Quail Hollow Stark County Park | Self Serve Classic-O Event | August 24th thru 30th

Update – courses now are now closed!

NEOOC has picked up all of the flags.  We had a GREAT response to this event.  Please send us any comments at contact@neooc.com.

If you have not entered your results yet, please do so below.  That usage information helps us to determine the effectiveness of these types of events.

In addition, similar courses to this one are being planned for other venues in the Northeast Ohio area.  Stay Tuned.

Update – Event extended thru September 7th!

Details and Downloads

  • Place:  Quail Hollow Stark County Park, Hartville, Ohio – Shady Lane Picnic Area – not at the Manor House
  • Dates and Times:  Monday, August 24th thru Sunday, August 30th  Monday, Labor Day, September 7th –  6am to Dusk

NEOOC has setup a set of Self Serve, Classic Orienteering courses at Quail Hollow Stark County Park.   FULL SIZE control flags are in use and the courses are intended for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced skill level Orienteers.

PLEASE REVIEW THE  WAIVER OF LIABILITY AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK BEFORE DOWNLOADING ANY COURSE MAP FROM THIS WEBPAGE.  BY DOWNLOADING A MAP YOU ARE AGREEING TO THE TERMS OF THIS WAIVER AND ARE ABSOLVING NEOOC AND ORIENTEERING USA , ET AL OF LIABILITY RESULTING FROM YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE ASSOCIATED ORIENTEERING ACTIVITY.

The map used for these courses is an 1 : 10000 scale Orienteering map and was created by NEOOC’s Bob Boltz.

Four courses are available (Click link to download):

For the map page included in each download, use landscape mode for the printout on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper.   We added the separate Map Legend PDF file because we needed to crop the map to maintain the proper Map Scale and to allow for overlays (like QR codes, clues, etc.) which were written over the legend.

*A Yellow Course follows the trails in the park, but requires short off-trail excursions to find many of the controls.

Park Usage and Guidelines

TELL SOMEONE WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WHEN YOU EXPECT TO RETURN.  SAFETY FIRST!      (see Sanae’s location sharing idea below)

Here is our thoughts and guidelines for these Classic-O courses:

  • Do this as individuals only or in your cohort.  As part of your essential exercise program, while maintaining social distancing.
  • The Start (QR code) is located on the signage board at the North end of the parking lot for the Shady Lane Picnic Area
  • The Finish (QR code) is located on another signage board at the South end of the parking lot, west side of entry road for the Shady Lane Picnic Area. Near the bridle prep area.
  • For these Classic-O courses, the idea is to find them in the specified order (Start -> 1 -> 2 -> … -> Finish).
  • But plan a specific amount of time for your course.  Find as many control flags-markers as you can, in the time that you have planned.  It can be one hour or up to three hours.  Its’ up to you.
  • If you are having trouble finding a particular control flag, skip it.  No problem.
  • Have fun and get some exercise.  Do not over do it.  Know your limits.  Consult your Healthcare provider for guidance as needed.
  • Time limit of 3 hours.  Once the clock starts, it keeps going, no time off for breaks.  Come back well before dark.
  • Record the Key word from each control flag-marker you find.  Use the sheet included on the map.  Bring your own pen!   –  “No-Touch”
  • Or use the iOrienteering Phone App to record the control flags found.  This app uses the QR codes attached to each flag and at the Start/Finish areas, see the details in this document:  iOrienteering Instructions.  And see the special notes below. –  “No-Touch”
  • AND, at your option, you can email your GPS file as an attachment to:  contact@neooc.com ——- And we will activate RouteGadget for this Event!
  • Courses also available at UsynligO.  Send your splits and/or track to contact@neooc.com  via the App’s sharing functions

Pack a lunch, snacks, and plenty of water.  Make a day of it.   Email questions to contact@neooc.com.

Course Designer’s Notes

Two points of caution:
  • The ubiquitous light green color on the map is not representative in many areas.  When making direct attacks on certain controls through light green, expect heavier foliage.
  • Use caution on the board walks.  In fact, I would suggest walking, not running.  Numerous spots contain loose boards and there is at least one entirely loose section.
General notes:
  • The Novice course is much simpler than the one at Richfield.  If folks who completed Novice at Richfield inquire about Quail, guide them toward Orange.
  • Control #107 is NOT the control represented on the map.  However, it is in the same area and HUGE.  As long as orienteers do not overthink it, they will be fine.

Cost

Zero!  No charge!

However, consider one of the following to support  NEOOC:

Phone App

The iOrienteering Phone App  uses QR codes mounted on the control flags and at the Start and Finish.  This strives to make the course completely “no-touch”.

Important Note to iOrienteering Participants:

We would like to make you aware that iOrienteering is planning to update their app, possibly during the time that the Quail Hollow self-serve courses are active.  This is a good thing, as there will be several new features that will improve the app experience, as well as some fixes that should eliminate some of the glitches that some of you have experienced.

If you already have an iOrienteering account set up, you should be receiving an e-mail notifying you about the change, and that you will need to update your app.  When you update the app on your device, the appearance will be different, but the way it works will be similar to the way it works now – just click on the “Scan” button when you want to scan a QR code.

Once the update is released, you will no longer be able to access your results on the current website, or results that are only stored on your phone.  If you want to save results that have not been uploaded, you should do that now.  Any results that have been uploaded will be accessible on the new iOrienteering website on an archive page.

If you have any questions, or experience any issues that we can help with, drop an email to mike@neooc.com.

Here is an example of the setup QR code on the map that must be scanned first:

Volunteers

A big thanks to our volunteers:

  • Event Director:  ????
  • Course design:  Howard Montgomery
  • Course setting:  Richard Davies
  • Park liaison:  Howard
  • iOrienteering help:  Mike Avery (see contact info here)

Reporting your Personal Results

NEOOC has setup a webpage to self report your results:

Enter your Results here!

Your results will be added to the Results list below once we have transferred the information properly.  It may take a little while.  This is completely on the honor system.   Have fun!

Or send an email to mike@neooc.com indicating your team name, course, number of controls found and total time.

If you used the iOrienteering App, just upload when you are finish and we will process your results into the Results list below.   But if you would like to submit your own, with a different name and/or more detailed comments, go ahead!  We will replace our entry with yours in such a case, as soon as we can.

We encourage you to report your results, even if you did not get all of the controls!  (Just enter your team name, the number of controls found, and approximate time taken on the webpage.  Easy!)

Seeing the Overall Results

See the ongoing Results here!

Location

Quail Hollow Park

Notes, Tips, Photos, etc.

Sanae’s location sharing idea:

I found neat function in Google Map. It’s called “location sharing”. You can turn the function on with your family or friend and let them know you will be in the woods and approx. how long, or by when you will be back.
If something happens on you, they will know your location and call rescue or come find you ☺