2017 Umstead Score-O
Updated information for Sunday’s score-O
The 1-hour course has 20 controls and will be printed on 1 page. The 2-hour course has 39 controls and will be printed on 4 pages. The 6-hour course has 47 controls and will be printed on 5 pages. All maps will be printed at a scale of 1:10000.
Because the 2- and 6-hour courses contain more controls than can be accommodated on most competitors’ fingersticks, 17 of the controls will be manual punch. There are no manual punch controls on the 1-hour course.
Each control will have a three digit code (e.g., 547). The first digit will be the point value for the control, and the remaining digits will represent the control code on the SI box or punch. Manual punch controls will have codes that are 80 or greater. Thus, for example, control #547 is worth 5 points and is an electronic punch (because 47 is less than 80). 783 is worth 7 points, and is a manual punch (because 83 is greater than 80).
Unlike what was previously announced, control descriptions will not be on each map page. (There was no way to fit them without obscuring important terrain.) Instead, descriptions for all controls will be on one of the map pages, and will also be on the competitor’s punch card. The punch card/control description sheet will not be waterproof, and it is strongly recommended to carry it in your map case. You should be able to set up your map case so that you can punch manual controls right through the bag.
On Sunday December 10, BOK will host its 4th annual Score-O in Umstead park. A “Score-O” involves a course with no predetermined route, in which competitors decide which controls they want to visit, and in which order. This event will have 1-, 2-, and 6-hour options. It is open only to advance BOK members who have successfully completed an expert (brown, green, red, or blue) course, as well as advanced members of other orienteering clubs and active military personnel. Competitors from other clubs or from the military will need to pay $15 to help us with our map and insurance expenses. You must preregister for this event here before Friday December 8 at 5:00 PM, so that we know how many maps to print.
Unlike previous years’ events which had one mass start and three finish times, this year’s event will have three mass starts and one common finish time. In particular, start times will be 9:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 2:00 PM for the 6-, 2-, and 1-hour courses, respectively. All courses will finish at 3:00, when all competitors must be off their course. Maps will be ready for distribution one hour before each start time to provide competitors time for route planning.
Start, finish, and registration will be in Umstead West, just past the gate at the end of Old Reedy Creek Road. (GPS coordinates = 35.847717, -78.776789).
Because of the extent of the course, the map for this event will need to be printed on multiple pages. Each page will be at a scale of 1:10000, and will contain control descriptions for that page. There will not be a master map that shows all control locations. Controls will be worth between 1 and 9 points, with more distant and/or difficult controls generally being worth more points. The 6-hour course should be (barely) clearable by the best orienteers in the region (not including Sergei from Charlotte), requiring approximately 29km of straight line distance between controls in order to clear.
Drinking water will not be available at any control; however, some park water fountains at relatively convenient locations will be marked on the map. Nonetheless, competitors in the 6-hour race are strongly advised to carry their own water.