Update – courses are now closed!
NEOOC has picked up all of the flags. We had a good turn out for 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.
One more Self Serve Event for 2020 is in the works for Kendall Lake (CVNP) starting November 25th. Stay Tuned.
Overview
NEOOC, in partnership with Stark Parks, are pleased to offer another “self-serve / no touch” orienteering event for your enjoyment. Similar to the previous events of this type, we will be using the iOrienteering and UsynligO apps for electronic timing on your smart phone, with logging of key words on the marker flags as a backup for the apps. There is no need to have to touch the control flags.
Details and Downloads
- Place: Sippo Lake Park, between Canton and Massillon, Ohio – enter using the North entrance, Exploration Gateway, 5712 12th St NW, Canton OH 44708
- Dates and Times: Saturday, Nov 14 through Sunday, Nov 22 – Dawn to Dusk
NEOOC has setup a set of Self Serve, Classic Orienteering courses at Sippo Lake 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 : 7500 scale Orienteering map and was created by NEOOC’s Bob Boltz, and just updated last year.
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 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)
Contact Sanae Rogers, Event Director (sanae@neooc.com), if you would like her to monitor your run/walk.
Here are our thoughts and guidelines for these Classic-O courses:
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- 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 at the kiosk at the North end of the West parking lot for the Exploration Gateway facility.
- The Finish (QR code) is located on the West side of the gazebo next to the lake, Southwest of the Exploration Gateway facility
- 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. It’s 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. – “No-Touch”
- 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
- With the cooler weather, the density of foliage is changing daily. While there are plenty of well maintained and traveled trails, I expect that there will be more route choices available to those running the Orange / Green / Red courses than were apparent when the courses were being designed.
- No water stations have been provided on the courses. Participants will need to bring their own supply of water!
- Please respect private property, and and areas within the park that Stark Parks has designated as off limits. Stay within the park boundaries and outside of the out-of-bounds areas as shown on the map. Thank you.
Cost
Zero! No charge!
However, consider one of the following to support NEOOC:
- Become a NEOOC member on our Membership page
- Or Donate to our map fund at the bottom of the same page
Smart Phone Apps
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”.
To use this app, once you have selected the course that you will be running and have downloaded the map, you will need to load the course details to your phone. You can do this either by entering the 6-character course short code that’s printed on your map (this requires a good internet connection), OR by scanning the QR code that’s printed on your map. Once the course details are loaded, then it’s a simple matter of scanning the QR codes at each of the control markers on your course, including Start and Finish.
If you have any questions, or experience any issues that we can help with, drop an email to mike@neooc.com.
The UsynligO app uses the GPS location provided by your smart phone to log the time that you arrive at the controls on your course. See the UsynligO topic on the Tools for Orienteers page of the NEOOC website for details.
BONUS!! If you’ve wanted to be able to replay your run in RouteGadget, but either didn’t have a means to record your GPS track or go through the steps to upload it to the RouteGadget server, the free Livelox smartphone app may be for you! NEOOC are looking at how this app might fit into our toolbox, and has set up the Sippo Lake event in Livelox to see how it goes.
If you are interested, here are couple of short YouTube videos that demonstrate Livelox’s replay capability, and how to set up and use the app on your smartphone.
Demo of Livelox Replay Capability
Volunteers
A big thanks to our volunteers:
- Event Director: Sanae Rogers
- Course design: Mike Avery
- Course setting: Richard Davies, Justine Avery, Mike Avery
- Control pickup: Jay Smink, Cynthia Chagin, The Avery’s
- Park liaison: Howard Montgomery
- Result entry and phone app help: Mike Avery (see contact info here)
- Results database: Fred Mailey
Reporting your Personal Results
NEOOC has setup a webpage to self report your results:
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 finished 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 LiveLox (RouteGadget like web app) Results here!
Location
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 ☺
