Final results and splits for interval-started races, Stage One, Middle Distance, and Stage Five, are available. The rest of the Tournament splits are on Attackpoint; all splits are also on WinSplits. RouteGadget is up. Final overall Tournament results are up; bracket rehash and photos will come very soon. Get your Sprint on... andSprint the Golden GateDiscover parks of San Francisco. Outwit the competition... Celebrate... Race... Enjoy!! The Festival of Sprints will consist of five stages over three days, Friday 06 December 2013 through Sunday 08 December 2013, held entirely within the City of San Francisco. Stages Two through Four on Saturday will constitute an elimination tournament, and entry in this tournament is limited to 36 people. In parallel, we will offer a Middle-distance competition. All three days—up to three races—are sanctioned by Orienteering USA.
All About It!The Festival of Sprints will start with a Friday afternoon dash through Land's End, continue on Saturday with two Sprints in Golden Gate Park, culminate with a Final at McLaren park, and finish on Sunday morning at San Francisco State University. We also offer an option of substituting a single Middle-distance race for the three Sprints on Saturday. A number of things are different compared to our 2011 event. The schedule will be a bit more leisurely. All races will be sanctioned; the way it works is as follows. Friday's and Sunday's events will be "regular" Sprints with interval starts. Four courses will be offered at each of the two: 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. The full Orienteering USA class structure is offered on these four courses for the purpose of results and ranking points, but awards will be given as specified below. You have a choice for Saturday. You can enter either a three-stage Sprint Tournament, or a single Middle-distance race. Tournament heats will be organized a bit differently from animal-style brackets we arranged in 2009 and in 2011. This time, we wanted to try the IOF rules, which are very similar to what cross-country skiing uses. However, the 30-runner field allowed by the IOF Rules quickly became oversubscribed, so we made further changes, expanding the field to 36 Sprinters. Runners race head to head and advance to the next round by winning or placing in the top two in their heat, or by showing one of the best overall times. On Saturday morning, we start with six heats of six people in each; seedings for this stage will be generated according to the results of Friday's Stage One. The fastest runner in each heat advances to the top third, which we call the Antelopes, along with the six runners with best times who aren't among the heat winners. The second- and third-place runners who haven't advanced to the top third, along with as many lower-placed runners with best times as are necessary to complete a 12-runner field, became the middle third: the Badgers. The rest of the field become the Cheetahs. In Stage Three, the goal is to make it into top two in your heat, or to be one of the runners with the fastest two times who aren't in the top two. Each of the brackets splits into the upper and the lower half: the Antelopes are sorted into the Deer and the Emus; the Badgers, into the Foxes and the Gazelles; and the Cheetahs, into the Hares and the Impalas. The six animals run one last time in Stage Four—the Elimination Final! ... those who aren't part of the Final are more than welcome to watch and cheer the runners as they make their way around Elk Glen! The Tournament is full; the waitlist is also full. No entry into the Tournament is possible at this time. All heats for the Elimination Tournament are gender- and age-neutral. There will be a single course (perhaps forked) for all Tournament participants at each stage. For those entering late, and for those who prefer a Middle course, we also offer this distance on Saturday. The Middle will take place after, and share the arena with, Stage Two in Golden Gate Park. The map will be redrawn at 1:7,500 in appropriate symbols. A full set of seven courses is on offer. Middle participants will earn Orienteering USA ranking points on their chosen course. There will be a full set of awards just for the Middle, but don't expect anything fancy—most of our sponsorship support will be directed towards making the Tournament a unique experience. Sunday's event will again feature interval starts, with four courses and Orienteering USA ranking points as described above. There will be a single non-competitive Map Hike category on the Beginner/Intermediate course (White course for the Middle), suitable for juniors and for adults. Participants in this category will not earn Orienteering USA ranking points. 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 2013), Masters (age 40 and over on 31 December 2013), and Supervets (age 55 and over on 31 December 2013). In addition, a set of awards will be given according to the Middle Distance results. The awards presentation will be at the event banquet. A separate set of awards will be given accoording to the results of Sunday's Sprint event. All of the venues are easily reachable by public transit. Stage Five is a 15-minute drive to San Francisco International Airport, and an easy 45-minute trip by transit. 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:
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. Babysitting will not be offered at this event. Venues are embargoed for training from 03 June 2013, however it is fine to visit each of the four parks and campuses without an orienteering map at all times prior to the event. Embargo specifics: The affected areas are all of Land's End portion of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, all of San Francisco VA Medical Center, all of Lincoln Park, all of Golden Gate Park west of 19th Avenue, all of the campus of San Francisco State University, and all of McLaren Park. The inclusion of a portion of these areas on the embargo list is in no way intended to imply that checkpoints will be set on that portion; the use of each area is subject to permit. The following navigation events will take place, or have taken place, partly or wholly over the listed areas after 03 June 2013: Participation in these events does not violate the embargo. However, you may not be present inside, and in possession of any version of an orienteering or rogaining map of, the embargoed areas after 03 June 2013—unless you are a participant in, and on the day of, one of the four events listed above. 
