Please join us for 2 days of orienteering at Red Top Mountain State Park. We hope you can spend the weekend with us. This is a great park for camping, and we have enjoyed the cabins here too.
We will be awarding a fun prize for the first place finisher for each course for male and female runners. See the GAOC Facebook page for details. Anyone that is running a course that is well below their normal level will not be eligible. This applies to our fast juniors that run lower-level courses for speed training.
Saturday will be at the Iron Hill parking area. Sunday will be behind the old lodge. You will need to walk behind the building to the start area.
We will be offering standard courses and some fun events too, so bring a picnic lunch and hang out. See how much fun you can have navigating a maze-o in a 30 ft x 30 ft maze. We should have the maze set up by noon, or so. Also, Robin and Steve are offering training to GAOC members, see details below. If you are not a member, an individual membership is $8 and pays for itself in only 3 meets. Download membership form.
Please use the online registration system. Registering online saves you time and really helps the volunteers. You do not need to pay when you register but that will save you even more time if you do.
If you are bringing a group larger than 10, and are not using the online registration, please contact me at least 1 week in advance with a breakdown of numbers per course so I can order an adequate number of maps.
Speaking of volunteers, please consider helping out. All meet directors need help to make their meets run smoothly, and with this being a 2-day meet, we need help. I will make sure that anyone who volunteers also gets to run their course. Important jobs include handing out maps at the start, registering people, beginner instruction, and general help setting up beforehand and cleaning up afterward. We will have nearly 100 controls in the woods for the 2 days, and will need help each day from experienced runners with collecting the controls when courses close. We will be setting almost 70 controls on Friday, and we would appreciate experienced orienteers helping with setting controls. I will do my best to ensure you would not set a control on a course you would run.
Robin and Steve Shannonhouse will be offering skills training Saturday and Sunday starting around 1 PM. Training is open to GAOC members only and will cost $7 per day. There is a limit of 50 participants per day, so please pre-register to secure your spot. There is no age limit, but participants must be orange-level or above. Saturday training will start with skills lectures and then will include a line-o course and a memory-o course. Sunday training will focus on contour reading skills, and will have orange-level and green-level contour-o course options. We are hoping to have experienced orienteers volunteer to lead contour-reading demo hikes for those who do not already know how to read contours. If anyone is willing to lead a contour-only map reading demo contact Robin at rshannonhouse@comcast.net. If you pre-register for training on Saturday and do not intend to run a regular course, please contact me or Robin for instructions. Training is not located at the meet location on Saturday.
Standard meet fees apply each day. Members are $7, Non-members are $10. Electronic punch (e-punch) will be used. E-punch rental is $3. Small groups going together with one map may pay for only one entry each day. (All participants, however, must have a waiver, see below.) Additional maps are $3 each.The GAOC members-only skills training event provided by Robin and Steve will be an additional $7 per person per day.
PLEASE NOTE: In order to participate in any GAOC event, ALL youths under the age of 18 MUST present a
Waiver of Responsibility that has been signed by their own Parent
or Legal Guardian. It is NOT sufficient that the Waiver of Responsibility be signed by any other adult such as a scout leader, coach,
teacher or chaperone. Please access the web site noted below, print a waiver for each youth, and have their Parent or Guardian sign
for them.
Download waiver from www.gaorienteering.org/Club_Info/GaocAnnualWaiver.pdf.
| Course | Description | E-punch | Length | Climb | Controls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | Short beginner course | Yes | 2.1 km | 65 m | 9 |
| Yellow | Long beginner course | Yes | 2.4 km | 85 m | 11 |
| Orange | Intermediate course | Yes | 3.5 km | 140 m | 13 |
| Brown | Short advanced course | Yes | 3.5 km | 130 m | 11 |
| Green | Medium advanced course | Yes | 5.0 km | 210 m | 15 |
| Red | Long Advanced course | Yes | 6.0 km | 225 m | 17 |
| Corridor | Advanced level | Yes | 3.5 km |
| Course | Description | E-punch | Length | Climb | Controls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | Short beginner course | Yes | 2.4 km | 80 m | 11 |
| Yellow | Long beginner course | Yes | 3.0 km | 140 m | 15 |
| Orange | Intermediate course | Yes | 3.9 km | 200 m | 12 |
| Brown | Short advanced course | Yes | 3.5 km | 130 m | 12 |
| Green | Medium advanced course | Yes | 4.9 km | 230 m | 14 |
| Red | Long Advanced course | Yes | 6.2 km | 290 m | 18 |
| Corridor | Advanced level | Yes | 3.6 km |
From Atlanta, go north on I-75 and take exit 285. Turn right onto Red Top Mtn Rd and follow into Park. Once in the park, follow the orange and white "Orienteer" signs to the different start location each day.
GAOC offers beginner instruction at 10am at all local meets. Runners then may start their course any time between 11am and 1pm with a 3-hour time limit for all courses. All runners must be off the course by 3pm.
Typical fees are shown below. Participants may go out on the course as individuals or with a group. E-chip rental is required if you do not have your own stick.
| Members | $7 |
| Non-members | $10 |
| Additional Maps | $3 |
| E-chip Rental | $3 |
| State Park Parking Fee | $5 |
For current forecast click here.
Steve Houghton and Anne Ledbetter 770-330-8172