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Map runner finishingGet your Sprint on... and

Sprint the Golden Gate

Discover parks of San Francisco. Outwit the competition... Celebrate... Race... Enjoy!!

The Festival of Sprints will consist of five stages, held entirely within the City of San Francisco. All five stages are produced by Get Lost!!. The first stage is a World Ranking Event. The following stages will constitute an elimination-bracket tournament.

There have been some last-minute changes. Stage Two will now occur in Golden Gate Park; Stage Three, at Land's End; and Stage Four, in McLaren Park. All info on the respective Stages' pages has been updated.

Stage One results; overall tournament results. All splits are on Attackpoint.

Outwit!!All About It!

The formula for this event is exactly the same as for the 2009 Sprint Series Finals, hosted in San Francisco by terraloco, BAOC, and Get Lost!!, and is very similar to the Original Sprint Finals, held in 2005 in New Hampshire. Runners race head to head and advance to the next round by winning their heat, or by showing one of the best overall times. The format is different from the Nordic O Tour—we want those who are eliminated to have to race for something in the following stages, and treat them on equal footing with those who advance.

Seeding for the brackets will be based on the results of Stage One, and on the organizers' discretion. The following represents a change from the originally announced format:
All heats for the elimination tournament are gender- and age-neutral. At the start of Stage Two, there will be a single set of eight heats, each containing 4 or 5 people. After Stage Two, the top half of the field will form Division One, and the other half will be in Division Two. For the following three Stages, courses for Division Two will be shorter than those for Division One. We will also honor requests from those who qualify for Division One to join Division Two instead.

All of the venues are easily reachable by public transit. Some of the venues (Stages One/Two and Three; and Four and Five) are walking/running distance apart. Stage Five is a 12 minute drive to San Francisco International Airport (cabs and transit work, too).

Overall tournament prizes will be given to the top three men and women in the following categories: Open, Juniors (age 20 and under on 31 December 2011), Masters (age 40 and over on 31 December 2011), and Supervets (age 55 and over on 31 December 2011).

Our Sponsors!!

This event has been made possible by the following businesses and organizations. We are delighted to offer a sampling of their products as prizes for this event. Please patronize their offerings and services, and contribute to their programs:

Sports Basement is a sporting-goods retailer with four locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and an online store. Besides selling the best brands at basement prices, SB is a community center, a hangout, a hub. Its stores are like a second home to local athletes and groups who use its space daily for club meetings, potlucks, and to start workouts out of its front doors.

Friday packet pick-up will be at the Presidio Sports Basement. The store is offering 10% off on everything to Sprint the Golden Gate participants on that day only.

Sports Basement
o21e.com

o21e makes a line of clothing for the map sport in Los Angeles, California.

The mission of Road ID is twofold: One, to educate outdoor enthusiasts about the importance of wearing ID. Two, to provide these athletes with innovative identification products that they will want to include as part of their gear. The dream of Road ID is to see the day where wearing ID is as common among athletes as wearing a seatbelt is among motorists.

Road ID
SPORTident.us

The best deal on SPORTident equipment!

Scarborough Orienteering, aka Orienteer.com, is a leading vendor of equipment. They carry compasses, SPORTident cards, Inov-8™ shoes, and other gear and produce their own line of o21e suits, club uniforms, and gaiters. Orienteer.com also offers map and compass instruction and group outings, including orienteering and team-building training, as corporate offsites.

Orienteer.com

Event Schedule

Friday 18 November

12:00  Check-in and packet pickup open,
       Presidio Sports Basement
14:00  Model event opens, Golden Gate Park
17:00  Model event closes, Golden Gate
       Park
20:00  Check-in and packet pickup close

Saturday 19 November

08:30  Check-in and packet pickup open,
       Stage One: Golden Gate Park
09:00  First start, Stage One
11:00  Brackets published
11:30  First start, Stage Two: Golden Gate
       Park
13:30  Lunch, Outer Richmond/SF
15:30  First start, Stage Three: Land's
       End
19:30  Dinner and WRE awards, South of
       Market/SF

Sunday 20 November

09:00  First start, Stage Four: McLaren Park
11:30  First start, Stage Five: McLaren Park
12:30  Award presentation and closing
       ceremony
View Larger Map

Transit directions to Sports Basement: Bus 43 approaches Sports Basement the closest, to within about 800 m. A number of lines intersect with 43-Masonic, but there is not a single-line option from central San Francisco.

