Wednesday Evening Series #4
The fourth event in the 2018 Wednesday Evening Series will be held at Forest Park, in Everett. The Wednesday Evening Series is our most relaxed, casual set of navigation events, held in local parks once the weather warms up. These events are a little more low-key than those in the WIOL/Winter Series, and we always offer a barbecue afterward for all participants. Decompress after work, with or without your coworkers. Or meet your family at the park and enjoy a night off from cooking. Or meet a bunch of friends at the park for an evening of exploring together, chatting over some food, and finishing up with frisbee on the lawn.
Events in the Wednesday Evening Series are generally less challenging (both physically and navigationally) than many of our other events, and are therefore great for beginners and those less experienced with orienteering – while also offering a challenge to longtime participants of the sport.
COURSES
Course designer(s): Bob Forgrave
Course 1 (Beginner): 0.9K, 25m climb. Super simple loop course with handrails all around.
Course 2 (Advanced Beginner): 1.7K, 80m climb. Modified loop with frequent handrail switching.
Course 3 (Intermediate): 2.9K, 140m climb. Meaningful navigation choice at times, but no off-trail controls.
Course 4 (Advanced): 4.6K, 220m climb: As with most WES events, this will be Courses 2 + 3 with a map exchange in between. Still no off-trail controls, but you’ll be getting a memorable workout!
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
Forest Park, while small in acres, is an intriguing combination of several types of terrain (shaded city park, white forest, green forest, and open campus) with a variety of elevation changes thrown in for fun. We’ve got a full range of courses where we’ve achieved some distance and route choice with almost no course overlaps – primarily just for safety when crossing a busy road. The map has had some recent updates, so you should be able to navigate off of vegetation reasonably well.
SCHEDULE
5:00 pm – Registration and starts open.
7:00 pm – Registration and starts close.
8:00 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
$17 base price
– subtract $5 for CascadeOC members
– subtract $5 for using your own e-punch
DAY-OF-EVENT REGISTRATION
$20 base price
– subtract $5 for CascadeOC members
– subtract $5 for using your own e-punch
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
Online pre-registration closes:
Day-of-event registration is available by cash or check, made payable to Cascade Orienteering Club
LOCATION
PARKING
Parking will be located in the upper part of the park’s main lot, accessed from Mukilteo Blvd via Park Rd. Registration, start, etc. will be located nearby.
CARPOOL
Looking for a carpool? Join the Yahoo listserv and share your request to find a ride.
THE MAP
Forest Park is an intriguing venue. While it isn’t large at 1:5,000 scale, it is compartmentalized enough to feel like five or six different venues. Near central parking, there are open and rolling fields surrounded by picnic and playground equipment. Venture north and there are sometimes convoluted trails on steep hills in light woods. Further north, it’s so densely wooded and steep that we hardly use it, except at the edges.
Go south and you break through a building-heavy area into another campus of disbursed buildings on a wide, spacious lawn. West of that, and you’re back into semi-dense forest on a hillside.
Amazing sprint venue!
Read more on the map pageSAFETY & 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.
