Table of contents
1 BAOC will host the 2027 U.S. Masters Nationals
2 BAOC Performance Grant Program
3 2025 BAOC Service Award Recipient
4 Request for Website Development Volunteers
5 Scam Email From BAOC Officers
6 BAOC Budget for 2026 – Need Your Input
7 Tentative 2026 Event Calendar
8 2026 Event Planning – East Bay Survey
9 BAOC Members on 2025 WTOC Team
10 E-Punch Needs You!
11 2024 BAOC Service Award Recipient
12 BAOC Website Updates and Call for Photos
13 2023 BAOC Service Award Recipient
14 Gavin Wyatt-Mair Received 2023 OUSA President's Award
15 BAOC Mapping Director
16 More about the Condes Licenses
17 Please Uninstall Condes 10 If You Aren't Using It
18 2022 BAOC Service Award Recipient
19 Bob Cooley on U.S. WTOC Team
20 2021 BAOC Service Award Recipient
21 Important Volunteer News (and more)
22 2020 BAOC Service Award Recipient
23 Julia Doubson Selected U.S. Junior Orienteer of the Year
24 2019 BAOC Service Award Recipient
25 New Model For Club Event Coordination
26 "Berman" O/NA Issues Now Online
27 BAOC is a 501(c)(3) Organization
28 Staples Discount Program
29 BAOC Membership Now Available On-line
30 Older News

News and Notes


Various tidbits will be posted here from time to time.

You might also be interested in reading the Orienteering USA (OUSA) news page (http://orienteeringusa.org/home/news/). (Orienteering USA publishes a monthly E-newsletter. You can subscribe and access the archive here (https://orienteeringusa.org/home/newsletter/).)


BAOC will host the 2027 U.S. Masters Nationals

The OUSA Board approved our bid last night to host the 2027 U.S. Masters Nationals at Joseph D. Grant County Park on March 6–7, 2027. The Masters Nationals is a two-day, total-time event, over Classic courses. The Championships are for competitors 35 years of age or older, but all the standard age classes will be available at the event. The first day will be held on the Joe Grant North map; the second day on the Joe Grant South map.

We were granted an exemption to allow us to hold this year's event at Joe Grant on April 12. (Usually, any venue where a championship event is to be held is embargoed as soon as the championship is awarded.) Note that anyone participating in any sort of orienteering activity at Joe Grant after April 12 of this year will not be allowed to participate competitively in next year's Masters Nationals.

Of course, we will need lots of volunteers in order to host the Masters Nationals. Below are the people who have already signed up for major positions. Please offer them your assistance at your earliest opportunity. People filling any of the remaining positions (with the exception of another vetter, if we need one) will be able to compete in the event. The most important position yet to be spoken for (as far as I know) is Start Crew Chief.

Many thanks to the people listed above!

Dennis Wildfogel ()
BAOC National Events Coordinator
(Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on March 24, 2026)


BAOC Performance Grant Program

The BAOC Board of Directors is pleased to announce that BAOC now has a new program of financial support for BAOC juniors who want to take their orienteering to the next level, and for BAOC elite orienteers representing the United States in international competition. These are performance grants, meaning that if a junior or elite orienteer achieves a defined level of performance, they can apply for a grant to cover some of their future expenses in training and competition. Grants can range from $300 to $2000.

All eligible BAOC juniors and elite orienteers are encouraged to apply. Go here for more details.

Gary Kraght ()
BAOC Treasurer
(Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on February 17, 2026)


2025 BAOC Service Award Recipient

I am delighted to announce the recipient of the 2025 BAOC Service Award – Sarah Williams!

Sarah was presented with the award at our Bayfront Park event last Sunday. It was great that many club members were there to congratulate Sarah in person, including many previous recipients of the award.

Our club is run entirely by volunteers, and depends on the support of all members to present our year-round schedule of events throughout the Bay Area and beyond. Thus, it is a great honor each year to recognize the particular contributions of one BAOC member through the BAOC Service Award.

