2025-26 Winter League Championships – Camp River Ranch
WINTER LEAGUE
Saturday, February 28 at Camp River Ranch in Carnation, WA
Meet Director: Michelle Kastner
- The Winter League Championship is open to all WIOL and Public participants; there is no qualification required to participate.
- CAMP RIVER RANCH DOES NOT ALLOW PETS OF ANY KIND ON PREMISES.
- Pre-registration is required for ALL Winter League Events. There is NO day-of-event registration.
- Public Reg will close 2/25/26 at 11:59 pm for this meet.
- PUBLIC start time sign-ups are now part of the Public registration site (see under your Current Registrations). Sign-ups are open from February 7th at 3 pm to February 25th 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.
- 2025-26 Start Procedures are here.
- 2025-26 WIOL Rules are here and the 2025-26 Public Rules are 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): Will Enger & Jessica Colleran
Public Courses
| Controls | Length | Climb | |
| Beginner | 11 | 1.8 km | 50 m |
| Advanced Beginner | 10 | 2.2 km | 85 m |
| Intermediate | 15 | 3.3 km | 135 m |
| Short Advanced | 15 | 3.7 km | 190 m |
| Long Advanced | 18 | 4.5 km | 265 m |
WIOL Courses
| Controls | Length | Climb | |
| Elementary | 11 | 1.8 km | 50 m |
| Middle School | 11 | 2.1 km | 100 m |
| Rookie-Female | 10 | 2.2 km | 85 m |
| Rookie-Male | 9 | 2.1 km | 125 m |
| JV Female / Collegiate JV | 15 | 3.3 km | 135 m |
| JV Male | 13 | 3.2 km | 160 m |
| Varsity | 16 | 3.4 km | 185 m |
| Collegiate Varsity | 18 | 4.5 km | 265 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
WIOL/Winter League Championships are being held at Camp River Ranch this year. As you’ve worked your way through the season, you’ve experienced an increase in difficulty leading to this moment. These courses are meant to challenge you and show your preparedness for the next level.
Camp River Ranch is a Girl Scout camp with a mixture of open meadows, groupings of cabins, and forested areas. A lot of forested area is light green, which is often runnable with ferns underbrush, leading to some great off trail opportunities. The camp also features many large hills, which will provide great physical challenge along with the technical courses.
The trails on the map are in various conditions. Some trails that were severely overgrown last time we visited have been nicely cleaned up, while others have become less distinct. We have worked with the camp groundskeepers to clear some trails, but other less distinct trails are clear when running along them but ferns may block your visibility of the path from off trail. The majority of trail intersections have clear signage with the trail names (this can be helpful, but do not over rely on it).
There have been multiple large windstorms in the last year leaving many new rootstocks and also lots of down trees. On the updated map, you might see distinct trails that abruptly end – this is often because a blow down of trees has completely covered the trail. This also makes some of the forested area hard to run through, so please make sure to watch your footing.
The map uses two symbols for man-made objects, the typical black x and the special object black circle. The special objects on this map are flag poles and fire pits. On the southeastern part of the map, there are manmade objects mapped (black x) in the forest that are stake markers, which when running at high speeds in the forest become difficult to see and should not be used when planning your route.
Safety bearing is west.
SCHEDULE
This event is Pre-Registration Only.
9:00 am – Info tent and newcomer instruction opens
9:38 am – Start process begins
9:46 am – First start
12:30 pm – Last start
1:30 – 2pm – Awards Begin in Lodge
2:30 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 (18+) 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 2/25/2026 at 11:59:00 PM.
Remember to also sign up for a start time for public runners. Start time sign-ups for WL Champs will be open from February 7th at 3 pm to February 25th at 11:59 pm.
LOCATION
PARKING
Parking is at Remlinger Farms. Please do not block folks’ private driveways when parking. It is a .7 mile walk to start from the parking lot. Plan for this. There is also a mandatory walking route to start to avoid disqualification. See site map here for all the important details.
CARPOOL
Looking for a carpool? Join the club email group 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.
