This Saturday event will be our second official event at Evergreen Valley College (there was an event last year and a training event a long time ago). Hopefully, the difficulty of obtaining a permit will have been worth the effort. The map was first made about 10 years ago, was updated for last year's event, and again for this event.
I-680 Closure Alert: Be aware that northbound I-680 will be closed from Fremont to Sunol from Friday night until Monday morning (details).
The campus is surrounded by some open space to the west and Montgomery Hill Park to the east, where some of the first aircraft tests were conducted around the time of the Wright brothers. Thus, the courses will include navigation both around campus buildings and open terrain, with most controls at White or Yellow level, and some at Orange level technically.
This will be the sixth event in the seven-event 2025 Summer Series. In keeping with the Summer Series standards, we will offer Beginner (White), Short, and Long courses.
Note: While this is the sixth of seven events in the 2025 Summer Series, we want to emphasize that everyone is welcome to come out and do one (or more) of the courses, regardless of whether or not you attend other Summer Series events. Beginners new to orienteering are welcome, and the navigational difficulty is significantly eased by the semi-urban setting, so anyone should be able to complete the Beginner course.
There are some construction areas on the campus, and the courses avoid these areas, but to make interesting courses we have to go nearby, so please respect the red-slashed out-of-bounds areas on the map.
Schedule
9:00 AM – 11:59 AM: Registration is open
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM: Beginner-clinic instruction is available (free)
10:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Starts are open for all courses
2:00 PM: Everyone must have returned to the Finish
Note: At registration, everyone younger than age 18 must be accompanied by parents or legal guardians, or bring with them a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian. (The Summer Series registration form is available here (14KB PDF).)
Note that you can register and start on courses anytime during the open times above. Thus, for example, you do not need to be "punctual" at 9:00 (but you can if you want, but please don't show up earlier and expect to be served).
Beginner clinics are short (15–20 minutes), repeating sessions that introduce the sport of orienteering, and provide enough instruction to be able to complete the Beginner course.
Note that you must return to the Finish by 2:00, and then promptly go to the download table, even if you do not finish your course. If there are unaccounted people after 2:00, we must initiate a search for them.
After you finish, stick around and socialize with other participants! For beginners, this is a good time to ask questions.
Costs and Registration
Note: You will not need to register for this event if you have registered for the Summer Series Discount Package. (It's too late in the Series for it to make sense to buy the Discount Package now.)
The following fees apply at this event:
$3 for each junior on the Beginner (White) course
$8 for each adult on the Beginner course
$5 for each junior on the Short or Long course
$15 for each adult member on the Short or Long course
$20 for each adult non-member on the Short or Long course
$1 for a compass rental (optional)
$5 for an electronic fingerstick rental (if you don't own one; each group will need one to complete the course)
$15 for the lowest-cost individual one-year BAOC membership (optional)
Notes:
- Do not register for this event if you have registered for the Summer Series Discount Package.
- You can register at the event or online before the event (see below).
- Juniors are age 8 through 20 (under age 8 is free).
- At the event, we can accept payment by cash, check, or credit/debit card (but no electronic payments — e.g., PayPal or Venmo).
- There is no charge for a second course, but you must end up paying for the more-expensive course (i.e., the Short or Long course after the Beginner course).
- Members of other orienteering clubs can pay the "member" fee. (We hope your club would do the same for our members. 🙂)
More information about event pricing is available in the club FAQ. All the prices are also shown on the Summer Series registration form (PDF/14KB), which you can print and fill out in advance to save some time at the event. (You will need one entry form for each group of people going on a course together.)
Optional Online Registration
Online registration has closed, but you can still register at the event.
Notes:
- Do not register for this event if you have registered for the Summer Series Discount Package.
- Online registration is not required—you can register at the event.
- If you want to see who you competition will be, you can see who is registered for this event here and you can see here who has purchased the Summer Series Discount Package (but keep in mind that others will register at the event.
Location at the College
Registration and Starts will not be at the location we used last year. They will be on the patio in front of the library, which is at the northwest end of campus, and close to parking. There are driving directions below.
Restrooms and water will be available near the Assembly Area.
What to Bring
For the Beginner (White) course, comfortable outdoors attire and shoes are fine.
For Short and Long courses, shoes with good grip on the sole are recommended. Part of the Short and Long courses will be in off-trail areas outside the paved campus. Luckily the grass was recently mowed on most of the hills and surrounding area, so the running should be much nicer than it would have been. However, the area around one control on the Long course has not been mowed, so long pants and gaiters will be nice to have, but not necessary.
A compass is not necessary, but can be helpful — and can improve safety — so is recommended. We have compasses available for a $1 rental fee.
