All About It!

Each of the three days will showcase a different type of terrain, and require a different set of skills to navigate flawlessly—an exercise in contrasts. To conquer all three is a black-diamond-level achievement!

The Middle Distance on Friday afternoon will be physically challenging. Emphasis will be on reading detailed vegetation and rock features while ascending or descending a steep hillside. Saturday's Long Distance will also be physically challenging, and runnable. The key to excelling will be smart route choice in hilly terrain. The two Sprint events on Sunday will offer a balance between navigating around complex-geometry buildings of an urban campus and some fast forest racing.

On Friday and Saturday, a full set of seven courses is on offer. Middle Distance and Long Distance participants will earn Orienteering USA ranking points on their chosen course. A condensed slate of four courses will be offered at each of the two Sunday's races: separate 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.

Combined scoring for the Trials will be as specified by the most recent World Orienteering Championships Team Selection and Team Trials Rules (for the WOC Team), and by the 2014 JWOC Team Selection Criteria (for the JWOC Team). Awards for each of the four races will be separate. Award presentation for the Middle and the Long will be at the event center following the Long-distance race.

Awards for the Sprints will be given following the WOC Team announcement on Sunday. Each Sprint will feature a separate set of awards, given to the three men and women in the following categories: Open on the Men's and the Women's courses; Juniors (age 20 and under on 31 December 2014) on the Masters/Juniors course; Masters (women age 40 and over and men age 50 and over on 31 December 2014) on the Masters/Juniors course; and Supervets (age 55 and over on 31 December 2014) on the Masters/Juniors course.

Days One and Two are produced by Get Lost!!. Day Three is produced by terraloco. The map for Day Two is generously provided by the Bay Area Orienteering Club.

There will be a single non-competitive Map Hike category on the White course (on Friday and on Saturday) and Beginner/Intermediate course (on Sunday), suitable for juniors and for adults. Participants in this category will not earn Orienteering USA ranking points.

The event center will be at the Concord Road Runner Sports. The event center will be open according to the schedule. Sunday's venues are easily reachable by public transit.

Event Schedule Friday 21 March 2014 10:30 Check-in and packet pickup open, Road Runner Sports Concord 13:30 Check-in and packet pickup close 14:00 First start, Day One: Black Diamond Mines 17:30 Courses close Saturday 22 March 2014 08:00 Check-in and packet pickup open, Day Two: Diablo Foothills 09:00 First start, Day Two 14:00 Courses close 17:30 Award presentation, Road Runner Sports Concord 19:30 Banquet, Walnut Creek Sunday 23 March 2014 09:00 First start, Day Three, Sprint: Mills College 11:00 First start, Day Three, One-Person Relay: Mills College 12:30 WOC Team selection announcement 13:00 Award presentation, Mills College

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Transit directions to Road Runner Sports: BART to Concord station and walk 1.9 miles.

Babysitting will not be offered at this event. Venues are embargoed for training from 21 January 2014.

Embargo specifics: The affected areas are all of Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve west of Somersville Road, all of Diablo Foothills Regional Park, all of Shell Ridge Open Space, and all of Mills College.

Friday's event will be a Middle-distance navigation race with interval starts. A full slate of seven courses will be offered, each eligible for Orienteering USA ranking points.

Transit directions: You can get within 13.6 km of the parking by taking BART to the end of the line at Pittsburg/Bay Point. There are several buses that run to Antioch from the station, but they take forever. Your best bet is to cab it from the station, or find a ride.

Parking will be at the northern (Park Office) parking lot, which will be on your left immediately after you pass the park entrance booth. The finish is 1.5 km away (80 m climb), and the start is an additional 1.4 km away (120 m climb). There will be an optional shuttle circulating between the parking and the finish. Allow at least 45 minutes between the time you leave your vehicle at the parking lot and your assigned start time.

It is an about 25-minute drive from Road Runner Sports to Day One parking.

