PWF Oak Ridge

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December 13
Sunday

Pre-registration is required and will open Wednesday, December 2 at noon. There will not be any day-of registration, and since this event is expected to sell out we encourage interested orienteers to make a note of this time and date.

Welcome to QOC's 13 December 2020 National Ranking Event on a brand-new map! Oak Ridge is a never-in-the-last-40+-years-orienteered area in the northwestern part of Prince William Forest National Park in Triangle, Virginia, mapped over the last 12 months by QOC's Jon Torrance. The open, rolling character of the Oak Ridge terrain and its subtle features will challenge orienteers of all experience levels and is sure to become a favorite QOC venue. And runners will enjoy the experience of pioneering this nearly virgin terrain! Course setter Francis Hogle has prepared a full set of exciting classic courses for this NRE. Course specifications and notes are shown below. Parking and administrative functions will be located in and adjacent to Oak Ridge Campground--a 20-minute drive from the park entrance. See this locator map [2] to guide you from I-95 to Oak Ridge Campground and this one [3] for a layout of the campground and event sites.

COVID-19 Risk Reduction: QOC’s COVID risk reduction protocols [4], as also enumerated here [5], are in effect. Please read these guidelines carefully. Key points:

• PROPERLY WORN MASKS ARE REQUIRED at all times when near registration, epunch areas or other concentrations of participants or others.
• Water will not be provided in accordance with QOC COVID-19 risk reduction policies. Please plan for your own hydration needs before, during, and after your run/walk.
• We encourage everyone to download and use any or even all of the DC [6], Maryland [7] and Virginia [8] COVID exposure notification apps.
• Maintain social distancing at all times especially in the designated lines for check-in, e-punch registration, start and e-punch download.
• There is no planned, on-site beginner instruction, but beginners are encouraged to watch relevant videos such as this one [9] created by QOC's instructional guru David Onkst

Pre-registration:This event requires pre-registration which will open on Wednesday, 2 December at 12 noon. Pre-registration will be accessed from this webpage (via the Registration section below), and group registrations (which includes families, couples, etc) will be taken separately from individual registrations. Take note: QOC events this season have been selling out rapidly, and we expect similar interest in attending this event, although we have taken measures, consistent with our COVID risk reduction plan, to add more slots for a total of over 200 available starts. We strongly advise that those who want to attend this event enter the date and time of the opening of pre-registration as an alarm in their phone calendar so they are reminded to pre-register with alacrity while slots are available. During pre-registration, all runners will select a start window of 15-minutes duration. There are 18 windows running from 9am to 1:30pm. The pre-registration site will show how many slots in each window are left at any given point in time. Payments may be made via PayPal to which participants will be automatically directed. Entry fees are detailed below. Note that all starts between 9am and 12pm afford NRE runners a full three hours to complete their courses; starts after 12 do not and are discounted $5.

Please keep in mind that QOC will not issue refunds except in the case of event cancellation. However, if you do decide not to attend after having pre-registered, please use our Contact Us [10] form to let us know.

Embargoed Area: Per OUSA rules, all parts of the park north of the Oak Ridge campground and the road leading to it from the Scenic Loop road, inclusive, are embargoed for visitation.

Directions: See below for driving details and use this locator map [2] to guide you from I-95 into Prince William Forest Park and on to Oak Ridge Campground. If you lack a valid National Park Service pass, there will be a $20 per-vehicle park entry fee good for seven consecutive days. An annual park pass is only $35, so those who expect to return to PWF at least one more time in the next 12 months may wish to consider that option. If the pay station at the park entrance is not manned, participants may either proceed to the park visitors center or use the pay app available for iOS [11] and Android [12] devices. New comment: Park staff may check for a valid entry pass when you leave the park, so if you didn't get one on your way in, make sure to drop by the Visitor Center to get one before exiting the park.