We time the courses with the SPORTident system, so each entry/team needs to have a SPORTident E-punch fingerstick. If you don't have your own, you can rent one at registration for $5 (note that there's a significant charge for a lost rental). (Use of the "E-punch" system is easy. You can learn how at the event, or read about it here.)
Courses
The course details are below.
Course Length Climb Controls
Beginner 1.9 km 45 m 9
Short 3.0 km 50 m 14
Long 5.3 km 120 m 20
Beginners should be aware that the course lengths shown are the cumulative straight-line distances between controls. The climb numbers represent the amount of ascending that would be done on the "optimum route" (in the Course Setters' opinion), without regard for any descending. Because you won't travel in straight lines, and might not follow the optimum routes, your actual distance and climb will be somewhat more than what is shown above, and will depend on your route choices (and any errors you make).
For the Short and Long courses, keep in mind that you can earn Summer Series points from the first course you run at the event, and only if it's one of the ranking courses. That is, you will not earn points if you run the Beginner course first and then one of the ranking courses.
The Beginner course is for beginners and young children. This is a great warmup if you're trying orienteering for the first time. You get to see the map before the start and experience how everything works. After the Beginner course, if you want some more, you can do either of the other courses (as long as you pay the difference in fees, start before 12:30, and finish by 2:00).
Participants can choose either the Short or Long course to earn points for the 2025 Summer Series (see below). The courses will use a combination of quick navigation through the campus, and regular, terrain navigation through the ample surrounding natural areas.
Be sure to read the Course Setter's Notes for more information about the courses and the map.
The Map
The map scale is 1:5000. The contour interval is 2.5 m. The map does not conform to the standard for Sprint maps.
As usual, buildings are mapped dark grey. Some buildings have light-grey hallways/canopies can always be passed under on the ground floor, and are generally accessible on the next floor up. Dotted black lines on top of grey canopy areas can be passed through only on floors higher than the ground floor (usually the second floor).
In the areas outside the campus, the grass has, for the most part, been cut, and will be short.
The courses might go near construction areas. Please respect the red-slashed out-of-bounds areas on the map.
Water
Limited water will be provided on the courses — one water stop on the Short and Long courses, but none on Beginner course. There are some fountains in the campus, but they are not shown on the map.
We expect that most people will complete their course quickly enough to not need water while on the course.
However, you should consider carrying some water if you expect to be slow.
Hazards
There is essentially no poison oak, although there might be a few small spots.
The school is not in session, so foot traffic should be light, but yield to pedestrians and watch for car traffic around the parking lots.
Portions of the courses will be in off-trail areas outside the paved campus. Uneven terrain due to ground-squirrel holes is probably the biggest hazard in those areas. (See What to Bring for related comments.)
There is a homeless encampment at the very west end of the map. The courses are set to avoid that area, but if you happen to come close, it is easy to stay clear.
Request for Volunteers
Let's keep the momentum going for the Summer Series after the super popular Presidio event. This is my call to action to get some volunteers for Evergreen Valley College on Saturday, August 9!
I need help with event setup, registration, beginner clinics, starts, and control pickup. If we get enough volunteers it'd be great to have extra people to hang out either at registration or the Finish to encourage our participants. Nothing makes you want to come back more than a new friend with a smiling face!
You can look at this spreadsheet to see what tasks are available, and to sign up for your favorite one.
All volunteers will be able to run a course, and will get first access to the stockpile of snacks I plan to bring. 😊
– Graham Brew, Event Director (email)
2025 Summer Series
Points for the 2025 Summer Series will be awarded to all the individuals (not groups or teams) who complete either the Short or Long course as their first course of the day (i.e., not after the Beginner course). The results for the two courses will be entered in the respective Summer Series standings.
You can see the standings after event #4 at Northstar here.
Details of the Summer Series scoring system are available here. (Note that we need your birth year if you want to be scored properly.)
Driving Directions
The approximate coordinates for parking are 37.3026,-121.7665.
From southbound Highway 101, south of the I-280/I-680 interchange, take exit 381 to Yerba Buena Rd. Turn left onto Yerba Buena Rd. After 2.5 miles on Yerba Buena Rd, turn left onto San Felipe Rd. After 0.25 mile, turn right onto Paseo de Artoles. At the third possible left turn (were there's a road at the right), turn left into the parking area. The parking lot you want will be on your right.
Parking
Park in Student Lot 2 at the northwest end of the campus.
Parking fees do apply on Saturday. You can buy a day permit for $3.00 at a grey kiosk (protected by yellow posts) in the parking lot — display the receipt on the dash of your vehicle. You can pay with dollar bills (no coins), credit card, or pay-by-phone (possibly requiring an app).
Note: You should park in a lot designated for students. Parking in a staff lot might result in a fine.