The rogaine-standard map of Black Diamond Mines was created in March of 2012 by Vladimir Gusiatnikov. It was used for a 2-hour and a 4-hour rogaine. The next edition of the map, featured on this page, was used for BAOC's inaugural TrailCross event in 2013. Vladimir Gusiatnikov and Jay Hann are presently mapping the area used for the Middle. The map will be in ISOM, at 1:10,000, with 5.0 m contours. Hazards: Some of the slopes are quite steep; shoes with a good tread are helpful. There are also several rows of tall cliffs; please don't get too close. Hypothermia can be an issue in March at Black Diamond with its open terrain; please wear layers if it's cold. There is a non-insignificant amount of poison oak in the forested part of the event area. We will provide a poison oak treatment product by our sponsor, Zanfel Laboratories, at the finish.

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Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in Antioch was an area of extensive coal and sand mining operations from the 1860s until the 1940s. Much of the Preserve incorporates a certain terrain type, extremely steep and barren hills, and that's what one usually takes away from photos and even most hikes in the Preserve. We won't use this terrain type for the Middle.

The courses will feature two other, distinct terrain types. One is a fairly steep, fully forested hillside featuring intricate vegetation changes and some rock detail. Runnability and visibility vary between 0% and 100%. Much of the forest is atypical for the Bay Area, featuring Coulter pine and manzanita undergrowth. Poison oak content is slightly less than Bay Area average.

The other type is a mostly open, less steep slope with contour details that represent remnants of mining operations. A popular trail run in the Preserve is aptly named "Drag n'Fly"—the Middle will certainly exhibit this exact character, and it will be important to adapt your navigation technique to the physical challenges, and to have at least something left in the tank by the time that last hill comes at you!

Final course specifics

Blue (Advanced)	5.44 km	395 m climb	23 checkpoints	42:00 winning time
Red (Advanced)	4.56 km	345 m climb	20 checkpoints	39:00 winning time
Green (Advanced)	4.03 km	310 m climb	17 checkpoints	38:00 winning time
Brown (Advanced)	3.15 km	155 m climb	14 checkpoints	36:00 winning time
Orange (Intermediate)	3.21 km	185 m climb	12 checkpoints	30:00 winning time
Yellow (Beginner)	not offered
White (Beginner)	not offered

These lengths are not measured around impassable obstacles; they are along straight lines.

The staff for Day One is:

Event Director:            Vladimir Gusiatnikov

Course Consultant:         Jon Campbell (Cascade OC)

Map Coordinator:           Vladimir Gusiatnikov

Course Designer:           Vladimir Gusiatnikov

Course Vetter:             Jay Hann

Results:                   Edward Despard

Course designer's notes

It has been a pleasure making the Black Diamond map. Although the terrain is in many aspects atypical for the Bay Area, presenting perhaps the highest feature density after parts of Morgan Territory, there are no special features that merit extensive notes. The only exception to note is earthbanks. All mapped earthbanks are passable, but you will be sad if you go.

Black O's on this map are capped vertical mine shafts. Horizontal mine shafts, capped and not, are mapped as caves.

There are cattle (thanks rain gods! most of EBRPD's revenue is from cattle grazing, so the fact they are still alive means the parks will be open next year).

There is one water stop that is not at a checkpoint. If you are really thirsty, passing through the start at one point on all advanced courses is also an option.

Many thanks to Matej Šebo for first suggesting this area for a top-level Middle. I find that it fits the bill, and hope you do too!

Saturday's event will be a Long-distance navigation race with interval starts. A full slate of seven courses will be offered, each eligible for Orienteering USA ranking points.

Transit directions: You can get within 8.7 km of the parking by taking BART to Walnut Creek station. Although Walnut Creek has a bus system, these buses do not run on Saturday morning. Your best bet is to cab it from the station, or find a ride.

Parking will be at the Orchard parking lot, which is the first one you will see on the right-hand side of Castle Rock Road. However, please do not turn into Borges Ranch (a part of Shell Ridge Open Space) before you reach the parking on Castle Rock Road; we do not start, finish, or park in Shell Ridge.