Parking: Follow directions from the parking volunteers wearing orange safety vests at Oak Ridge Campground. The roadway inside the campground is one-way, and there will be foot traffic moving along and across the roadway, so use caution as you drive. Oak Ridge Campground is a family camping site, so the single vehicle camping slots and other parking spaces are spread out over three loops. You may have to walk up to 600 meters from your car to the check-in location at the campground entrance. To free up parking spaces for later competitors, as well as to promote COVID 19 risk reduction, we ask that everyone follow a "come, run, leave" approach to this event. Arrive only when you need to in order to check in on time, and once your run is completed, please vacate the area.

Check-in and Start: The event check-in location will be near the entrance to Oak Ridge Campground and easily visible on your right as you arrive and enter the campground to park. Event check-in will begin at 8:30am. Please show up at check-in approximately 30 minutes prior to the opening of your start window prepared to go directly to the start from the check-in/e-punch location. We are using start windows to spread participants out evenly across the day and minimize concentrations of people in any one location, so please arrive at check-in and your start location in accordance with the start window you select during pre-registration. There will be a clothing drop at the check-in area since both starts are only a few minutes away. The last action runners will take before departing check-in for their starts is to pick up their clue sheets. The start location for the Orange, Brown, Green, Red and Blue courses is about 250 meters (3 minutes) down a dirt track from check-in. The start location for White and Yellow is about 150 meters (2 minutes) along a trail from check in.

Keep in mind that you will NOT be assigned a specific start time. Instead, you will arrive at the line leading to the start during your start window and move up in line until you reach the map pick-up and then the start control where the timer will give the instruction to punch start. All courses have distinct first points. Start volunteers will re-order the line as necessary to ensure that runners on the same course do not directly follow one another and that there is a minimum two-minute interval between same-course runner starts.

Note for those new to orienteering at a national event: When your map is issued to you at the start, keep it folded or face-down until you have punched start at the timer's instruction. At that point, you can turn the map over and look at it.

Finish and Departure: Finishers will proceed immediately to the e-punch table to download and then pick up any dropped clothing. Since we are operating under a COVID-induced "come, run, leave" policy, runners will NOT have to surrender their course maps for subsequent retrieval. Do not show your map to any competitor who has not started yet; we ask that you fold your maps and move immediately to your vehicle for departure. Please download at the e-punch table even if you did not finish your course, so we know you have cleared the area.

Safety:

• Observe all COVID-19 risk reduction measures as described above, especially the guidance on being prepared to meet all your own hydration needs
• Come prepared for mid-December weather in Triangle, VA; average high in mid-upper 40s; average low in low-mid-30's
• 911 is primary medivac number
• The nearest 24-hour, emergency-room-equipped medical facility is Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center (2300 Opitz Blvd, Woodbridge, VA) about 35-40 minutes away from Oak Ridge Campground.

Other Points:

• Any groups planning to attend the event or anyone with questions please contact the Event Director [13].
• Wondering which course to run (to get ranked) given your age? Check this table [14], based on the OUSA Rules of Competition [15]. For example, a female born in 1963 is ranked based on running a Brown course (F55+ age group). You are welcome to choose a course other than the one based on your age category, but if you do, you may not gain OUSA ranking points.
• None of the three rest room facilities at the campground will be open. Port-a-johns will be on site near check-in.
• There are no pavilions or park shelters located at Oak Ridge Campground. Bring appropriate cold and wet weather gear for mid-December.
• The size of start teams (groups of individuals orienteering together with one e-punch) on a course must be no more than four (4) individuals (juniors and adults combined). For this event, groups may orienteer on the white, yellow, or orange courses.
• Pets are not permitted on the course at this event; they are permitted elsewhere but must be leashed.

Wondering who's registered? Click here [16] to see all individual registrations, and click here [17] to see all group registrations.

