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University of California

Event #5 of 6 in the BAOC 2018 Summer Series

Date: (Sun.) Jul. 29, 2018
Location: Berkeley, CA
Event Directors: - 979.219.7290, - 408.313.3753
Course Setter: Lori Huberman
Type: C; Beginner and advanced courses; part of the BAOC 2018 Summer Series

Please note that fees and time limits apply. Events are typically not canceled due to bad weather.


This event will be the fifth of six events in the 2018 Summer Series. However, we want to emphasize that everyone is welcome to come out and do one (or more) of the courses, regardless of whether or not you attended a previous Summer Series event, or plan to attend the final event. Beginners new to orienteering are encouraged to attend​—​the navigational difficulty is significantly eased by the campus setting, so anyone should be able to complete the beginner course.

The conditions of our permit do not allow us to serve food at the event, so we will not be able to supply the usual snacks. Thus, this event will be BYOS (Bring Your Own Snacks).

We look forward to seeing everyone at what is always a fun event!

Location on Campus

Registration will be held at the Barrows Hall Courtyard (http://www.berkeley.edu/map/3dmap/3dmap.shtml?barrows), which is located on the south side of the campus, near Sather Gate and Sproul Plaza. A campus map is here (http://berkeley.edu/map/maps/large_map.html) (Barrows Hall is at D4–D5). Also, this map shows the location of the event (and other upcoming BAOC events).

This is the same location we have used for the last several events.

Schedule

The standard BAOC event schedule will be followed:

  9:00 AM – Registration opens
  9:30 AM – Beginners' clinic instruction begins (free)
10:00 AM – Starts open
10:30 AM – Beginners' clinic instruction ends
11:59 AM – Registration closes
12:30 PM – Starts close
  2:00 PM – Courses close, checkpoint control pick-up begins

You can register and start on courses anytime between the open and close times above. Thus, for example, you do not need to be "punctual" at 9:00 (but you can if you want).

Beginners' clinics are short, repeating sessions that introduce the sport of orienteering, and provide enough instruction to be able to complete the beginner course.

Everyone must check in at the Finish by 2:00 PM, and report to the E-punch table, so we can have everyone accounted for and start checkpoint pick-up on time so those volunteers can get home.

Registration and Costs

At registration, all juniors must be accompanied by parents or legal guardians, or bring with them a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian (the registration form is available here (PDF/38KB) (http://baoc.org/pdfs/entry_form.pdf)).

The following fees apply at this event:

  $3 for juniors on the Beginner course
  $8 for adults on the Beginner course
  $5 for juniors on the Advanced courses  
$12 member price for the Advanced courses
$18 non-member price for the Advanced courses
  $1 for a compass rental (optional)  
  $5 for an electronic fingerstick rental (optional, but each team will need one to complete the course)
$15 for the lowest-cost individual one-year BAOC membership (optional)  

For extra people on a team, add $5 per adult on the Beginner course or $7 per adult on the Advanced courses (with lower fees for juniors).

Note: We are able to accept payment only by cash or check​—​no credit cards or electronic payments.

If you have the inclination (and can start before 12:30), you can do a second (or third) course for a much-reduced fee (perhaps even for free).

More information about event pricing is available in the club FAQ. All the prices are also shown on the standard entry form (PDF/100KB), which you can print and fill out in advance to save some time at the event. (You will need one entry form for each group of people going on a course together.) Please note that the form has a second page for signatures of group members.

Venue Facilities

Water and restrooms should be available inside Barrows Hall. If it happens that Barrows Hall is closed that day, there will be open restrooms at Sproul Hall about 150 meters away.

As mentioned above, no snacks will be served at this event. There are many food opportunities just steps away on Bancroft Way.

What to Bring

Running attire and running shoes are fine. Comfortable outdoors attire and walking shoes are fine for those who will walk their course.

A compass is not necessary, but can be helpful. We have compasses available for a $1 rental fee.

We time the courses with the SPORTident system, so a SPORTident fingerstick is required for each team​—​they rent for $5. (Use of the "E-punch" system is easy. You can learn how at the event, or read about it here.)

