Orienteering with a twist! The Rochester Orienteering Club will be hosting two options for fun and adventure at Durand Eastman Park starting at the Conifer Shelter. Beginners and first-timers can choose a traditional beginner (White) course, and start anytime between 10 and 11:30 am. Our second, mass-start event(11am), will divide the park into three micro-areas. Participants will need to follow a fixed route, but also find a certain number of checkpoints within each micro-area. Your level of challenge will be determined by how many checkpoints you decide to visit within each area. The base distance for this event is 3km.

See the map - this was the "Avalanche" event from Letchworth in 2013.  Same concept (but no downhill thing going on here).  

Everyone does 101-110, and then some number of controls from three "boxes" on the map.  The boxes have 6 controls in them.  If you're really good/fit/fast, you get all 6 of those controls.  If you're a beginner, you get 1 or 2.  This way it handicaps all the competitors, so in theory, they finish with similar times, and the ending gets everyone together again.

Here's the handicap we'll use:

Skip 6 - Women 12 or younger, Men 12 or younger, 

Skip 5 - Women 14 or younger, Men 14 or younger, Women 65 or older 

Skip 4 - Women 16 or younger, Men 16 or younger, Women 55 or older, Men 75 or older 

Skip 3 - Women 19 or younger, Women 45 or older, Men 65 or older

Skip 2 - Women 35 or older, Men 55 or older

Skip 1 - Men 19 or younger, Men 35 or older, Men 45 or older, Women 20 to 34, Women top 10 of USA or Canadian orienteering rankings, 

And because this is a fun and potentially first time event, here is some additional advice:

Skip 6 – Have been orienteering only a handful of times and compete on White

Skip 5 – Have been orienteering on yellow, and walk

Skip 4 – Have been orienteering on orange

Groups – Use the average handicap of the group (best judgment)

The intent is to provide a fun experience for all - the exact handicap is not really important (let's say taking a bigger handicap that you might be entitled to is like running on yellow against newcomers - yes, you'll win...).  If someone is "entitled" to a bigger handicap than they want to take, it's ok to "compete up" a level.