Winter League #3
WINTER LEAGUE
Saturday, December 1 at Shoreview Park/Shoreline CC in Shoreline, WA
Meet Director: Jud Kelley
Winter League is the Pacific Northwest’s premier competitive orienteering series for all ages. Elementary, Middle School, and High School students compete under the banner of the Washington Interscholastic Orienteering League (WIOL). Cascade Orienteering Club also offers a competitive league for college students and adults, as well as non-competitive beginner-friendly categories at every event!
COURSES
Course designer(s): Peter Golde and Chris Whitmyre
WIOL (School League) courses:
| Course | Controls | Length | Climb |
| Elementary | 14 | 1.6 km | 40 m |
| Middle School | 14 | 2.4 km | 75 m |
| JV Girls | 14 | 2.5 km | 80 m |
| JV Boys North | 15 | 2.6 km | 75 m |
| JV Boys South | 16 | 2.5 km | 80 m |
| Varsity | 18 | 3.3 km | 95 m |
Public courses:
| Course | Controls | Length | Climb |
| Beginner | 14 | 1.6 km | 40 m |
| Intermediate | 14 | 2.5 km | 80 m |
| Short Advanced | 20 | 3.3 km | 95 m |
| Long Advanced | 26 | 5.3 km | 170 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
**UPDATE**
Contrary to what was posted on the website on Wednesday in the course notes, Sprint Rules are in effect for this Saturdays race at Shoreline Community College.
Scale: 1:5,000
Shoreview Park and Shoreline Community College is a great area that is one-half traditional forest/park orienteering, and one-half campus/sprint orienteering. You will need to be able to switch gears as you move between the two types of areas. All of the courses will visit both the forest and the campus.
The forest area is hilly with a fairly dense trail network and vegetation that varies in thickness. The campus area is complex with many buildings (much more complex than Hamlin!), but flat and it can be very fast, if you can navigate quickly enough to keep up with your legs! In the campus area, it will be especially important to read your control descriptions, since controls may be tucked away where you can’t easily see them. There are lots of controls out there so be sure to check the number before you ‘punch’.
The map is in excellent condition, thanks to being recently updated for SART (thank you Patrick!). There are some permanent ‘out of bounds’ areas (marked in olive green), as well as some temporary ‘out of bounds’ (marked with magenta stripes) protecting newly planted areas and steep slopes. Near the start, there is an area in the forest where you must stay on-trail; this is marked by magenta stripes in the forest but not over the trails. Please respect the marked ‘out of bounds’ areas or you will be DQ’d. On campus you may encounter landscaped areas that are not marked ‘out of bounds’ but please be a good neighbor and avoid trampling these areas.
You may encounter some yellow caution tape stretched across a grassy area and path between two buildings, depending on route choice. This is most likely on Intermediate, JV Girls, and Middle School. You may go under (or over) this tape, there is no danger.
The Long Advanced course will have a map flip. Once you reach control 16, flip the map over and continue.
The event will use sprint rules.
In addition, all trails in the forest are mapped in varying thickness of black dashed lines, not solid brown.
— Chris Whitmyre and Peter Golde, Course Designers
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
Elementary, Middle School, Junior Varsity, and Varsity Students
Pre-Registration: $45 for all 8 events
Day of Event: $10 (cash or check only)
WIOL Admin Fee (once per season): $5 before October 13, $15 after.
Subtract $10 from the season pass if you own your own e-punch.
Intercollegiate Students, Adults, and non-competitive courses
Pre-registration: $17 (until Thursday 9pm)
Day of event: $20 (cash or check only)
Subtract $5 for Cascade OC members
Subtract $5 for using your own epunch
Get one event free if you pre-register for the entire season.
Become a Cascade OC member for $5-20
What’s an e-punch?
Orienteering uses RFID-like technology known as e-punch to record your race. At the start, finish, and each control, you’ll dip the e-punch into an electronic box, which will beep and flash as confirmation.
At the finish tent, download your e-punch to get your results (and let us know you’ve returned safely), then compare your splits and discuss your routes with other finishers!
You can rent an e-punch from Cascade OC , or buy your own from Wildwood Adventure Outfitters.
SIGN UP
Students with a season pass, use the button above to RSVP for this meet by Tuesday November 27 at Noon.
LOCATION
Park at the college, not Shoreview Park. You can park in any of the college parking lots. Registration is at the north end of campus, near the track/soccer field and building 2500.
Please do not park in the off-leash dog area parking.
CARPOOL
Looking for a carpool? Join the Yahoo listserv and share your request to find a ride.
THE MAP
This map is like two venues in one: the hilly and wooded Shoreview Park and the complex campus of Shoreline Community College. Be prepared to switch mental gears as you move between the two!
This venue is mapped to sprint standard (or ISSOM, the International Specification for Sprint Orienteering Maps). The sprint standard has a few key differences from traditional orienteering maps (or ISOM, the International Specification for Orienteering Maps):
- Some features (usually walls) can be marked as uncrossable (illegal to cross)
- Out-of-bounds is represented by olive green, which is used often for flower beds or private areas
- Footpaths and paved areas appear tan
- There are additional urban symbols, including canopies, which illustrate covered passageways
Read more on the map page
Warm up with a Micro O’ course!
As a training exercise or a short physical and mental warm up, two short Micro O’ will be set up near Registration. This will be a self-service activity and you will need to print your own maps [2018 Shoreline Micro O] and description sheets [2018 Shoreline Micro O-descriptions]. There is also a brief write up on how to use Micro O’ to practice “flow” [Micro-O-How-To 20180214]. The courses were not field checked so there might be minor discrepancies. Be very careful around moving people and vehicles! If you have questions (or suggestions), please see Mike Schuh – he’ll be working the first shift of Beginner Instruction somewhere near Registration.
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.