Courses

Here are the final course statistics:

    Course           Length   Controls
    Beginner         1.4 km      15  
    Short advanced   3.0 km      20
    Long advanced    4.9 km      30   (2018 Summer Series ranking course)

Beginners should be aware that the lengths given above are the cumulative straight-line distances between controls. Your actual distance covered will be longer​—​for example, because of the need to go around buildings.

There are only a few shared controls between the beginner and advanced courses, so someone that successfully completes the beginner course and wants more of a challenge can definitely head out on either advanced course. The short advanced is a subset of the long advanced.

Note for people who have an SI-5 or SI-8 E-stick (which have a 30-punch capacity): Since the Long Advanced course has 30 controls, you might consider getting a high-capacity E-stick at Registration. If someone punches 31 times with an SI-8, the 31st punch will not be recorded. If they punch 31 times with an SI-5, the last one gets recorded with no time. Also be aware that there is a short interval where a second punch at a control overwrites in the same slot, but it’s only a few seconds.

The Long Advanced course will earn points for the 2018 Summer Series (see below).

2018 Summer Series

This is the fifth event of the BAOC 2018 Summer Series. The Series consists of six events, each of which has a "ranking course" for the overall Summer Series results. At this event, points will be awarded to all the individuals (but not groups or teams) who complete the Long Advanced course.

Details of the Summer Series scoring system are available here. (Note that we need your birth year if you want to be scored properly.)

Volunteers

We could use a bit of your time on at this event.

Specifically, we need people for Beginner Clinics. This takes just 20 or so minutes per clinic to get first-timers started. We've been getting good turnouts of beginners this summer, so Clinics are important.

Next, we need a Start Crew. Ideally, we would have six people: two per each hour-long shift from 9:30 to 12:30. Starts open at 10:00, so we can slip some on that beginning time (although we usually have people wanting to start early).

We may do without a Finish Crew, but it would be nice to have someone there from 10:30 to 1:00, or so, to help beginners.

Of course, we'll need a Control Pickup Crew at the end. Many hands make light work, and help us get home earlier.

We may also need some help at Registration.

Please contact if you can spare a little time before or after your course.

Parking

Photo gallery image (click to enlarge)

Parking, although always tight, is free on Sunday along the roads south and north of the main campus (Bancroft and Hearst, respectively). Arrive early to secure space on Bancroft near Telegraph (closest to Barrows Hall). More free Sunday parking is available on the streets south of Bancroft. There are many pay spaces around the campus and in nearby garages, such as the Upper and Lower Bancroft Garages, and Telegraph & Channing Garage. Suggested streets and garages are shown in the map to the right (click on the map to see a larger image, and click on that image for an even larger one).

Parking tip for Downtown Berkeley: Drive to the North Berkeley BART station (http://www.bart.gov/stations/nbrk), park your car there for free (on weekends), and take AC Transit 52 (schedule) (http://www.actransit.org/maps/schedule_results.php?ms_view_type=1&version_id=40&maps_category=2&maps_line=52&map_submit=Get+Schedule&current_schedule=28960) directly to Barrows Hall (11-min ride), or take BART one stop south to Downtown Berkeley. – Alak Ghosh and Siqing Yi

Public Transit

Public Transit is highly encouraged! The Downtown Berkeley BART station (http://www.bart.gov/stations/dbrk) is one block west of campus, and from there it's a pleasant 0.5-mile walk through campus to Barrows Hall (see the map above).

Local buses are also available at Telegraph & Bancroft/Durant. AC Transit routes 6, 36, 51B, 52, 79, and F stop here, and connect with Downtown Berkeley BART, North Berkeley BART, Rockridge BART, Telegraph Ave, University Ave, etc. Please refer to the map below, and check Google Map (https://www.google.com/maps/dir//Barrows+Hall,+Berkeley,+CA/@37.870027,-122.2930081,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m9!4m8!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x80857c25938066c3:0x73f82f3646d8e0bd!2m2!1d-122.2579888!2d37.8700322!3e3!5m1!1e2) and AC Transit (http://www.actransit.org/maps/) for more information.