Choose Your Adventure: Campus!
CHOOSE YOUR ADVENTURE
Sunday, September 11 at University of Washington in Seattle, WA
Meet Director: Patrick Nuss
Note: We’re staging out of a new location on campus: Rainier Vista! There’s free parking on Sundays in the E12 and E19 parking lots (immediately south of Husky Stadium where the new light rail station is). Park there, and cross the pedestrian bridges to campus and you’ll see us about halfway up the lawn.
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 12:00pm – 1:00pm for up to an hour of free skills instruction!
This event is being held at the same location immediately after the Seattle Adventure Running Tournament. If you aren’t participating in the tournament, you are invited to arrive early and watch the semifinals and finals beforehand!
COURSES
Course designer(s): Patrick Nuss
There is just a one-size-fits-all course for beginners through advanced runners. We’ll have a mass start and one map exchange. 12 checkpoints will be marked on the first map. Once you visit all 12 checkpoints (in any order you want) and return to the start, you’ll be given a second map with 12 more checkpoints (which you can also visit in any order you want). The total time limit is 75 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 75 minutes, and for every minute late, there’s a 1 point penalty.
Note for the map exchange: If you skipped any checkpoints from the first map, you cannot go back and get them once you take your second map. (This rule is to prevent an unfair advantage by collecting both sets of checkpoints during one loop.)
COURSE NOTES
There is a LOT of construction on campus, so be aware of that. Like many Choose Your Adventure events, there are two maps of 12 checkpoints each. Collect ’em all on one, come back to the start/finish area, and go out and collect more. Something fun about this one is that all checkpoints on the first map are all on the same type of feature! And then all checkpoints on the second map are on the same (but different than the first) feature!
SCHEDULE
09:15am – Seattle Adventure Running Tournament Semifinals Start
11:15am – Seattle Adventure Running Tournament Finals Start
12:00pm – Registration & Instruction Open
01:00pm – Registration & Instruction Close
01:10pm – Map Handout
01:15pm – MASS START!
02:30pm – 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: 9pm on Thursday, September 8
Day-of-event registration is available by cash or check, made payable to Cascade Orienteering Club
LOCATION
PARKING
Because we’re staging at Rainier Vista, the best bet for parking are the lots E12 and E19, which are free on Sundays and immediately south of Husky Stadium by the light rail station. From the parking lot, just cross over the brand new pedestrian bridges to campus and you’ll see us on on the lawn!
CARPOOL
Looking for a carpool? Join the Yahoo listserv and share your request to find a ride.
THE MAP
University of Washington has a LOT of buildings–some arranged north/south, some at a 45-degree angle, some at no particular angle, and most along two curving roads, criss-crossed with acres of angled paths, sidewalks, and individually-mapped trees. Now run it, while keeping all the angles, buildings and roads straight in your route planning!
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.