The assembly area and the finish, on the one hand; and the start, on the other hand, are at two different locations that are not the parking. The start and the assembly area are in opposite directions from the parking, so in order to get to the start from the assembly area, you will pass through the parking. The assembly area and the finish are in Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area, 0.9 km from the parking (25 m climb). The start is 1.2 km from the parking (45 m climb), so the total distance from the assembly area to the start is 2.1 km with 55 m climb. There will not be a shuttle circulating between the parking and the finish, or the parking and the start.

The map of Shell Ridge has been used by the Bay Area Orienteering Club for many years. It was originally made in the mid-1990s, most likely by George Kirkov, and improved by several club members on an annual basis. The map was completely revised and expanded into Diablo Foothills Regional Park by Matej Šebo in 2011 using the county's GIS data. Matej did most of his work from GIS. The newer portion of the map was fieldchecked by Bob Cooley in January through March of 2014. The latest use of the map was in 2012 (here's the map image only if you have Java issues). What's on RouteGadget should give you an idea of the terrain, but not of feature density. Most features can't be seen in aerial photos or lidar, and the feature density is dramatically greater on the 2014 map. Please feel free to peruse BAOC's RouteGadget site for more versions of the map, keeping in mind the above disclaimer.

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The map is mostly in ISOM, with some insignificant deviations and a small number of significant ones, which will be disclosed in event-day notes. Perhaps the most important ideosynchrasy, and the biggest difference from the Middle map style, is that almost all trees, including distinct and single ones, are mapped as white or shades of green, as opposed to single-tree symbols. The distinct vegetation boundary symbol is almost unused. The map will be printed at 1:10,000, with 4.9 m (16 ft.) contours.

Hazards: Hypothermia can be an issue in March at Shell Ridge with its open terrain; please wear layers if it's cold.

There is some poison oak. We will provide a poison oak treatment product by our sponsor, Zanfel Laboratories, at the finish.

The event area covers two jurisdictions. Diablo Foothills Regional Park provides expansive views of Mount Diablo. Shell Ridge Open Space is owned by the City of Walnut Creek. The terrain is rolling hills, steeper in Diablo Foothills. There is a significant amount of rock features in both jurisdictions. The terrain is mostly forested in Diablo Foothills, and more open in Shell Ridge. Most of the woods are open and runnable.

Between Diablo Foothills and Shell Ridge, there is a fence. This fence may only be crossed at designated points. If there is a trail shown crossing the fence, or a gap marked with the ISOM symbol or with purple overprint, you may cross. Although the fence is shown with a passable-fence symbol, and is physically passable, it is legally uncrossable. Not crossing the fence is a condition of our permit.

Final course specifics

Blue (Advanced)	10.75 km	635 m climb	20 checkpoints	90:00 winning time
Red (Advanced)	8.23 km	500 m climb	14 checkpoints	75:00 winning time
Green (Advanced)	5.61 km	350 m climb	12 checkpoints	65:00 winning time
Brown (Advanced)	3.80 km	270 m climb	10 checkpoints	55:00 winning time
Orange (Intermediate)	3.91 km	285 m climb	10 checkpoints	45:00 winning time
Yellow (Beginner)	3.00 km	145 m climb	11 checkpoints	35:00 winning time
White (Beginner)	2.26 km	105 m climb	10 checkpoints	25:00 winning time

These lengths are not measured around impassable obstacles; they are along straight lines.

The staff for Day Two is:

Event Director:            Vladimir Gusiatnikov

Course Consultant:         Jon Campbell (Cascade OC)

Map Coordinator:           Bob Cooley

Course Designer:           Erin Schirm

Course Vetter:             Dennis Wilkinson

Results:                   Edward Despard

Course designer's notes

About the map: The map is mostly to ISOM. Some symbols are a tad off. The one major non-ISOM symbol is the green overhatch. It's a natural continuation in the progression of vertical green lines (Undergrowth: slow running) and closely spaced vertical green lines (Undergrowth: difficult to run) symbols. So, the green overhatch denotes Undergrowth: very difficult to run or impassable. (One of the visiting mappers introduced this idiosyncrasy to BAOC and it took.)

The map was updated for this meet and a lot more detail was added. There are three tree features: green X, green T, and brown X. The green X is a dead tree still standing, the green T is a dead tree or fallen branch on the ground, and the brown X is a dead tree with a rootstock. In the clues I have used root stock symbol for the green T and brown X. For the green X I have used individual ruined tree for a standing dead tree. There are a few extra fallen trees and cow trails that are not mapped.

