University of Montana Sprint and Day 3 of the Pacific Northwest Orienteering Festival

What is it?

This orienteering event on the brand-new University of Montana campus map will feature a set of sprint* courses ranging from Beginner to Advanced. It also constitutes Day 3 (of 9) of the Pacific Northwest Orienteering Festival (PNWOF). 

THIS EVENT IS FOR EVERYBODY! It's for competitive and non-competitive orienteers. It's for experienced, intermediate, and beginning orienteers, hikers, runners, and adventurers. It's for families and individuals. It's for people of all ages. It's for you! 

For more information about PNWOF, see below. You can choose to participate in just this event, or any number of event days. Pre-registration for this and all the other days is required and is handled centrally at the PNWOF homepage.

*The sprint format in orienteering emphasizes high-speed orienteering with the need for frequent decision-making. Winning times for sprint events are typically in the 12-15 minute range. 

Pacific Northwest Orienteering Festival (PNWOF)

PNWOF 2022 is a collaboration among three orienteering clubs - Grizzly Orienteering, Eastern Washington Orienteering Club, and Cascade Orienteering Club - to bring a full week of orienteering events to the Pacific Northwest. The first three days are centered around Missoula, MT, while the remainder are closer to Spokane, WA. For full schedule, details, and registration, see the PNWOF 2022 webpage. 

Schedule

The start window will be 12pm-4pm. NEW INFORMATION: A sprint start time sign-up sheet will be posted at Lubrecht on Saturday and Sunday. You can sign up for start times then. We will block off some times at regular intervals for people unable to sign up for start times during the weekend events. Those people can show up near their desired start time on Monday and proceed to the start for the next available slot.

Location

The event will take place on the University of Montana campus in Missoula, MT. Please park in Parking Lot H off the intersection of Arthur Avenue and E Beckwith Avenue.

You need to pay for parking through an online portal. We recommend making a guest account ahead of time so you can pay quickly when you get there. You can also pay with that link from your phone when they get to campus. The charge is $4/spot/day: https://umt.t2hosted.com/Account/Portal

There will be a portable toilet in the parking lot. The walk from parking to the Start/Finish/Check-in is 250 meters.

Registration

Because these events are part of the 2022 Pacific Northwest Orientering Festival, registration will be handled centrally for this event, even if you are attending just one or two of the festival days. Please register at this link.

Covid-19 Precautions  We recommend wearing masks the entire time you are in the registration, start, and finish areas. Hand sanitizer will be available at check-in. For the purposes of beginner instruction, you will be assigned to one  of our experienced volunteers. Please respect their space and maintain proper social distancing.

Equipment  We will provide specially created maps with pre-printed courses for each participant. We will also provide loaner compasses. Please return these when you are done. The compasses will be sanitized after each use. Wear clothing that is comfortable for activities in the woods and off-trail and appropriate for the expected temperatures. Please bring your own snacks and hydration. A limited supply  of single-serving snacks will be provided, but due to Covid-19  precautions, selection and supply will be limited. 

Please refrain from wearing shoes with metal spikes for this campus sprint.

Courses  Three courses: Short, Medium, and Long will be offered. The course lengths indicate the shortest, straight-line  distance for visiting all the controls and returning to the finish. You will certainly cover more distance than that.  Since all the courses are on the University of Montana campus, the relative difficulty levels will be somewhat more similar among the courses than at a typical forest orienteering event.

Sprint Course Lengths

Beginner 2.1km, 12 controls

Medium 2.6km, 14 controls

Long 3.3km, 18 controls

Please remember that olive green areas are out of bounds, as are areas shown with magenta shading. 

Thick black lines indicate uncrossable walls and fences. Please refrain from trying to cross those.

The courses cross a couple of strees that may have some light traffic. Please take care when crossing these streets.

Beginner Instruction Beginner instruction will be provided by several experienced orienteers. If this is your first event, take a look at the "Newcomers" section of our website to get an idea of what to expect: https://www.grizzlyorienteering.org/newcomers .

Start and Finish You will need to check in with one of our volunteers at registration before proceeding to the start. Our volunteers will provide you with the  appropriate map, a loaner compass if needed, and a loaner electronic  timing chip and will keep track of  who is out and doing which course. When you have found all the controls  on your course, return to the finish and check in with a volunteer  there. Even if you decide to quit your course before finding all the  controls, please check in at the finish so we do not go out searching for you.

There are no assigned start times for the sprint. Please check in with a start official when you are ready to go.

Electronic "punching"

An e-punch records your race. At each control, you’ll dip the e-punch into an electronic box, which will beep and flash as confirmation.  After you finish, you’ll download the e-punch at the download tent and  get a receipt that shows which controls you visited and how long you took  between each; these are your “splits.”

Part of the fun of orienteering is comparing your splits with people who completed the same course, and discussing the routes you took!