Papago Park

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Sprint Courses

Part of the Southwest Spring Weekend, February 20-28, 2016.
Pre-registration is required for this event! Pre-register here.
Directions to Papago Park here.

Introduction

On Sunday, February 28, the Greater Phoenix Orienteering Club and the Tucson Orienteering Club are partnering with the City of Phoenix to present two short "sprint" courses at Papago Park in Phoenix. These are "classic" courses where participants travel to destinations in the order they're marked on the map. The sprint courses will vary in length from 2-4 km. Courses are designed for winning times from 12-20 minutes. Most participants will finish each course in under 40 minutes. For experienced orienteers, the navigation on the sprint courses is intentionally easier than for normal orienteering events. The emphasis for sprint orienteering courses is on rapid decision making rather than on precision navigation. While our sprint courses are offered to seasoned orienteers as a nice alternative to regular events, beginning orienteers will also find that they are able to complete the courses without much difficulty.

NOTE: PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
Our permit with the City of Phoenix requires everyone to pre-register for this event. We are not able to accept registrations on site. To pre-register follow this link. (Note: Each person pre-registers individually. Cost for each orienteering club member/non-member: $10/$13)

The Papago Park sprints are part of the larger Southwest Spring Week (SWSW) from February 20 through February 28. Please see the Tucson Orienteering Club website for discounts and more event information.

Schedule: Sprints

8:30 Event Setup. No on-site registration available.
Pre-register for the event here.
9:00 Courses Opens
12:00 Last time to start a course.
1:00 Courses close.

What to bring:

Whistle Participants at orienteering events are required to carry a whistle. Since orienteering involves navigating off-trail, participants can sometimes travel to areas that are rarely visited by other users of the area. The whistle is a safety precaution which allows orienteering participants to signal their presence to others in case of an emergency.
Compass We prefer participants to bring their own compass. This will allow them to learn techniques during the training, then practice the techniques further at home. We will provide compasses to those who are not able to bring their own.
Sun screen. The training could continue past 10:00 AM. In September, the sun could already be high enough to be an issue. Even though we are starting fairly early in the morning, we suggest you apply sunscreen to avoid burning.
Water There will be water at the start/finish . However, as we could be out in the field for up to three hours, you may also want to bring your own water bottles or a camelback.
Sturdy hiking shoes and
Long pants
The training will involve hiking off trail, sometimes in areas with thick brush and different types of cactus.

Directions

Follow this link for directions to the Papago Buttes Event Site. (Sunday Sprint Events, 9:00 to 13:00)