What is Orienteering?

Events

Maps

About Us

Scout Orienteering Championships

Briones Regional Park

Date: (Sun.) Oct. 29, 2023
Location: Lafayette, CA
Event Director: - 925.934.6567
Course Setter: Gavin Wyatt-Mair
Type: B; 29th annual Scout-O and Championships for all scout levels

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

Are you and your troop ready to test your map-reading and problem-solving abilities? Are you ready to pass the map-and-compass requirements for First Class, Second Class, or the Orienteering Merit Badge? The Bay Area Orienteering Club is pleased to offer the twenty-ninth annual Scout-O, a cross-country map and compass adventure designed to test the map-reading ability, compass skills, and woodsman savvy of any troop regardless of size or experience.

Girl Scouts, Daisies through Ambassadors, Boy Scouts, Cubs, Tigers through Webelos, of all ages are welcome. Instruction will be offered prior to the event, so that all Scouts, regardless of prior experience, will be able to take part in the actual competition. There will be courses of four distinct levels of difficulty, so that no Scout should encounter a challenge beyond his or her capabilities.

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!

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.

The event will be held on Sunday, October 29, 2023 in Briones Regional Park (https://www.ebparks.org/parks/briones/), in Orinda. The park has been mapped to International Orienteering Federation (IOF) standards. The details shown on these 5-color maps far exceeds those available on even the newest U.S. Geological Survey topographical maps. Teams may keep their maps, so they will be useful for instruction and reference.

Preregistration is required for the event. It might be necessary to constrain the number of participants, so register early (first come, first served). Registration information is below.

Note that from the parking lot, the Start is about 1 km. It takes 15 minutes to walk there.

Water will not be provided on the courses. Please bring your own water.

We will have electronic punching again this year. (Be sure to clear your finger stick before you start, and be sure to punch the START unit when you start.)

A regular Bay Area Orienteering Club / Nav-X event will be held simultaneously at the same location, so anyone wishing to do a BAOC or Nav-X course is also welcome. Pass the word. More information is available on the page for the concurrent BAOC event.

For additional information, contact:

Gavin Wyatt-Mair

Tel. (775)-691-6384

E-mail:

Schedule

The meet will be held on Sunday, October 29, 2023. 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 1:15 to 2:45 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 are available for Course 1, Course 2, Course 3, Course 4, and the Adult Course.

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.

Note: There is a 15-minute walk from the parking lot to the Start — about 1 kilometer.

The Finish will be close to the Assembly Area and parking.

Remember: 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!

Registration Information

Registration closed on Tuesday, October 24, 2023.

A list of current registrations is available here.

Competitive Categories

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

                                         Navigational  Physical
    Course    Distance  Climb  Controls  Difficulty    Difficulty
    Course 1   3.6 km   145 m     10     Beginner      Easiest  
    Course 2   3.8 km   160 m     11     Adv Beginner  Easy
    Course 3   3.7 km   175 m     12     Intermediate  Moderate
    Course 4   4.1 km   195 m     13     Intermediate  Intermediate
    Adult      3.6 km   140 m     11     Intermediate  Moderate  

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/or 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.

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.

Equipment

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

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, and head 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).

The park has an entry/parking charge of about $4 per vehicle (and $2 per dog [Guide and Service dogs are free]), collected at the entry kiosk. Please carpool if possible, since there will probably be many scouts attending.