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University of California

Event #4 of 6 in the BAOC 2024 Summer Series

Date: (Sun.) Jul. 21, 2024
Location: Berkeley, CA
Event Director:
Course Setter: Wayne Staats
Type: C; This is the fourth 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 (https://www.attackpoint.org/eventdetail.jsp/event_58133) Last Year’s Event

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


Late Comments from the Event Director

The maps for the Short and Long courses are printed at 1:3750 scale on 11"x17" paper. We have a limited number of map cases of this size, so please bring your own if you have and want one. Expect the paper to be a little harder to fold than usual, as I printed on more rigid paper so it's strong enough to be used without a map case. The same applies for Beginner maps, but those are on 8.5"x14" paper.
Hope to see many of you tomorrow! This is a great event to practice your Sprint orienteering skills. The map is freshly updated by Matej Sebo, and Rex Winterbottom and Dennis Wildfogel will be holding Intermediate Clinics on the Sprint mapping standard from 9:30–11:20. See Wayne's Course Setter's Notes here.
– Julia Doubson, Event Director


This event will be the fourth of six events in the 2024 Summer Series. However, 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 have attended, or plan to attend, other Summer Series events.

We encourage beginners to attend, no experience is necessary. The UC campus has many distinctive landmarks, such as the Campanile, so anyone should be able to navigate the Beginner course.

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!

Beginners

Beginner clinics will be available to introduce orienteering. They are short, repeating sessions that explain orienteering maps and the process for completing a course. Of course, it's up to the participants to be able to read their map and navigate to the controls on their course. That should not be too difficult at this feature-rich venue.

Intermediate Clinics

A special, infrequent, feature of this event is the availability of Intermediate Clinics specifically focused on the Sprint mapping standard, including how to read multi-level mapping and how to distinguish what level a control is on based on its map location and description. (A one-page summary showing all the symbols used on a Sprint map is available as this file [1.0MB PDF]. It would be a good idea to look that page over prior to attending the clinic. The complete International Specification for Sprint Orienteering Maps [ISSprOM 2019-2] is in this file [8.0MB PDF].)

Schedule

The standard BAOC event schedule will be followed:

9:00 AM – 11:59 AM: Registration open
9:30 AM – 11:30 AM: Beginner clinics instruction (free)
9:30 AM – 11:20 AM: Intermediate clinics instruction (free)
9:30 AM – 12:30 PM: Starts are open for all the courses
                2:00 PM: Everyone must have returned to the Finish
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 the 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 15–20 minute, repeating sessions that introduce the sport of orienteering, and provide enough instruction to be able to complete the Beginner course. (Also see the information above about Intermediate Clinics.)

Note that everyone must return to the Finish by 2:00 PM, and then promptly go to the download tent, even if they have not completed their course. Please do not leave without checking in! If there are unaccounted people after 2:00, we must initiate a search for them.

Costs & 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 for this event:

  $3 for each junior on the Beginner course
  $8 for each adult on Beginner course
  $5 for each junior on the Short or Long courses  
$15 for each adult member on Short or Long courses
$20 for each adult non-member on Short or Long courses
  $1 for a compass rental (optional)  
  $5 for an electronic fingerstick rental (if you don’t own one; each group will need one to complete their course)
$15 for the lowest-cost individual one-year BAOC membership (optional)  
Notes:
  • At the event, we can accept payment by cash, check, or credit/debit card (but no electronic payments — e.g., PayPal, Venmo).
  • Juniors are age 8 through 20 (under age 8 is free).
  • 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.)

Online Registration

Online registration has closed. You can 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/reglist/home/ss4ucberkeley) 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 on Campus

Registration will be held at the courtyard of the Social Sciences Building (https://www.berkeley.edu/map/) (formerly Barrows Hall), which is located on the south side of the campus, near Bancroft Way, and near Sather Gate and Sproul Plaza.

This is the same location we have used for the last several events.

