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Evergreen Valley College

Event #2 of 6 in the BAOC 2024 Summer Series

Date: (Sat.) Jun. 15, 2024
Location: San Jose, CA
Event Director:
Course Setter: Werner Haag
Type: C; This is the second event of the 2024 Summer Series. Everyone is welcome, including beginners, with free short clinics to explain orienteering.

Related Event Information

Event Results Course Setter’s Notes 2024 Summer Series Attackpoint Event Page (http://www.attackpoint.org/eventdetail.jsp/event_58131)

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


This will be our first official event at Evergreen Valley College due to the difficulty of obtaining a permit. The map was first made about 10 years ago.

The campus is surrounded by some open space to the west and Montgomery Hill Park to the east, where some of the first aircraft tests were conducted around the time of the Wright brothers. Thus, the courses will include navigation both around campus buildings and open terrain, with most controls at White or Yellow level, and some at Orange level technically.

This will be the second event in the six-event 2024 Summer Series. In keeping with the Summer Series standards, we will offer Beginner (White), Short, and Long courses.

Note: While this is the second of six events in the 2024 Summer Series, we want to emphasize that everyone is welcome to come out and do one (or more) of the courses, regardless of whether or not you attend other Summer Series events. Beginners new to orienteering are welcome, and the navigational difficulty is significantly eased by the semi-urban setting, so anyone should be able to complete the Beginner course.

There is a significant amount of construction going on, and the courses avoid these areas, but to make interesting courses we have to go nearby, so please respect the red-slashed out-of-bounds areas on the map.

Schedule

  9:00 AM – 11:59 AM: Registration is open
  9:30 AM – 10:30 AM: Beginner-clinic instruction is available (free)
 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Starts are open for all courses
                   2:00 PM: Courses close, checkpoint control pick-up begins
Note: At registration, all juniors (i.e., under age 21) 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 (12KB PDF).)

Note that you can register and start on courses anytime during the open times above. Thus, for example, you do not need to be "punctual" at 9:00 (but you can if you want, but please don't show up earlier and expect to be served).

Beginner clinics are short (15–20 minutes), repeating sessions that introduce the sport of orienteering, and provide enough instruction to be able to complete the Beginner course.

Note that you must return to the Finish by 2:00, and then promptly go to the download table, even if you do not finish your course. If there are unaccounted people after 2:00, we must initiate a search for them.

After you finish, stick around and socialize with other participants! For beginners, this is a good time to ask questions.

Costs and Registration

Note: There is a special Summer Series Discount Package for BAOC members as there was last year. Look here for the details. You will not need to register for this event if you have registered for the Summer Series Discount Package.

The following fees apply at this event:

  $3 for each junior on the Beginner (White) course
  $8 for each adult on the Beginner course
  $5 for each junior on the Short or Long course  
$15 for each adult member on the Short or Long course
$20 for each adult non-member on the Short or Long course
  $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)  
Notes:
  • You can register at the event or online before the event (see below).
  • Juniors are age 8 through 20 (under age 8 is free).
  • At the event, we can accept payment by cash, check, or credit/debit card (but no electronic payments — e.g., PayPal or Venmo).
  • There is no charge for a second course, but you must end up paying for the more-expensive course (i.e., the Short or Long course after the Beginner course).
  • Members of other orienteering clubs can pay the "member" fee. (We hope your club would do the same for our members. 🙂)

More information about event pricing is available in the club FAQ. All the prices are also shown on the Summer Series registration form (PDF/12KB), 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.)

Optional Online Registration

Online registration has closed, but you can still register at the event.

Notes:
  • Do not register for this event if you have registered for the Summer Series Discount Package (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/reglist/home/24sspackage).
  • Online registration is not required​—​you can register at the event.
  • If you want to see who you competition will be, you can see who is registered for this event here (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/reglist/home/ss2evergreenvalleycollege) and you can see here (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/reglist/home/24sspackage) who has purchased the Summer Series Discount Package (but keep in mind that others will register at the event.

Location at the College

Registration and Starts will be in the amphitheater at the east end of the campus (coordinates 37.2983,-121.7619), just off Yerba Buena Road and close to parking.