Each year, starting in 1994, we celebrate an individual who has provided outstanding service to the club. The recipient is nominated by all the club members, and selected by the previous award winners.

Here are some of the highlights of Sarah's contributions:

All the volunteers who work with Sarah will confirm that she performs her duties with dedication, immense patience, enthusiasm, and a wonderful sense of humor.

Thank you and congratulations, Sarah, for all that you have done and continue to do for the club.

Stephanie Maclean ()
BAOC President
(Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on January 13, 2026)


Request for Website Development Volunteers

We are looking for club members who have current technical experience with website implementation who would be able to volunteer their services to BAOC as we update and migrate our website.

This is a great chance to get your volunteer hours for the club in, especially if other "on the day" volunteering doesn't work for you.

We would greatly appreciate your time and knowledge. Please let me know if this is something that matches your skill set, or if you have questions.

Stephanie Maclean ()
BAOC President
(Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on October 10, 2025)


Scam Email From BAOC Officers

It looks like there are quite a few messages going around right now that look like they are from me, asking for help with transferring funds since the Treasurer is unavailable.

Please ignore them and any others from BAOC officers — these are all scams, and should be deleted. If you check the sender information, you can also see it is not my email address, or the claimed officer's email address.

Stephanie Maclean ()
BAOC President
(Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on October 3, 2025)


BAOC Budget for 2026 – Need Your Input

As autumn leaves begin to fall, it is time to begin planning for orienteering in 2026. Yes, it's BAOC budget time! This is your opportunity to have a say in how BAOC spends its money in 2026.

If you have any budget requests, or ideas on club priorities, or any other thoughts on how BAOC should be spending money in 2026, please send them to me in the next couple of weeks. All BAOC members are welcome to participate. All budget requests and suggestions will be considered by the Finance Committee.

The timeline is as follows: 1) all BAOC members are encouraged to send in their requests and suggestions; 2) in late October, I will be putting together a first draft of the 2026 budget; 3) the BAOC finance committee will meet to review and revise the budget draft, including considering all input from BAOC membership; 4) the budget will be presented to the BAOC Board of Directors for approval at the November Board meeting.

Mapping, both new maps and updates of existing maps, is often a significant portion of our budget. If you have any thoughts on mapping priorities, please send them to the BAOC Mapping Director, Matej Šebo (). Or you can send them to me and I will pass them on to him.

Thank you, everyone. I’m looking forward to an exciting 2026!

Gary Kraght ()
BAOC Treasurer
(Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on October 2, 2025)


Tentative 2026 Event Calendar

We, the event coordinator crew, are working on a planned schedule of events for 2026 (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JG_uFZgck4lyAvmna2OC0SjCBXJ0Unv0NjaGXUiUttk/edit?gid=1962729370#gid=1962729370), in time to present to the club in October at a special Board meeting. While the schedule is tentative, we will try to keep as close to it as possible for the coming year.

This is where you, as regular attending and supporting club members come in! These events happen only due to the willingness of volunteers to step up and take on the needed roles. Every active club member should plan to help with at least one of next year's events. We need people to step up as Event Directors and Course Setters! The four regional Event Coordinators will be happy to help, especially with first-time ED's and Course Setters. We can help with all facets of the roles, and will do our best to make the tasks as easy as possible for you.

At this time, many venues are available. Please notify us soon to reserve your favorite orienteering location! You can e-mail any of the Regional Event Coordinators with your preference starting today.

Also, keep in mind the schedule is still tentative. If you want to ED or CS a venue, but the listed date won't work for you, let us know — we can usually make minor date changes without too much difficulty.

Thanks so much! I'm looking forward to hearing from lots of you soon!

Thanks,

Scott Aster ()
BAOC Event Coordinator
(Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on September 7, 2025)


2026 Event Planning – East Bay Survey

We are currently working on next year's BAOC event schedule, and I want to get some input on events in the East Bay. For that, I've created a short, online survey (https://forms.gle/gGGu3PTJaoejoL5Z6).

