Georgia Navigator Cup 2014

Choice Hotels is the Official Hotel Partner of OUSA. With 5,200 properties in the US and Canada and a range of price points (Comfort, Quality, Sleep, Econolodge, etc), Choice provides something for everybody. Orienteers (not just OUSA members) can save 15% off the published rate. Plus OUSA receives a 5% commission for every dollar spent.

To take advantage of this offer, go to http://www.choicehotels.com/en/sports-travel and use the Corporate ID 00228560. On the hotel website, enter Lithia Springs, GA as the city, click Special Rate/Corp ID under Select Rate and enter the ENTIRE Corporate ID (including zeroes) and confirm. This will allow you to see the special rates.

The Comfort Inn (GA079) at 5487 Westmoreland Plaza, Douglasville, GA 30134 near the top of the list will be the Headquarters Hotel. The Econo Lodge Inn and Suites (GA866) at 8304 Cherokee Boulevard, Douglasville, GA 30134 is nearby and offers very low rates.

There are two Quality Inn properties in the area as well, but the hotel rooms open directly onto the parking lot. The Quality Inn near Six Flags (GA786), 5479 Westmoreland Plaza, Douglasville, GA 30134, is very near the Headquarters Hotel and the Quality Inn & Suites (GA628), 1100 North Blairs Bridge Road, Austell, GA 30168 is at the Thornton Road exit (exit 44).

There is a cluster of more expensive hotels around the Thornton Road exit (exit 44) including Hampton Inn and Suites, Fairfield Inn and Suites, Springhill Suites, Courtyard Atlanta West/Lithia Springs, Hilton Garden Inn and Holiday Inn Express. These hotels are 6-10 minutes drive from the entrance to Sweetwater Creek State Park. From the I-20/Thornton Road interchange, go south 0.4 miles to Blairs Bridge Road and turn right. After 2.1 miles, turn left on Mt Vernon Road and the park entrance will be 1.3 miles on the left.

Car Rental

Parking Passes

Georgia DNR Parking Passes are required and may be purchased at packet pickup, from the self-serve boxes in the parking lots, or the park office. You will need a daily pass for each day that you will be at the park. Rates are charged based on vehicle capacity, not the number of actual passengers. Cars and vans with 1-12 passenger capacity are $5/day.

School Buses and 13+ passenger vehicles MUST stop by the Park Office to pick up their Park Passes for the weekend. Yellow School Buses will be able to park at no charge. Office hours are 8:00am to 5:00pm.

From the Georgia State Park website regarding exceptions: Organized school groups, diners in lodge restaurants and attendees of day-long lodge meetings are exempt. Golfer parking is included in greens fees. Large vans with a capacity of 13 to 30 passengers pay $30 per day or may purchase an Annual ParkPass for $75. Buses or motorcoaches with a capacity of more than 30 passengers pay $70 per day or may purchase an annual pass for $250. However, those vehicles carrying overnight guests pay only the regular daily parking fees.

Electronic Punching

GNC2014 will have Electronic Punching using the SportIdent system for the Saturday and Sunday main competition. Each participant (except Map Hike & Extreme O) will be required to have an SI Ecard (finger stick). If you own an Ecard, indicate the Ecard number on your registration. If you do not own an Ecard, you must rent one for $3/day when you pre-register online. Participants who lose or damage a rental Ecard will be charged a $50 replacement cost. The same card must be used for both Saturday and Sunday. School coaches are encouraged to monitor their teams’ rental Ecards. For info on how to use Epunching, see our Epunch primer.

Map

GNC2014 will use an updated map at Sweetwater Creek State Park. The park is cut in half by a deep gorge that the uncrossable Sweetwater Creek runs through on its way to the Chattahoochee River. There is currently a nice new bridge that promises to be flood proof (it has washed away many times in the past) that will give us access to both sides. The park is also historically significant, containing a mill site that was destroyed by Sherman during the civil war. The terrain is ridge and reentrant, with evidence of old farms on the tops of the spurs. Vegetation is very open, with the exception of some areas that were recently thinned to remove pine beetle damaged trees. There are few trails on the east side which will be used for Day 1, but many on the west side which will be used for Day 2. The contour interval is 5 meters and the 8.5 x 11 inch map will be 1:15,000 for M/F21+ and 1:10,000 for all other classes.

