Manassas
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Sunday
Pre-registration is required and will open Monday, Feb 23 at 6pm. It will
close on Saturday, Feb 28 at 12 noon (or when our max. capacity is reached is now closed as this event is SOLD OUT) . There will be no day-of registration.
Orienteering at Manassas
Welcome back to the historic Stuart’s Hill section of Manassas National Battlefield park. Many thanks to QOC VP Dennis Doherty’s efforts, we are back to a park we haven’t orienteered at since April, 2019.Course-setter Aaron Linville has prepared a full set of classic courses - White through Blue - for this event. Course notes and stats are now posted below. This park is fairly flat and constrained by a perimeter road, so runners may consider running up.
Nearby Attraction: The park's Henry Hill Visitor Center, located at 6511 Sudley Road, Manassas, VA, will be open from 9am - 5pm, and it's free. This museum has both static and dynamic displays, plus a 45 minute movie ('Manassas: End of Innocence') focusing on the Civil War battles that took place here, including over the terrain covered by our orienteering courses.
What to Expect: Participants will navigate through diverse terrains, including wooded areas, open fields, and waterways, using a map and compass. This event is designed to test your navigation skills, endurance, and for groups, teamwork. Various courses will be available to accommodate all skill levels:
- Beginner Course: Perfect for newcomers, offering a gentle introduction to orienteering with straightforward checkpoints and kid-friendly terrain. Beginner Instruction will be available.
- Intermediate Course: A bit more challenging, great for those with some orienteering experience looking to improve their skills.
- Advanced Courses: For experienced orienteers seeking a rigorous and demanding course with complex navigation.
- Comfortable outdoor clothing and sturdy footwear
- Given the wet ground conditions, an extra pair of socks/shoes
- Water bottle and snacks
- Compass and whistle if you have them. Loaners are available if needed.
Our club doesn’t run on autopilot but on the incredible energy of our amazing volunteers! A massive thank you to those who volunteer week after week! Thanks to you, we’re able to offer an event almost every weekend in the season. We’re always looking for new volunteers to help share the load so that our regulars don’t end up running totally off-course!
If you have a sense of adventure and a little time to spare, join the crew by signing up via this form or email the Event Director for other volunteering opportunities.
Beginners: Make sure to check out our Your First Event and For Beginners webpages, and if they don't answer all your questions, just ask them via our Contact Form . We will also offer beginner instruction at the event.
Groups: QOC allows groups of up to 4 people to orienteer together. Please see our Group Leaders webpage and then contact the Event Director so he is aware of your plans.
JROTC Registrations: Due to capacity limits, all JROTC units other than the three NJROTC units competing in the 2026 Navy Nationals must register using the solo/group registration form (and not the normal JROTC-specific registration section).
Other notes and reminders:
- QOC will continue to use pre-registration as the ONLY method of signing up for our events. There will be NO day-of, on-site registration. Refunds are paid only in case of event cancellation.
- No water or food will be provided. Participants are responsible for meeting all their own food and hydration needs. Port-a-johns will be on site near the pavilion.
- Everyone must be out of the woods and back at the registration/finish area by 3:00pm when control pick-up will start. Allow yourself time to get back to the registration area to download, regardless of whether you finished the course. We want to ensure that all participants are safe and accounted for.
- Pets are allowed but must always be kept on a leash and under the owner’s control.
| Location | Manassas National Battlefield Park, Brownsville Picnic Area, Manassas, VA (Classic) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Registration | This event is SOLD OUT. Registration opened Monday, Feb. 23 at 6pm but is now closed since our max. event capacity was reached. There will be no day-of registration.
Who's Registered? Check by clicking here. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Start Times | Start times will be by windows (to be defined for this event before registration opens). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Schedule | Sunday, March 1
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| Volunteers |
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| Location Details |
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| Course Details | Classic
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| Course Notes | Classic White and yellow courses use a 1:5000 map scale, orange and brown 1:7500, and green and above 1:10000. The blue course involves a map flip to declutter the control layout. Contour interval is 2.5m rather than the usual 5m, so the terrain will appear steeper than it actually is. Special black "X" symbols generally indicate rusting farm machinery. Black circles indicate park benches, historical markers, and signs. Some map updates include rootstocks — not all rootstocks are mapped, but those that are have been verified at 1.5m tall or greater. The vegetation has not had significant recent updates, but the vegetation boundaries are generally accurate. Areas marked as rough open with scattered trees may be overgrown with briars and difficult to run through. Areas of significant deadfall (wide green slash) have decayed in recent years and are usually traversable; however, areas of dense deadfall (narrow green slash) will be very slow going — expect legs requiring runners to plan routes around them. There are many fields; typically, bright yellow indicates mowed and pale yellow indicates unmowed. At this time of year, unmowed fields are usually quite passable, though some will contain extensive briars. Leg protection on advanced courses is recommended. The park is quite marshy, and with recent snowmelt and ice melt, runners should expect wet or muddy shoes. Youngs Branch creek bisects the park; all courses except white and yellow will require a crossing. There are many easily crossed sections. Runners must not run along Rt-29 and legs have been designed to avoid having it as an viable option. Manassas is a mixed use park and is frequented by equestrian users. Orienteers are reminded that if they encounter a horse on the trail, they must yield. They should move to the side of the trail until the equestrian passes and also heed any instructions by the rider. The Manassas map uses the, much older, ISOM 2000 symbol set (we’re working on updating it - next time!) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Entry Fees | Individual Entries
Note: juniors = under 21
Group Entries Participants are welcome to orienteer together as a group (up to the maximum for that event; usually 4). Each member of a group is charged their individual rate as shown above, up to a group total of $30 (maximum), and each receives a map. A group receives one epunch. Individuals or groups desiring to compete on a second course after completing their first can do so for a reduced fee of $2/map subject to approval at the event by the Event Director. Important Notes
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