I'm hoping that anyone interested in being an event director or course setter next year in the East Bay will reply, even if you haven't in the past — there are opportunities to mentor or be mentored, and to help in other ways.

There are lots of resources for first timers (we are re-writing the guides), and previous volunteers and event coordinators can help with permits, etc.

There is also room for comments, which are welcome! Happy to get input on what you want to see on the schedule.

Thanks,

Vicki Woolworth
Regional Event Coordinator, East Bay
(Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on September 1, 2025)


BAOC Members on 2025 WTOC Team

Congratulations to BAOC members Bob Cooley and Jay Hann who have been named to the U.S. team for the 2025 World Trail Orienteering Championships (https://wtoc2025.org) (WTOC). BAOC member Gavin Wyatt-Mair will also be attending as a team official.

This year the Championships will take place in Slovakia and Hungary, August 26–31.

For those interested, Trail O (https://orienteering.sport/trailo/) is an orienteering variation that involves very precise reading of the map and terrain. Competitors must identify decoys and the appropriate controls shown on the map. It is usually conducted on trails and is accessible to all physical abilities. There is no timing between points nor any route choices — accuracy is the prime objective.

Good luck to all at this summer's competition!

Stephanie Maclean ()
BAOC President
(Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on August 3, 2025)
Orienteering USA announcement (https://orienteeringusa.org/2025/07/wtoc-team-selected/)


E-Punch Needs You!

We currently have a very small number of club members who set up Electronic Punching for our events.

We would like to train more people how to set up the system, so that if one of our current E-Punch people is occasionally out of town we would still be able to get the system in place for a local orienteering event. We are not replacing anyone — just looking to increase the pool of volunteers.

You can use your own laptop, or the club laptop if needed.

Please contact me if you may be interested in a training session to learn about the E-Punch setup. We hope that the training would be in-person, if possible. I'm happy to answer any questions also.

Note: This training is to do the things that Jeff, Rex, and Jay do before, during and after an event. We do also need volunteers take a shift monitoring the E-Punch system during an event to give everyone a chance to orienteer but this request is not for that. (Of course we will not turn down any volunteer. 😊)

Thank-you!

Stephanie Maclean ()
BAOC President
(Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on May 6, 2025)


2024 BAOC Service Award Recipient

Please join me in congratulating Graham Brew as the recipient of the 2024 BAOC Service Award. The official announcement was made at our final event of the year, the Willow Glen holiday social event.

Graham has spent years working in a "behind the scenes" role for our club, making sure that we have a strong and consistent event schedule. He has served for many years on the Event Coordinating Committee, and has also for the past few years taken on the larger role of overall Event Coordinator. This is not an easy job — from the initial schedule creation to coaxing volunteers to take on events, navigating permit issues, and fielding requests for everyone's favorite venues to be included. Graham quietly gets the job done while being consistently gracious, considerate, and always willing to listen and advise on issues that come up — which they do often!

All of the nominations mentioned the helpful, professional, and supportive attitude he brings to the club.

In addition to coordinating events, Graham still manages to volunteer to help out on the day at nearly every event! He has also been the Official Scorer for the last three annual Summer Series competitions.

Thank you Graham for your contributions. You are very deserving of this recognition!

(Nominations for the award were submitted by club members, and the recipient was selected by previous recipients of the BAOC Service Award.)

Stephanie Maclean ()
BAOC President
(Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on Dec. 22, 2024)


BAOC Website Updates and Call for Photos

Hello BAOC,

We are currently working on updating the BAOC website — this will take some time and you may notice some changes as we roll out new pages and navigation over the coming weeks. We do expect the website will remain functional throughout.

We would love to receive any great photos you have of orienteering in our club for the new site. If you have any photos that really showcase our sport in the Bay Area, please send them along.