Venue Facilities

Water and restrooms should be available inside the Social Sciences Building. If it happens that the building 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

Here are course details: 

    Course      Length    Climb  Controls
    Beginner   ~2.4 km     57 m     11  
    Short      ~4.8 km     86 m     16  
    Long       ~7.3 km    116 m     20

The course lengths are for the "best-route" (i.e., as normally given for Sprint courses), not the "straight-line" distance that is specified for non-Sprint courses.
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.

The Short and Long courses will be the ranking courses for the respective Summer Series.

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.

Be sure to read the Course Setter's Notes for more information.

Important Note:

This event will observe Sprint rules for all the courses, which means there are strict interpretations of some of the symbols on the map. In particular, some symbols indicate features that must not be crossed (i.e., even if it's physically possible to cross them), and areas that are out of bounds (i.e., must not be entered). If you don't know about those symbols, be sure to ask somebody before going to the Start. Be sure to see the additional comments in the Course Setter's Notes.
In addition to being against orienteering rules, violating those restrictions could jeopardize our ability to hold events on the campus in the future!

2024 Summer Series

This is the fourth event of the BAOC 2024 Summer Series. The Series consists of six events, each of which has two "ranking courses" for the overall "Short" and "Long" Summer Series results. At this event, points will be awarded to all the individuals (but not groups or teams) who complete the Short or Long course (as their first course at the event).

Scoring of the Summer series events involves a gender/age-based weighting system. Details of the Summer Series scoring system are available here. (Note that we need your gender and birth year if you want to be scored properly.)

Volunteers

For all of you who enjoy orienteering, help us help others catch that joy.

Please contact me if you can help for about an hour at the U.C. Berkeley event. Here are the available offerings:

Thank you kindly, Julia Doubson, Event Director ()

Parking

Photo gallery image (click to enlarge)

Street parking, although always tight, is free on Sunday along the roads south and north of the main campus (Bancroft Way and Hearst Ave, respectively). Arrive early to secure space on Bancroft Way near Telegraph Ave (closest to the Social Sciences Building). More free Sunday parking is available on the streets south of Bancroft Way. There are many pay spaces around the campus and in nearby garages, such as the Upper and Lower Bancroft Garages, and Telegraph & Channing Garage. Suggested streets and garages are shown in the map to the right (click on the map to see a larger image, and click on that image for an even larger one).

On-campus parking: Payment is required on Sundays! Hourly public parking is available during weekends in all campus parking areas (unless otherwise indicated on parking-control signs). You will need your license-plate number at the ticket-dispensing machine. The fee is $2.50 per/hour. You can pay with $1, $2, $5, $10, $20 bills (the machine does not give change) and credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover). Time limits are strictly enforced.
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 AC Transit 52 (schedule (http://www.actransit.org/maps/schedule_results.php?ms_view_type=1&version_id=43&maps_category=2&maps_line=52&map_submit=Get+Schedule&current_schedule=30871)) to the stop at Bancroft Way & Telegraph Ave (11-minute ride), then walk to the Social Sciences Building. Alternatively, you can take BART one stop south to the Downtown Berkeley station and walk from there.

Public Transit

Public Transit is highly encouraged! 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 the Social Sciences Building (see the map in the Parking section above).

Local buses are also available at Telegraph & Bancroft/Durant. AC Transit routes 6, 36, 51B, 52, 79, and F stop here, and connect with Downtown Berkeley BART, North Berkeley BART, Rockridge BART, Telegraph Ave, University Ave, etc. Please refer to the map in the Parking section above, and check Google Maps (https://www.google.com/maps/dir//Social+Sciences+Building,+Berkeley,+CA/@37.870027,-122.2930081,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m9!4m8!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x80857c25938066c3:0x73f82f3646d8e0bd!2m2!1d-122.2579888!2d37.8700322!3e3!5m1!1e2) and AC Transit (http://www.actransit.org/maps/) for more information.