Choose Your Adventure #2: Whidbey!
CHOOSE YOUR ADVENTURE
Saturday, August 5 at Fort Ebey State Park in Coupeville, WA
Meet Director: Patrick Nuss
The Choose Your Adventure series is designed to be extra fun, social, and friendly for beginners, yet interesting for seasoned veterans.
At Choose Your Adventure events, everyone gets the same map with checkpoints marked all over it. Then, after a mass start, you can find as many checkpoints as you want, in whichever order you want! Just be sure to mind the time, since there’s also a time limit. Return to the finish on-time, or lose precious points for every minute you’re late. (Wear a watch!)
Choose Your Adventure is especially good for beginners, since if you can’t find a checkpoint, you can just skip it and keep going. Veterans are challenged by trying to identify the most efficient route to find all the checkpoints, and the mass start means head-to-head racing for some.
Thanks to the excitement-inducing time limit, everyone finishes around the same time, making post-event socializing a core feature of Choose Your Adventure events.
Come join the fun!
Is this your first event or do you want to improve your skills? Meet us from 10:00am – 11:00am for up to an hour of free skills instruction!
COURSES
Course designer(s):
There is just a one-size-fits-all course for beginners through advanced runners. We’ll have a mass start. 24 checkpoints will be marked on the map, and your goal is to visit as many checkpoints as you can (in any order you want). The total time limit is 120 minutes!
How does the scoring work?
All 24 checkpoints are worth the same amount: 1 point per checkpoint. The maximum score is 24 points. The first person or team returning with 24 points wins!
There’s a time limit of 120 minutes, and for every minute late, there’s a 1 point penalty.
COURSE NOTES
Check back later for special notes from the Course Designer(s).
SCHEDULE
10:00am – Registration & Instruction Open
11:00am – Registration & Instruction Close
11:10am – Map Handout
11:15am – MASS START!
01:15pm – Finish & Course Closure
How does a mass start work?
After everyone registers and checks in, we go over the basic race rules and then hand out maps. Everyone has 5 minutes to plan routes before we yell GO!
PRICES
PRE-REGISTRATION PRICES
$17 base price
– subtract $5 for CascadeOC members
– subtract $5 for using your own e-punch
DAY-OF-EVENT REGISTRATION
$20 base price
– subtract $5 for CascadeOC members
– subtract $5 for using your own e-punch
What’s an e-punch?
An e-punch records your race. At each control, you’ll dip the e-punch into an electronic box, which will beep and flash as confirmation. After you finish, you’ll download the e-punch at the download tent and get a receipt that show which controls you visited and how long you took between each; these are your “splits.”
Part of the fun of orienteering is comparing your splits with people who completed the same course, and discussing the routes you took!
SIGN UP
Online pre-registration closes:
Day-of-event registration is available by cash or check, made payable to Cascade Orienteering Club
LOCATION
PARKING
A Discover Pass is required to park. Single day passes are available for purchase at the park. You can also purchase annual or day Discover Passes online and print a temporary pass until your pass arrives in the mail. You can also purchase annual or day passes in-person at various retail locations.
Use the main entrance to the park and follow our directional signs to parking and registration at the shelter near the gun battery.
CARPOOL
Looking for a carpool? Join the Yahoo listserv and share your request to find a ride.
SAFETY & ETIQUETTE
Return to the Finish
All participants MUST return to the finish and download their e-punch or turn in their punch card.
Even if you have not finished your course, you must still return to the the finish and confirm with event staff that you have returned safely.
Out of Bounds
Some areas may be marked out of bounds. It is imperative to respect these boundaries to maintain our relationships with land managers. Participants MUST NOT go out of bounds. Any participant caught going out of bounds will be disqualified.
Course Closure
All participants MUST return to the finish by course closure time. If a participant does not return by course closure, event volunteers will begin coordinating a search party.
If you need a long time on the course, start as early in the start window as possible, wear a watch, and be prepared to cut your course short to make it back by the course closure time.
Whistle
All participants MUST carry a whistle on the course. Complimentary whistles are available at the start tent (please only take one).
If you are injured on the course and need assistance, blow three long blasts to call for help.
If you hear a call for help, abandon your course to find the person in distress.
Voices
Part of the fun and fairness of orienteering is navigating your own course, so please be polite when you find a checkpoint and don’t holler that you’ve found it.
