Sophie's Flat

We're excited to offer two days of orienteering near Wickenburg. On Saturday, October 27, we host a 2-hour Night-O at our Sophie's Flat event site northeast of Wickenburg. On Sunday, we present both a Score-O and free navigation practice at the same site. Sophie's Flat is an excellent example of high-desert vegetation nestled in the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains. We hope you'll consider joining us for a great weekend of navigation fun.

The terrain is a mixture of rocky outcroppings and rolling hills with a medium level of desert vegetation. While the desert fauna in some areas is sparse and runnable, other areas have a higher concentration of prickly plants to navigate through. On almost all parts of the map, terrain visibility is excellent. Water is available at the timer's table. While we plan to have a water stop on the course, you should consider bringing your own water bottle or camelback.

Saturday, October 27, 2018, 5:30 PM – 8:15 PM at Sophie's Flat .

The Night-O is intended to provide a less intimidating transition from day orienteering to night orienteering. The Night-O course is just like a Score-O with one main difference - the course occurs at night. Participants have two hours to visit as many destinations as possible. The course is designed for a "yellow" level of navigation difficulty - easy in the day, intermediate at night.

We will have a pre-race briefing at 6:00 PM. We'll hand out maps at the briefing, giving you a short amount of time to plan your route. All participants start together (mass start) at 6:15 PM. All competitors must be back and checked in by 8:15 PM. Time penalties apply to those who arrive after 8:15 PM. Any arrivals back after 8:30 will be scored as “Did Not Finish.”

Schedule:

Registration/check-in opens at 5:30 PM.

Pre-Race Briefing/Distribute Maps at 6:00 PM.

Mass Start at 6:15 PM.

Last time to return without a time penalty: 8:15 PM.

Course closes, participants marked as DNF: 8:30 PM

• Event Fees .
• Pre-register . Pre-registration deadline Thursday, October 25 at 11:59 PM. Fees increase for on-site registration.

Sunday, October 28, 2018, 8:30 AM – 1:00 PM at Sophie's Flat .

People of all skill levels are encouraged to participate. You may start the Score-O anytime after the course opens at 9:00 am until 11:00 am. To get the full 2 hours on the course, you must start no later than 11:00 am. Everyone, competitors and recreational participants alike, must be off the course and checked into the timer's table by 1:00 pm when the course closes. The penalty for returning past the 2-hour limit is 10 points per minute.

Schedule:

Registration/check-in opens at 8:30 AM.

Courses open at 9:00 AM or earlier.

Last time to start a course: 11:00 AM.

Cours closes at 1:00 PM.

• Event Fees .
• Pre-register . Pre-registration deadline Thursday, October 25 at 11:59 PM. Fees increase for on-site registration.

Sunday, October 28, 2018, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM at Sophie's Flat .

We're trying something new at Sophie's Flat. For those of you who would like additional navigation experience with a high likelihood of success, we're offering several hours of free navigation practice at your own pace. We'll provide a GPS unit with pre-programmed waypoints that mark our destination markers. You can navigate at your own pace to as many locations as you like. If you get turned around navigating with the map and compass, you're welcome to use the GPS to find your way to the waypoint.

The free navigation practice comes with a small catch. We would like you to retrieve each destination marker you visit and return it to the start/finish location. In this way, you'll help reduce the work required for us to clean up after our events. You get free navigation experience with an electronic aid to help if you need it. We get control retrieval.

If you decide to do the navigation practice, we'll contact you by e-mail to arrange a specific time to meet at Sophie's Flat. The navigation practice is recommended for those with an intermediate level of navigation skill. It's not the best for beginners.

Schedule:

Registration/check-in opens at 8:30 AM.

Free navigation practice starts at 9:00 AM or earlier.

Last time to start the navigation practice: 1:00 PM.

Practice course closes at 3:00 PM.

• Pre-register . Pre-registration deadline Thursday, October 25 at 11:59 PM. Fees increase for on-site registration.

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.

In order to promote pre-registration for our events, the Club has implemented a new pricing structure. Participants who pre-register for the event will benefit from our priority pricing. While on-site registration is still available, pricing for on-site registration is more expensive. In addition, we'll print some extra maps for each of our events, but we cannot guarantee a map for those who do not pre-register.

Pre-Registration
Pre-Registration is open until Thursday, October 25 at 11:59 PM. After the pre-registration closes, you can still try your luck and register on-site. We will have pre-printed maps for everyone who pre-registers. We cannot guarantee a map for those who register on-site.

Click here to pre-register.
Click here to see our fee table.