Photo gallery image (click to enlarge)

Scout Orienteering Championships

Pre-registration Required

Briones Regional Park

Date: (Sun.) Oct. 8, 2017
Location: Lafayette, CA
Event Director: - 925.934.6567
Course Setters: Steve Harrison, Gavin Wyatt-Mair
Type: B; 25th annual Championships and Scout-O for all scout levels

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


The pre-assigned start times are available for Course 1, Course 2, Course 3, Course 4, Adult Course.


We are pleased to announce the Twenty-Fifth Annual Bay Area Scout Orienteering Championship.

Who will be champions this year? Everyone stands a chance!! Some practice, some fitness, and some thinking will get you a long way. So come on out​—​bring your compasses, running shoes, and your brains​—​and have fun!

The format for this year's championships is described below. Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of all ages are welcome, and the competition is arranged to accommodate any skill level. In addition, the courses are arranged to meet the map and compass requirements for First Class, Second Class, or the Orienteering Merit Badge.

There will be patches. Anyone who has not yet received a patch for a prior year's event can get it at this year's event, or by contacting the Meet Director. The patches are "progressive", so that a scout can participate in multiple Scout-Os and add to his or her patch sequence.

We will have electronic punching again this year.

Note that the Start is about 2.1 km, with 90 m gradual climb, from the parking lot​—​it takes 25 minutes to walk there.

More information is available on the page for the concurrent BAOC event.

Competitive Categories

Scouts will compete against other scouts with the same orienteering experience. Four courses will be offered, as described below. Be sure to read the Course Setters' Notes for more information.

                                                     Navigational  Physical  
     Course              Distance   Climb  Controls  Difficulty    Difficulty
     Course 1 (White)     4.1 km    120 m     11     Easy          Easy   
     Course 2 (Yellow)    4.1 km    145 m     12     Easy          Easy
     Course 3             4.8 km    200 m     13     Moderate      Moderate
     Course 4 (Orange)    5.1 km    235 m     14     Moderate      Moderate
     Adult Course         4.6 km    210 m     13     Moderate      Moderate
     Score-O             ~7.5 km   ~345 m   26 max   Moderate      Tough!  
     (Colors in parentheses indicate comparable BAOC courses.)  

Course 1

Daisies, Brownies, Cub Scout dens, Webelo dens, Tenderfoot, and Junior scouts​—​or scouts with very little (less than 2) prior orienteering experiences: Dens and younger scouts will run in groups of 2–6 with an adult advisor who should follow his or her group, not lead it; Tenderfoot scouts will run in pairs.

Course 2

Juniors, Cadettes, Seniors, Second Class, and First Class scouts​—​or scouts with minimal (2 to 5) orienteering experiences: Compete in pairs.

Course 3

Seniors, Ambassadors, Star, Life, and Eagle scouts, or scouts with substantial (more than 5) orienteering experiences: Compete in pairs.

Course 4

Advanced, experienced orienteers of any rank: Run alone on a typical Orienteering USA Orange-level course.

Adult course

All leaders and parents are invited to compete on a course similar to, but separate from, Course 3. They may run in groups or alone. Leaders/parents should also pre-register. Leader results are for bragging rights only, and will not affect troop scoring.

Note: Choose your courses carefully​—​there are more points available for doing the harder courses (we are encouraging scouts to "move up" a notch), but don't get on a course you can't finish, because then you will likely lose points. As a rule of thumb, the points available for Course 2 are about 10% more than Course 1. Course 3 is about 20% more, and Course 4 is about 30% more than Course 1.

Afternoon Meet

All scouts may compete in a troop event in the afternoon. Both morning and afternoon events will contribute to the troop total score to determine the troop championship.

Hint: The more scouts that attend from a given troop, the better the troop usually does. We combine the top N scouts' scores from the morning and afternoon events to get the troop score. The value N is set by the Meet Director on the day of the meet, based on conditions and attendance.

Registration Information

All troops participating in the Scout-O must be pre-registered and prepaid. Registration will close on Sunday, October 1, 2017. The cost of the event is $7.50 per scout or participating leader. Choose your teams carefully, because they must remain together all day. Mixed-category teams are possible, but will compete on the course of the higher-ranking scout. Each troop may have one 3-person team to allow for odd numbers.

Registration forms were included in the bulletins that were sent to scout troops. If you do not have a registration form, we prefer that you download this Excel spreadsheet (65KB), enter your troop's information in the file, and email the completed file to the . If you are not able to do that, you can use this printable PDF file (60KB), and (snail) mail the completed form to the Meet Director at the address below.

Note Regarding File Links: If you simply click on one of the file links, your browser might open the file (i.e., in the browser). To download a file to your computer, click on the link using the right-hand mouse button (or, if you're using a Mac, hold the control key and click). Then select "Save Target As...", or "Save Link As...", or whatever equivalent choice your browser provides.

Troops may obtain registration forms and detailed information from the Meet Director:

Gavin Wyatt-Mair
20 Folin Lane
Lafayette, CA 94549
Tel: (925) 934-6567 (home)
E-mail:

Schedule

The meet will be held on Sunday, October 8, 2017. Instruction will begin at 9:00 AM. The pre-assigned start time of each individual team will be determined by the entry date of their troop. In general, start times will begin at 10:00 AM and go until about noon.

The afternoon event will run from 1:00 to 2:30 PM. The awards ceremony will begin at 3:15 PM, and the meet will be closed at 3:40 PM.

The pre-assigned start times will be posted here on Saturday, October 7th.

It is advisable to arrive at the meet by 9:00 AM. We will stick to the pre-assigned start times​—​it's less confusing that way.

Beginner clinics will be available from 9:15 to 10:45 AM. These are short, repeating sessions that introduce orienteering, and provide enough instruction to be able to complete beginner courses.

Note that everyone must report to the E-punch download tent, even if they have not completed their course.

Bring compasses, and remember, we go rain or shine!

Prizes

Awards will be made to the best teams on each course. The champion troops will be determined by the results in all categories including the afternoon event. As before, there will be medals, certificates, and a Troop trophy.

There will be awards for the top "Junior" Scout troop (cubs, webelos, daisies, brownies, etc) as well as the top Girl Scout troop if a Boy Scout troop wins, or the top Boy Scout troop if a Girl Scout troop wins.

Each participant will receive a progressive (by course) participation patch. There will be other awards for answering some puzzle questions.

Equipment

You will each need strong trail shoes, long pants (Tilden Park has stickers!), a pen or pencil, a watch, and a compass. You may want a water bottle, hat, sunscreen, etc. if it's hot, or rain gear if it's rainy. Bring your own lunch.

Driving Directions

Registration will be at the West entrance to the park, off of Bear Creek Road.

To get there, take Route 24 west from I-680 or east from I-80. Exit at Orinda, heading north on Camino Pablo. After about 2 miles, turn right onto Bear Creek Road. After about 3.5 miles, the park entrance will be on your right, and is well sign-posted (don't be fooled by the parking area on the left​—​that's not it).

There is an entry/parking charge of approximately $4.00 per vehicle. Please carpool if possible, since there will probably be many scouts attending.

There's a map here that shows the location of the event.

Parking

Do not park in the east dirt parking lot, south side. This is for horse trailers.