Stage One: World Ranking Event, Golden Gate Park

Course setter's notes

  • Some boulders are smaller than 1.0 m.
  • Some of the medium green is coniferous trees with low branches, limiting visibility.
  • There are controls that are close to 30 m apart, on different features. There are also controls that are close to 60 m apart, on similar features. (IOF rules are in effect.)
  • We do not plan on having road crossing guards. Runners are responsible for not getting hit by cars. We'd rather deal with the slight unfairness this introduces, rather than with injured competitors.
  • There are flower beds, shown with the 528.1 Area with forbidden access symbol, that are out of bounds. Their boundaries are obvious in the terrain, and there are no additional markings on the ground to denote these boundaries.

Stage One will feature four courses: separate WRE courses for Men and Women, a shorter Masters/Juniors course, and a beginner/intermediate course. These courses will earn Orienteering USA ranking points on Blue/Red; Red; Green/Brown; and Orange/Yellow/White, respectively. All participants on the two WRE courses will be eligible for World Ranking points.

Golden Gate—architected as the counterpart to Central Park in New York—is a large park. Assembly area and finish will be at Old Speedway Meadow. There is some parking at this location; arrive early to guarantee a spot. All of the park west of Highway 1/19th Avenue/Crossover Drive/Park Presidio Blvd. is embargoed as of 10 October 2011. The rest of the park is not embargoed. Part of the embargoed portion of the park will serve as the venue for the Model event, available on Friday and Saturday morning before the Festival.

The original orienteering map of Golden Gate Park had been created over decades, and was updated many times. As a result of the IOF Adviser's visit in October, the existing map was deemed unfit for a World Ranking Event, with no possibilty of further improvement. A brand new map was created in October and November of 2011 by Vladimir Zherdev. This map is in ISSOM, 1:5,000, 2.5 meter contours.

Courses for the last two events held on the old map are featured here and here.

Hazards: Discarded hypodermic needles present a possible danger. There aren't many encampments in this part of the park, which is foggier and farther from services than the eastern half, but there are some. If the native is upset, please say hi and I'm sorry. The course crosses two roads with some traffic; please be careful.

View Larger Map

The terrain is a typical urban park, mostly wooded with sparse trees. The vegetation is intricate and visibility varies greatly. Terrain/off-trail shoes are recommended. Full leg cover is not necessary.

The Model event area will be on the way to the start of Stage One. One control will be set up in the Model area, starting at 08:30. The walk to the start will be 0.8 km.

Final course specifics

There will be a spectator control on all four courses.

Men 2.89 km 75 m climb 22 controls 15:00 winning time
Women 2.42 km 65 m climb 20 controls 15:00 winning time
Masters/Juniors 2.19 km 50 m climb 16 controls 15:00 winning time
Beginner/Intermediate 2.02 km 50 m climb 12 controls 15:00 winning time

Transit directions: Take the N-Judah Muni line (it runs underground along Market St. near the event hotel). Get off at 40th Avenue and walk two long blocks north to the park.

The staff for Stage One is:
  • Event Adviser: Mike Minium (Orienteering Cincinnati), IOF Senior EA;
  • Event and Course Consultant: Boris Granovskiy (Cambridge Sports Union);
  • Map Coordinator: Vladimir Gusiatnikov (Get Lost!!);
  • Course Designer: Mikkel Conradi (Cambridge Sports Union).