The rocks for the most part are mapped very well. In some places its hard to differentiate between rocky ground, cliff, and individual boulder. For example some cliffs look like a bunch of rocks stuck together, and some boulders look like a little piece of cliff. Some cliffs look like exposed rock on the face of the hill because the dirt has been washed away. Generally the small boulders are small, the boulder clusters are obvious, and large cliffs are well defined.

There is little or no vegetation/passability detail on the map. Just about every area is very fast and open. There is patches of poison oak in some areas; for the most part there is not much. The poison oak is in full leaf right now, so is pretty easy to see.

There are areas with cattle. They are harmless, so please be respectful. Due to the cattle, there are many barbed wire fences on the map. These can only be crossed at places where there are gates, or clear, official openings. Please make sure to close the gates behind you. I have marked as many fence and gate crossings on the map as I could find. It is possible that there are more official ones.

About the courses: The start will have a short run from the map pickup point to the start triangle, which is right at a gate. You must go through the gate to the start triangle on the other side.

There are three water stations marked on the map that are not at checkpoints. The courses will go past them and for the most part you will not have to go out of your way to get water. Blue, Red, and Green have an additional water checkpoint. All other courses should use the water stations to get water.

Checkpoint flags have been hung for the most part knee- to waist-high. Some are very visible, some are less. We did our best to put them on the sides of features away from the direction runners will be coming.

The courses will be very physically challenging, with steep climbs and descents; there are some very beautiful fun areas to run through and some great views. The courses were put together and set by me with help and input from Vladimir Gusiatnikov, Jonathan Campbell, Bob Cooley, and Dennis Wilkinson.

Information for the two Sprint events at Mills College is now available on terraloco's website. We may copy the most important details here, but the organizers' site is definitive.

The staff for Day Three is:

Event Director:            Rex Winterbottom

Course Consultant:         Jon Campbell (Cascade OC)

Map Coordinator:           Rex Winterbottom

Course Designer:           Rex Winterbottom

Course Vetter:             Dennis Wilkinson

Results:                   Edward Despard

Travel and Accommodations The closest airport is Oakland International. San Francisco and San José airports are further away; Sacramento airport is another viable option. All three of the Bay Area airports are amply served by public transit. The directions to the event headquarters are here. A bike can help get you from BART to the HQ and between the HQ and the venues! Orienteering USA has negotiated discounted rates with its sponsor, Choice Hotels. The closest Choice property is a Clarion Hotel in Concord, only 1.1 km (walking distance) away from the event headquarters at Road Runner Sports. At the time of this writing, members of Orienteering USA were offered rates as low as $59.50 per night, plus tax. In order to obtain these rates, you must book through the Choice Hotels site and enter Special Rate ID 00228560 in the "Select Rate" drop-down menu. Lower-priced Choice properties are available throughout the Bay Area. By making your booking through the website and referencing the Orienteering USA partnership code, you will be supporting U.S. orienteering.

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Day Three venue can be easily reached by public transit. Days One and Two are harder, but may be a rewarding adventure for the intrepid. Instructions are given on the info tab for the respective Days. Directions to Friday's packet pickup are on the Schedule tab. Directions to Saturday's banquet 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 Road Runner Sports Concord on Friday, and at the Day Two arena at Diablo Foothills on Saturday. There will be no packet pick-up at the event center hotel.

Entry and Registration

Because the map for Day Two is generously supplied by the Bay Area Orienteering Club, we are offering a discount to 2014 U.S. Senior and Junior Orienteering Team members that makes the day essentially free. The discount applies to 2014 Senior Elite, Performance, and Development Team members, and to 2014 Junior Standing Team members.

