DVOA sprints
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Topic created by johncampbell on Sat Jun 13, 2015 at 9:12 amAt the summer picnic I mentioned the idea of putting together a sprint series of races for 2016. There was interested in the idea, so now is the time to think about it. My thoughts so far, but I am looking for feedback 1. A series of 6 races, best 4 to count. 2. As to the races themselves, I think they should be separate events from regular. Some could be on a Saturday. If the events are separate, it would be good to try to offer 2 courses. 3. Locations for the events. It would be nice that some are urban, some woods and some a mixture. Please let me know venues you think would be suitable. It would be good to do Norristown again, the campus area of Tyler is good. 4. To make this work I am looking for some others who would be interested in helping, whether it be getting permissions (event director), planning courses running punch. As someone who did not initially like sprint races, I have come to enjoy them a lot. Please let me know your thoughts and let's get this going and some dates on the calendar for next year. Thanks
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Reply by ErikEddy on Sat Jun 13, 2015 at 10:06 amexcellent! PSU Berks could be paired with Egelmans 1:5000 with a social to follow. I like the idea of Saturday morning keeping start window short. I'd suggest a summer weeknight if we weren't so spread out. Boy Scout camps could also make good sprint map. I can help, especially with series scoring, promotion, etc. I designed a mass start sprint last year that went over pretty well.
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Reply by ErikEddy on Sat Jun 13, 2015 at 10:30 amI'd also comment this is a good opportunity to pair with a beginner program.
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Reply by furlong47 on Sat Jun 13, 2015 at 10:59 amLove this idea. I love sprints, especially the urban/campus sprints, and I miss the US Sprint Series of past years. Norristown, Egelman's, and Tyler are good ideas. We had sprints at Boone a few years ago that were a good use of what can be a crap area for regular meets. Also the mansion area of Ridley. I don't know if we could get permissions for Lehigh? That was a fun race. I don't like setting normal courses but I think I would enjoy setting an urban type sprint.
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Reply by edscott on Sun Jun 14, 2015 at 8:04 amI like the ideas here, but my fear is that adding another 6 events will further spread out the few volunteers we currently have for setting courses and directing events. On the positive side I'd add Ft Washington, the area near the pavillion at Baptism Creek, and JJ Audubon to the list of potential sites.
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Reply by furlong47 on Sun Jun 14, 2015 at 8:54 pmAfter today's adventure I started thinking that a sprint series might be nice for the summer.
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Reply by ErikEddy on Sun Jun 14, 2015 at 10:26 pmWhat's the Lancaster Central Park like ? Sprint worthy?
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Reply by furlong47 on Sun Jun 14, 2015 at 11:53 pmMaybe. We usually run only WYO there. I think it would be hard to offer much route choice which is what can make sprints so much fun. There are also several large out of bounds in the middle of the map which somewhat limits how courses can go. There's lots of open areas and a good trail network in most of the rest. The map is old and could stand some updates, especially trails. The woods are pretty trashy, both figuratively and literally (the place is built on top of a not well-capped landfill, and stuff is surfacing.) There's also a ton of stinging nettle, which may not be very fun, especially if people sprint in shorts.
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Reply by CNYO-South on Mon Jun 15, 2015 at 1:53 pm
Rockwood Park, Wilmington, DE, would make a great venue for a Sprint.
http://www.dvoa.org/info/maps/mapit.php?map_id=113
To the best of my knowledge, this map, produced by Tom Overbaugh, was used only once. On Sunday, November 14, 2010, there was a late-morning, early afternoon event at Fair Hill, MD, followed by a late-afternoon event at Rockwood Park directed by Joanna Zaremba as part of the "Greenways Gallop" benefitting "Delaware Greenways".
More details are here:
http://www.dvoa.org/people/eboard2/readtopic.php?topic_id=77
http://www.dvoa.org/people/eboard2/readtopic.php?topic_id=133Robert Buraczynski
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Reply by rgbortz on Mon Jun 15, 2015 at 10:24 pmSetting course at Hay Creek in 2013 I thought the area around the reservoir would be a great sprint venue.
Green Lane has plenty open land with buildings and sprint freindly woods in close proximity around the lake and also an area at the main reservoir. -
Reply by edscott on Tue Jun 16, 2015 at 10:53 amGreen Lane Nature Center is a small map that we produced and have seldom used. It might require some minor updates but is worth checking for a sprint venue. Julie's idea of making the summer schedule a sprint series has lots of positives. Short courses in more open, but techinical areas sound good in the hot weather. And yes, I'd also recommend a normal white course be included. I would still like at least one regular or long course summer event in open woods like the Water Gap or Hickory Run.
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Reply by j-man on Wed Jun 17, 2015 at 11:28 amI actually like summer orienteering, and it can be a good experience to stay sharp during the summer, but it takes a differentiated appraoch to course setting for it to be enjoyable, and navigation for it to not be frustrating.Some of our traditional areas aren't as nice as they used to be in the summer, but not all are. Clearly, the Water Gap and Hickory Run are good areas that can be used virtually year round, inlcuding summer, without too much accomodation. Of course, even those places are thicker, and it is hot, so courses should err on the side of moderation.In any case, I hope that we can always have at least a few chances to do regular orienteering with full courses in the summer. Maybe not even every other week, but once a month?I would have loved to do Hay Creek, and would have loved to do the mass start, but alas, travel prevented it. I will miss the French Creek event for orienteering in Idaho, which admittedly, is not a bad trade :)