Stephanie Maclean ()
BAOC President
(Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on June 27, 2024)


2023 BAOC Service Award Recipient

Congratulations to Stephanie and Derek Maclean for being selected for the 2023 BAOC Service Award. Stephanie and Derek have served the club in many ways over the years. The Macleans have volunteered as Event Director, Course Setter, and almost every other possible role involved in organizing and carrying out our events. In addition, Steph's amazing creativity and artwork in both T-shirt design and ceramic awards have added a delightful element to many national events. She has been club Vice President since 2020, and was an active member of the Cal-O-Fest steering committee. Derek and Steph can always be counted on in a crisis, from acting as shuttle drivers during the 2019 Nationals to sorting out the confusion at award medal ceremonies.

(Nominations for the award were submitted by club members, and the recipient was selected by previous recipients of the BAOC Service Award.)

Marie-Josée Parayre ()
BAOC President
(December 16, 2023)


Gavin Wyatt-Mair Received 2023 OUSA President's Award

It is with excitement that I announce that Gavin Wyatt-Mair was awarded one of three 2023 OUSA President's Awards during the OUSA Annual General Meeting on September 19, 2023. Please find below the official announcement.

Gavin Wyatt-Mair (BAOC)
  • Gavin Wyatt-Mair is recognized for his persistence and hardwork directing the 2023 CalOFest and events leading up to it. CalOFest was Gavin's vision to build a large orienteering festival around two high-level international events on consecutive weekends: the North American Orienteering Championships (NAOC) and the World Rogaining Championships (WRC). Overall, CalOFest included ten events (5 National Ranking Events, 3 NAOC World Ranking Events + relay, and the WRC), bringing together nearly 800 orienteers and rogainers from 29 countries. Gavin's tireless, hands-on leadership and endless enthusiasm were absolutely pivotal to the success of CalOFest. Gavin assembled the leadership team, led them through countless hours of detailed planning, and himself contributed hours of his time to mapping, course setting, equipment transport, and many other thankless tasks.
  • This is even more impressive when considered in the context of the pandemic. CalOFest faced numerous challenges, starting with the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the event to be postponed twice. The event was initially scheduled for 2020 but was first postponed to 2021 and later to 2023 due to the pandemic. What started as a 2-year project in 2018 turned into a 5-year project, during which Gavin took on the additional responsibility of organizing the U.S. Orienteering Championships twice: 2019 at Big Basin in the Bay Area and 2021 at Lake Tahoe. He also organized the 2021 U.S. Rogaining Championships. Gavin's leadership in organizing these events provided valuable experience for the CalOFest team in preparing for a large multi-day event.
  • All three events were successful and served to move the National schedule in OUSA forward. Gavin's efforts are greatly appreciated.

You fully deserve it Gavin!

Marie-Josée Parayre ()
BAOC President
(Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on Sept. 20, 2023)


BAOC Mapping Director

I am very pleased to announce that Matej Šebo has agreed to take on the position of BAOC Mapping Director.

The responsibilities of that position have changed somewhat from what they were in the past.

If you have any questions on the process, please contact Matej ().

Thank you Matej!

Marie-Josée Parayre ()
BAOC President
(September 13, 2023)


More about the Condes Licenses

I've been talking to Finn Arildsen, the developer of Condes (and former BAOC member.)

Condes 10 licenses deactivate automatically after 12 months if not in use. If you aren't going to use it for a while, it is better to use the Remove License option under the Help menu. This leaves the program installed in a limited state. You can open Condes files, but not change them unless they are very small. It's easy to reactivate the license if necessary and you don't have to type the license code in again. Finn can see that most of our Condes 10 licenses have been used in the last year, so we don't have as many that are idle as I thought.

Thanks everyone for your responses to my previous message.

Jeff Lanam ()
BAOC Epunch Director
 (Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on June 4, 2023)


Please Uninstall Condes 10 If You Aren't Using It

BAOC has a license to use the course-setting program Condes 10 that allows for 40 concurrent users. We are up to 37 users. If you have Condes installed on your computer and you are not using it, please consider uninstalling it. Also try to remember to uninstall it if you are getting rid of a computer that it's installed on. I know that's not always possible​—​if you have replaced a computer that had it installed, let me know. I can probably work something out with Finn Arildsen, the Condes author.