The fees for Day One are:

Friday Middle	Adult (21 and over)	Junior (20 and under)
Enter and pay on or before Tuesday 18 February	$44.00	$27.00
Enter and pay on or before Monday 10 March	$49.00	$29.00
Enter and pay on or after Tuesday 11 March	$59.00	$34.00

The fees for Day Two are:

Saturday Long	Adult (21 and over)	Junior (20 and under)
Enter and pay on or before Tuesday 18 February
Blue (Advanced)	$54.00	$32.00
Red (Advanced)	$49.00	$29.00
Green (Advanced)	$44.00	$27.00
Brown (Advanced)	$39.00	$24.00
Orange (Intermediate)	$34.00	$22.00
Yellow (Beginner)	$29.00	$19.00
White (Beginner)	$29.00	$19.00
Enter and pay on or before Monday 10 March
Blue (Advanced)	$59.00	$34.00
Red (Advanced)	$54.00	$32.00
Green (Advanced)	$49.00	$29.00
Brown (Advanced)	$44.00	$27.00
Orange (Intermediate)	$39.00	$24.00
Yellow (Beginner)	$34.00	$22.00
White (Beginner)	$34.00	$22.00
Enter and pay on or after Tuesday 11 March
Blue (Advanced)	$69.00	$39.00
Red (Advanced)	$64.00	$37.00
Green (Advanced)	$59.00	$34.00
Brown (Advanced)	$54.00	$32.00
Orange (Intermediate)	$49.00	$29.00
Yellow (Beginner)	$44.00	$27.00
White (Beginner)	$44.00	$27.00

The fees for each of Day Three's Sprints, that is the regular Sprint and the One-Person Relay, are:

Sunday, each Sprint	Adult (21 and over)	Junior (20 and under)
Enter and pay on or before Tuesday 18 February	$39.00	$24.00
Enter and pay on or before Monday 10 March	$44.00	$27.00
Enter and pay on or after Tuesday 11 March	$54.00	$32.00

There is a single recreational (non-competitive) category offered, the Map Hike, on the White Course on Friday and Saturday, and on the Beginner/Intermediate course on each Sprint on Sunday. The Map Hike is suitable for juniors and for adults. Enter the event and select "Map Hike" as your Orienteering USA category on the second registration screen. The price for the Map Hike is the same as listed above, per person.

Discounts!!

Thanks to the generous offer of the map of Shell Ridge by BAOC, Junior and Senior Team members can take $15 and $40 off their Saturday registration fees, respectively. This discount applies to 2014 Senior Elite, Performance, and Development Team members, and to 2014 Junior Standing Team members.

For each day's worth of events, 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 day's fees. And on top of these discounts, BAOC members can take yet another $5 off, ffor a total discount of up to $15 off for each day. For example, the early price for an adult who is both a BAOC and Orienteering USA member is $29 for Friday's Middle, $29 for Saturday's Long Green, and $24 for each of Sunday's Sprints. A junior who is a member of both organizations can get four ranking days for as low as $44.

So, why not join Orienteering USA?

SPORTident electronic tag rental is included in the above prices.

Extras!!

Commemorative T shirt		$22.00	(in excess of one per entrant)
Saturday night banquet		$39.00	—a sumptuous affair!

Go register!!

Event-Day Information

Course designer's notes and final course statistics will be available on the respective Stage's pages.

Dinner The dinner will be a catered banquet at Salvatore Ristorante. (The choice of cuisine matches the 2014 WOC location.) The menu was communicated to registered participants, and is: ANTIPASTO AL’ITALIANO Slices of salami, mortadella, cheese, artichokes hearts and olives CHOICE OF: INSALATA MISTA Greens with carrots, onions, tomatoes and Italian vinaigrette INSALATA CESARE Romaine lettuce tossed with garlic, lemon anchovies, croutons & parmesan shavings CHOICE OF: POLLO SALVATORE Chicken breast filled spinach, mozzarella, frittata in white wine sauce RED SNAPPER RUSTICO Red snapper filet baked with tomatoes, olives, garlic and basil LASAGNA Fresh homemade pasta in layers meat sauce, béchamel, cheeses & basil MANICOTTI House made pasta filled with spinach, ricotta in a marinara sauce COFFEE, TEA, DESSERT: LEMON CHIFFON CAKE It is strongly suggested that you communicate your menu choice to us in order to guarantee your selection.

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