Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Sprints, Motala

[image:O flag] Pre-Register (Deadline: Thursday, March 25 at 11:59 PM)
Cost of Sprints, Motala: Free
(You're welcome to donate to the club here.)

Note1: Please pre-register for this event. During pre-registration, you will select a specific half-hour time window to start the event. Please plan to start the event in the half-hour window you select.
Motala Start Times: 7:30 - 9:00
Individual Event Start Times: 9:00 - 11:00
Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area, Central Avenue Parking, Sprints and Motala
Time Event(s) Location Directions Google
Maps		 Safety
Plans
Saturday, March 27, 2021
7:30 AM Motala Check-In Opens
First time to start the Motala (all 3 events) 		Rio Salado/Central Avenue Directions Placemark Safety Plan
9:00 AM Last time to start the Motala
Checkin for individual events begins
First time to start an individual event
11:00 AM Last time to start an individual event
12:00 PM All courses close

Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area

Introduction

We hope you'll join us as we move orienteering into the center of the Phoenix metro area. On Saturday, March 27, we'll present 3 sprints (shorter courses) and a Motala (combine all courses) at the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area just south of downtown Phoenix. The 3 shorter courses allow participants to practice their map reading skills at a spot closer to their homes in Phoenix. The courses are also beginner-friendly. Navigating in a river channel is easier than navigating in the open desert terrain of many of our other event sites. All our events at Rio Salado are free.

(You're welcome to donate to the club here. Donations are not required to participate in our Rio Salado events.)

The terrain at Rio Salado is flat. The park is built around the channel of the Salt River just south of downtown Phoenix. If you've never been to the park before, you'll be impressed at what the City has done to offer a beautiful park in the middle of Phoenix. Because of the water supplied by the Salt River, the area is lush with vegetation. The concentration of trees is probably greater in the Rio Salado park than in any other area in Phoenix.

Please note that a recent explosion in a gas line at the 7th Street bridge has slightly altered our event. Construction requires us to redirect our events away from the bridge. Our events still travel through some of the more dense areas of vegetation in the park.

Pre-Registration

NOTE 1: Maps for the sprint events are limited. In order to ensure yourself a map, you need to preregister for the event(s) you would like to do.

  • Register for an individual event (Sprint 1: 1.5 km, Sprint 2: 2.5 km, Sprint 3, 3.5 km) if you only want to do one of the courses.
  • Register for the Motala if you want to do 2 or 3 of the courses.

Click [image:O flag] here to pre-register. Deadline: Thu, Mar 25 at 11:59 PM.

Directions to the Rio Salado/Central Avenue event site are found [image:O flag] here .

Parental Consent:

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.

Fees

All events at Rio Salado are free.

(You're welcome to donate to the club here. Donations are not required to participate in our Rio Salado events.)

Schedule:

07:30 AM Check-in/Registration: Motala
Location: [image:O flag] Rio Salado/Central Avenue Start
09:00 AM Last time to start the Motala
09:00 AM Check-in/Registration: Individual Sprint Courses
Location: [image:O flag] Rio Salado/Central Avenue Start
11:00 AM Last time to start an individual "sprint" course.
12:00 PM Sprint Courses Close. Participants must complete any of the sprint courses by this time. We will start picking up bags at this time.

Details:

Sprints and Motala

Details of our Sprint events are found here.

Details of our Motala are found here.

Equipment

It is best if participants can provide their own compass. Suggested models include the Suunto A-30 and the Silva 360 Explorer. Other models are acceptable as long as they have a flat baseplate. We will provide compasses for those who do not have their own.

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. In late March, the sun at 10:00 AM is already 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 . You may also want to bring your own water bottles or a camelback.
Sturdy hiking shoes and
Long pants 		The sprint courses involve hiking off trail, sometimes in areas with thick brush.

Directions

Follow [image:O flag] this link for directions to the Rio Salado/Central Avenue event site.
[image:O flag] Rio Salado Safety Plan