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Diablo Valley College

Event #1 of 6 in the BAOC 2018 Summer Series

Date: (Sat.) May. 12, 2018
Location: Pleasant Hill, CA
Event Directors: - 510.525.1574, - 925.516.7622
Course Setter: Erin Schirm
Type: C; Beginner and advanced courses; start of the BAOC 2018 Summer Series

This will be the first event of the BAOC 2018 Summer Series. The Long course will serve as the Summer Series ranking course for this event.

What is Orienteering?

An adventure: Discover the outdoors and discover yourself! Teams of 1 to 5 find checkpoints in parks and wilderness areas using specially-produced maps. All are welcome at our events​—​runners, hikers, joggers, and walkers.

Venue Facilities

The Assembly Area will be on campus near the BFL Community Conference Center. Park in Lot 7. Restrooms are located in nearby buildings. The Start and Finish are on either side of the Assembly Area. It is unclear yet whether refreshments will be offered.

Schedule

The following non-standard BAOC schedule will be followed:

  9:00 AM – Registration opens

  9:30 AM – Beginner clinic instruction begins (free)

10:00 AM – Starts open for the Short and Long courses

10:30 AM – Beginner clinic instruction ends (or sooner if requests end)

11:30 AM – Registration closes

11:59 AM – Starts close for the Short and Long courses

12:01 PM – Start of team-making for the Relay  

12:15 PM – Explanation of the Relay procedure

12:30 PM – Start of the Relay

 2:00 PM – Courses close, checkpoint control pick-up begins  

At registration, all juniors 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 (PDF/100KB)​—​but be aware that the fees for this event might be different than those on the form).

Note that you can register and start on courses anytime between the open and close times above. Thus, for example, you do not need to be "punctual" at 9:00 (but you can if you want).

Beginner clinics are short, repeating sessions that introduce the sport of orienteering, and provide enough instruction to be able to complete the beginner (Short) course.

Everyone must check in at the Finish by 2:00 PM and download their E-stick even if you don't complete your course, so we can have everyone accounted for and start checkpoint pick-up on time so those volunteers can get home.

After you finish, enjoy free snacks and refreshments (if we're allowed to provide them), and socialize with other participants!

Costs

The following fees apply at this event.

  $3 for juniors (age 8 through 20) on the Short course

  $8 for adults on the Short course

  $5 for juniors on the Long or Relay courses  

$12 member price for the Long or Relay courses

$18 non-member price for the Long or Relay courses

  $1 for a compass rental (optional)  

  $5 for an electronic fingerstick rental (if you don't own one; you'll need one to complete the course)

$15 for the lowest-cost individual one-year BAOC membership (optional)  

For extra people on a team, add $5 per adult on the Short course or $7 per adult on the Long or Relay courses (with lower prices for juniors).

More information about event pricing is available in the club FAQ. All the prices are also shown on the standard entry form (PDF/100KB), 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.) Please note that the form has a second page for signatures of group members.

What to Bring

Comfortable outdoors attire and walking shoes are fine for those who will walk their course.

Running attire and running shoes are fine. Shoes with metal studs are not permitted.

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 the details of the courses. See below for more information about each one.

              Straight   Optimal
     Course     Line      Route    Controls
     Short     2.2 km     2.8 km      15  
     Long      3.7 km     4.8 km      32  
     Relay    ~4.2 km    ~4.5 km     Many  
               total      total

Please note that there will be a large youth event on campus in the quad area, so its important that you're respectful of others if you take a route choice through that area.

Short Course

The Short course is designed as a beginner course. The controls are not in the most technical areas, however in some cases the route choices can be a little tricky.

Note that starts will close at noon, not the normal 12:30.

Long Course

The Long course has 32 controls, so a high-capacity E-stick will be needed. (High-capacity loaner E-sticks will be available for people with low-capacity E-sticks.) The Long course will serve as the Summer Series ranking course for this event.

There are a lot of areas where the course overlaps itself, so it's important to make sure you are going to the right control, because there are many lines crossing. There are also multiple areas with controls very close to each other. In other words, make sure you check the control numbers!

In the cases where controls are in multi-level areas, the clue sheet will indicate which level, with top-of, foot-of, or middle.

Note that starts will close at noon, not the normal 12:30.

The Relay

The Relay uses all the controls from the Long and Short courses in various combinations. See above for additional comments.

There are four loops, each 0.9–1.2 km.

The relay will be set up in teams of 2 or 4. However, if there is someone who wants to run the whole thing, or a team of three, we can make it work. We will organize teams at the event. The first runner will run out, do the course, come back, and hand off to the next runner who will get the next loop. A description of the process will take place at the event.

We will start the team-making at noon, have a description of the hand-off at 12:15, and start the Relay at 12:30.

Mapping Notes

This is a typical college campus map using ISSOM-standard symbols. (In particular, note that the ISSOM standard includes special symbols for features that must not be crossed​—​even if you are physically able to cross them.)

The map scale is 1:4000. The few contour lines on the map are at 10-foot intervals.

There are a couple areas under construction that have been marked out of bounds, and running through them will result in disqualification. These areas are marked with the standard purple symbol.

There are a number of areas mapped with the canopy symbol. In some cases, there are canopies on small buildings that have not been mapped. It's important to note that the canopies that are mapped are there, but if you see a canopy on a small building it might or might not be mapped.

Some of the trees have been cut down. For the most part, we have been able to update the map, but there might be some that were missed.

Parts of the map are a little out of date, and for the most part the courses do not go through those areas. In the cases where they do, all the larger key features are accurately mapped.

There are a number of areas with multiple levels​—​up to three levels! In the cases with two or more levels, the canopy symbol is used along with the tunnel symbol to describe that there is both an overhang and an under-passage.

There are a number of stairways in these areas, most of which are on the map. However, while checking courses, we discovered that there might be some stairways in canopy areas that are too small to include on the map. These should not affect route choice.

Otherwise the map is fun, with both open and technical areas.

The campus is urban, so shoes with metal studs are not permitted.

2018 Summer Series

As mentioned above, this event is the first of the BAOC 2018 Summer Series. The Series consists of six events, each of which will have a "ranking course" for the overall Summer Series results. At this event, the Long course will be that ranking course.

Request for Volunteers

We are still in need of help for this event. Please let know if you can help for one these tasks:

Beginners clinics

Starts

Control pickup

Refreshments

Thank you in advance for your help. –

Driving Directions

The approximate coordinates of the parking lot are 37.9705,-122.0721.

There's a map here that shows the location of the event.

From the north: Get to I-680 southbound. Take the Concord Ave exit (#52). Use the middle lane to turn left onto Contra Costa Blvd. Turn right onto Chilpancingo Pkwy, and left onto Old Quarry Rd. At the traffic circle, continue straight to stay on Old Quarry Rd. Cross Golf Club Rd and turn right onto Stubbs Rd, which circles the campus. Park in Lot 7. The assembly area will be near the BFL Community Conference Center adjacent to Lot 7.

From other directions: Get to I-680 northbound. Take the Willow Pass Rd exit (#51), and turn left onto Willow Pass Rd, which becomes Sunvalley Blvd almost immediately. Turn right onto Contra Costa Blvd. After 0.6 mile, turn left onto Golf Club Rd. After about 0.2 mile, turn left at either of two opportunities to cross over to Stubbs Rd, which circles the campus. Park in Lot 7. The assembly area will be near the BFL Community Conference Center adjacent to Lot 7.