Stage Two: Golden Gate Park

Presenting a change to previous announcements, Stage Two will also occur in Golden Gate Park. The new ISSOM map created by Vladimir Zherdev (at 1:5,000, with 2.5 m contours) is large enough to host two Stages. We are excited to announce that courses for Stage Two have been created and vetted by Adrian Zissos, IOF Senior Event Adviser, of the Foothill Wanderers OC of Calgary.

There will be exactly eight heats. Winners of each heat advance to the higher bracket for Stage Three: they become Division One, the Antelopes. Runners with top eight times who don't win their heats also advance. The rest of the field, Division Two, become the Badgers.

In addition to the single course for the Tournament, we will also offer a beginner/intermediate course, and a COOL Junior (California Outdoor Orienteering League) event will be run concurrently. All info about the terrain and hazards that applies to Stage One also applies to Stage Two. The finish will be in the same location as for Stage One, and the start for Stage Two will be within 100 meters of the finish.

Preliminary course specifics

There will be a spectator control on both courses.

Tournament 2.20 km 45 m climb 18 controls 12:00 winning time
Beginner/Intermediate 2.00 km 40 m climb 14 controls 12:00 winning time

Stage Three: Land's End

Important: Some of the gaps between impassable features on this map are as small as 0.2 mm. We apologize, and will fix this in the next edition of the map.

Can you run through this?

The area is a mix of urban terrain and forest, extending over the Palace of the Legion of Honor and Veterans Affairs Hospital. High cliffs frame the northern edge, dropping into the ocean. Views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands, with their stark hills, are postcard-perfect.

Part of the terrain is abandoned military installations, with intricate stairways and passages. There is more of the disagreeable vegetation at this Stage than at others; full leg cover may help. Terrain/off-trail shoes are recommended.

The parking will be at the USS San Francisco Memorial parking lot. Assembly area, start, and finish will be within 100 meters of the parking.

Can you run through this?

The event will be on an entirely new, ISSOM map at 1:5,000 (note change) with 3.0 m contours (a deviation from ISSOM), created in August through November of 2011 by Bill Cusworth and Heidi Cusworth. Courses will also be by Bill and Heidi. In each division, there will be four heats. The winners of the Antelope heats, along with the fastest four Antelopes who don't happen to win the heats, are promoted to Cheetahs. The rest of the Antelopes become the Deer. The Badgers are similarly split into the Emus and the Foxes.

We will again implement a twist that worked so well in the 2009 tournament, keeping runners on their toes—the top Badgers, up to two, can be promoted to Deer if they happen to beat the slowest Antelopes (who are relegated to Emus). This way, someone who has made a regrettable error in Stage Two still has a top-half placing to aspire to, and all Antelopes have to reaffirm they belong in the top 16.

Hazards: Steep, tall cliffs at the lower reaches of the area. Falling off one will likely be lethal, so please don't get too close. This is the most heavily used area of the five, so beware of running into people—they won't see you coming out of the bushes.

The two Sprint courses—Division One (longer) and Division Two (shorter)—will be on the short side. There will be no beginner or intermediate courses offered in conjunction with this Stage.

View Larger Map

Transit directions: Pick up Muni bus 18 at 46th Ave. and Lincoln Way, and ride it for a few minutes to 45th Ave. and Balboa St.—from there, it's five blocks to the assembly area. Or run 2.4 km!

Final course specifics

There will be a spectating opportunity on both courses.

Division One 2.31 km 90 m climb 15 controls 14:00 winning time
Division Two 1.81 km 75 m climb 12 controls 15:00 winning time
The sun will set into the ocean as runners pack their cars and buses, ready for a sumptuous dinner in the heart of San Francisco...

Stage Four: McLaren Park

McLaren Park, ver. 09Mar2010

The park was used in 2009 for two of the stages of the Sprint Finals, and twice in 2010 for local BAOC events. This Sunday-morning stage will be entirely on the existing map, by Vladimir Gusiatnikov, Vladimir Zherdev, John Fredrickson, and Jay Hann. Courses by Vladimir Gusiatnikov.

