Winter Series / WIOL #2
WINTER LEAGUEWINTER SERIES
Saturday, November 18 at North SeaTac Park in Seattle, WA
Welcome to the Winter and School League (WIOL) Series!
ABOUT THE SERIES
These concurrent and popular series run from November through February. The Winter Series is open to all, while WIOL (Washington Interscholastic Orienteering League) is designed for students from Elementary-age through High School.
Events in the first half of the season are held in beginner-friendly venues, some of which are trails-only, while events in the second half move to more forested and challenging venues. The season is capped off with a championship event and an awards ceremony to recognize top participants and school teams in both the series overall and championship event.
As with all of CascadeOC’s series events, while it is fun to participate in the entire series, it is not required. Each event is a stand-alone event and open to all!
- Register for WINTER SERIES (open to both kids and adults) at the link below or at the event!
COURSES
Course designer(s): Pat Kelly & Chris Whitmyre
Open park to the North, recaptured/overgrown urban area to the South, welcome to North SeaTac Park. The north end of the park is relatively flat while the southern area has more significant vertical development. Please pay attention to out of bounds areas (marked on your maps) including soccer fields to the north, maintenance facilities in the central and south areas of the park as well as the Highline SeaTac Botanical Gardens.
| Course | Length (km) | Controls | Climb (meters) |
| Beginner/Elementary | 1.2 | 7 | 5 |
| Middle School | 1.8 | 9 | 20 |
| Intermediate/JV Girls | 2.4 | 12 | 25 |
| JV Boys North | 2.5 | 11 | 25 |
| JV Boys South | 2.4 | 10 | 20 |
| Varsity | 4.2 | 16 | 60 |
| Short Advanced | 4.3 | 17 | 65 |
| Long Advanced | 5.5 | 22 | 90 |
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
Please pay attention to out of bounds areas (marked on your maps) including soccer fields to the north, maintenance facilities in the central and south areas of the park as well as the Highline SeaTac Botanical Gardens.
-JV Boys South and JV Girls/Intermediate have a guided route between two soccer fields. You may go around but DON’T cut across the North Soccer fields, even if there is no one playing! This would give those who can’t a disadvantage!!
-Varsity, Short and Long Advanced have a mandatory crossing point at the SW corner of the SeaTac Maintenance Facility to get across South 136th Street.
SCHEDULE
9:30am – Registration opens & Newcomer instruction available
10:00am – Start opens
11:00am – Newcomer instruction ends
11:30am – Registration closes
Noon – Start closes
3:00pm – Course closes
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
$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 at 9pm, Thursday November 16:
Day-of-event registration is available by cash or check, made payable to Cascade Orienteering Club
SCHOOL LEAGUE (WIOL)
For information on registration for the School League, visit the School League (WIOL) page.
LOCATION
PARKING
Follow the parking signs to the lot on the east side of the park.
CARPOOL
Looking for a carpool? Join the Yahoo listserv and share your request to find a ride.
THE MAP
North SeaTac Park is a unique park–an answer to the question, “What would happen if all the people and their houses disappeared from a neighborhood?” There’s a mostly intact grid system of overgrown streets, trees and other vegetation that have grown back withe a vengeance, and open, grassy areas with intermittent vegetation clusters that are easy to navigate through if you don’t make a parallel feature error.
We typically start from the northeast area of the park, where there is ample parking and permanent restrooms. There is one busy street mid-course (on the longer courses), which usually has a crossing guard as a volunteer role.
Read more on the map pageEMBARGO NOTICE
To ensure a fair competition among all student league participants, participants are not allowed to visit each event venue for the two weeks prior to the event being held there. In orienteering, this is known as an “embargo”.
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.