Old East and West maps may be purchased for $5 each.

Embargo

Sweetwater Creek State Park may not be used for orienteering or orienteering training prior to GNC2014.

Courses

USOF standard color courses White, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Green, Red and Blue will be offered. There will be 2 courses on Yellow, Orange and Green, designated X and Y. The X courses will be exclusively for Interscholastics competitors (and M-18), and the Y courses for the rest.

Course length and climb information to be provided here soon.

Control Descriptions

Control descriptions will be printed on your map. Loose description sheets may be picked up when you enter the call-up area 2 minutes before your start.

Time Limits

Time limit is 3 hours on all courses. You must return to the Finish, punch the Finish control and Download your Ecard within 3 hours after you start, whether you complete your course or not.

Mapper, Course Setter and Course Vetter's Notes

To be provided soon.

Drinking water on Courses

Drinking water will be provided on the courses as required.

Restrooms

There will be portable toilets and a wash station at the Group Shelter Meet HQ. There will be a single portable toilet at the start on Day 1. There will be a toilet block adjacent to the start/call-up area on Day 2.

Warm up/Walk to Start

Small maps of the Meet site and showing the Group Shelter Meet HQ, parking, start and download station for both days will be provided in your meet packets. You may warm up around Meet HQ and anywhere on the sample map that is not shown as out of bounds. Please be careful not to interfere with runners finishing the course or on their way to the download.

Call Up

Be at the Call-up line at least 5 minutes before your Start time. Call-up is 3 minutes before your start time. There will be three one-minute stages at the Call-up, Middle and Map lines. Loose control descriptions will be available at the Middle line. At the Map line you will receive your map. Write your bib number on the back of the map with the marker provided. If you finish before the last start, we will collect your map at the finish. You may retrieve your map once all competitors have started. There are only sufficient maps for each person to have one each day, so please do not take anyone else’s.

Clothing return

Warm-up clothing may be left in the bags provided at the start waiting area and will be returned to the Group Shelter Meet HQ. Please ensure that you can identify your warm-ups and pick them up promptly after your run.

Recreational Orienteering (Map Hike)

A limited number of non-competitive Orienteering spaces are available on a beginner's level (White/Yellow) course. Beginner instruction will be available. The Map Hike will NOT be the same as any competitive course. Register at the Meet HQ Saturday 11am-1pm, Sunday 10am-noon. $10 per map. Map Hike will use manual punching.

Extreme-O (Monday)

Extreme-O is patterned after a three-day military competition held in a member NATO country each year. Typically, competitors orienteer from several different types of maps, including aerial photographs, quads and topographical maps. Past events have included rope bridge crossings, canoe legs, culvert controls, memory legs and other interesting tests. Due to the nature of the event, advance registration is a must and space is limited to approximately 75. The cost is $15 per set of materials/maps. Couples or groups sharing a set of materials/maps count as one and pay a single fee. The event begins by 9:00am on Monday and everyone must be finished by noon. First start will be announced at the briefing on Sunday afternoon.

All participants must attend a mandatory briefing on Sunday immediately following the awards ceremony at the Group Shelter Meet HQ. Important information will be presented that will be necessary for the competitor to be successful - such as instruction on how to plot coordinates. Further information and supplies will also be passed out as needed. After receiving the necessary information, the competitors decide if they will attempt the long or short course. Individuals can also be paired up with a teammate since it's more fun as a group.

Group leaders must pre-register for the Extreme-O and list the other group members in the Notes section of their registration.

Events Directors: Chuck & Linda Ferguson
Extreme-O Course Setter: Mal Harding

Start Times

First Starts will be 10am on Saturday and 9am on Sunday. Start Times will be posted on the Registered Racer List one week prior to the event.