Each of the four brackets will split in two, forming, in the order of placing, the Gazelles, the Hares, the Impalas, the Jaguars, the Kangaroos, the Lynx, the Moose, and the Nandus. Advancing are the winners of each of the two heats in each bracket, and the non-winners with the fastest two times. As in Stage Three, losers of the upper brackets can be knocked into a lower bracket by a faster runner (up to one per bracket); for example, the fastest Fox can jump up to become a Lynx, relegating the slowest Emu to the Moose.

The terrain for this Stage is quite a bit like that for Stages One and Two, but hillier. Full leg cover is unnecessary, and terrain/off-trail shoes are recommended.

Hazards: None known. There are many dogs in the park on weekdays, most under care of professional walkers, but they usually aren't there on weekends. If this changes, we'll let you know.

There will be no beginner or intermediate courses offered in conjunction with this Stage.

Transit directions: Take the Muni T-Third train (it runs underground along Market St. near the event hotel) to Gilman/Paul station. Change to bus 29. Get off at Mansell Street and John F. Shelley Drive (the second Mansell and Shelley, since Shelley is a loop). Use the map to find the animals!

View Larger Map

The start and finish will be within view of the parking/assembly area.

The map for McLaren Park is not fully ISSOM compliant because the distance between magnetic north lines is 200 m and not 150 m.

Final course specifics

There will be spectating opportunities on both courses.

Division One 2.95 km 153 m climb 25 controls 18:00 winning time
Division Two 2.33 km 135 m climb 19 controls 19:00 winning time

Stage Five: McLaren Park

The last stage—The Final—will also be in McLaren Park, staying on the existing map. (We hope to be able to expand the map and bring it to you in time for the next festival of Sprints.) Courses fully worth of the Final will be set by Vladimir Gusiatnikov. All info about the map and the terrain for Stage Four also applies to this Stage.

A beginner/intermediate course will again be offered; a COOL Junior (California Outdoor Orienteering League) event will run in parallel. The Final will feature an arena and a speaker. The Gazelles—the top heat—will start first, giving the rest of the field ample opportunity to cheer. Awards will follow—after which there's still time to hightail it to your flight!

Hazards: There will be more dogs around than for Stage Four, quite possibly presenting a hazard to the runners.

The walk from Stage Four assembly area to Stage Five assembly area is 1.4 km (the parking is different and separate). The walk to the start of Stage Five is 0.7 km from the assembly area (slighly less from the parking); the finish is at the assembly area.

View Larger Map

Preliminary course specifics

There will be a spectator control on the Division One course only, and the runners will be visible from the finish/assembly area for a stretch of this course.

Division One 2.73 km 100 m climb 20 controls 18:00 winning time
Division Two 2.07 km 80 m climb 14 controls 14:00 winning time
Beginner/Intermediate 1.70 km 50 m climb 12 controls 13:00 winning time

Accommodations and Transit

Hotel rooms are relatively inexpensive in San Francisco, especially in November. We have secured a group deal on a block of rooms at Hotel Whitcomb; this hotel will serve as the event center. The rate is U.S. $85.00 per night, plus San Francisco tax, for regular rooms with either two double beds or with a single king-size bed, irrespective of the number of people in a room; and can be obtained by calling the front desk at +1 415 626 3182. This rate must be booked by 01 November, inclusive.

This is the same event center hotel as two years ago. The Whitcomb has nice rooms and sits in a stately, historic building literally on top of the Civic Center BART (subway) station on Market Street in downtown San Francisco. It is very conveniently located for attending the events, and the station is a 29 minute ride from San Francisco International Airport. The ride is relatively easy from Oakland Airport as well. San José International is not nearly as convenient, and will almost certainly require renting a car.

If you're looking for very inexpensive accommodations, San Francisco has quite a few hostels where you can book your spot for about $20 a night; you can look them up at Hostelworld. Make sure to expand the search to include all housing options—they also include small hotels, and read carefully the details about location (and proximity to transit) and also user ratings.

