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Public Event at Scout-O Championships

Briones Regional Park

Date: (Sun.) Oct. 27, 2024
Location: Lafayette, CA
Event Director: - 925.934.6567
Course Setter: Gavin Wyatt-Mair
Type: B; DATE CHANGED! Open Event for non-Scouts — Regular 7-course BAOC event in conjunction with the Scout-O Championships; everyone is welcome, including beginners — free, brief, beginner instruction will be available (pending park approval)

Related Event Information

Concurrent Scout-O Champs Last Year’s Event

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


September 6th Update: The date of this event has changed to October 27th.


We return, once again, to Briones Regional Park for the 30th annual Scout-O Championships. As in previous years, this event, which is open to everyone, is being held in conjunction with the annual Scout-O Championships.

We have arranged for fine weather. The park is a good area for picnics, so bring your friends and your family, and enjoy the park as well as the orienteering challenge.

Special Rules:

The Park District is very concerned about the possibility of fires.
Therefore, they have instituted two rules that we must all follow:
  1. No smoking at all.
  2. Drive only on roads (except if directed otherwise at the event).

Beginner (White), Advanced Beginner (Yellow), Intermediate (Orange), and Advanced (Brown, Green, Red, and Blue) courses will be offered (see below). All the courses will have E-punching. Grass stickers and poison oak are present, so be sure to wear long pants, and to wear gaiters on the off-trail courses.

Since the annual Scout-O will be held concurrently with this regular event, we expect a sizable crowd. Unlike the Scout-O, preregistration is not required for this BAOC "open" event. However, preregistration is available as described below.

BAOC members: Please note that your showing is very good publicity for the club, and sets an example for hundreds of scouts and adults to see!! Please do come, with your best O-gear, a smile, and a word of encouragement for the youngsters.

Parking, Registration, and the Finish are at the Bear Creek entrance to Briones Park (see the driving directions below).

Note: The Start is about a 20- to 30-minute walk from the Assembly Area. The Finish is close to the Assembly Area and the parking lot. 😊

If you have any questions, contact Gavin Wyatt-Mair, the Event Director, at 925-934-6567 ().

Schedule

The following standard BAOC event schedule will be followed:

  9:00 AM – 11:59 AM: Registration open
  9:30 AM – 10:30 AM: Beginner clinics instruction (free)
10:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Starts are open for all courses
                  2:00 PM: Everyone must have returned to the Finish
Note: At registration, all juniors (i.e., under age 21) 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/12KB].)

Note that you can register and start on the courses anytime during the open times above. Thus, for example, you do not need to be "punctual" at 9:00. (You can if you want, but please don’t show up earlier and expect to be served.)

Beginner clinics are 15–20 minute, repeating sessions that introduce the sport of orienteering, and provide enough instruction to be able to complete the Beginner course.

Note that everyone must return to the Finish by 2:00 PM, and then promptly go to the download tent, even if they have not completed their course. Please do not leave without checking in! If there are unaccounted people after 2:00, we must initiate a search for them.

Costs

Optional online registration (and payment) is available before the event as described below.

The following fees apply for this event:

  $3 for each junior on beginner (White) and advanced beginner (Yellow) courses
  $8 for each adult on beginner and advanced beginner courses
  $5 for each junior on intermediate (Orange) and advanced (Brown, Green, Red, Blue) courses  
$15 for each member on intermediate and advanced courses
$20 for each non-member on intermediate and advanced courses
  $1 for a compass rental (optional)  
  $5 for an electronic fingerstick rental (if you don't own one; you'll need one to complete the course)
$15 for the lowest-cost individual one-year BAOC membership (optional)  
Notes:
  • If the entry kiosk is staffed, the park charges a fee of $3 per vehicle (and $2 per dog [Guide and Service dogs are free]).
  • Juniors are age 8 through 20 (under age 8 is free).
  • You can register at the event or online before the event (see below).
  • At the event, we can accept payment by cash, check, or credit/debit card (but no electronic payments — e.g., PayPal, Venmo).
  • There is no charge for a second course (but you must end up paying for the more expensive course — e.g., the Orange course after a beginner course).
  • Members of other orienteering clubs can pay the "member" fee. (We hope your club would do the same for our members. 🙂)

More information about event pricing is available in the club FAQ. All the prices are also shown on the standard entry form (PDF/12KB), 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.)

Optional Online Registration

Online registration will be available closer to the event date. Registering in advance saves you time at the event, and makes life easier for the Registration crew. 😊

Notes:
  • Online registration is not required​—​you can register at the event.
  • Online registration is available only to individuals, not to groups (i.e., sharing a single E-stick). Group members must register individually (or at the event).
  • Compass rental cannot be arranged during online registration, but you can register online and rent a compass at the event.
  • E-punch fingerstick rental can be arranged during online registration.
  • You can see who is registered here (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/reglist/home/briones2024) (but keep in mind that others will register at the event).

What to Bring

For the beginner (White) course, comfortable outdoors attire and shoes are fine.

For the advanced beginner (Yellow) course, hiking boots with an aggressive tread are recommended.

Due to the dry weather, matted grasses, and loose soils, we recommend O-shoes or shoes with cleats on the intermediate (Orange) and advanced (Brown through Blue) courses.

Dry grasses with burrs and stickers are present on all the courses except White. We recommend long pants and gaiters.

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 each entry/team needs to have a SPORTident fingerstick. If you don't have your own, you can rent one at registration for $5. (Use of the "E-punch" system is easy. You can learn how at the event, or read about it here.)

Courses

Course information will be available closer to the event date.

Request for Volunteers

If you are willing to help out on the day of the event, or before, we sure could use your help! Please contact Gavin Wyatt-Mair, Event Director ().

Driving Directions

Registration will be at the West entrance to the park, off of Bear Creek Road. (This address might be useful: 1611 Bear Creek Rd, Lafayette, CA.) The approximate coordinates are N37.9271,W122.1578.

To get there, take Route 24 west from I-680 or east from I-80. Exit at Orinda, and head north on Camino Pablo. After about 2 miles, turn right onto Bear Creek Road. After about 3.5 miles, the park entrance will be on your right, and is well sign-posted (don't be fooled by the parking area on the left — that's not it).

The park charges an entry fee of $3 per vehicle (and $2 per dog [Guide and Service dogs are free]), collected at the entry kiosk (if and when it is staffed).

Please carpool if possible, since there will probably be many scouts attending.

Parking

Do not park in the south side of the east, dirt, parking lot. That area is for horse trailers.