If you have Condes 10 and are still using it, please send me email. I've lost track of who has it.

I think the limit does not apply to Condes 9 or earlier.

Jeff Lanam ()
BAOC Epunch Director
(Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on June 3, 2023)


2022 BAOC Service Award Recipient

Congratulations to Steve Gregg for being selected for the 2022 BAOC Service Award. Steve has developed fun courses at Point Pinole for 25 years, in both Event Director and Course Setter roles. He has also set courses for national events, and frequently volunteers for control pickup and other tasks. Steve served on the club Board of Directors for several years as Training Director.

(Nominations for the award were submitted by club members, and the recipient was selected by previous recipients of the BAOC Service Award.)

Marie-Josée Parayre ()
BAOC President
(December 20, 2022)


Bob Cooley on U.S. WTOC Team

Congratulations to Bob Cooley for qualifying for the World Trail Orienteering Championship (https://wtoc2021.pl) (WTOC) that will take place in Poland July 19–23, 2022.

Have fun Bob, BAOC will cheer for you. 😊

Marie-Josée Parayre ()
BAOC President
(June 15, 2022)


2021 BAOC Service Award Recipient

Congratulations to Sharon Evans for being selected for the 2021 BAOC Service Award. Sharon will be stepping down after having served for eight years in this, her second stint, as BAOC Treasurer. This is an unsung, but entirely necessary, job that is required for the smooth operation of the club. Thorough and detail-oriented in her work, Sharon has kept the board well-informed about the financial status of the club. In the past few years, the job has been complicated further by the scheduling, postponement, re-scheduling, and re-postponement of Cal-O-Fest, which has required management of multiple bank accounts and a considerable volume of international payments and refunds. In addition to serving as Treasurer, Sharon has been the event director for several events in the South Bay at Big Basin, Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch, and Wilder Ranch.

(Nominations for the award were submitted by club members, and the recipient was selected by previous recipients of the BAOC Service Award.)

Marie-Josée Parayre ()
BAOC President
(April 20, 2022)


Important Volunteer News (and more)

I have some important BAOC news to share with you.

After 37 years of exceptional service to the club, Bob Cooley has announced that he will be stepping down as the Mapping Director. It is amazing to note that Bob received the BAOC Service Award in 1996 for great contributions to the club, and that he continued his dedicated services for another 25 years. Bob has been a key player in not only taking care of printing all BAOC maps, but also in the creation of most of our maps. Thank you Bob! As you can imagine, finding a replacement for Bob is a major challenge for the club, and I welcome your ideas and interest in this position.

In addition to Mapping Director, we have the following positions open:

I would also like to share the great news that Chief Daniel Ingram is now the new Junior Director, and has taken the lead in adding information to our website for Juniors interested in activities.

Welcome back regular BAOC events! Please make sure to visit the BAOC website (http://baoc.org/wiki/Schedule/Current?year=2021&club=BAOC) for up-to-date information on future events, including a National Ranking Event (NRE) scheduled for October 24th at St. Mary's College. Registration for that event is currently open. We are also planning events at Tamarancho, Huddart Park, and Shell Ridge. Please contact Event Directors if you can help at any of those upcoming events.

Lastly, I would like to let everyone know that the OUSA 2021 Annual General Meeting (https://orienteeringusa.org/2021/07/virtual-agm-2021/) (AGM) is scheduled for Thursday, October 21, at 5:00 PM via video conference. Everyone is welcome to "attend". The club should know soon how many delegates we can have for voting purposes.

I hope to see many of you soon at our next event, and please consider supporting our club in any way you can. 😊

Marie-Josée Parayre ()
BAOC President
 (Posted to the BayONet (https://groups.io/g/BAOC) on Sept. 20, 2021)


2020 BAOC Service Award Recipient

Congratulations to Steve Haas for being selected for the 2020 BAOC Service Award. Steve has served as Registration Director since 2011, performing his duties with cheerfulness and gusto. Registration is the first point of contact that most beginners have with the club, and Steve has worked hard to make the experience a positive one. Steve has also been one of the club's most reliable event directors, in charge of events almost every year for more than ten years, including the 2016 U.S. Championships. From 2016–2020, he served as the club President, keeping the club focused on its mission to provide a wide variety of orienteering events.

