Nationals and Junior Nationals Training Day
This training day is intended for those travelling this Spring to Navy Nationals in Florida, US Nationals in Maryland, and Junior Nationals in Ohio. The open woods and spur-reentrant terrain at these national events is best reflected in Washington by our maps in Teanaway!
John Brady has designed several training vignettes to boost skills that are relevant to this type of terrain, mainly reading contours and trusting your compass.
There is a chance that we will need to change the training location due to snow levels. If this is the case, we will train instead at Frenchman Coulee near Vantage, WA. The training coordinator will email all attendees on March 4th to confirm the event location.
COURSES
Course designer(s): John Brady
All participants will do several short training courses throughout the day, with a total estimated distance of 7 km.
These courses are intended for orienteers who have some familiarity with contour reading and compass bearings. Those who are still learning will have hands-on instruction from a trainer.
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
Unlike an orienteering race, a training event is broken into shorter segments of navigation to allow participants to focus on specific skills and practice them in isolation. Between segments, we will spend time explaining each skill and it’s relevance to the terrain you can expect to see at the national competitions.
SCHEDULE
10:00 am: Distance estimation, contour reading, and compass bearing trainings
11:30 am: Choose-your-own-adventure course
12:00 pm: Break
12:30 pm: Full course
1:30 pm: Control pick-up
Bring water, lunch, raingear, and your compass! No epunch is needed.
PRICES
This training day is free, but space is very limited. Email cascadeotraining@gmaill.com to reserve a spot.
If you are not attending Navy Nationals, Nationals, or Junior Nationals this Spring, please consider sitting this one out.
SIGN UP
Register by emailing cascadeotraining@gmail.com to claim a spot!
We expect this event to fill up quickly.
LOCATION
PARKING
Carpool if you can! Parking will be on the side of the North Fork road.
CARPOOL
Looking for a carpool? Join the club email group or email the training coordinator and share your request to find a ride.
THE MAP
Part of a chain of orienteering maps in the Teanaway Community Forest, Lick Creek is rugged, challenging, and beautiful. There is a ton of contour details and large areas without trails, making this one of Cascade’s most challenging and rewarding maps to navigate. Vegetation becomes quickly outdated here, so do not rely on vegetation alone; contours are your best friend!
New orienteers should consider choosing a shorter or easier course than usual.
Lick Creek is rugged and moderately hilly, with some especially steep areas that nice course designers try to avoid. Deadfall on the ground makes running or hiking more strenuous.
Read more on the map pageSAFETY & ETIQUETTE
Return to the Finish
All participants MUST return to the finish before departing.
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.
