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2026 Summer Series

Table of contents
1 The Schedule
2 Note to Beginners
3 Summer Series Discount Package
4 Important Note to All Summer Series Participants
5 The Series Competition
6 Scoring and Awards
7 Series Results

Related Event Information

Discount Package 2025 Summer Series


The information below is preliminary and subject to change.


What a fabulous spring we have had at BAOC, with ten excellent orienteering events so far this year. Thank you to all the volunteers who made these events possible, and thanks to all who attended.

We now switch our attention to the 2026 BAOC Summer Series, which, as usual, runs through the summer — from the end of May through August. This will operate along similar lines as previous years, with six events planned this year. See below for how you can register now and get a huge discount!

The six planned Summer Series events are listed below. Each event will have a beginner course (White/Yellow difficulty), a short intermediate course (~3 km), and a long intermediate course (~5 km). (The intermediate courses are usually about Orange-level difficulty, or whatever technical level the map can support.) The whole Series is run as two separate competitions — a "Short" and a "Long". Athletes can score points only in the first of either the Short or the Long course they run at each event. Note, in particular, that running the Beginner course first disqualifies you from scoring points on the Short or Long course that day; also, only individuals — not teams — can score points. You are very welcome to run two or even three courses each day, but only the first one counts for points (as long as it's the Short or Long course)!

Each athlete's score at each event is based on their finish time, weighted by age and gender (see the explanation below). The best four scores from all the (six or fewer) events for each participant are considered for the final standings. Therefore, all participants, regardless of age, have a chance at the top spot in their competition. Missing an event or two will not spoil your chances. Automatic points are awarded to the Course Setter and Event Director of each event. (If you want some of these "free" Series points, read on!)

Note that to score you accurately, the scoring administrator (Graham Brew) will need to know your birth year (not the date) and gender. You will enter that information if you register online (either for the Discount Package or for an individual event), and the folks at event registration will ask for it if you register at an event. (Of course, you are allowed to withhold your information, in which case we will assume you are a 21-year-old male, which will probably put you at a disadvantage if that isn't correct.)

The Schedule

The 2026 Summer Series schedule is below. Click on an "Event" link to go to the event webpage. After each event, results links will be added, which you can click on to see the event results.

(*) The Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point State Park event is part of the Tahoe 4-Day event.

As always, these events are run entirely thanks to the efforts of volunteers. A huge thank-you to all the Course Setters and Event Directors and other volunteers who are making these events possible. There are still plenty of volunteer roles left to fill, so please contact the individual Event Directors, or your local Regional Event Coordinator (below) if you would like to volunteer. In particular:

(Remember, there are lots of "free" Series points available if you are an Event Director or Course Setter!)

We look forward to seeing you out there! Your BAOC Regional Event Coordinators (RECs):

Note to Beginners

BAOC welcomes beginners at events, with (free) brief, instruction sessions ("clinics") that introduce orienteering, and with "beginner" courses. We hope you will come to one or more of the Summer Series events (there is no requirement to attend all the events), and/or to our "regular" events listed in the BAOC Schedule (https://baoc.org/wiki/Schedule/Current?year=2026&club=BAOC)].

Summer Series Discount Package

A special Summer Series Discount Package is offered again this year, providing a discount for BAOC members registering in advance for the entire Series. (Registering for the Discount Package does not require that you attend every event in the Series.)

The package deal — which is available only for BAOC members — covers the five Bay Area events in the Summer Series. (Event #4 will be in the Lake Tahoe area, and will be included in a separate "Tahoe package".)

Note: If you are not a BAOC member, you can join the club and purchase the Discount Package for less than the adult non-member cost of four individual events.

The package price is $50 for adults, and $17 for juniors (ages 8–20), for all five (or fewer) of the Bay Area events​—​thus presenting a great discount, even if you don't attend all of the events.

You can sign up for the Summer Series Discount Package here (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/register/start/26sspackage). You can see who has already signed up (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/reglist/home/26sspackage).