Courses close at 4 pm on Saturday and 3 pm on Sunday. You MUST return to the finish by the time the courses close, even if you have not finished your course.

The Extreme-O Courses will start before 9am on Monday and finish by noon.

Safety

All competitors are encouraged to carry a whistle and dress appropriately for the weather conditions. Whistles should only used in the event of an emergency or serious injury (three short blasts). Blowing the whistle otherwise will result in Disqualification. If you are lost after the courses close, you are already disqualified and it is an emergency. Please blow your whistle so that we can locate you before it gets dark. Although conditions in Georgia are often mild in January, you should be prepared for chilly and wet conditions.

If the ground is wet, exposed red clay will be extremely slippery. Please be careful not to slip on it.

Some gullies are extremely deep with very steep sides. If the ground is wet, the sides will be very slippery. Cross them with extreme care. Make sure you can see a way out before you get in one.

The SAR coordinator is Steve Shannonhouse and his cell phone number is (404)295-7055. Program this into your cell phone now.

Weather and Daylight

Normal highs on January 19 are 51 F (11 C) and normal lows 31 F (-1 C). Records for the period range from highs of 68 F (20 C) to lows of 21 F (-6 C).

Sunrise is 7:41 am and sunset is 5:56 pm. Civil Twilight ends at 7:14am and begins at 6:23pm.

For real time weather, check Weather Underground

Lunches and Hot Drinks

Lunches on Saturday and Sunday will be provided by the Stockbridge High School Navy JROTC at the Group Shelter Meet HQ. Lunches are $6.50 each and must be pre-ordered when you pre-register online. Saturday lunch will be 2 hot dogs or 1 hamburger, chips, cookie and a drink. Sunday lunch will be a taco salad, brownie and a drink. Pre-ordered lunch tickets will be provided in your meet packet. Vegetarian options must be requested in the Notes section of your registration.

There will also be simple concessions from the kitchen for those who wish to purchase "extras" such as chips, candy, Powerade etc. Pastry items will also available to purchase for breakfast, although availability is not guaranteed.

Hot chocolate, coffee and lemonade will be provided for everyone.

T-Shirts

Commemorative T-Shirts may be pre-ordered when you pre-register online. The T-shirt will be a "Cool & Dry Sport Performance Interlock Tee" and they will be available in Men's, Women's and Youth sizes. Made of 100%, 4 oz polyester, they are moisture wicking and snag resistant with an athletic fit and a double-needle stitched crew neck. Both Men's T-shirts will be available in 4XL, 3XL, 2XL, XL, L, M, S. Women's T-shirts will be available in 2XL, XL, L, M, S, and XS. Youth T-shirts will be available in XL, L, M, S, and XS. You must pre-order your T-shirt with your pre-registration if you want one. We cannot guarantee that there will be any shirts left for sale at the meet.

Click to Enlarge

Babysitting

Babysitting will not be provided. We will NOT have heated indoor facilities, so please do not plan on just leaving your young child at the Meet HQ. Please let the Registrar know if you have special start time requests that would help your own child care arrangements.

Southeast Interscholastics (SEIS)

The Interscholastics will have 4 team competitions: School Varsity team, JROTC Varsity team, School Junior Varsity team, and School Intermediate team. Note: School and JROTC teams are not mutually exclusive. JROTC teams that meet school team requirements are also eligible for the school team award. Each school may field a maximum of 18 students in the SEIS competition. SEIS competitors will be ineligible for standard class awards.

Eligibility

School Teams

1. Members must be enrolled full-time at the same private or public accredited school one of these states - North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, or Tennessee. Varsity teams consist of 3-5 members from M-ISV and/or F-ISV classes. Junior Varsity teams consist of 3-5 members from M-ISJV and/or F-ISJV classes. Intermediate teams consist of 3-5 members from M-ISI and/or F-ISI classes.
2. Members must each be able to show school ID for the same school or, if the school does not issue ID’s, a letter from the principal stating that the students are enrolled full-time at the school.
3. Members must meet the eligibility requirements for Individuals in the SEIS competition.

