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Open Event at Scout-O Championships

Briones Regional Park

Date: (Sun.) Oct. 14, 2018
Location: Lafayette, CA
Event Director: - 925.934.6567
Course Setters: Gavin Wyatt-Mair, Steve Harrison
Type: B; Open Event for non-Scouts — Regular 7-course BAOC event in conjunction with the Scout-O Championships

Please note that fees and time limits apply. Events are typically not canceled due to bad weather.


We return, once again, to Briones Regional Park (https://www.ebparks.org/parks/briones/) for the 26th annual Scout-O Championships. As in previous years, this "open" event is being held in conjunction with the Scout-O Champs.

The forecast is for fine weather. It is a good area for picnics, so bring your friends and your family, and enjoy the park as well as the orienteering challenge. We will have some snacks for you to eat after your course.

Special Rules:

The Park District is very concerned about the possibility of fires.
Therefore, they have instituted two rules that we must all follow:
  1. No smoking at all.
  2. Drive only on roads.

All the courses will have E-punching. Beginner (White), Advanced Beginner (Yellow), Intermediate (Orange), and Advanced (Brown, Green, Red, and Blue) courses will be offered (see below). Grass stickers and poison oak are present, so be sure to wear long pants, and to wear gaiters on the off-trail courses.

Since the annual Scout-O will be held concurrently with this regular event, we expect a sizable crowd. Although preregistration is required for the Scout-O, it is not required (nor available) for the BAOC B-meet.

BAOC members: Please note that your showing is very good publicity for the club, and sets an example for hundreds of scouts and adults to see!! Please do come, with your best O-gear, a smile, and a word of encouragement for the youngsters.

Parking, Registration, and the Finish are at the Bear Creek entrance to Briones Park (see the driving directions below).

The Start is about 1.6 km, with 50 m gradual climb, from the parking lot. It takes about 20 minutes to walk there.

If you have any questions, contact the Event Director, , at 925-934-6567.

Schedule

Registration will be open from 9:00 AM to noon.

Beginner clinics will be available from 9:30 to 10:30 AM. These are short, repeating sessions that introduce orienteering, and provide enough instruction to be able to complete a beginner (White) course.

Starts will be at the usual times: from 10:00 to 12:30.

The Finish will close at 2:00 PM. Everyone must report to the Finish by then, and then to the E-punch download tent (i.e., even if they have not completed their course).

Costs

The following fees apply at this event:

  $3 for juniors (age 8 through 20) on beginner's (White) and advanced beginner's (Yellow) courses
  $8 for adults on beginner's and advanced beginner's courses
  $5 for juniors on intermediate (Orange) and advanced (Brown, Green, Red, Blue) courses  
$12 member price for intermediate and advanced courses
$18 non-member price for intermediate and advanced courses
  $1 for a compass rental (optional)  
  $5 for an electronic fingerstick rental (if you don't own one; you'll need one to complete the course)
$15 for the lowest-cost individual one-year BAOC membership (optional)  

Note: We are able to accept payment only by cash or check​—​no credit cards or electronic payments.

For extra people on a team, add $5 per adult on beginners' courses or $7 per adult on intermediate and advanced courses (with lower prices for juniors).

More information about event pricing is available in the club FAQ. All the prices are also shown on the standard entry form (PDF/100KB), which you can print and fill out in advance to save some time at the event. (You will need one entry form for each group of people going on a course together.) Please note that the form has a second page for signatures of group members.

What to Bring

For the beginner (White) course, comfortable outdoors attire and shoes are fine.

Due to the dry weather, matted grasses, and loose soils, we recommend O-shoes or shoes with cleats on the intermediate (Orange) and advanced (Brown through Blue) courses. Hiking boots with an aggressive tread are recommended for the advanced beginner (Yellow) course.

Dry grasses with burrs and stickers are present on all the courses except White. We recommend long pants and gaiters.

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 each entry/team needs to have a SPORTident fingerstick. If you don't have your own, you can rent one at registration for $5. (Use of the "E-punch" system is easy. You can learn how at the event, or read about it here.)

Venue Facilities

Picnic tables and toilets are available.

There is no piped drinking water available at this park. BAOC will provide drinking water at the assembly area and at water stops on the courses. If you plan to carry water bottles or a Camelback-style water bladder on your course, please fill them at home. Also please bring any additional water you will want at the park.

Courses

The following courses will be available. Be sure to read the Course Setters' Notes for more information.

                                                  Navigational  Physical  
    Course         Distance    Climb   Controls   Difficulty    Difficulty
    White(1)        3.7 km     160 m      10      Easy          Easy   
    Yellow(2)       3.9 km     165 m      11      Easy          Easy
    Orange(4)       5.0 km     290 m      14      Moderate      Moderate
    Short Brown     3.2 km     170 m      12      Moderate      Moderate
    Brown           4.2 km     220 m      12      Hard          Moderate
    Green           5.2 km     360 m      16      Hard          Hard
    Red             6.3 km     460 m      22      Hard          Tough!
    Blue            7.5 km     540 m      25      Hard          Tough!

Beginners should be aware that the distances shown are the cumulative straight-line distances between controls. Your actual distance will be longer. The climb numbers represent the amount of ascending that would be done on the "optimum route" (in the Course Setter's opinion), without regard for any descending.

As noted above, the Start is about 1.6 km from the parking lot, with 50 m gradual climb. It takes about 20 minutes to walk there.

Request for Volunteers

If you are able and willing to help out on the day of the meet, or before, we sure could use your help! Please contact .

Driving Directions

Registration will be at the West entrance to the park, off of Bear Creek Road. (This address might be useful: 1611 Bear Creek Rd, Lafayette, CA.) The approximate coordinates are N37.9271,W122.1578.

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 $3 per vehicle (and $2 per dog). 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.