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Scout-O Championships at Briones Regional Park

Date: (Sun.) Oct. 15, 2006
Location: Lafayette, CA
Event Director: - 925.934.6567
Course Setter: Gavin Wyatt-Mair
Type: B; 14th annual Scout-O Championships for all scout levels (also see regular BAOC event)

We are pleased to re-announce the fourteenth annual Bay Area Scout Orienteering Championship. 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!

The format for this year's championships will be similar to prior years, and is described below. Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of all ages are welcome, and the competition is arranged to accommodate any skill level. In addition, the courses are arranged to meet the map and compass requirements for First Class, Second Class, or the Orienteering Merit Badge.

Yes, 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-O’s and add to his or her patch sequence.

We will have electronic punching again this year.

Competition Information

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.

1. Morning Courses

Scouts will compete against other scouts with the same orienteering experience. Four courses will be offered, as follows.

Course 1: Daisies, Brownies, Cub scout dens, Webelo dens, Tenderfoot, and Junior scouts, and 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: Cadettes, Seniors, Second Class, and/or First Class scouts, or scouts with minimal (2 to 5) orienteering experiences; compete in pairs.

Course 3: Star, Life, and/or Eagle scouts, or scouts with substantial (more than 5) orienteering experiences; compete in pairs.

Course 4: Advanced, highly-experienced orienteers of any rank; run alone on a typical United States Orienteering Federation (USOF) Orange-level course.

In addition to the courses for scouts, all leaders and parents are invited to compete on an adult 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.

2. Afternoon Score Meet

All scouts may compete in a troop "score" event in the afternoon. Both morning and afternoon events will contribute to the troop total score to determine the troop championship.

Registration Information

All troops participating in the Scout-O must be pre-registered and prepaid. Registration will close on October 7, 2006. The cost of the event is $5.00 per scout or participating leader. Choose your teams carefully, because they must remain together all day. Mixed-category teams are possible, but will compete on the course of the higher-ranking scout. Each troop may have one 3-person team to allow for odd numbers.

Registration forms were included in the bulletins that were sent to scout troops. If you do not have a registration form, we prefer that you download this Excel spreadsheet (http://baoc.org/sched/s06/scout-o/2006_Scout-O_Reg_Form.xls), enter your troop's information in the file, and email the completed file to the Meet Director. If you are not able to do that, you can use this editable Word file (http://baoc.org/sched/s06/scout-o/2006_Scout-O_Reg_Form.doc) or this printable PDF file (http://baoc.org/sched/s06/scout-o/2006_Scout-O_Reg_Form.pdf), and (snail) mail the completed form to the Meet Director.

Note Regarding File Links: If you simply click on one of the file links, you will open the file. To download a file to your computer, click on the link using the right-hand mouse button (or, if you're using a Mac, click and hold). Then select "Save Target As...", or "Save Link As...", or whatever equivalent choice your browser provides.

Troops may also obtain registration forms, and detailed information, from the Meet Director:

Gavin Wyatt-Mair

20 Folin Lane

Lafayette, Ca. 94549

Tel: (925) 934-6567 at home

E-mail: GavinWM@comcast.net

Registration forms and information will also be available at the registration desk at BAOC events in September.

Start Times

The meet will be held on Sunday, October 15, 2006. Instruction will begin at 9:00 am. The 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 Score event will run from 1:30 to 2:30 pm.

The awards ceremony will begin at 3:15 pm, and the meet will be closed at 3:40 pm.

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. There is a 20-minute walk to the start. You may call or e-mail the Meet Director on Saturday the 14th for advance notice of your troop's starting times.

Bring compasses, and remember — we go rain or shine!

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 score 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. There will be other awards for answering some puzzle questions.

Equipment

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

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