View Larger Map

All Stages can be easily reached by public transit. Instructions are given on the info tab for each Stage. Directions to Friday's packet pickup are on the Schedule tab. Directions to Saturday's lunch and dinner will be given with event-day instructions.

We recommend Hertz, an Orienteering USA partner, for car rentals. By booking through this link, you will be supporting U.S. orienteering. Our discount code will be displayed on the reservations page.

Packet pick-up will be at the Presidio Sports Basement on Friday, and at Stage One in Golden Gate Park on Saturday. There will be no packet pick-up at the event center hotel.

Entry and Registration

The registered entrant list is available.

Registration is open. You can register for the two portions of the Festival—the A event/WRE, Stage One; and the elimination tournament, Stages Two through Five—separately.

The fees are:
Stage One and WRE Adult (21 and
over)
Junior (20 and
under)
Enter and pay on or before Monday 17 October $29.00 $19.00
Enter and pay on or before Monday 07 November $34.00 $23.00
Enter and pay on or after Tuesday 08 November $44.00 $28.00
 
Elimination Sprints Adult (21 and
over)
Junior (20 and
under)
Enter and pay on or before Monday 17 October $70.00 $35.00
Enter and pay on or before Monday 07 November $80.00 $40.00
Enter and pay on or after Tuesday 08 November $100.00 $50.00
 
Stages Three and Five
beginner/intermediate
courses (for both)
Adult (21 and
over)
Junior (20 and
under)
Enter and pay on or before Monday 17 October $30.00 $20.00
Enter and pay on or before Monday 07 November $30.00 $20.00
Enter and pay on or after Tuesday 08 November $30.00 $20.00

Discounts!!

Orienteering USA is offering 50% off entry fees for Stage One, which is a sanctioned A level event, for first-time A event attendees. If you have never participated in a national-level orienteering A event, simply print out the coupon, have it endorsed by us at the event, and mail it in. This is a rebate—you will pay the regular entry fee during our registration process.

For Stage One/WRE, there is a $5 Orienteering USA/national Federation discount. In addition, any member of an orienteering club anywhere in the world may take $5 off each price ($5 off Stage One AND $5 off the tournament). And on top of these discounts, BAOC members can take yet another $5 off, for a total discount of $10 off each price (for example, the early price for an adult who is both a BAOC and Orienteering USA member is $14 for Stage One, and $60 for the rest of the Festival).

So, why not join Orienteering USA?

SPORTident electronic tag rental is included in the above prices. The beginner/intermediate courses do not require pre-registration.

Extras!!

Sprint 2011 T shirt design
Commemorative T shirt   $22.00 —high-quality o21e production
Saturday night banquet   $30.00 —a sumptuous affair!
Go register!!

Some animalsEvent-Day Information

Last-minute changes

In addition to venue changes and slight schedule changes, this is also important:

  • The map scale for Stage Three is 1:5,000 and not 1:4,000 as originally announced.
  • The map for Stages Four and Five is not fully ISSOM compliant because the distance between magnetic north lines is 200 m and not 150 m.
  • On Stage Three map, some of the gaps between impassable features are as small as 0.20 mm.
  • Beware flower beds at Stage One! They are out of bounds and the border is not marked, but is clear, in the terrain.
  • More course setter's notes are on the page for Stage One.

Model event

The directions to the model event are the same as for Stage One. Pick up your map on Friday at the Sports Basement.

You will get a map for the Model area, made by the same mapper and adjacent to the WRE area. On Friday there will not be any controls in the Model area, and you are requested to remain wholly on the Model map. On Saturday, controls shown on the Model map will be in the woods starting at 08:30. The Model area is on the way to Stage One start, so it's convenient to check out.

