October 29, 2017

Vampire-O Results



Vampire-O Results
We had a pretty good turnout for a dark and stormy night on a new course. A total of forty people took off to brave the vampires. I wasn’t sure how the vampires would work out, would they find anyone? That definitely wasn’t a problem, it sounds like most everyone was a vampire at least twice. The only person I know for sure who was never a vampire was Nikolai and maybe Ben. Maybe next year I’ll figure out how to track the map exchanges between teams.  


The results are attached but they are really the luck of the draw with so many vampire exchanges going on. The poor luck of having the vampire card when the course closed fell to John Murray and Emily & Aleksi Morgan.

A huge thanks to John Murray and Mike Teller for spending countless hours creating a new map for Eagle Island. Also thanks to Mike and Madonna for helping out on race day.

Strategy in the Streets

Once again it’s time for the annual Street Challenge in central Boise! 
In an effort to make the street challenge more exciting and even more challenging, there are two significant changes to this perennial CTOC meet that will make planning and strategizing route selection as well as time management very important:
-        Two courses!

  • Course 1 is a much smaller "run only" course.  The purpose is to encourage both runners and bikers to attempt collecting some controls points (and bonus points) before starting on course 2.
  • Course 2 is a standard street challenge course available to both runners and bikers.   This course will be on a much larger map than Course 1.  Some of the largest point values on this map will likely only be collected by bikers.

Bonus Points!
  •      Controls will be grouped by point values.  Some of the controls will offer an additional bonus if a competitor gets all the controls with the same point value on the same course.
Original CTOC Street Challenge rules (the same as past street challenge events):
  • Score-O course format, where you can collect controls on a course in any order within the specified 3 hour time limit.
  • Competitors arriving after the time limit will be penalized on a 10 point per minute overage basis.
  • No conventional orienteering flags.  Instead when you arrive at the control circle, you answer a multiple choice question that can only be determined on site.  
  • Wrong answers will be penalized - so guessing is discouraged.
  • Very large meet area, roughly 3 miles by 2.5 miles.
  • USGS satellite map is used, with no street names.  Map contact is crucial!
  • There will be both bike and run classes of competition, however there will be one overall winner with the most points from either class that will be crowned Street Challenge meet champion, so strategy is very important!

New rules for 2017 CTOC Street Challenge:
  • Course 1 is optional and is a “run only” course. Any or all of the controls points can skipped.
  • Course 1 map and score sheet must be turned in (or skipped) at the start before receiving their Course 2 map from race officials.
  • Once a competitor starts on Couse 2, they may not go back to Course 1 to collect points!
  • Course 1 is intended to be able to finished completely in approximately 1 hour (or less) if a competitor decides to collect all points and bonus points available on Course 1.
  • The key strategy will be determining how much time to spend on Course 1 collecting points before returning to the start and handing in your Course 1 map & answer sheet and then receiving your Course 2 map & answer sheet and starting on Course 2.

So, there are 3 ways to complete:
  1. Run only competitors: Will start running on Course 1, and finish on Course 2.
  2. Run/Bike competitors: Will start running on Couse 1, and then bike on Course 2.
  3. Bike only competitors: Will skip Course 1, and start biking on Course 2.

Date:  Sunday, November 5th, 2017
Time(s):  
9:15AM          Both course 1 and course 2 maps will be distributed for study.
9:55 AM         Course 2 maps will be collected from competitors that are doing both courses.
Course 1 maps will be collect by competitors that are biking only.
10:00 AM       Mass start.
1:00 PM          Time limit – Penalty points for anyone arriving to start/finsh after this time.

Please remember that Sunday marks the end of daylight savings time and the beginning of standard time, so meet will start at 10am standard time (1 hour later than the day before)!

Start/Finish:  Ann Morrison Park, just south of Boise River footbridge.
Time Limit:  3 hour limit
Classes:  Bike, Foot
Cost:  $10 adult, $5 junior for one day club dues; free to club members.
RSVP: To minimize waste please RSVP email me no later than Friday night, Nov. 3rd .
My Email addresses is : mbading AT syzeo DOT com
Thanks - Mike

More details with rules and scoring will be posted on the CTOC website later this week.

October 6, 2017


Vampire O is back!

The Vampire O is back and at a brand new location! Did you know that Eagle Island State Park was originally a prison farm? On the eve of Saturday the 21st it will be transformed into the site for the return of the greatly missed Vampire O
It’s been a while, so in case you didn’t know, or don`t remember, the vampires and you come out at night. The Vampires will try to steal your map and all your valuable control points, then you become the vampire. Then it`s your turn to regain some points, you must hunt down another participant and steal their map!  

