The New England Orienteering Club

Logistics

Both day 1 and day 2 will have the same arena and finish. The arena is 100-200 meters from the main parking areas, but may be up to 800 meters from overflow parking.

Walks to the starts from the arena will be about 300 meters on day 1 (with no climb) and about 800 meters on day 2 (with 20 meters of climb). Note that on day 2 the Troll Cup and the Junior Nationals have different start areas. Follow signs to be sure to go to the right start. There will be water at the start area, but no toilets. You may leave clothing at the start area; all clothing will be brought back to the arena to be picked up. Warm-up should be done along the road and in the open fields; do not warm-up on trails or in the woods.

Start times for day 1 and day 2 of the Junior Nationals and day 1 of the Troll Cup will be posted a few days in advance on the OUSA event registration site. Start times for the chase start on day 2 of the Troll Cup will be posted on-line by Saturday evening and will be available in the arena Sunday morning.

The start procedure for day 1 and day 2 of the Junior Nationals will be as follows: Clear and check your e-punch when you arrive at the start area. You will be called to the line three minutes before your start time to check in. Two minutes before your start you will advance to where loose control descriptions are available. (They are also printed on the map.) One minute before your start time you will advance to where maps are available. Write your name or number on the back of the map. You may ask the attendant to check that you have the right map, but do not look at the map before you punch the start. At your start time you will punch the start control. The start triangle will be a short distance from where you punch. There will be a control flag at the start triangle, but you do not punch.

The start procedure for the chase start on day 2 of the Troll Cup is different. You will be called to the line to enter a single queue about two minutes before your start time. Leave enough time before you are called to pick up your control descriptions and to clear and check. You will stay in the queue, moving forward until, shortly before your start time, you are handed your map. Then at your start time, you will be told to “go.” You do not punch a start control when you start. If you are late to the start, your time will be calculated from your assigned start time, not from the time that you actually start.

Start times for the day 2 chase start will be determined by course (not by class) as follows. The day 1 winner of a given course starts first, and then each competitor on that course who finished within 40 minutes of the winner starts exactly the same interval back of the winner as their result on the first day. After 40 minutes, the start will switch to an interval start with one-minute intervals to keep the start window short. Different courses will start at different times to maximize spectating and simplify work for the start crew. Note that with a chase start (for those who start in the first 40 minutes), the order in which competitors cross the finish line on day 2 is the finish order for the combined two-day competition.

For both day 1 and day 2 there is no finish punch: you just run across the finish line. You will then be led by a chute directly to the download area. Unless you finish after the last starts have occurred, you will be asked to deposit your map in a bin. Maps will be available for pick-up as soon as everyone has started.

For both the Troll Cup and the Junior Nationals, awards will be given based on combined time from the two days.

Course Notes

The courses on both day 1 and day 2 are classic distance with a mix of technical and route-choice legs. These courses are physically very demanding, especially the advanced courses on day 2. Courses typically have a total climb of 5 or 5½% of the course length. And there are many large, steep hillsides, some with unsure footing. (There are route choices, however, that avoid the steepest sections). Please come prepared for the challenge! The time limit for all courses is three hours. Safety bearing is north when you are south of the main park road, and south when you are north of the main park road.

Control descriptions will be available at the start and are also on the map. Control descriptions for White and Yellow courses are in English. Control description for all other courses (including Orange) use IOF symbols only. I would advise less-experienced orienteers to familiarize themselves with the most common symbols for control features, and with what the different columns mean, which can be found in this IOF document. None of the more obscure control features have been used.

All courses on day 1 and day 2 cross the main park road. The day 1 crossings are beyond the arena and should have little traffic. Please be very careful crossing and running along the road. The day 2 road crossings will be at a control close to the road with a manned water stop. If there is a crossing guard present, please listen to his or her directions. On day 2, the White course has a short streamered section leading from the trail to a control close to the road crossing.

There will be at least one water stop on all courses, multiple water stops on the longer advanced courses. Please use cups and do not drink directly from the water jugs.

Some areas are densely packed with controls as little as 30 meters apart (if on significantly different features). Please check control numbers.

You will see a lot of pink streamers in the woods that have been used to mark wetland areas. They have nothing to do with the orienteering courses.

April is usually a wet time of year due to rain and snow melt. I would expect that the marshes will be full and that there will be some unmapped small streams in the reentrants. But the amount of precipitation over the week before the meet will be the major determining factor.

Mount Tom has a population of ticks, some of which carry disease. Full leg covering is strongly recommended, as well as a thorough tick check after you run.

Due to the rocky terrain and logs to step over, if you ever wear orienteering shoes with metal studs, Mount Tom is a good place to use them, especially if the woods are wet.

 

NEOC is what we make it!

Bring your ideas for improvement and offers to help to a Board member or Meet Director.
NEOC reimburses expenses, but the time and energy come from people who love orienteering!
NEOC is an all-volunteer organization.