Several GAOC veterans are planning a trip to the US Masters Championships in MN in October, so this is a way for us to train before we go and compete. We will start at Don Carter State Park on Tuesday, then move to Chattahoochee Bend State Park on Wednesday and Thursday, then Hard Labor Creek on Friday, finishing at the local meet at HLC on Saturday. By visiting the different parks we get to practice in different terrains. We really don't have any terrain like Minnesota in Georgia, but it is flat there, so 2 days at Chat Bend makes some sense.
There will be 2 exercises each day - morning and afternoon. There will be no controls and no epunch - just blue tape hanging at the control locations. We use blue surveyors tape to mark control locations when planning courses and vetting (checking) courses, so this is the same thing. Tape can be difficult to see in the woods, so this is definitely not a beginner exercise, and probably not an intermediate exercise. So we are calling it the Advanced Practice Exercises - or APE...
If you can successfully complete an advanced course, then you are welcome to attend.
What kind of exercises? Typically an advanced exercise involves manipulating the map in some way so that your orienteering skills are tested. Austin Fowler has designed the exercises, and he has lots of Junior team experience to draw on. The specific exercises for each day are described below. We will be keeping track of everyone in the woods so no one is unaccounted for at the end of the exercise.
How will it work? We will meet at a designated spot at an agreed on time, get a map, discuss what we are going to do, and do it. Afterwards we discuss what we did and learn from our mistakes. Take a break for lunch and do it again in the afternoon. So no classroom teaching and no lectures, but we will share our "wisdom" and experience to help each other.
Sound like fun? Then make some time in your schedule. You can do as many of the days as you want - some of us seniors will do every day. Entry is free, but preregistration is required.
Since the map for the Master's Championships does not have many point features (rootstocks, knolls, boulders) we will be avoiding these as best we can. The first exercise will begin at 9am and the second exercise will begin at noon. The courses are 3-4k and we will plan for 60-90 minutes for each exercise; most courses will also have a bail out option to end early if needed. After the first exercise we will take a break to review courses and answer any questions about the next exercise.
Parking at the horse trailer parking area near the front entrance (lat/lon 34.3883176, -83.747847)
9:00 am: Contour-O A map with only contours.
Noon: Control Picking A course consisting of all short legs with many changes in direction.
9:00 am: Parking at trailhead 1 parking lot (lat/lon 33.42655, -84.9721762)
9:00 am: Corridor-O A corridor is drawn on the map and everything outside of the corridor is whited out. The goal is to stay inside of the corridor at all times.
Noon: Line-O or First Control Training Runners have the option of a Line-O or First Control Training; both courses will follow the same route.
Noon: Line-O A line is drawn on the map and runners have to follow the line or stick as close to the line as possible.
Noon: First Control Training An interval type orienteering with 2-3 control intervals. Short breaks will be taken between intervals.
9:00 am: Parking at trailhead 1 parking lot (lat/lon 33.42655, -84.9721762)
9:00 am: Fast Relocation Without Trails In groups, only one person looks at the map and leads the way to the control. Once near the control circle everyone else is allowed to look at their maps and relocate as quickly as possible. And as the name suggests all trails will be removed from the map.
Noon: Parking at the boat ramp (lat/lon 33.4295424, -85.012166)
Noon: Small Circle Big Circle For each control on the map there is a small circle around the attackpoint. In the woods, the attackpoint is marked with a large ribbon while the control will be marked with something much smaller but still visible like an index card of the same color. The goal is to run hard to the attackpoint and proceed more carefully to the control.
Parking at the Main Park Office (lat/lon 33.6640303, -83.60603)
9:00 am: Donut Hole A regular course with the area just outside of the control circle whited out.
Noon: Fog Training The map is removed in most parts. Only small sections of the map are left, leaving the runner to use the compass to navigate to these areas.