Welcome to the Second

Suncoast Orienteering Championships

Saturday, March 22nd 2014 atFort de Soto Park

Important Event Information

Fort de Soto Park is at the same time….

…A fort that defended Tampa Bay …A bird sanctuary

…A WWII site to practice bombing …One of America’s best beaches

The Suncoast Orienteering Championships will be held at the North Beach/ Arrowhead area of Ft de Soto Park

Directions: Coming from north or south on I-275 take Exit 17 on to 54th Ave S going west. 54th Ave S is alternately called SR 679 and Pinellas BaywayProceed west about 2 miles going through a 75 cent toll (Sun Pass friendly) At traffic light turn left (south) on to guess what – SR 679/ Pinellas Bayway.Head south 5.8 miles (one more toll) to the Ft de Soto Park entrance. Be careful to observe the speed limits along this stretch of road. Once in the park turn left (west) on Anderson Road (the only road) and follow it just over 3 miles to Pavilion 6 at North Beach. (Follow the small orienteering signs in the park.) (Park entry fee $5 per vehicle. Load up your vehicle to save money.)

The Suncoast Orienteering Championships will be two events in one:

The Suncoast JROTC Championships open to all registered JROTC Orienteering teams

The Suncoast (public) Orienteering Championships

Registration Fee: JROTC check with Elliot Berman at Robinson HSPublic: FLO, O-USA members: $6 each, non-members $10.

Competition will be on five courses :Yellow A and B (2.6 Km each) – novice level navigation - Public and JROTCOrange – (3.5 Km) – intermediate level navigation – Public and JROTCGreen – (4.1 Km) – advanced level navigation – Public and JROTCBlue – (7 Km) – longer advanced level navigation – Public only

The two competitions will share one Start , Finish and Timing

The Ft de Soto Orienteering Experience will feature:

Fabulous beach views

Stretches of open woods

Fresh cut lines created to remove WWII shrapnel

Trail running past denser bush

The map scale will be 1:5,000 for all courses. 1 centimeter represents 50 meters.Contour Interval: 5 feetThe Ft de Soto orienteering map is the most detailed orienteering map to date in FloridaThe larger than usual scale helps create clarity for reading the fine detail

1:15,000

1:10,000

1:5,000Maps drawn to O-USA, IOF standards with the exception of a special symbol to show large stands of palmetto (green XXXs)

The Competition Map

The North Beach/ Arrowhead area is out of bounds for orienteering training.Use the Battery areabefore the22nd .

Lunches will not be provided by the event organizers.Cadets and the public are encouraged to bring picnic lunches to enjoy after the event. The area is well shaded and well supplied with picnic tables.There is a small canteen near the event ‘arena’. They will be advised to expect a larger than usual crowd on the 22nd.Restrooms are available near the event arena.Showers are available near the beach.

There is currently a fenced off area adjacent to the event pavilion.

The fence is for the protection of nesting owls. Please observe and enjoy the owls from a distance.(However the owls may be gone by the 22nd)

START TIMES:JROTC Cadets will have pre-assigned start times starting at 10 AMTwo minute intervals for each course.Start times will be written on the punch cards given out at RegistrationSTART Procedure: Be at the Start area about 10 minutes before your assigned start time.Two minutes before your start you will be called to start line to check your card and to make sure you have your safety whistle.One minute before start you are given your map to study.On ‘Go’ you are on the course and on the clock.

PUBLIC Participants: After Registration and course selection report to the START area to be assigned a start time. Public participants can start any time between 10 AM and 12:30 PM. They will be slotted in to vacant spots in the JROTC list.

Control Card/ Punch Card Checking:

Another special feature of this event is that due to the small area the courses criss-cross themselves. To make sure that the controls are visited in the correct numerical order there will be a check station somewhere on the course for some of the courses. Participants MUST hand over their card to be checked to see that no later punches have been gained.

Examples: 1) IF, for instance your card is being checked at #7 and they see you have already punched #9 and #10. Those punches will be circled and you will have to return to #9 and #10 to get the punches again or you WILL BE DQ’d

2) If for instance your card is being checked at #7 and it seems you have missed punching #2, planning perhaps to get it later you will have to go to #2 to get that punch and return to #7 to be checked in there. Again.

FINISH: The Finish will be at the Pavilion 6. All persons MUST report to the Finish. As this is a very popular park destination it will be very hard to find your vehicle to see if you in fact have left the area. For your safetyand ours pleasecheck in!

SAFETY BEARING: This is tough to give one safe direction. Basically if you come to salt water don’t go in it. If you come to a paved road with no line down the center go WEST. If injured give three sharp blasts of your whistle and repeat.

AWARDS

• JROTC medals and trophies for the top three individuals, male and female on each course and top three teams on Green, Orange and Yellow A as well as top three teams overall.

• Suncoast Prizes for the top three times, male and female, on each course. Yes, the JROTC are eligible for these awards, too.

TEE SHIRTS FOR SALE

Suncoast Orienteering will have a limited number of FLO tee shirts for sale. Price: $10 The shirts can be pre-ordered by writing to gordhun@rogers.com

Thank you for your attention.

We are looking forward to seeing you on the 22nd.