2024-25 Winter League #3 – Pierce College/Fort Steilacoom Park
WINTER LEAGUE
Saturday, December 7 at Fort Steilacoom – Pierce College entrance in Lakewood, WA
Meet Director: Michelle Kastner
- Pre-registration is required for ALL Winter League Events. There is NO day-of-event registration.
- Public Reg will close 12/4/24 at 11:59 pm for this meet.
- PUBLIC start time sign-ups are open from Nov 23rd at 3 pm to Dec 4th at 11:59 pm.
- ALL runners will be called to enter the start procedure line 8 minutes prior to their assigned/picked start time. Please be race-ready when your name is called.
- 2024-25 Start Procedures can be found here.
- Read the 2024-25 WIOL Rules here and the 2024-25 Public Rules here.
- Site map is here.
- Start list is here.
Winter League is the Pacific Northwest’s premier competitive orienteering series for all ages.
- Elementary, Middle School, High School and College students compete under the banner of the Washington Interscholastic Orienteering League (WIOL).
- Winter League public courses offer a range of categories from a competitive long advanced category to non-competitive beginner-friendly categories at every event!
COURSES
Course designer(s): Kevin Mihata & Annika Mihata
WIOL Courses
| Course | Controls | Length | Climb |
| Elementary |
12 |
1.3 km |
40 m |
| Middle School |
12 |
1.8 km |
45 m |
| Rookie Female |
12 |
2.3 km |
50 m |
| Rookie Male |
12 |
2.3 km |
40 m |
| JV Female /JV College |
12 |
2.9 km |
40 m |
| JV Male |
13 |
3.0 km |
45 m |
| Varsity |
13 |
3.7 km |
100 m |
| Collegiate Varsity |
19 |
5.2 km |
115 m |
Public Courses
| Course |
Controls |
Length |
Climb |
| Beginner |
12 |
1.3 km |
40 m |
| Advanced Beginner |
12 |
2.3 km |
50 m |
| Intermediate |
12 |
2.9 km |
40 m |
| Short Advanced |
14 |
3.9 km |
90 m |
| Long Advanced |
19 |
5.2 km |
115 m |
How are courses measured?
Courses are measured as the crow flies, in a direct line from control to control. Unless you have wings, you will travel farther than this distance! Courses are measured in kilometers, so a good rule of thumb is to simply round up to miles to estimate how far you will go. So in a 5 kilometer race, you’ll likely travel up to 5 miles.
COURSE NOTES
Welcome back to Fort Steilacoom. This year we’re excited to start and finish on the Pierce College campus. Enter Pierce College only through the entrance from Farwest Drive SW into Lot D. The site map will direct your walk from the parking areas to start. The rest of the campus and park are off limits before starting.
All courses will lead as usual into Fort Steilacoom Park, with its mix of forests, grassy fields, historic ruins, and trails. In the center of the park is Waughop Lake, which most courses will circumnavigate. As always, trails in this well-used park evolve, and may differ slightly from the map (especially in the open grassy areas). Anticipate good visibility and runnability in most areas, generally fast on both trail and cross-country routes. Vegetation boundaries are usually quite distinct.
For this event the map scale will be 1:7,500 for better readability of campus details (and a good chance to practice map folding!). Note, however, that this is not mapped to sprint standards. Some paved paths are marked as trails, and other smaller features that would be clear on sprint maps are simply not possible to map at this scale. As always, olive green (sensitive areas, such as flower beds) and purple cross-hatching are out of bounds. Do not enter these areas. There is construction in the center of campus, but it is clearly fenced and easily avoidable (and marked in purple cross-hatching). Some areas have multiple controls in proximity, so check your control descriptions.
Several courses cross parking lots, and advanced courses will cross roads. Please be careful of car traffic in all such areas. Similarly, expect some people walking on trails, particularly around the lake.
Finally, note that the map has not been updated to reflect new development in the northeast corner and the eastern edge of the park (the ballfield area, and a new park trail along the east side of the park). No courses should lead into any of these areas.
Kevin and Annika Mihata
SCHEDULE
This event is Pre-Registration Only.
Schedule:
8:30 am – Free Training opens
9 am – Info Tent and Newcomer Instruction Opens
9:38 am – Start process begins
9:46 am – First start
12:40 pm – Last Start
2:40 pm – Course Closure
Why is there a start window?
This event uses an interval start, which means that participants are started in waves instead of all at once. When you arrive at the start tent, find the chute for your course and follow the start volunteer’s instructions.
PRICES
PRE-REGISTRATION PRICES
$22 base price
– subtract $5 for CascadeOC members
– subtract $5 for using your own e-punch
Participating as a group? Just $5 for each additional adult (16+) group
member, no cost for additional minors. Max group size is 4 participants.
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
There is no Day-of-Event registration. Pre-registration will close Wednesday 12/4/2024 at 11:59:00 PM.
Remember to also sign up for a start time for public runners. Start time sign-ups for WL #3 will be open from November 23rd at 3 pm to Dec 4th at 11:59 pm.
LOCATION
PARKING:
Parking is free and will be at Pierce College. We have permits for our main parking to be in Lot C & D with overflow parking in Lot B. See site map here.
CARPOOL
Looking for a carpool? Join the club email group and share your request to find a ride.
THE MAP
While Fort Steilacoom is not rugged or remote, it can be fairly challenging for a city park. There are many criss-crossing trails here, both in open grass and in forest. However, there are also many distinct features such as buildings, roads, ballfields, and a small lake, that are great navigational aids.
Part of the park is very flat, while part of the park is quite steep. How steep your course is depends on which course you choose and how nice the course designer decided to be.
Read more on the map pageSAFETY & 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.
