2021 Winter Virtual Series

Although we aren’t currently holding Winter League events, we are offering a 4-event series of virtual events using the UsynligO phone app.

Please NOTE: Even though these are not organized events, please follow the WA state guidelines and wear a mask whenever you are approaching or passing other people or are within 6 feet of others.

The concept

We’ll have a series of 4 events, each of which will be open for competition for 2 weeks. During the 2 weeks, you may run as many times as you like on any (or all) courses. You will earn points based on your time, just like at a Winter League event. The difference is that only your final result will count for each event and ALL events count towards your total score.

Goal

Our goal is to have a live, in-person Championship event in March. Because participation may be limited at this event, your placing (within your category) in the virtual series will determine your eligibility to participate in the Championship.

Schedule

Each event will go live on the Friday evening at 6pm before the event opens. You will have 2 weeks to earn points for that event. After the 2 weeks are up, you can still use the courses for training but won’t be able to earn points.

Courses/Classes

Each event will include the following courses and classes.

Course Color Difficulty Students (M/F) Public (M/F)
1 White Beginner Elementary School Beginner
2 Yellow Adv beginner Middle School Adv beginner
3 Orange Intermediate High School Intermediate
4 Red Advanced Varsity Advanced

Courses are purposely designed to be short so you have lots of opportunity to tailor your training to your onw schedule/goals:

  1. Run all courses (if you wish)
  2. Run your selected course multiple times
  3. Try different route choices between controls and compare
  4. Visit the venue multiple times
  5. After much training, study, and practice, run your best race for fun points before the two weeks are up. This is training with a competitive element. Enjoy!

Rules

The following rules are dependent on using a smart phone. If you don’t have a smart phone, see “How to participate” below.

  1. You may walk/run/race on any one or all the courses offered. This is training. You may even break a course down into parts for training. You many run a course multiple times and try to improve on your time.
  2. For scoring purposes, you must declare/choose your course for the entire series, and before the two “active” weeks are up, RACE your course of choice for TIME. 
  3. On the UsynligO app, make sure you Set Publish my time. The latest result you choose to publish will count.
  4. Sign up with YOUR name only. Do not use your parent’s name, the name of your favorite teddy bear or some other descriptor, such as “Always Lost.” This could mean you need to edit your existing profile or create a new account just for the Series. See “Notes” below for detailed instructions on how to edit your name/club.
    • Category: in the Club field, please use the following format, using F for female and M for male (we’ll use this information to make sure points are assigned accurately):
    • Note: it’s very important to include the underscore as specified! 
      • Student example: (F_Interlake HS)
      • Public example: (M_Cascade OC)
      • Group examples: G_Cascade OC; G_Tahoma HS
      • Close the keyboard or press Done
      • Press Save Changes
      • If you’ve already run some WVS events, synchronize your account so the information will appear in past results
      • In My Races, press the synchronize icon , then press Yes
  2. For each event, “fun/participation” points will be awarded for each course and sex (16 categories), based on your time
    • 1st place – 100 points
    • 2nd place – 95
    • 3rd place – 92
    • 4th place – 90
    • 5th place – 89 and so on
  3. All events count towards your final series total

Registration

There is no fee to participate in the virtual events. If we have an in-person championship event, normal club registration fees will apply.

In-person championships

Even if we have an in-person Championship event, there could be a limit on the number of people who can participate. If that’s the case, we will use the following method to determine who is eligible to participate:

  1. If no participation restrictions apply, then anyone is eligible to participate.
  2. If restrictions are imposed, e.g., 100 per day limit and, for example, 200 have participated in the Winter Virtual Series, we would first offer registration to the top 50% in each of the 16 categories. If the imposed restriction is smaller, then the % would be proportionally smaller. And of course, if larger, a larger %. There will be a deadline for those who qualified to sign up, after which any remaining slots would be open to all until the limit is reached.
  3. Since we should anticipate some restriction, train hard and often, and earn your spot in the championships.

COVID Protocols

For any in-person event, we will be following COVID protocols. That means:

  • Online pre-registration (and payment) only
  • You must provide your own SI-card (epunch stick) and compass
  • No spectators allowed
  • Face coverings (covering both mouth and nose) are required at all times at Check-in, Start, Finish, and Download
  • Each individual will be required to sign a COVID-specific waiver
  • Other protocols as required

How to participate

Note: if you don’t have a smart phone (or can’t borrow one for a few hours), you can still download and print the map(s), participate, and train, which is the focus of the Series. You won’t be able to earn points but you can still have a great time running with a map!

  1. If you don’t already have the UsynligO app, download it to your phone.
  2. Create an account (please use the format specified in Rule #4 above).
  3. Verify that you have granted UsynligO “ALWAYS” access to your position.
  4. Make sure you do NOT have a power saving setting enabled.
  5. Turn up the volume.
  6. Open UsynligO. Touch the “Gear” Icon (Settings).
  7. Set Control radius to 20m and Minimum GPS accuracy to 100m.
  8. Open UsynligO Events.
  9. Request Date and/or Distance from your position, scroll down or query to find the event
  10. Open, and choose Model/Test course first to test the app and your device. This is especially important! This is where you will find if your volume and settings all work!
  11. Finally open your course of interest. Set Publish my time* (see RULES above), and Start
  12. Now run, train, practice, learn, and have fun.

Notes

  1. At home, print the course map(s) that you are interested in. You may also just use the course map on your phone.
  2. To save your GPS track:
    • Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click “Share Route Tracking.” You will be able to email a .gpx file to yourself
  3. All your results are retained under My Races but only one result per course can be published. By default, this is the most recent result but you can choose a specific result by “unpublishing” any that you don’t want to use.
  4. To edit your profile name/organization:
    • Log in to UsynligO
    • Press My Races
    • Press the Person icon ()
    • If necessary, edit your name so we’ll know who you really are
    • In the Club field, enter your class and club as follows, using F for female, M for male, and G for group (it’s very important to include the underscore as specified!):
      • Student examples: F_Bellevue HS; M_Tahoma HS, etc.
      • Public examples: F_Cascade OC; M_Orienteer Kansas
      • Group examples: G_Cascade OC; G_Tahoma HS
    • Close the keyboard or press Done
    • Press Save Changes
    • If you’ve already run some WVS events, synchronize your races so the information will appear in past results
      • In My Races, press the synchronize icon , then press Yes

UsynligO information

For more information about UsylingO, see How to Use UsynligO for the Virtual Winter Series.