Robbins Butte

Saturday, February 27, 2016

3-Hour Score-O
Classic Bike-O
5-Hour Adventure Race

Part of the Southwest Spring Weekend, February 20-28, 2016.
Full Week's Details, Pre-register here.
Directions to Robbins Butte here

Introduction

On Saturday, February 27, the Greater Phoenix Orienteering Club is offering three separate navigation events for your entertainment. Our primary orienteering event is a 3-hour Score-O set in the hills and plains around Robbins Butte. For those who would rather tour the area on mountain bike, we'll have an interesting Bike-O course that takes participants through more of the area. Finally, for those looking for a higher level of adventure, we're offering a longer Adventure Race that includes navigation by both mountain bike and on foot.

The Robbins Butte events are part of the larger Southwest Spring Week (SWSW) from February 20 through February 28. To pre-register for a Robbins Butte event or one or more of the other SWSW events, please see the registration website for discounts and more event information. (Note: Each person pre-registers individually. You can join up in teams at the event site.)

While not mandatory, we highly encourage you to pre-register if you'd like to join us for a Robbins Butte event. We will have a limited number of extra maps on the day of the events. We can't guarantee a map for those who do not pre-register. We'll do our best to accommodate day-of-event registrations. Please note that if you do pre-register, each participant must pre-register individually. You're welcome to organize into a team on-site.

Robbins Butte is located near the Buckeye Hills recreation area in the southwest part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. The terrain is a mixture of rocky outcroppings and flat desert. Due to the relatively flat terrain and sparse vegetation, cross-country travel is "friendlier" than on some of our other maps; there are very few areas of dense cactus or catclaw. On most parts of the map, terrain visibility is excellent.

Parental Consent Now Required (Click here for more information)
All participants under age 18 are now required to have a signed parental consent form on file with the club. You can complete the form before the event and either scan it and send it to us by e-mail or bring it with you to the event.

What to Bring:

The list below is the minimum recommended for participation in the Score-O. The Adventure Race has a special list of gear needed to complete the race. For more details, see the writeups for the Score-O, Adventure Race, and Bike-O events.

Volunteers

We need volunteers to help with equipment setup, registration and timing tables, and with bag pick-up after the meet. Please contact Glenn Haselfeld (glennoutdoor@cableone.net) if you can help.

3-Hour Score-O (D'OH!)

In a Score-O format participants have 3 hours to locate as many controls marked on their map as possible. Controls are worth points based on distance and difficulty. The "D'OH!" is the sound you might make when you approach a dummy control marker that isn't shown on your map. Dummy markers can appear anywhere, with the only rule being that a dummy control will be located at least 50 meters away from the actual control. So, stay focused and check the control code on the bag before you punch!

(Click here for general information concerning the Score-O event.)

People of all skill levels are encouraged to participate. A free beginner's clinic is available for new participants and those needing a refresher. We'll also offer a white/yellow learner's course.

You may start anytime after the course opens at 9:00 am until 11:00 am, although to get the full 3 hours on the Score-O course, you must start no later than 10:30 am. Everyone, competitors and recreational participants alike, must be off the course and checked into the timer's table by 1:30 pm. The penalty for being over the 3-hour limit (or after 1:30 pm) is 10 points per minute.

The course setting is still underway, but there will be 30+ controls, with a "setter's route" course length of ~18 km (11 miles).

We highly encourage you to pre-register if you'd like to do the Score-O. While we will accept day-of-event registration, we'll have a limited number of maps. We can't guarantee that we'll have a map for everyone who registers on-site. Please note that if you do pre-register, each participant must pre-register individually. You're welcome to organize into a team on-site.

Schedule: 3-Hour Score-O

8:30 Day-of-Event Registration Starts
Cost for each orienteering club member/non-member: $10/$13
(Guarantee a map by pre-registering from here).
9:00 Course Opens
9:30 Beginner's Clinic
11:00 Last time to start the course.
1:30 Course closes.

Classic Bike-O

For our mountain biking friends, we're offering a Bike-O course that will give participants a nice tour of the Robbins Butte area while allowing them to practice their navigation skills. While the Robbins Butte area contains a number of isolated groups of hills, the Bike-O course is fairly flat. The course follows roads and trails that bisect the area's numerous dry washes. The Bike-O course is a Classic course which means that individuals and teams visit control locations in numeric order. Participants are allowed to take whatever time they need to complete the course up to the time the course closes (1:00 PM).

Click here for general information concerning the club's Bike-O events.

We highly encourage you to pre-register if you'd like to do the Bike-O. We will accept day-of-event registration but we'll have a limited number of maps. We can't guarantee that we'll have a map for everyone who registers on-site. Please note that if you do pre-register, each participant must pre-register individually. You're welcome to organize into a team on-site.

Schedule: Bike-O

8:30 Day-of-Event Registration Starts
Cost for each orienteering club member/non-member: $10/$13
(Guarantee a map by pre-registering from here).
9:00 Course Opens
11:00 Last time to start the course.
1:30 Course closes.

5-Hour Adventure Race

For those of you who need a little more excitement, Saturday's events will include a 5-hour adventure race. During the adventure race, participants start the day by using a UTM tool to plot a number of points on a map then visiting the plotted points on foot. The Trek section of the race should take 40 minutes to one hour to complete.

Next, participants plot points on a second map then travel to the points by bike. During the Bike-O portion of the race, the controls are not located directly on roads or trails but are instead found on prominent features within 200 meters of the trail. The Bike-O section of the race will take stronger riders less than two hours to complete. We may throw a twist or two into the bike section of the adventure race to make things interesting.

Finally, participants will try to visit as many controls as possible on the same map used for the Score-O. For this section of the adventure race, the scoring is not the same as for the Score-O. For the Score-O section of the adventure race, each control is worth 1 point. Participants should simply try to visit as many controls as possible in the remaining time.

Click here for general information concerning the club's Adventure Race events.

We highly encourage you to pre-register if you'd like to do the Adventure Race. While we will accept day-of-event registration, we'll have a limited number of maps. We can't guarantee that we'll have a map for everyone who registers on-site. Please note that if you do pre-register, each participant must pre-register individually. You're welcome to organize into a team on-site.

Schedule: Adventure Race

7:00 Transition Area Opens, Registration Begins
Cost for each club member/non-member: $20
(Guarantee a map by pre-registering from here).
7:45 Mandatory Pre-Race Meeting
8:00 Mass Start
1:00 Race finishes. (Penalties apply for arriving after 1:00.)

Directions to Robbins Butte

Follow this hyperlink for directions to the Robbins Butte event site.