So Grab your lamp, and join us for a night of Orienteering in the Dark. It will be spooky out there, you may hear the faint sound of old rusty chains near site of the old slaughterhouse.  

Date:  Saturday, October 21st
Location:  Eagle Island State Park
(park entrance is now from State Street)
Format:  Score
Mass Start:  7:15pm. Don’t be late!!

Time Limit: 1 hour
Cost:  Maps $5 junior or $10 adult/team, CTOC members free, ($5 vehicle entry fee)


Make sure you pay the $5 vehicle entry fee on the way in at the entrance kiosk. For a bargain the Idaho State Park Passport is only $10 for full year access to all 30 state parks.
 
Event start is at the Harrier Shelter by the park office. Park at the main paved parking area.

Rules:

1. 2 Vampires will start 3 minutes after the mass start

2. Vampires have a blank vampire punch card worth 0 points

3. Vampires attack orienteers by getting within 5 meters and yelling “vampire attack”, the victim must then surrender their punch card to the vampire. They then receive the “vampire card” and become the vampire.

4. Just like in tag the vampire can’t immediately tag back but must find another victim

5. All controls are worth the same amount of points, 10 points. They can be visited in any order.

6. Penalty of 10 points per minute if you are back late. Be back on time!

7. There is no separate beginner/intermediate/advanced course. The time limit is one hour. It is up to you to determine how many controls you can collect within the time limit. Remember you must be back by the time limit or lose massive points. You had better be a runner if you try to collect all of the controls. But remember, no matter how good you do you may be attacked by a vampire and lose your points, but you may end up with better points.

8. If you don’t want to be attacked by vampires you have the option of carrying “holy water” to ward off vampire attacks. Anyone carrying a 1 gallon jug of water is immune from vampire attacks. You must however bring your own jug, and you must carry it by hand at all times.

9. You can compete as a group but must remain together.

10. Ranking is by highest points and then quickest time.

11. Don’t forget a flashlight or headlamp, please no super bright headlamps, you don’t want to take the fun out of the dark. Also you must have a watch so you are back in time. Costumes are encouraged but remember you will want to run in them.

 It will be almost dark by the time we start, so plan accordingly.

The Vampire O has been a very popular event in the past. Please RSVP with how many maps you need so we print enough for everyone. Email to mmschuste (at) yahoo (dot) com by Thursday evening Oct. 19th.
 
 

October 2, 2017

Queen (Mine) for a Day

Sunday was ladies' day at the Queen Mine meet. Ever so aptly named, the Queen Mine drew five women to tackle the steep slopes and rough ground. Only Jay Morgan failed to get the memo that men were not welcome. But, we let him run with the women anyway.

Everything was all Wright. Although it was labeled a beginner course, it was really an orange-level  course that Katrina completed in 32 minutes and 12 seconds, no small feat considering that the grass was taller than she was in a few places. Katrina navigated at a level way above the beginner class while Melanie was out racking up a very impressive winning time of  1:15:32 on what was euphemistically designated as the intermediate course.

A few words about that intermediate course: It was intermediate only in that it lacked the gratuitous extra horizontal distance usually inserted only to gratify our indefatigable ultra-runners. Anywhere else in the country a course with 400 meters of elevation gain and loss would be regarded as excessively challenging. The Queen Mine's steep slopes and rough ground do present a challenge. And that terrain challenge is not without its navigational challenges either as it traverses re-entrants, rock features and is punctuated by dense vegetation.

Melanie Schuster followed Melanie Wright with a solid performance at 1:43:52. Due to injuries we hadn't had the pleasure of Kerry Davis's company for some time. As a bonus Kerry introduced her friend Natalie to our sport as they worked the course as a team. Kerry and Natalie finished in 1:55:06. It just wasn't the guys' day with Jay Morgan at 2:27:00. As for me, I'm a guy too. It showed as I took two-and-a-half hours to pick up controls.

Much thanks to the Wright girls for picking up the orange course. Mike Teller was kind enough to help me carry equipment to the start and, more important, to keep me company with good conversation. Greg Davidson and Melanie Schuster carried almost all of the equipment and supplies out and waited for me to return from control pickup which they followed up with some planning for the next meet.

Our next meet is the ever popular Vampire-O on Saturday, September 21. Thank you to Melanie Schuster for securing permission for us to use Eagle Island State Park. Mike Teller and I will begin field work on the new map this week. As we've begun mapping and planning we've become increasingly excited about Eagle Island both for our Vampire-O and maybe for a daytime classic. Thanks to Greg and Melanie for directing Vampire-O. It's going to be fun.

John Murray
Meet Director