Unfortunately, there are no restrooms at the Start area. There are open restrooms adjacent to the Pickleball area, about 200 m walk from the registration area. Restrooms might also be available about 200 m NE from the registration area in the "VPA", Visual and Performing Arts building.

What to Bring

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

For Short and Long courses, leg cover or gaiters are strongly recommended, as well as shoes with some extra grip on the sole. Most of the Short and Long courses will be in off-trail areas outside the paved campus proper, where grasses could be tall and foxtails and burrs abound. Luckily the grass was recently mowed on most of the hills and surrounding area, so the running should be much nicer that it would have been. However, the course setter still recommends gaiters, as a few areas are still grassy.

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 E-punch 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.)

Courses

Here are the course details: 

    Course      Length    Climb  Controls
    Beginner   ~1.6 km    ~30 m      9  
    Short      ~3.3 km    ~45 m     14  
    Long       ~5.0 km   ~110 m     22

Beginners should be aware that the course lengths shown are the cumulative straight-line distances between controls. Because you won't travel in straight lines, your actual distance will be somewhat more than what is shown above, and will depend on your route choices (and any errors you make).
Keep in mind that you can earn Summer Series points from the first course you run at the event, and only if it's one of the ranking courses. That is, you will not earn points if you run the Beginner course first and then one of the ranking courses.

The Beginner course is for beginners and young children. This is a great warmup if you're trying orienteering for the first time. You get to see the map before the start and experience how everything works.

Participants can choose either the Short or Long course to earn points for the 2024 Summer Series (see below).

Be sure to read the Course Setter’s Notes for more information about the courses and the map.

The Map

The map scale is 1:5000. The map does not conform to the ISSOM map standard.¹

As usual, buildings are mapped dark grey, with light grey for canopies that are generally passable underneath. Because there is a lot of surrounding open space, the courses will not have a lot of intricate navigation through and around buildings.

The courses might go near construction areas. Please respect the red-slashed out-of-bounds areas on the map.

Water

No water will be provided on the courses, but there are some fountains on the course if needed.

Hazards

There is essentially no poison oak, although there may be a few small spots.

The school is not in session, so foot traffic should be light, but yield to pedestrians and watch for car traffic around the parking lots.

Most of the Short and Long courses will be in off-trail areas outside the paved campus proper, where grasses could be tall and foxtails and burrs abound. (See What to Bring for related comments.)

Request for Volunteers

Let's keep the momentum going for the Summer Series after the super popular Presidio event. This is my call to action to get some volunteers for Evergreen Valley College on Saturday, June 15!

I need help with event setup, registration, beginner clinics, starts, and control pickup. If we get enough volunteers it'd be great to have extra people to hang out either at registration or the Finish to encourage our participants. Nothing makes you want to come back more than a new friend with a smiling face!

Please let me know what you'd like to do and I'll organize our all-star team. All volunteers will get first access to the stockpile of snacks I plan to bring. 😊

Brian Ritchken, Eventy Director ()

2024 Summer Series

Points for the 2024 Summer Series will be awarded to all the individuals (not groups or teams) who complete either the Short or Long course as their first course of the day (i.e., not after the Beginner course). The results for the two courses will be entered in the respective Summer Series standings.

Details of the Summer Series scoring system are available here. (Note that we need your birth year if you want to be scored properly.)

Driving Directions

From southbound Highway 101, south of the I-280/I-680 interchange, take exit 381 to Yerba Buena Rd. Turn left onto Yerba Buena Rd. After 3.2 miles on Yerba Buena Rd, turn left into the campus, and then turn left to the parking lot (which will then be on your left).

Parking

Park in Student Lot 8 at the east end of the campus. The approximate coordinates for parking are 37.2989,-121.7603.

Parking fees do apply on Saturday. You can buy a day permit for $3.00 at a grey kiosk (protected by yellow posts) in the parking lot — display the receipt on the dash of your vehicle. You can pay with dollar bills (no coins), credit card, or pay-by-phone (possibly requiring an app).

Note: You should park in a lot designated for students. Parking in a staff lot might result in a fine.

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¹ ISSOM = International Specification for Sprint Orienteering Maps (which is available here [8.0MB PDF]). A one-page list of Sprint-map symbols is available here (PDF/600KB).