(Nominations for the award were submitted by club members, and the recipient was selected by previous recipients of the BAOC Service Award.)

Marie-Josée Parayre ()
BAOC President
 (May 27, 2021)


Julia Doubson Selected U.S. Junior Orienteer of the Year

Congratulations to Julia Doubson who was named today the Junior Orienteer of the Year by OUSA. Way to go Julia. BAOC is proud of all your accomplishments and dedication to the sport. Keep up your hard work!

From the announcement (https://orienteeringusa.org/2020/02/2019-competitive-award-winners/) of the annual awards:

"Awarded to the best U.S. orienteer in 2019 under the age of 21, based on results at national and international events.
"Julia was the top U.S. female in the Sprint (62nd) and Middle (52nd in the A final) distances at JWOC and took a step up to F21 towards the end of the season, earning a gold and two silver medals at the U.S. Nationals. She is ranked third in F21."

Marie-Josée Parayre ()
(February 6, 2020)


2019 BAOC Service Award Recipient

Congratulations to Marie-Josée Parayre for being selected for the 2019 BAOC Service Award. Marie-Josée is a long-time member of BAOC, and is an active, enthusiastic volunteer. Her many contributions include directing numerous local and national events; chaperone for BAOC teams at Junior Nationals; spearheading the design, ordering, and distribution of new club uniforms; serving on the Event Coordination Team for two years; and member of the Steering Committee for the 2020 California Orienteering Festival (https://cal-o-fest.com/), for which she serves as Volunteer Coordinator.

(Nominations for the award were submitted by club members, and the recipient was selected by previous recipients of the BAOC Service Award.)


BAOC President
 (December 27, 2019)


New Model For Club Event Coordination

BAOC is introducing a new Event Coordination Model for 2018. The goal is to schedule more events in a manner that is satisfying to club members, takes less time commitment, and puts less pressure on individual volunteers.

The new model has five Regional Event Coordinators working as a team. Together, the RECs will be responsible for the yearly schedule. Each of the team members will be recruiting Event Directors and Course Setters for 5–8 events per year. The team is already actively at work. It is currently composed of club members who are committed to the model and have substantial experience of producing BAOC events.

A second feature of the new model is to have the yearly schedule substantially completed by the Fall of the previous year, with most Event Directors and Course Setters recruited for the new year. Where possible, park permits will be obtained before October 1, or soon thereafter.

We will be asking each advanced orienteer to volunteer to take the role of ED or CS for at least one event per year. Of course, there will be some who will not be able to make this commitment, and that is OK, but expect to be asked.

Our National Event Coordinator, , is working closely with the new team. He has already scheduled another exciting COW (California Orienteering Week) National Event in conjunction with GCO for next March. A big thanks goes to Dennis, who took on the job of filling out the 2017 schedule when Steve Harrison, the EC for the past two years, had to resign because of increased work duties.

We hope that this is a model that can be sustained through the years, and that will have the support of club members. Ultimately, the vision is that the model will result in a strong future for BAOC.

Here are some advantages of the new model:

Let us know your thoughts and suggestions.

, South Bay REC (and team lead)
Coordinates events at Big Basin, Calero, Harvey Bear, Joe Grant, Pacheco, Vasona, and Willow Glen
, North Bay REC 
Coordinates events at Bon Tempe, Indian Valley, Lake Hermann, Spring Lake, and Tamarancho
, East Bay REC 
Coordinates events at Briones, Las Trampas, Morgan Territory, Shell Ridge, Sunol, and UC Berkeley
, San Francisco and Sierra Nevada REC 
Coordinates events at Golden Gate Park, McLaren Park, and Presidio of S.F.; Burton Creek, Little Truckee Summit, NorthStar, and Spooner Lake
, Peninsula and East Bay REC 
Coordinates events at Bayfront Park, Emerald Hills, Huddart Park, Montebello, and Stanford; Joaquin Miller, Oyster Point, Point Pinole, and Tilden Park


"Berman" O/NA Issues Now Online

"Back issues of Orienteering North America (O/NA) from 1984–1999 are now available online. The collection consists of all 140 issues published by, and made available courtesy of, Larry and Sara Mae Berman. We hope to add additional O/NA issues in the future.