Here are the main details for the Summer Series Discount Package:

If you want more to read, here is the "fine print" for the Summer Series Discount Package:

  • You must register for the Discount Package by at least 6:00 PM the day before the next event.
  • Beginner courses are available at all of the events, but there is no package price for them. Beginners will register for each event separately (i.e., either online or at the event).
  • This year, E-stick rental is available through the Discount Package entry form. You can rent an E-stick for the whole Series through the Discount Package, or at individual events by visiting the Registration table.
  • There will be no refunds if you can't make it to all five Bay Area events (but you will have the satisfaction of donating to your favorite O' club).
  • The Discount Package must be purchased online — it cannot be purchased at an event.
  • Registering for the Discount Package automatically enters you in all the remaining 2026 Summer Series Bay Area events. Thus, you should not register for individual events, and nothing needs to be done if you do not attend an event.
  • You can change from Short to Long, or Long to Short, simply by telling E-punch at the next event you attend. You can change for one event, or for the remainder of the Series. (If you're interested in the Series competition, keep the scoring rules in mind.)
  • After registering for the Discount Package, you can go directly to the Start at each event if you do not need to change your course selection or E-punch number.
Further Notes:
If you are not a BAOC member (and thus not eligible for the package), or you do not want to register for the Discount Package, you can register for individual events either online before an event or at the event.
If registering at an event, to save some time at the event, you can download, print, and complete the entry form (14KB PDF), and bring the form to the Registration table at the event. (You will need one entry form for each group of people going on a course together.)

Important Note to All Summer Series Participants

Everyone must observe out-of-bounds areas indicated on the maps. Please note, in particular, that olive-green areas are always out of bounds.

Failure to stay out of out-of-bounds areas could jeopardize our ability to get permission to hold future events at the venue, as well as being unfair to those participants who go around the areas.

Some of the events will use maps with ISSprOM (International Standard for Sprint Orienteering Maps) symbols, which indicate impassible features like buildings, fences, vegetation, and walls. Note that the rules forbid crossing (including reaching over or through) any feature shown on the map as "impassible", even if it's physically possible to cross (or reach over or through).

A sheet showing all the symbols used on Sprint Orienteering maps is available as this file (650KB PDF).
The latest edition of the International Specification for Sprint Orienteering Maps (ISSprOM 2019-2) is in this document (8.0MB PDF). (The identical file on the IOF website is much larger.)
These related IOF documents are available: ISSprOM - Guidelines For Complex Urban Structures (2.6MB PDF) and What Has Changed In ISSprOM 2019 (764KB PDF).
Some of the event venues include multilevel situations, which can be hard to interpret from a two-dimensional map. ISSprOM includes special symbols for that purpose, which can be seen in this explanation.

The Series Competition

The BAOC Summer Series will be split into two competitions, a series of Short courses and a series Long courses, both of which will be "handicapped" by age and gender​—​that is, using the same system we used in 2017–2019 and 2022–2024.

The six planned Summer Series events (see above) will be set on some of our best "urban" maps​—​campuses, parks, etc.​—​which make for better events during the summer. There will, in fact, be effectively two Summer Series: a Short-distance version, and a Long-distance version. We have made this decision acknowledging the diversity of the athletes we have at BAOC events, and hopefully everyone will find a distance they are comfortable with. Both Short and Long will be basically "the most technically challenging courses the map will support". The Short courses will not be "easier", they are simply shorter.

Important Note: Points earned in one Summer Series (e.g., Short) are not valid in the other series (e.g., Long). And each competitor will ultimately be ranked based on the points from their best four of the six events. The intention is that each athlete will choose to compete in either the Short or the Long competition, and (mostly) stick to that length throughout the summer. Of course, everyone is welcome to run any course they wish at each event, but to maximize your chance of a higher overall position, you should try to stick to one length throughout the summer. Furthermore, while you are always welcome to run two (or three!) courses at any event, you will be eligible to earn points only on the first course you run at an event (which means no points if you run a ranking course after the Beginner [White/Yellow] course).

Note that, in addition to the ranking Short course and the ranking Long course, each event will have a non-ranking Beginner (White/Yellow) course. Further details for each event will be released closer to the date on the webpage for the event.

As in previous years, the Summer Series results are weighted ("handicapped") by age and gender, to create something closer to a level playing field for all athletes. That is why we want to know participants' age and gender information (which will be obtained from registration information). If we ultimately fail to determine an athlete's age and/or gender, they will be assumed to be 21 years old and/or male. Hence, it is in each athlete's best interest to give us accurate information (unless, of course, they actually are a 21-year-old male).

The Series rankings will be released (to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) and on the BAOC website) as quickly as possible after each event, although please allow a few days for the various processing to take place.

As in previous years, credit will be given for Course Setting and Event Directing. (So contact us now if you would like to earn some "free" points this way!)

If there are any questions or comments on any of the above, you can contact . However, questions about specific events, locations, etc. are best addressed to the Event Director for each event (i.e., as found on the event webpage that is linked above).

