Golden Goat & Golden Kid

25th "Annual" Golden Goat & Golden Kid

Camp Tamarancho

Date: (Sun.) Jan. 12, 2025
Location: Fairfax, CA
Event Director: - 415.456.8118
Course Setter: Mikkel Conradi
Type: C; After missing a year, we have the return of an extra-long "Goat" course, and a long "Kid" course, with a shared mass start; there will be NO BEGINNER COURSES at this special event

Related Event Information

Event Results (Recommended) Online Registration (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/register/start/goldengoat2025) Course Setter's Notes Golden Goat Lifetime Points (PDF/26KB) 2022 Golden Goat & Golden Kid 2021 Tamarancho Event Aborted November 2024 Event

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


January 10th Update

Two quick points for everyone coming up to Tamarancho this weekend.
First, we'd love to have some more help with control pick up. This is a difficult event for this, as everyone is pretty wiped out after the Goat, but the controls do need to be collected, and the more volunteers we get, the fewer controls each person needs to collect. Please let me know if you think you could help us with this task. Thank you!
Secondly, the driving directions mention following the green "Camp Tamarancho" signs to get to Iron Springs road. This still holds true, except for the first turn coming after turning off of Sir Francis Drake boulevard (there is a green sign on Sir Francis Drake — it is the next turn that is missing the sign). At the first intersection, you should turn left, but the green sign is missing at this junction. I'll put one of our sandwich-board signs there to help you. Otherwise, just follow the green signs.
Scott Aster, Event Director

January 9th Update

Pre-registration is recommended as it helps us ensure we have the right number of maps. The two-sided maps will be sealed in their cases and placed in Manila envelopes, with takes some effort.
Preregistration also means your course variant will be known to the E-punch system before you finish, which will make the download process smoother.
Hope to see you on Sunday!
Mikkel Conradi, Course Setter

January 8th Update

I hope you all are getting excited about this weekend, with two amazing Goat & Kid courses designed by Mikkel Conradi!
The weather forecast is for sunny, mild conditions. The ground is soft, and the grass is green after all our rain! Thankfully, Tamarancho is not open range, so very few muddy sections and no wet cow pies to deal with!
Remember, you can pre-register for the event or register when you arrive at Tamarancho, but in any case, I hope to see lots of you out there.
Scott Aster, Event Director


After missing 2023, we have the return of the Golden Goat and Golden Kid for the 25th "annual" event. (This "2024" edition of the event had to be rescheduled from last November. We have been informed that the road to the Scout Camp will be repaired and open by December, and we already have a permit in hand!)

What a great way to start the new year off, with a tour of the scenic Tamarancho scout camp located in the hills west of Fairfax.

Mikkel Conradi is designing the courses. The Golden Goat, and the shorter Golden Kid, is a mass-start event, traditionally emphasizing long and hilly courses. Mikkel might throw in some deviations from traditional point-to-point orienteering (e.g., skipped controls, forked controls, butterfly options, ...).

Unfortunately, we will not offer beginner courses at this special event. Please check the BAOC schedule (https://baoc.org/wiki/Schedule/Current?year=2025&club=BAOC) for other events, which will offer beginner (White) and advanced beginner (Yellow) courses. Also, (free) short introductory lessons for those new to orienteering are available at "normal" events. Beginners are welcome at those events!

The next "normal" BAOC event will be on January 26 at Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park near Gilroy.

As described in the Parking section below, you must back into the parking spaces.

2018 Golden Goat Mass Start? Golden Goat Mass Start?

Schedule

Note that this event has a non-standard schedule, with a combined mass start for the Goat and Kid courses.

     9:00 – 9:45 AM: Registration (but we strongly recommend pre-registering here (https://eventreg.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/register/start/goldengoat2025))
               9:45 AM: Group walk from assembly area to Start Triangle  
               9:50 AM: Instructions for the Goat and Kid  
             10:00 AM: Mass start for the Goat and Kid  
             12:30 PM: Awards ceremony for the Goat and Kid (later if winners aren't back)  
              2:00 PM: Everyone must have returned to the Finish 

Notes:

Costs and Registration

Optional online registration (and payment) is described below. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.

The following fees apply for this event:

  $5 for each junior on the Goat or Kid course
$15 for each member on the Goat or Kid course
$20 for each non-member on the Goat or Kid course
  $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:

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

Notes:

What to Bring

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.)

Venue Facilities

More details will be provided here closer to the event date.

Picnic tables and toilets are available.

Courses

Here are the preliminary course statistics: 

    Course          Length   Climb  Rate  Controls  Scale
    Golden Kid      6.2 km   475 m  7.5%     17     1:7500  
    Golden Goat    11.2 km   825 m  7.4%     28     1:10000 

Note: At the event, if you start out on the Goat, you will not be able to cut it short and qualify for the Kid. The courses are differentiated to such a degree that this is not possible. Sign up for either the Goat or the Kid — you can change your mind between registering and starting — but whichever course you start out on, will be your official course.

No beginner courses will be provided.

Be sure to read the Course Setter's Notes for more information.

Awards

Prizes will be presented to the male and female winners of both courses.

In addition to possible awards, the top 15 finishers on the Goat earn Golden Goat Lifetime Points. The current table of these points, and the rules for their awarding, are available in this file (26KB PDF).

Request for Volunteers

Even though this is an "abbreviated" event, we will still need some volunteers to help put on the event. For example, we can use help with setup, organizing the mass start, and of course, control pickup.

If you can commit in advance, please contact Scott Aster, Event Director (). Volunteers will also be enthusiastically accepted at the event.

Driving Directions

The approximate coordinates of the parking area are 37.9943,-122.6117.

There are several ways to get to Fairfax from Highway 101 in Marin. The quickest route is to take the Central San Rafael exit (#452) and turn west onto 3rd St (a left at the second light if you're coming from the south, a right at the fourth light if you're coming from the north). Follow this road for about 3 miles (it changes name three times on the way) until it intersects with Sir Francis Drake Blvd in San Anselmo. Bear right onto Sir Francis Drake Blvd and stay on it until you reach downtown Fairfax.

Continue westbound on Sir Francis Drake for another quarter mile past downtown Fairfax, and look for a green highway sign that says "Camp Tamarancho". Turn left at this sign onto Olema Road, and continue to follow the subsequent green Camp signs until you reach Iron Springs Road. Head up Iron Springs Road and follow BAOC signs to get to the event parking.

Note: Once Iron Springs Road stops being paved, the road is very bumpy and travel is slow​—​about 10 mph. It's narrow, so care must be taken with vehicles approaching you, and the road is popular with mountain bikers. Cars with low clearance are not recommended.

Carpooling is encouraged as always.

Parking

You must park facing outward (that is, back into your space).

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The event name mentions "Annual" (in quotes), because a few years have been missed.