University of California
Date: (Sun.) Feb. 26, 2017
Location: Berkeley, CA
Event Director: 
- 415.378.6416
Course Setter: Lori Huberman
Type: C; Beginner course and three Sprint courses (chose to run 1 or more courses individually, or all 3 Sprints as a Motola)
On Sunday, February 26th the Bay Area Orienteering Club will host a "Campus-O" on the UC Berkeley campus. Three Sprint courses between 1.5 and 2.5 km will be offered. Starting and finishing at the same location, participants can venture out on one, two, or all three loops, either as individual courses or as a three-loop Motala.
Note: A Mass Start featuring all three loops in random order, starting at 11 AM, has been suggested. If at least ten people e-mail expressing interest, we'll print appropriate maps and offer that option.
A beginner course will be offered in addition to the Sprints/Motala. No previous experience will be needed for that course, and brief informational sessions will be available to help beginners understand orienteering.
The conditions of our permit do not allow us to serve food at the event, so we will not be able to supply the usual snacks. Thus, this event will be BYOS (Bring Your Own Snacks).
We look forward to seeing everyone at what is always a fun event!
Location on Campus
Registration will be held at the Barrows Hall Courtyard (http://www.berkeley.edu/map/3dmap/3dmap.shtml?barrows), which is located on the south side of the campus, near Sather Gate and Sproul Plaza. Here is a campus map (http://berkeley.edu/map/maps/large_map.html) (Barrows Hall is at D4–D5). Also, this map shows the location of the event (and other upcoming BAOC events).
This is the same location we have used for the last several events.
Schedule
The standard BAOC event schedule will be followed:
- 9:00 AM – Registration opens
- 9:30 AM – Beginners' clinic instruction begins (free)
- 10:00 AM – Starts open
- 10:30 AM – Beginners' clinic instruction ends
- 11:59 AM – Registration closes
- 12:30 PM – Starts close
- 2:00 PM – Courses close, checkpoint control pick-up begins
You can register and start on courses anytime between the open and close times above. Thus, for example, you do not need to be "punctual" at 9:00 (but you can if you want).
Beginners' clinics are short, repeating sessions that introduce the sport of orienteering, and provide enough instruction to be able to complete the beginner course.
Everyone must check in at the Finish by 2:00 PM, and report to the E-punch table, so we can have everyone accounted for and start checkpoint pick-up on time so those volunteers can get home.
Registration and Costs
At registration, all juniors must be accompanied by parents or legal guardians, or bring with them a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian (the registration form is available here (PDF/38KB) (http://baoc.org/pdfs/entry_form.pdf)).
The following fees apply at this event:
- $3 for juniors on the Beginner course
- $8 for adults on the Beginner course
- $5 for juniors on the Sprint/Motola courses
- $12 member price for the Sprint/Motola courses
- $18 non-member price for the Sprint/Motola courses
- $1 for a compass rental (optional)
- $5 for an electronic fingerstick rental (optional, but each team will need one to complete the course)
- $15 for the lowest-cost individual one-year BAOC membership (optional)
For extra people on a team, add $5 per adult on the Beginner course or $7 per adult on the Sprint/Motola courses (with lower fees for juniors).
As a special feature of this event, second (and third) courses will be free!
Venue Facilities
Water and restrooms should be available inside Barrows Hall. If it happens that Barrows Hall is closed that day, there will be open restrooms at Sproul Hall about 150 meters away.
As mentioned above, no snacks will be served at this event. There are many food opportunities just steps away on Bancroft Way.
What to Bring
Running attire and running shoes are fine. Comfortable outdoors attire and walking shoes are fine for those who will walk their course.
A compass is not necessary, but can be helpful. We have compasses available for a $1 rental fee.
We time the courses with the SPORTident system, so a SPORTident fingerstick is required for each team—they rent for $5. (Use of the "E-punch" system is easy. You can learn how at the event, or read about it here.)
Courses
The following courses will be available:
Course Length Controls
Beginner 2.1 km 16
Sprint-A 2.0 km 12
Sprint-B 1.9 km 14
Sprint-C 2.1 km 11
Beginners should be aware that the lengths given above are the cumulative straight-line distances between controls. Your actual distance covered will be longer—for example, because of the need to go around buildings.
Volunteers
Although this is a pretty simple event, as always, volunteers are needed. Managing starts, Registration help, conducting Beginner Clinics, and control-pickup assistance would all be appreciated. E-Punch could use a hand too—it's not as hard as it sounds.
Please contact if you can spare a little time before or after your course. And if anybody knows anything about Marie-Josée's weather magic, please clue me in!
Parking
Parking, although always tight, is free on Sunday along the roads south and north of the main campus (Bancroft and Hearst, respectively). Arrive early to secure space on Bancroft near Telegraph (closest to Barrows Hall). More free Sunday parking is available on the streets south of Bancroft. There are many pay spaces around the campus and in nearby garages.
Parking tip for Downtown Berkeley: Drive to the North Berkeley BART station (http://www.bart.gov/stations/nbrk), park your car there for free (on weekends), and take BART one stop south to Downtown Berkeley. I used to go to Berkeley every weekend for a course, and this worked well for me. – Alak Ghosh
Public Transit
The Downtown Berkeley BART station (http://www.bart.gov/stations/dbrk) is one block west of campus, and from there it's a pleasant 0.5-mile walk through campus to Barrows Hall.