Registered entrant list

Stage One/WRE

            Zbynek Cernin          Men
            John Crowther          Men
            Joseph Doetsch         Men
            Donatas Ereminas       Men
            Ted Good               Men
            Jonas Kjäll            Men
            François Leonard       Men
            Patrick Nuss           Men
            Brendan O'Brien        Men
            Wyatt Riley            Men
            Matej Šebo             Men
            Greg Walker            Men
            Beat Zimmermann        Men

            Christine Friedrich    Women
            Toril Nes              Women
            Marie-Josée Parayre    Women
            Angelica Riley         Women
            Carol Ross             Women

            Bronwen Caplinger      Juniors

            Anne Billman           Masters
            Daniel Billman         Masters
            Wayne Caplinger        Masters
            Evan Custer            Masters
            Scott Drumm            Masters
            Werner Haag            Masters
            Tapio Karras           Masters
            Gary Kraght            Masters
            Olga Kraght            Masters
            George Minarik         Masters
            Franklin Poulsen       Masters
            Mike Poulsen           Masters
            Bill Pullman           Masters
            Dennis Wildfogel       Masters
            Vicki Woolworth        Masters
            Gavin Wyatt-Mair       Masters

Tournament

            Anne Billman           Division One
            Daniel Billman         Division One
            Zbynek Cernin          Division One
            Mikkel Conradi         Division One
            John Crowther          Division One
            Joseph Doetsch         Division One
            Donatas Ereminas       Division One
            Ted Good               Division One
            Tapio Karras           Division One
            Jonas Kjäll            Division One
            François Leonard       Division One
            Mike Minium            Division One
            Toril Nes              Division One
            Patrick Nuss           Division One
            Brendan O'Brien        Division One
            Marie-Josée Parayre    Division One
            Wyatt Riley            Division One
            Angelica Riley         Division One
            Carol Ross             Division One
            Matej Šebo             Division One
            Greg Walker            Division One
            Rex Winterbottom       Division One
            Gavin Wyatt-Mair       Division One
            Beat Zimmermann        Division One

            Evan Custer            Division Two
            Scott Drumm            Division Two
            Steve Gregg            Division Two
            Werner Haag            Division Two
            Franklin Poulsen       Division Two
            Mike Poulsen           Division Two
            Bill Pullman           Division Two
            Vicki Woolworth        Division Two

            Wayne Caplinger        Beginner/Intermediate
            Kristijan Mitrovič     Beginner/Intermediate

Social events

The place for lunch is yet to be announced. The dinner will be a catered banquet at the same location as two years ago, Delancey Street Restaurant. The menu will consist of an appetizer, soft drinks, and the following entrees:

  • CARIBBEAN GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST with mango sauce, avocado, oranges, spicy rice & black beans
  • BLACKENED MEATLOAF with garlic mashed potatoes & spicy slaw
  • LINGUINI WITH PRAWNS & GARLIC
  • PASTA PRIMAVERA angel hair pasta in a light red sauce with fresh tomatoes, garlic, & basil

There will be a cash bar for adult beverages.

View Larger Map

The length, total climb, number of controls, and expected winning times for each course (required as part of Bulletin 3 for the World Ranking Event) is posted on the pages for the respective Stages. The following is the remaining information required in Bulletin 3 for the WRE:

  • The dimensions of the control descriptions to be issued at the pre-start are 60 mm × 180 mm.
  • Complaints shall be made orally or in writing to Mike Minium, IOF Event Adviser. The time limit for complaints is 12:29:59 Pacific Standard time on 19 November 2011 (a change from the originally announced time due to jury member unavailability).
  • The Jury is Gary Kraght, Carol Ross, and Dennis Wildfogel.
  • The maximum running time for Stage One and WRE is one hour. There are no maximum running times for the other Stages.
  • And a reminder that IOF Competition Rules forbid the use of GPS devices unless there is "no display or audible feedback"—this applies only to the WRE. You may wear and use your GPS device throughout the elimination tournament, Stages Two through Five.

We maintain a discussion board for all our events on Attackpoint. Popular among map and adventure-sports athletes in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries, the site is the one to go to for the latest navigation-sport news, schedules, discussion, and gossip.

Forum for Sprint the Golden Gate.
Orienteering USA International Orienteering Federation

Created: 06 January 2011
Last updated: 22 November 2011, ver. 026

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