JROTC Teams

1. JROTC teams competing only for the JROTC trophy must be made up of students who are enrolled in the same JROTC unit in accordance with the host military service requirements in one of these states - North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, or Tennessee. Members shall consist of 3 to 5 students who are registered in M-ISV and/or F-ISV classes.
2. JROTC teams may compete for the Interscholastic Varsity team competition if they meet the school team requirements.
3. Members must meet the eligibility requirements for Individuals in the SEIS competition.

Individuals

To win individual awards competitors must be competing in one of the SEIS classes and must be a full time student attending an accredited school one of these states - North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, or Tennessee.

Individual competition will be held for each of the 8 Interscholastic classes:

Interscholastic Classes
Class	Description	Course
M-ISV	Varsity Male	GreenX
F-ISV	Varsity Female	Brown
M-ISJV	Junior Varsity Male	OrangeX
F-ISJV	Junior Varsity Female	OrangeX
M-ISI	Intermediate Male	YellowX
F-ISI	Intermediate Female	YellowX
M-ISP	Primary Male	White
F-ISP	Primary Female	White

Note

Students ineligible for the SEIS classes must register in a standard class.

Scoring

Individual Score

Each individual starter shall receive a calculated elapsed time or an incomplete designation (DNF, MP, OT). The time will be converted into a score as described below in the Team Score section. The winning individuals are determined by lowest total score over the day or days competition.

Team Score

Scoring for team awards in two Interscholastic Team Categories, School Varsity and JROTC, will be done in accordance with OUSA Interscholastic competition rules as follows:

• For each interscholastic class, define AWT (the average winning time) as the average of the times of the top three competitors in that class who are competing in a team category.
• For each competitor in each class with a valid result, their score is computed as 60*(competitor’s time)/ (AWT for the class).
• For competitors with an OT, MP, DNF or DSQ result, their score will be the larger of 10+60*(course time limit)/ (AWT for the male class) and 10+60*(course time limit)/ (AWT for the female class) for that team category.
• The best three scores each day for each team are combined for a team score.
• Lowest overall team score wins.

Calculation and Display of Scores

Scores will be calculated by Bob Frost and verified by Carl Bridges' Excel spreadsheet for Interscholastic scoring. Scores will be displayed to two decimal places.

Tie Breaking

If two or more scores are exactly the same, break the tie by:

• First – consider the total times. If that fails:
• Second – consider the positions of the teams Fourth members if available. If that fails:
• Third – consider the time of the fourth positions. If that fails:
• Fourth – consider the same as above for the fifth positions. If that fails:
• Fifth – accept the tie. It must be valid.

Registration

Entry fees:
21 & older	$35/day
20 & under	$18/day
OUSA/IOF member discount:
Adult (21 and older)	$4/day
Junior (20 and under)	$2/day
Miscellaneous:
Extreme-O (No discount)	$15 per set of materials
Saturday Lunch ticket	$6.50 ea
Sunday Lunch ticket	$6.50 ea
GNC 2014 T-shirt	$15 ea
Late fee (after Dec 31, 2012)	$5
Change fee	$5 or $10 (See below)
Daily Park Pass	$5/day for autos, Pay at park

Capacities

USOF standard color courses (White, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Green, Red and Blue) will be offered. Each course has a capacity of 90 entries on a first-come basis. We will have separate Yellow, Orange and/or Green courses for the SEIS. Once this capacity on a course has been reached, no more entries for the course will be accepted.

Registration

All registration will be online.

Online Registration --  Registered Racer List

Deadlines

All deadlines are considered to be at 00:00 EST (Midnight) on the stated date.

Registration Deadline

Registration will close at 00:00 EST (Midnight) on Monday, January 6, 2014.

T-shirts must be ordered NO LATER THAN 00:00 EST (Midnight) Monday, December 30, 2013.

