2024-25 Winter League #5 – Big Finn Hill Park

WINTER LEAGUE

Saturday, January 11 at Big Finn Hill – parking at Thoreau Elementary School in Kirkland, WA

Meet Director: Michelle Kastner

  • The start list is filling up fast. If you want to register but there are no open start times, please register anyway so we see how many spots are needed. We can open slots when the WIOL registration is completed. 
  • Pre-registration is required for ALL Winter League Events. There is NO day-of-event registration.
  • Public Reg will close 1/8/25 at 11:59 pm for this meet.
  • PUBLIC start time sign-ups are open from Dec 21st at 3 pm to Jan 8th at 11:59 pm.
  • ALL runners will be called to enter the start procedure line 8 minutes prior to their assigned/picked start time. Please be race-ready when your name is called.
  • 2024-25 Start Procedures can be found here.
  • Read the 2024-25 WIOL Rules here and the 2024-25 Public Rules here.
  • Site map is here.
  • Start list is here.

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 designer(s): Peter Golde

Public Courses

Controls Length Climb
Beginner 11 1.4 km 15 m
Advanced Beginner 12 2.1 km 55 m
Intermediate 16 2.9 km 65 m
Short Advanced 20 3.9 km 100 m
Long Advanced 23 5.3 km 135 m

WIOL Courses

Controls Length Climb
Elementary 11 1.4 km 15 m
Middle School 14 2.1 km 45 m
Rookie-Female 12 2.1 km 55 m
Rookie-Male 13 2.1 km 55 m
JV Female / JV College 16 2.9 km 65 m
JV Male 17 2.8 km 85 m
Varsity 20 3.9 km 105 m
College Varsity 23 5.3 km 135 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.

SERIES DIRECTOR NOTES

  • Venue Restrictions:  All baseball and soccer fields are Out of Bounds. Please keep us in good standing with this venue and do not enter the play fields at Big Finn Hill Park.
  • Safety AND Mandatory Crossing: See course notes below about a mandatory crossing and taking care on park roads and trails. Runners should be vigilant at all times at this venue!

COURSE DESIGNER NOTES

Scale: 1:5,000 Contour Interval: 2.5m
Big Finn Hill is like many northwest parks: varying density of tall forest, with a fairly dense trail network. It is fairly similar to Hamlin Park, although substantially larger. The heavy mountain bike usage keeps the trail network in good shape and easy to follow, and there is not much noticeable damage from the recent windstorm. The trails marked as intermittent (double-dash) may be very faint to non-existent; all other trails are very visible and easy to follow. Full leg cover is recommended.
The park is heavily used by mountain bikers, so keep an eye and ear out, especially when exiting the forest onto a trail. On Long Advanced, there is one trail with significant fast mountain bike activity near a control point that is noted on your control description.
Running north to south through the park is Juanita Drive, a large road with significant fast car and bicycle traffic. Courses 5 and above will cross Juanita Drive at a marked crosswalk shown on your map and shown as a mandatory crossing point on your control description sheet. There is a push-button to turn on warning lights on the crosswalk. There are two controls near to the crosswalk, which you will punch in both directions when you cross. As such, these controls will have two numbers on your map. For example, on Course 5 they will be marked as 7/15 and 8/14. This means you will punch control 7, cross the road, and punch control 8. On the way back, you will punch the same two controls (in the other order) as #14 and #15. For fairness, the time you take between the two controls will be deducted from your total time, so you can wait for traffic to stop without worrying about your time. Be sure to carefully look at the following control numbers so you proceed in the correct direction after crossing.
For safety reasons, crossing or running along the shoulder of Juanita Drive is prohibited except at this one crossing point. All other roads are in bounds and can be used.
The sports fields are marked as out of bounds on your map and should not be crossed.
Running east-west through the park is an access road for parking, with cars entering and exiting the park. All courses will cross it multiple times, and running along it may be useful in your course. Use caution and watch for cars whenever you are crossing.
As usual, stumps and rootstocks tend to come and go, so there may be unmapped stumps and rootstocks, and mapped rootstocks may have deteriorated. Stumps and rootstocks used for control locations have been confirmed as existing and are easily visible.

SCHEDULE

This event is Pre-Registration Only.

Schedule:

8:30 am – Training Begins

9 am – Info Tent and Newcomer Instruction Opens

9:38 am – Start process begins

9:46 am – First start

11 am – Training Ends

12:40 pm – Last Start

2:40 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

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

Participating as a group? Just $5 for each additional adult (16+) group
member, no cost for additional minors. Max group size is 4 participants.

Become a member for $5-25

Purchase your own e-punch for $40-$80

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

There is no Day-of-Event registration. Pre-registration will close Wednesday 1/8/25 at 11:59:00 PM.

Remember to also sign up for a start time for public runners.  Start time sign-ups for WL #5 will be open from Dec 21st at 3 pm to Jan 8th at 11:59 pm.

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

We have secured parking at both Thoreau Elementary and Big Finn Hill Baseball Fields Parking Lot. See site map here. Please leave the designated bus parking zone for the big yellow school busses!

CARPOOL

Looking for a carpool? Join the club email group and share your request to find a ride.

THE MAP

There are delights here for beginners and advanced orienteers alike. Buildings, ballfields, and trails provide a great beginner and intermediate area, while the forest is a giant knot of trails that can terrorize any advanced orienteer who becomes lazy about reading contours or using their compass to check the direction of the trail.

Read more on the map page

Navigational Challenge: 5/10

Physical Challenge: 5/10

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.