Location	Prince William Forest Park, Oak Ridge Campground, Triangle, VA (Classic)
Registration	Registration for this event is now SOLD OUT. Update Tuesday Dec. 8: We will release a few registration slots here at noon on Friday Dec. 11. If you are holding a registration and going to cancel, please do so before Friday! Individual runners: register here [18]. This form is ONLY for solo runners; groups (i.e. 2, 3 or 4 people orienteering together with one epunch) must use the form for groups linked below. Groups: register using this form [19]. Do not use the other form, which is only for solo runners.
Start Times	Participants will register in advance for a specified 15 check-in window (including map pick-up), starting at 9:00am until the final window from 1:15-1:30pm. Individuals wishing NRE ranking should start before noon in order to have the required three hour period before the closing time for all courses (3pm). Each window will have a limited number of starts. Individuals on the same course will start no less than 2 minutes apart, however start times will not be assigned in advance.
Schedule	Sunday, December 13 8:30 am Classic: Check-in area at event opens 9:00 am - 9:15 am Classic: First start window 1:15 pm - 1:30 pm Classic: Last start window 3:00 pm Classic: All runners must be off their course
Volunteers	Event Director: John Baker [13] Course Designer: Francis Hogle [20]
Location Details	Classic, Classic, Classic, Classic Prince William Forest Park Oak Ridge Campground Triangle, VA Google Map [21] Take I-95 to exit 150 (150B from points north). Head west on Joplin Road (VA-619) and take the second right for the park entrance. Turn left 0.5 miles from the park entrance, onto Scenic Drive. Bear left at the split in the drive to stay on Scenic Dr (signs toward Turkey Run Education Center), continue for 3.6 miles, then turn left on West Gate Fire Rd to the Oak Ridge Campground. (Scenic Drive becomes one-way at that point, and you MUST turn left anyway.) Allow at least 20 minutes drive time inside the park. Warning: do not use nav software that incorrectly suggests taking Mawavi Rd from Rt 619/Joplin Rd, or, taking Old Blacktop Road from Turkey Run Ridge Camping Area. Both are closed to through traffic. Google Maps Link [21] Apple/iPhone Link [22]
Course Details	Classic Course Name Length (km) Climb (m) No. Controls White 3.4 125 14 Yellow 3.1 95 10 Orange 4.5 135 10 Brown 4.5 120 11 Green 5.3 155 14 Red 8 185 13 Blue 11.9 265 20
Course Notes	Classic Terrain is very gently rolling, mostly hardwoods with pine and holly. This terrain is very fast, but not without obstacles. Deadfall is prominent in the terrain, and well mapped. Greenbriar is very sparse but present, mostly in the vicinity of pines. There is very little rock, no barbed wire or fences, and only a few water features. Blue is the only advanced course that will see a trail. There are more than enough parallel possibilities to keep participants busy, however. White and yellow have a separate start an easy 150m walk from registration. That walk is off limits for anyone on any course and is marked as such on all maps – please keep away. All course maps will be printed on letter size paper. Map scale will be 1:7500 for white and yellow courses and 1:10000 for all others.
Entry Fees	Individual Entries Note: juniors = under 21 Club Member, adult Club Member, junior Non-Member, adult Non-Member, junior $15/$10 before/after noon $10/$5 before/after noon $25/$20 before/after noon $10/$5 before/after noon Group Entries Participants on white, yellow and orange courses 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 $50/30 (maximum for before/after noon), and each receives a map. A group receives one epunch, regardless of whether the group size totals 2, 3 or 4 people. Important Notes "Club Member" for this event is defined as a current member of QOC or any other OUSA-chartered club. If you wish to become a QOC member you should join online in advance via this webpage [23] (which also explains the member benefits). Membership is completely optional. This event will use an 'epunch' timing chip for electronic timing. Individuals or groups without their own epunch will be loaned one for that event. Loaned epunches that are lost incur a $40 replacement fee. Epunches (also known as SI-cards or finger sticks) can be purchased from online vendors as described here [24]. Former QOC members who have let their membership lapse (and don't currently belong to any other OUSA club) pay non-member fees. Please note that normally there are no refunds (unless we cancel the event). Compasses are available at no charge, but if lost incur a $15 replacement fee. Free beginner instruction is always available - just ask at the registration table. While COVID-19 policies are in effect, please check out instructional videos online such as those mentioned above in lieu of in-person/at-event instruction.