Special Registration Instructions for Families and School Teams

If you are registering for a family or a team, each competitor will have to be entered one at a time. Once all the competitors are entered proceed to the checkout where all the waivers can be signed online or printed, and the entries can be paid for.

Please bear in mind that the contact information will be used in the event of a problem or an emergency, so use the address, phone number and email address that makes the most sense. In the case of a family registration, this might be one point of contact based in the family home. In the case of a school team, this may be the address of the school and the cell phone and email address for the coach or instructor.

Please note that if you use the same contact information over and over again, your web browser will probably remember these values and allow you to enter them by typing in the first character in each, perhaps using the arrow keys to select, then hitting Enter or tab as the case may be. This is very browser and setting dependent, but please give it a try.

Refunds

Full refunds will be made on cancellations received by January 6, 2014. Refund requests received after January 6, 2014 will be considered on an individual basis by the Meet Director.

Changes and substitutions

Changes to entries may be made by January 6, 2014 at no charge. After January 6, 2014, not all changes may be possible and are solely at the discretion of the Registrar and Meet Director. Please get us any changes as soon as possible, even if your are late.

Entries changed after Monday, January 6, 2014 and no later than Monday, January 13, 2014 will incur a $5 change fee.
Entries changed after Monday, January 13, 2014 will incur a $10 change fee.

While you are in the South...

Florida Orienteering Club (FLO) is hosting races in Florida immediately after GNC2014.

Check out their website: http://www.floridaorienteering.org/

Georgia Navigator Cup 2014 Meet Schedule

Friday, Nov 8, 2013
	Registration Opens	Register online	00:00am
Monday, Dec 30, 2013
	Last day for regular registration		00:00 EST (Midnight)
	Last day to order T-shirts
Tuesday, Dec 31, 2013
	Late registration fees begin		00:00 EST (Midnight)
Monday, Jan 6, 2014
	Registration closes		00:00 EST (Midnight)
	Last day for free changes
	Last day for full refund
Monday, Jan 13, 2014
	Change fee increases		00:00 EST (Midnight)
Friday, Jan 17, 2014
	Park opens		7:00am
	Check-in opens	HQ Hotel	5:00pm
	Park closes		Dusk
	Check-in closes	HQ Hotel	9:00pm
Saturday, Jan 18, 2014
	Check-in opens	Group Shelter Meet HQ	9:00am
	Day#1 First Start	Group Shelter Meet HQ	10:00am
	Check-in closes	Group Shelter Meet HQ	11:00am
	Day#1 Last Start	Group Shelter Meet HQ	1:00pm
	OUSA Board Meeting	Comfort Inn, Douglasville	3:00-5:00pm
	Day#1 Courses close	Group Shelter Meet HQ	4:00pm
	Park closes		Dusk
Sunday, Jan 19, 2014
	Check-in opens	Group Shelter Meet HQ	8:00am
	Day#2 First Start	Group Shelter Meet HQ	9:00am
	Check-in closes	Group Shelter Meet HQ	10:00am
	Day#2 Last Start	Group Shelter Meet HQ	12:00 noon
	Day#2 Courses close	Group Shelter Meet HQ	3:00pm
	Awards	Group Shelter Meet HQ	2:00pm
	Extreme-O briefing	Group Shelter Meet HQ	3:00pm
	Park closes		Dusk
Monday, Jan 20, 2014
	Extreme-O First Start	Group Shelter Meet HQ	TBD/9:00am at the latest
	Extreme-O Courses close	Group Shelter Meet HQ	12:00 noon

Contacts

Event Director:	Charlie Bleau (gncdirector@gaorienteering.org)
Co-registrar(Correspondance):	Chun Bleau (gncregistrar@gaorienteering.org)
Co-registrar(Technical):	Andrea Berger (andikno@yahoo.com)
Course Setter:	Rick Shane (richardshane@comcast.net)
Extreme O:	Linda Ferguson (cior@aol.com)