"There are several ways to access the collection. A 'bookcase' view is available at URL: http://fliphtml5.com/bookcase/aigx

"Take a look at the 'Start Here' issue (the first one shown in the upper left of the bookcase) for details about the collection and tips on using it.

"Enjoy browsing a bit of our history!"

Notice posted to the USOFclubnet (https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/USOFclubnet/) mailing list by , Orienteering USA VP/Clubs
(December 31, 2016)


BAOC is a 501(c)(3) Organization

After a long, arduous process, BAOC has obtained IRS classification as a 501(c)(3) organization. That means, among other things, that contributions to BAOC are tax deductible by the donor on their personal income tax return (if they itemize deductions). The designation took effect on September 25, 2013, so contributions since then are deductible.

One of the "contributions" that can be deducted is car mileage for the benefit of BAOC (but note that the IRS requires written records for the miles claimed). For example, that would include mileage for visiting parks to plan events (e.g., course setting), to attend Board meetings, and to events that you only help at (i.e., not if you enjoy the benefit of running a course). The standard mileage rate (http://www.irs.gov/Tax-Professionals/Standard-Mileage-Rates) is 14¢ per mile (per IRS guidelines; subject to change annually). (BAOC's address of record is 335 Beverly Ave, San Leandro, CA 94577; its EIN is 46-4309358.)


BAOC Treasurer
(February 1, 2015)

Editor's Note: The address of record changed in 2022 to 78 Robinhood Drive, Novato, CA 94945.


Staples Discount Program

I want to let you know about the Staples Business Discount program that BAOC belongs to.

When you place a Staples copy/print order referencing our Rewards Number (2867824258), you will receive a 10% discount and BAOC will earn 10% in Staples Rewards. You can use this for BAOC printing and for any other printing needs.

You can submit orders online or in any Staples store. I can send you the login and password if you wish to place orders online.

Please let me know if you have any questions.


BAOC President
(December 22, 2011)


BAOC Membership Now Available On-line

Note: Our on-line membership process is currently not working due to a problem with accessing Google Checkout.

I've now got on-line memberships up and running on our website at this page. Renewals can also be processed this way.

In order to save some money I've chosen to break it into two steps: 1) fill out a Wufoo form to capture the membership contact information, etc., then navigate back to the BAOC website to 2) pay through Google Checkout. Once you click "Submit" on the Wufoo form, it automatically sends the information to me. You'll need a Google Checkout account to pay on-line, which you can set up in a few minutes the first time you pay this way. Please remember that your membership is not complete until you do both steps. Once I get both parts and I record the membership information, you'll get a confirming e-mail from Google that your membership has "shipped" (don't expect anything at your front door!).

There is a small cost to using Google Checkout that we have added to the one-year Individual and Family/Group memberships, which are now $16 and $21, respectively, if you pay on-line (but it saves you at least a $0.44 stamp and a lot of time). But if you sign up for multiple years or Contributing, BAOC will absorb the cost (5 years is always a good choice ☺).

You can still sign up at events, or by printing a membership form and sending it with a check, but I am hoping everyone will get on board and find it easier to do it on-line. Note: Please do not split the difference, i.e., fill out the Wufoo form on-line and send in a check by mail. This can be done if absolutely necessary, but it will make my life more complicated, so please avoid it if possible. If you go the other way and pay on-line and send in the form by snail mail, the form will be conveniently "lost", and we will gladly accept the voluntary "anonymous" donation.

Try it!


Membership Guy
(June 10, 2011)


Older News

Items previously posted on this page are available here.