Stage One: Land's EndFriday's event will be a Sprint-format adventure run with interval starts. Four courses will be offered, each eligible for Orienteering USA ranking points. The results of this stage will be used to seed the Sprint Tournament. Transit directions: Buses 38–Geary and 38L–Geary Limited terminate at 48th Avenue and Geary Boulevard, on the edge of the map; from there it is a 300 m walk to the assembly area. Parking will be at the USS San Francisco Memorial parking lot. Assembly area, start, and finish will be within 100 meters of the parking. It is an about 14-minute drive for the 7.3 km from Sports Basement to Stage One parking; transit will take about an hour.
 The area is a mix of urban terrain and forest, extending over the Palace of the Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, and San Francisco VA Medical Center. 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 ISSOM symbol set used on this map is mixed urban and forest, with not many but some uncrossable obstacles. Take time to study your ISSOM map symbols! Final course specifics
These lengths are not measured around impassable obstacles; they are along straight lines. The staff for Stage One is: Administrative Director: Vladimir GusiatnikovCourse Consultant: Jim Hall (Carolina OK)Map Coordinator: Bill CusworthCourse Designer: Vladimir GusiatnikovResults: Jay Hann Course designer's notesAs some of you may recall, there was an issue with this map at its inaugural use with gaps between impassable walls, buildings, and buildings and impassable walls being below the ISSOM-required minium. These issues should all be fixed now. Black X's on this map are usually benches, but can be a few other things. The one black O is a prominent pole. Stages Two and Three and Middle Distance: Golden Gate Park
On early Saturday morning, 36 Sprinters will start in six heats of six. The winner of each heat of Stage Two will advance to the upper semifinal, plus six more runners with best times who aren't the winners of their heat. The middle semifinal will be composed of runners placing second and third in their heats, less those who advance to the upper semifinal and plus as many of those with best times as are necessary to make 12 runners. The rest of the runners advance to the lower semifinal. The parking for Stage Two will be at Elk Glen Picnic Area in Golden Gate Park. When the event was planned, this area was slated to serve as the arena; however, permission to use the woods adjoining Elk Glen has not been secured. Therefore, the arena, including starts and finishes for both Stage Two and Stage Three, will be about 780 m to the west of Elk Glen. We can't park there since these parking lots are reserved for other park users. So, park roadside by Elk Glen and walk west on Martin Luther King Drive, following signs. Please note that Elk Glen Picnic Area is quite far from Elk Glen Meadow and from Elk Glen Lake; please don't simply type "Elk Glen" into a search field on your phone, you will most likely end up at one of the other two Elk Glens. Saturday's Middle Distance competition will offer a full slate of seven standard courses, each eligible for Orienteering USA ranking points. The map for the Middle will be drafted in ISOM. Stage Three of the Tournament will start a short walk away from the arena after most of the Middle Distance competitors have finished, and provide ample spectating opportunities. The path to the top bracket in Stage Four—the Final—is to be in the top two in one of the two upper semifinal heats, or, failing that, to clock one of the two best times. As in 2011, we will implement a twist. The fastest of the middle-division runners can get promoted to the lower half of the upper division, but only if her time is faster than that of the slowest runner in the upper division. This slowest runner is relegated to the upper half of the middle division. A similar exchange of up to one runner can occur between the middle and the lower divisions ahead of Stage Four. Transit directions: Buses 29–Sunset and 71–Haight/Noriega, and the N–Judah train, come closest to Elk Glen. The N is most likely your best bet, since it has the highest frequency of service and also stops underground less than a block from the event center hotel; get off at 25th Avenue, walk three long blocks north, then about 330 m west (left) to the assembly area. Parking for Stages Two, Three, and the Middle will be along MLK Drive in Golden Gate Park. It is an about 17-minute drive for the 7.2 km from Hotel Whitcomb to Elk Glen; the N–Judah train will take about 23 minutes, plus allow about 12 minutes to walk from its 25th Ave. stop to Elk Glen.
