• Here is the START LIST.
  • ALL runners will be called to enter the start procedure line 10 minutes prior to their assigned/picked start time. Please Be Race Ready when your name is called.
  • Site Map Here.
  • See New Start Procedures Here.
  • 2022-23 WIOL Rules Here.
  • PUBLIC Start Time Sign-Ups has closed.
  • There is no Day-of-event registration.
  • Training opportunities at the event and elsewhere.
  • Sunday 8 PM:  About the Route – call in to discuss the courses, open to all.

Winter League is the Pacific Northwest’s premier competitive orienteering series for all ages.

  • Elementary, Middle School, High School and College students compete under the banner of the Washington Interscholastic Orienteering League (WIOL).
  • Winter League public courses offer a range of categories from a competitive long advanced category to non-competitive beginner-friendly categories at every event!

COURSES

Course Controls Length Climb
Elementary/Beginner  11 1.5 km 20 m
Middle School     9 1.8 km 20 m
JV Rookie  12 2.3 km 20 m
JV Girls/Intermediate   14 3.3 km 25 m
JV Boys     16 3.4 km 25 m
Varsity    16 4.0 km 30 m
Short Advanced   17 4.1 km 35 m
Intercollegiate/Long Advanced 21 5.1 km 55 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

  • Magnuson Park is very similar in character to the last event’s venue: a mix of wooded and open areas, plus playfields and shoreline, crisscrossed by many trails. There is also a significant amount of protected wetland area, and this year a larger portion of that wetland is out of bounds. Please respect the magenta crosshatch. Courses have been designed to avoid this.
  • The courses will feel like “long sprint” courses – the map is 1:4000 and there is very high feature density, plus the park is quite flat. You’ll arrive at features quickly – be sure to thumb your map and remember to look up before you overshoot. Man made features and distinct vegetation can both help you identify appropriate locations to divert from a linear feature. Watch out for parallel errors along the shoreline!  Pace counting may also be useful in some cases. As always, and especially with a compact area like Magnuson, be sure to check your control codes
  • Magnuson has active ongoing forest restoration projects so while the map has been updated, there are still areas where vegetation may be more or less open than the map suggests. Trails have also been updated (some added, some removed), but indistinct trails and small trails all greatly vary in visibility within the terrain, and some smaller trails may not be marked.
  • As of writing many marshy and historically soggy areas remain dry, though if the rain comes before Saturday expect to get your feet wet.
  • Intermediate/JV and above will all cross the park entry road. There is not a designated crossing point, please use caution when you cross.

SCHEDULE

This event is Pre-Registration Only

8:45 am PreRace Training Begins

9 am – Info Tent and Newcomer Instruction Opens

9:35 am – Start process begins

9:45 am – First start

12:45 pm – Last Start

1:00 pm – Post Race training begins

2: 45 pm – Course Closure

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

PUBLIC COURSE PRE-REGISTRATION PRICES

$22 base price
– subtract $5 for CascadeOC members
– subtract $5 for using your own e-punch

Become a member here.

Participating as a group? Just $5 for each additional adult (16+) group
member, no cost for additional minors.

What’s an e-punch?

An e-punch records your race. At each control, you’ll dip the e-punch into an electronic box, which will beep and flash as confirmation. After you finish, you’ll download the e-punch at the download tent and get a receipt that show which controls you visited and how long you took between each; these are your “splits.”

Part of the fun of orienteering is comparing your splits with people who completed the same course, and discussing the routes you took!

SIGN UP

Public registration will close Wednesday 11/16/2022 at 11:59:00 PM.

There is no Day-of-event registration.

Remember to also sign up for a start time for public runners.

 

Learn more about volunteering

Volunteers make these events happen! You can volunteer and participate on the same day, plus earn volunteer points to earn a free meet.

LOCATION

PARKING

Follow the Cascade OC directional signs to the E-4 parking lot. See the site map here.

 

CARPOOL

Looking for a carpool? Join the Yahoo listserv and share your request to find a ride.

THE MAP

As a large (1:10,000-scale), open venue with profusely scattered vegetation, Magnuson Park is often an early-season school league venue. Rather than a collection of areas with different personality, this is a single and diverse collection of grassland, dark green, trails, roads, and water areas, with one notable large hill.

Event parking is usually in the northernmost parking lot along with water, for easiest access to the shelter and restrooms.

Read more on the map page

Navigational Challenge: 3/10

Physical Challenge: 3/10

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.