7pm sharp Mass Start Riley Park Wednesday Evening series

Organizer: Tim McLaren (Event Director)

Map: SAIT / Riley Park

(for the free AOA Try-It try beginner orienteering event running at the same time and same place, please see the Try-It event page)

Wednesday Evening Orienteering (WEO) Event

This week's WEO will be a mass-start Farsta event starting at 7pm sharp in the northwest part of Riley Park close to the 8th Ave NW parking (free after 6pm). See the google map below.

Please arrive close to 6:30pm to check-in and borrow a SI-Air (SIAC) finger stick if you don't have your own. You can use an older SI stick but may have to wait in line to manually punch the controls if there is a crowd of people around the controls (which is why using a Si-Air stick is recommended). We have 45 SI-Air sticks available to borrow ($100 fee if lost) as well as many slower non-Air sticks ($50 fee if lost).

The mass-start Farsta course is a beginner-friendly Intermediate-level course. There is no separate Advanced course. We will also print a maps for a simpler separate Beginner course for those registered for the Beginner course. However, we will also print enough maps for Beginners to try the Farsta course and they can either start with everyone at 7pm or on their own.

• The Farsta course has 27 controls and is about 3km long (that's a whole lotta controls in a small area, but it's great training for quick decision-making and avoiding distractions from other runners and other control flags).
• The Beginner course has 12 controls and is only 600m long, but you can get a map for the Farsta course afterwards (and do it all or just one of the 3 parts of it) for a longer challenge.

The event ends sharply at 8pm and we will begin a lost runner search then for anyone who has not checked back in by then.

Brief instructions and maps will be given at 6:55pm at the start. If you are late or want to avoid the fun mass-start chaos (or want to try a beginner course first), you can get a map and do the Farsta course after everyone else starts, but it can be much more fun to do the mass start even if your orienteering skills or speed are not great.

In this Farsta race format, everyone starts at once, but there are 36 different versions of the map, so even though everyone will eventually run the same control legs, they do them in different orders so you can only follow someone for a few controls before they head off to a different set of controls.

It is a really fun event that requires a lot of focus on your map to make sure you go to the correct controls in the order shown on your unique map. Expect a lot of quick direction changes and a lot of people running all over. Fast running and map reading helps, but avoiding distractions and making quick decisions is even more important.

In orienteering races, there is no penalty for punching the wrong control as long as you eventually punch all the controls in order before you punch the Finish. For example, it is ok if you punch controls #1,2,5,3,4,5 but you will be disqualified if you only punch #1,2,5,3,4 (because you missed punching #5 after #4).

As usual, please do not run through any flower gardens or out-of-bounds area (indicated with olive green or purple cross-hatching on the map - see areas near control 5 on the example below):

Note 1: unlike a regular orienteering course, this one may have other controls as close as 18m from each other, so make sure you match the control number on the stand with the one in your control description on the map. There will not be separate control descriptions.

Note 2: the symbol at Control 9 above is a new symbol indicating the course continues on the next map. There will be 3 maps printed on each page and you will do all three in order. So after Control 9, you look at the 2nd map on your page and proceed to Control 10.

You will need an SI stick; you can borrow one from the club on the night of the event if you do not own one. A SI-Air stick is recommended for this one due to the number of people trying to punch a control all at once.

• You must pre-register for this and any of the WEO events.
• The last day to register for each Wednesday event is the Monday evening before to ensure we print enough maps for everyone.
• You will need to be a 2024 member of Foothills Orienteering (FWOC), a 2024 member of another Canadian orienteering club, or pay the non-member event fee.
• We will not have a Maprun version of this course due to it's complexity.
• We will have a short Beginner course mostly following the paved path, although the mass-start Farsta is also flat and quite easy to navigate.

Wednesday Orienteering Payment Options

There are two ways to pay for the Wednesday Evening Orienteering (WEO) events:

1. You can pay for each event separately, as late as the Monday before the event. Each event costs $5 per member or $10 for non-members.
2. You can purchase a WEO Series Pass for $50 and pay for all the events at one time. You DO NOT have to attend all the events but if you might attend 11 or more then the WEO Season Pass is a good deal for you. If you know what events you will miss (because of vacation, for example), you can ask for a pdf of the map and run another time. There will be no WEO during the Canadian Orienteering Championships.

The family discount does not apply to the WEO Series Pass. The family discount (which you get when registering for individual events) is the better deal for very large families. The WEO Series Pass is the better deal for families of three if you plan to attend 12 + events. The WEO Series Pass provides a better discount for a family of four if you think you will all get to 15 + events

The WEO Series Pass only applies to Wednesday events; it does not apply to forest events not hosted on a Wednesday.

Registration for individual events and the WEO season pass will open soon.

NOTE: After having registered for an event, you can make changes to your course selection on the Interpodia (2M) website.

1. Login.
2. Go to "Event Registrations" section in the menu on the left side of the screen.
3. Click on the “Manage” button on the event you want to revise.
4. Click view/edit registration.
5. Click on the edit button on Course Selection. Revise your selection there; for example, if you won't be able to attend unexpectedly, you can choose to get a map PDF instead.

Location