Crown Memorial State Beach
Date: (Sat.) Sep. 27, 2008
Location: Alameda, CA
Event Director: 
- 510.681.6181
Course Setter: Rex Winterbottom
Type: C; White (Junior Sprint), Yellow (Sprint), and Memory-O courses
Course Setter's Notes
Terrain
Crown Beach is a picnic park with grassy areas, natural areas, small patches of forests, beaches, and lots of recreational facilities like tennis courts, baseball fields, and a fenced-off dog park.
Map
This is a new ISSOM 2007 Sprint-standard map made by Rex at a 1:5000 scale with no contours—it's a pretty flat area. Form lines are used to show positive and negative landform features, which are slight.
Benches, light posts, and towering baseball field lights are not mapped. Picnic areas are shown by a large or small picnic table graphic. There is usually more than one picnic table in these areas, imagine that the space labeled on the map is filled with them.
In a few high-detail areas, some point features had to be omitted for map legibility. The orange-ish regular-open-area symbol is used for landscaped grassy areas to contrast with the more natural areas, which are shown with the light-yellowish rough-open-area symbol.
Generally, large trees are shown as green circles, medium trees are marked by a green ×, and small trees and bushes are shown with a green dot. However, sometimes I needed to show trees using a smaller symbol for a big tree, so a large tree is sometimes mapped with a small green dot in a tight area.
There are fences and walls marked as uncrossable on the map with a thicker black line. You are prohibited from going through/over them. Signs are black circles, and other man-made objects are mapped with a black ×. There are some rocky areas along parts of the shoreline, and between the beach and the grassy areas of the park in some areas.
Courses
On all the courses, you must punch all the controls in order. This will be monitored. The White course stays on the paths and trails, and the Yellow course takes you more off the beaten path. The Yellow course earns you BAOC Sprint Series points. Both White and Yellow have no common controls, so knock yourself out and do both.
Or do 3 unique courses—the White and Yellow share no controls with the Memory-O, which uses primarily monuments and signs as control sites. Expect no bags, but when you're at the correct site, you will have to mark a multiple-choice answer on a question-and-answer sheet. You can return to the Start and look at the map as often and long as you wish (while on the clock!).
Course Distance Climb Controls Comment
White 1.3 km 10 m 8 Trails Yellow 2.4 25 16 Off trails Memory 2.0 25 6 Q&A format
Note: To make best use of the park for the courses, they are "one-way courses", meaning a "remote finish". The walk (or jog) back to the Start and registration is about 1 km following the coastline.
Gear
For all courses, you'll be fine with shorts and running shoes. If there is poison oak in the park, the courses go nowhere near it. Bring a light jacket or sweatshirt, etc., for before and after your course, because the climate can be somewhat cool with the breeze or fog.
Hazards
Since the Picnic areas are clearly marked, please avoid traversing through or near them. There are many people, so be on the lookout. In a few spots on the Yellow course, and on the Memory-O, you may wish to cross parking-lot areas and paths that cars take. Be careful.
Facilities
Water will be at the Start and Finish, and there are plenty of fountains in the park. Restrooms are nearby. The park has a number of them so if you need to take a break during your course... sorry, we can't take you off the clock. We have a nice picnic area reserved with plenty of tables, and some treats and snacks will be provided courtesy of the club.