Golden Gate Park, the crown jewel of SF Recreation & Park Department, was architected as the counterpart to Central Park in New York. Before the transformation, the land was sand dunes; elevation contours reflect this past. The park's western half is almost entirely forested. The vegetation is intricate and visibility varies greatly. There are many paths. Terrain/off-trail shoes are recommended. Full leg cover is not necessary. The ISSOM symbol set used on this map is forest, with very few uncrossable obstacles. The uncrossable obstacles are lakes and large fenced-off areas. Final course specifics
The staff for Stages Two, Three, and the Middle Distance is: Administrative Director: Vladimir GusiatnikovCourse Consultant: Jim Hall (Carolina OK)Map Coordinator: Vladimir GusiatnikovCourse Designer: Vladimir GusiatnikovResults: Rex Winterbottom Course designer's notesThe courses have been planned in such a way that there is absolutely no reason for anyone to ever enter areas mapped as dark green, and vanishingly small reasons to enter medium green. If you look at these areas up close in the terrain, you will notice some structure, with parts that appear easier to cross. These paths are usually carved by the indigents, who may or may not be present inside. Rest assured that something will very certainly stop or dramatically slow your forward progress if you attempt to follow these paths. Light green is fair game. Black X's on this map are mostly either benches or signs of various kind. The many black O's are light poles. There are flower beds, shown with the 528.1 Area with forbidden access olive-green 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 Four: McLaren ParkSaturday's afternoon Elimination Final will only be open to the participants of the Tournament. But, everyone is welcome to watch as top Sprinters try to outwit one another! Six final brackets of six runners will be formed according to the results of Stages Two and Three. The results of Stage Four will constitute the final results of the Tournament. After two changes, the final venue for Stage Four is McLaren Park. Transit directions: Bus 29–Sunset passes not far from the assembly/parking/finish area. From Stage Three, or the lunch location in the Sunset District, find the 29 on Lincoln Way and take it east to the first Mansell Street and John F. Shelley Drive stop (about 51 minutes). Walk northwest on John F. Shelley for about 650 m until you see the assembly area on your right. Parking and assembly for Stage Four is in the lot on John F. Shelley Drive by the reservoir. Your landmark is the giant blue tower. Your target is the saddle to its southeast. John F. Shelley is a loop, both ends of which terminate into Mansell St. The 10.7 km drive from Elk Glen will take about 23 minutes.
 John McLaren Park is the second-biggest city park in San Francisco, but is far less known than Golden Gate Park. The terrain is rolling, somewhat steep, hills, covered with a variety of vegetation types from open meadows to runnable forest to fight. Visibility is mostly good to excellent. There are some paths and few buildings or other manmade features. Terrain/off-trail shoes are strongly recommended; full leg cover may be helpful. The ISSOM symbol set used on this map is forest, with so few uncrossable obstacles that they can be counted on one hand. The map is not fully ISSOM compliant because the distance between magnetic north lines is 200 m and not 150 m. Final course specifics
The staff for Stage Five is: Administrative Director: Vladimir GusiatnikovCourse Consultant: Jim Hall (Carolina OK)Map Coordinator: Vladimir GusiatnikovCourse Designer: Vladimir GusiatnikovResults: Rex Winterbottom Course designer's notesNothing about the map or the course is unusual or worth a separate mention in the notes. The few black X's are most likely benches. 
Stage Five: San Francisco State UniversitySunday's event will again be a Sprint-format adventure run with interval starts. Four courses will be offered, each eligible for Orienteering USA ranking points. This stage serves as the epilogue to the Tournament. Transit directions: Buses 28–19th Avenue, 28L–19th Avenue Limited, and 29–Sunset, and the M–Ocean View train, stop at SFSU. Ride the M–Ocean View from Hotel Whitcomb for a direct, 22-minute trip. Disembark at the stop and locate Malcolm X plaza, where the start and finish will be, about 280 m to the west. Your best bet for parking will be Holloway Ave. west of 19th Avenue, the next best bet is Lot 20 accessible from Lake Merced Boulevard (the former is free, the latter is not). The assembly, start, and finish location, Malcolm X Plaza, is 400 m southeast of the garade, and 280 m west of 19th Ave. at its intersection with Holloway Avenue. The 14.1-km drive from Hotel Whitcomb will take about 16 minutes.