About Sweetwater Creek State Park

The area of the Sweetwater Creek State Park used to belong to the Cherokee and according to a legend “Sweetwater” means the name of Chief Ama-Kanasta. In 1819, hunger for land led the state of Georgia to appeal to the United States government to remove the Cherokee; the appeal was rejected. In 1827, the state of Georgia began to divide the Cherokee lands through lotteries.In 1829, newly-elected president Andrew Jackson who was an ally of the state of Georgia challenged the rejection of appeal. Even though the U.S. Supreme Court’s decree stated that Georgia had no right to forbid the Cherokee government, in 1831,Georgia’s General Assembly arranged all Cherokee land inspected and distributed by lottery. In 1838, federal troops started forcing the Cherokee to leave Georgia and Alabama and about twenty thousand were forced to west to Oklahoma via the Trail of Tears.

In the Georgia Gold Lottery in 1832, Philip J. Crask won 40-acre (160,000 m2) Lot 929 in District 18 of the Second Section and paid $18 grand fee. In 1837, Lot 929 was sold at an auction to John Boyle for $12.50 who in 1845 sold it for $500 to Charles J. McDonald of Cobb County, a former governor of Georgia, and Colonel James Rogers of Milledgeville. In 1846, Rogers and McDonald started building a water-powered mill along Sweetwater Creek and on December 21, 1849, the five story mill was in operation. McDonald and Rogers incorporated their business as Sweetwater Manufacturing Company, which made cotton, yarn and fabric. In 1858, McDonald renamed the Sweetwater Manufacturing Company as New Manchester Manufacturing Company after the center of the British textile industry Manchester, England. By 1860, the factory produced seven hundred pounds of cotton per day, which was transformed into one hundred twenty bunches of yarn and five hundred yards of osnaburg.[1]

In the summer of 1864, during the Atlanta campaign of the American Civil War, General Joseph E. Johnson removed the Confederate Army across the Chattahoochee River, leaving the New Manchester factory exposed to the Union Army. On July 2, 1864, two divisions of Union cavalry under Colonel Silas Adams (1st Kentucky) and under Major Haviland Thompkins (14th Illinois) of General Stoneman’s personnel, approached the factory with orders to shut it down and arrest all the employees. On July 9, 1864, following orders from William Tecumseh Sherman, Major Thompkins burned the New Manchester mill.[2]

The arrested civilian mill employees were moved to Marietta and merged with other mill prisoners, forming a group of 600, all of them women and children. There were no adult male workers in the mill at the time it was captured. All able bodied men had been called up to fight for the Confederacy in the battle raging around Atlanta. The women mill workers were charged with treason.They spent a week in holding at the Georgia Military Institute. During the week while the women were held in Marietta, several Union soldiers allegedly committed acts of assault against their captives. The women and children were then sent North, many to Indiana, on trains. They were then left to fend for themselves in Indiana, in towns already overcrowded with refugees. Many would die from starvation or exposure until a mill opened in 1865 that provided employment. The ultimate fates of many of these women are unknown, but the majority who survived settled in the North. Only a handful ever returned to Georgia.The mill ruins still exist today and are protected by the Sweetwater Creek State Park, which was founded to protect the ruins and the pristine area around it. All that remains today is the brick walls and millrace that led to the factory's waterwheel.[2][3][4][5]

[1] Cook, Ruth B. (1998). North Across the River: A Civil War Trail of Tears. Crane hill publishers. pp. 3–16. ISBN 978-1-57587-166-0.

[2] King, Monroe M. (1982). Destruction of New Manchester, Georgia: the story behind the ruins at the Sweetwater Creek State Park.

[3] "The History of The Bricks." The Bricks Roswell- Historic Charm with Modern Thinking. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. http://www.thebricksroswell.com/history.html

[4] "Deportation of Roswell Mill Women." New Georgia Encyclopedia. Web. 08 Oct. 2010.http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1086

[5] “History of the Roswell Mill Workers.” Roswell Mills #1547. Sons of Confederate Veterans. Web. 17 Sept. 2010.