St and continue onto Front St, then turn left onto Pine St. Turn right onto Lyon St. Turn left onto Jackson St, and right onto Presidio Ave. Continue onto Lincoln Blvd. Continue past the "T" intersection with Girard Rd. Turn left onto Graham St and drive S until you pass Sal St. The assembly area is on the left in the large parking lot. Park there and be sure to purchase a parking sticker from the kiosk.
From the South: On I-280, take the (left) exit (#49B) for CA-1 N toward 19th Avenue/Golden Gate Bridge. At the first traffic light, turn slightly left onto 19th Ave. Stay on 19th Ave through Golden Gate Park, beyond, and through the Presidio. Keep right and follow signs for US-101 S/Marina Blvd S, and merge onto US-101. Take the exit (#437) for Marina Blvd toward the Presidio. Turn right onto Girard Rd, then turn right onto Lincoln Blvd. Turn left onto Graham St and drive S until you pass Sal St. The assembly area is on the left in the large parking lot. Park there and be sure to purchase a parking sticker from the kiosk.
From Marin: After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, stay left to continue on US-101 (i.e., do not exit to Veterans Blvd). Take the exit (#437) for Marina Blvd toward the Presidio. Turn right onto Girard Rd, then turn right onto Lincoln Blvd. Turn left onto Graham St and drive S until you pass Sal St. The assembly area is on the left in the large parking lot. Park there and be sure to purchase a parking sticker from the kiosk.
The parking machines accept credit or debit cards, possibly coins (more info here (http://www.presidio.gov/transportation/driving-and-parking)).