Very best of luck to all competitors, and we look forward to seeing you out there!

– Graham Brew (Summer Series scoring administrator) and the entire BAOC Summer Series Team

Scoring and Awards

Note: It's not likely to happen, but these details are subject to change.

To make things a little more interesting, participants can accumulate points throughout the Series based on their results. Some of the best minds in the world's greatest database companies, and in the nation's finest research labs have deliberated carefully, and arrived at a scoring system for the Summer Series. (It's the same system that was used in 2017–2019 and 2022–2024 crafted by François and Dennis.)

The scoring system for the Summer Series will combine all participants into two categories by making adjustments, based on age and gender, to each person's performance. The person with the best adjusted performance in a given race will be awarded 1000 points. Everyone else will be awarded points in proportion to how their own adjusted performance compares to that of the person given 1000 points.

At each event in the Series there will be two identified ranking courses, which will be used for scoring. The other course(s) offered at the event will have no affect on the Series scoring.

Here are the details.

This means it is possible for someone who finishes with the slowest legal time in a race to still have the highest point score for the day. So, don't give up!

Now that you've studied the methodology for scoring in minute detail, perhaps an example is in order.

Suppose there is an event with just three people: a 45-year-old male who we'll call "F", a 25-year-old female called "T", and a 70-year-old male called "D". (Amazingly, their ages haven't changed since the first Summer Series in 2017! 😉) Suppose their times on the course were as follows:
F   45:51   (2751 seconds)
T   47:53   (2873 seconds)
D   57:20   (3440 seconds)
Given their ages and genders, their reference times are as follows.
(We are using USA Track & Field [USATF] tables for reference times. Specifically, we're using the files "MaleRoadStd2025.xlsx" and "FemaleRoadStd2025.xlsx" in this folder (https://github.com/AlanLyttonJones/Age-Grade-Tables/tree/master/2025%20Files) [click on the file name and then click on the "Download raw file" icon near the right end of the "Code" bar]. In those files, we're using the "10 km" column on the "AgeStdHMS" and "AgeStanHMS" tabs, respectively (which are equivalent to the "AgeStdSec" and "AgeStanSec" tabs, respectively). Information about the tables is here (https://github.com/AlanLyttonJones/Age-Grade-Tables/blob/master/README.md) and here (https://github.com/AlanLyttonJones/Age-Grade-Tables/wiki).)
F   28:30   (1710 seconds)
T   28:46   (1726 seconds)
D   35:45   (2145 seconds)
Dividing the actual course times by the reference times gives these adjusted performance ratios for the course:
F   1.60877
T   1.66454
D   1.60373
So, with the lowest adjusted performance ratio, D is the leader (despite having the slowest time) and gets 1000 points. To get the points for the others, divide their ratios into D's and multiply by 1000, and you get F with 997 points and T with 963.

Conclusion: If you want to win in the Summer Series, either (a) get fast, or (b) get old fast.

By popular demand, final standings will be based on each person's four best scores in the six-event Series.

For the record, note that Graham Brew is the Official Scorer, so all queries and compliments should go to him. Complaints should be sent to DeptOfComplaints@whitehouse.gov (Good luck with that!).

We need to know everyone's age and gender in order to make these calculations valid. As usual, your orienteering age is your age at the end of the calendar year — so what we really want is your year of birth, not your actual birth date. You will enter your year of birth and gender if you register online (i.e., for either the Discount Package or an individual event), or you will be asked at the registration table if you register at an event.

Some "fine print":

  1. Everyone who has a valid finish for that day's full ranking course will be awarded points (except group entries will not earn points). However, to be eligible for the cumulative awards, you must be a BAOC member in good standing as of the date of the final event of the Series.
  2. If we don't know your year of birth and/or gender, we will assume you are 21 years old and/or male. If you like that idea better than you like getting more points, well, that's up to you.
  3. If we find out your age and gender after some of the point calculations have been made, we will try to go back and recalculate your point scores for the earlier events. In no case, though, will such retroactive point adjustments exceed 1000 points for a given race. (In other words, if you don't tell us your birth year and gender in time, and you should have been the leader that day, you won't quite get all the credit you might have gotten.)
  4. Course Setters for events in the Series will be given points for their own event equal to their best other point score in the Series. Event Directors (some of whom may be able to run in their own event) will be given the higher of (a) their actual score in the event or (b) their best other point score in the Series.

Series Results

The final Series results will be posted here after the last event. The results for each event, and the Series standings through each event, are available on the results page for each event (links have been added to the Schedule above).