The campus of San Francisco State University is rich with complex-geometry buildings, some of which encompass more than one level available for running. Extreme care will be taken to set courses that present as little ambiguity as possible. Take time to study your ISSOM map symbols! The ISSOM symbol set used on this map is urban, with many uncrossable obstacles. There is one area symbol that are absolutely out of bounds. At the 2009 Sprint Series Finals at SF State, we had a problem with disregard for the 528.1 Area with forbidden access vegetation that fortunately didn't end up costing us access to the venue—but it could have. Please do not enter or cross the olive-green-color areas. There is very little of the other kinds of green on this map, and it's best to assume all green is forbidden to enter or cross. The map is not fully ISSOM compliant because the distance between magnetic north lines is 200 m and not 150 m. Further, some of the olive-green hedges may be thinner than their minimum thickness required by the ISSOM. Full leg cover is unnecessary at this venue, and road/grass shoes may work better than terrain/off-trail shoes. Final course specifics
These lengths are not measured around impassable obstacles; they are along straight lines. The staff for Stage Five is: Administrative Director: Vladimir GusiatnikovCourse Consultant: Jim Hall (Carolina OK)Map Coordinator: Rex WinterbottomCourse Designer: Vladimir GusiatnikovResults: Rex Winterbottom Course designer's notesSome buildings at SF State incorporate multiple levels. The International Standard for Sprint Maps rightly says that multilevel structures cannot be adequately represented on a Sprint map. We'll have to work with a representation that's as adequate as it can get! There is one place in which we assumed a certain "main"level, and showed the level below it with the tunnel symbol (in less detail). Here is what this place looks like in the terrain. Both of the levels can be used for running, in perpendicular directions. The non-main level is accented on the map with the purple 708.1 Crossing section symbol. In much the same way, there is a place in which we picked the main running level to be the lower one, and showed the other level, which is above it, with the bridge symbol. We again accented the lower level with the crossing-section symbol. So, solid purple lines on this map show passageways along which you can go—not boundaries of out-of-bounds areas. There are no black X's or black O's, but there are black O's with dots, 537 Cairn, memorial, small monument or boundary stone symbols, on this map. These are usually indeed monuments or art objects. Finally, some of the olive-green hedges are drawn narrower than their minimum thickness required by ISSOM. We may be able to fix this in the three days remaining before the event, but we probably won't. Regardless, olive green is forbidden to enter and if we see anyone doing this, you will be disqualified. What does olive green look like in the terrain? any kind of vegetation that is not mowed grass or sparse trees. Some of it is flower beds, some is forest, some is high or low bushes.
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 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 Presidio Sports Basement on Friday, and at Stage Two in Golden Gate Park on Saturday. There will be no packet pick-up at the event center hotel. Entry and RegistrationRegistration is open through Orienteering USA's Event Register. You can register for the Friday Sprint, the Saturday Tournament or Middle, and the Sunday Sprint separately, and choose a different course for each if you so desire. The registered entrant list is available through Event Register, and is updated in real time. The fees for each of the interval-started Sprints, that is Stage One and Stage Five, are:
The fees for Saturday events, that is the Sprint Tournament or the Middle Distance, are:
There is a single recreational (non-competitive) category offered, the Map Hike, on the Beginner/Intermediate course on Friday and Sunday, and on the White course on Saturday. 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!!Orienteering USA is offering 50% off entry fees, up to $20, 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 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 $24 for Friday's Sprint, $29 for Saturday's Middle, and $24 for Sunday's Sprint. A junior who is a member of both organizations can get three ranking days for as low as $30. So, why not join Orienteering USA? SPORTident electronic tag rental is included in the above prices. Extras!!
Go register!! Event-Day InformationCourse designer's notes and final course statistics are available on the respective Stage's pages. In addition, here are a few items that we are required to communicate, or that are nice to tell you, that are common for all events:
We maintain a discussion board for all our events on Attackpoint. Popular among 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 adventure-running news, schedules, discussion, and gossip. Forum for Sprint the Golden Gate. We also post updates to our Facebook pages: Facebook event for Sprint the Golden Gate. 
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Created:
22 April 2012 |
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