Willow Glen Neighborhood
Date: (Sun.) Dec. 19, 2010
Location: San Jose, CA
Event Director: 
- 650.302.4835
Course Setter: Brad Wetmore
Type: C; Light-O: Walk/Run through Willow Glen while enjoying the festive decorations!
Course Setter's Notes
By
(Please note: If you are not attending the potluck/awards (see the event page), please RSVP to , so I can make sure to have enough maps available. I should have more than enough printed, but I am getting a lot of interest from friends & relatives.)
Come join the BAOC for another colorful evening among the many well-dressed houses of Willow Glen in San Jose. I spent several nights searching out the more interesting areas/decorations, and have tried to set an interesting course with lots of route-choice options. This is the second event on this map: 1:15000 with 5-ft contours. In all the time I've spent on the map, there's only one area where you might realize you've lost/gained a contour (in other words, it's flat and fast)!
There are 60 controls spread out over a roughly 7 sq. kilometer area. For the 90-minute class, that gives 90 seconds per control. I'm not expecting anyone to get all the controls, so it will really be an exercise in focusing on the right areas.
This year, the course covers a slightly smaller area. There are also 50% more controls, many of which are close to the event center. This will give walkers more controls to visit, and will probably confound runners as they try to execute their optimal route.
Here are some important scoring items:
- Most control are worth 10 points. There is one "don't miss" house worth 30 points (control 300), and two "shouldn't miss" houses worth 20 points each (controls 200 & 201). Naturally, they are on opposite areas of the map. If you don't get to the high-value controls during your stroll/walk/run, you might want to stop by on your way home.
- The format will be 60- or 90-minute Score-O. You don't have to declare which course you're doing until you return.
- Controls will be environmental, such as:
At house #456, how many reindeer are on the roof?
A-3 B-8 C-9 D-42
- If any of the control answers have changed since the course was set, please write in the most appropriate answer.
- There will be a 30-point penalty for each incorrect answer. DO NOT GUESS! Last year's event was decided by a single incorrect answer.
- For each minute or partial minute that you're late in returning, 10 points will be deducted from your score (e.g., 61 seconds late will have 20 points deducted).
A couple of controls advertise that they will not turn on their lights until 6:00 PM, so we adjusted the start time to compensate.
A strong word of warning: This is a night-time urban Orienteering event, in an area where automobile drivers will be looking for the lights and not for you. Plus if you bury your nose in your map, you'll miss lots of great houses along the way.
Please exercise extra caution: Be sure to have a good flashlight, and dress in light-colored clothing. A reflective vest is a good choice.
Please bring a pencil (preferred) or pen to mark your answers.
There is no BAOC-provided water on the course, but there are a few parks and stores on the course. It should be cool enough that this won't be an issue.
Please see the event announcement for other information.
One last item. If there are folks in your party who would rather not walk, but would still like to enjoy the area, there is a horse-drawn wagon ride departing from a couple of locations along Lincoln street. (One example is http://wgride.com/. Reservations are recommended by the operators.) There is no affiliation with BAOC, I'm just mentioning them as options.
I hope you enjoy the evening. Being around this much festivity has really put me in the holiday mood!