St. Malo Snow-O City Park Meets
February 25th 2017 12:00pm
Organizer: Thomas Graupner (Event Director)
Map: St. Malo Park
The St. Malo Snow-O is an orienteering event with categories for skiing, snowshoeing, and running/walking. The objective is to score as many points as possible within the 90-minute time limit. This year, as in 2016, points will be awarded for punching controls and for completing specified legs. See the section below titled "Scoring and Ranking" for the exact details. First start will be at 12 noon. For safety reasons, all competitors must check out and back in with the organizers. Drinks and snacks will be provided at the end of the race.
Please bring a watch, a compass, and a completed membership/waiver form if you are not yet a 2017 member. This event is free for 2017 members since it will be your first event of the year. Depending on your mode of transportation (skiing, running, etc.), you may also want to bring something for holding your map. The maps will be on 11 x 17 inch paper inside 12 x 18 inch plastic map cases. String and tape will be available for those who want it. Finally, don't forget to bring warm clothing.
Parking will be at the organizer's home, which is across the lake from St. Malo Provincial Park. See the road map below. The actual start/finish will be on the lake, about 100 m from the park.
If you intend to come, please register by using this web site or by contacting Thomas Graupner (thomasg@cottonwood.ca or 204-347-5764). Please register by Thursday, February 23rd to ensure that a map will be printed for you.
Choice of Category (mode of transportation)
As usual, the course will be designed with the objective of being equally challenging for runners and experienced skiers and snowshoers. However, if the warm weather continues, runners may have an advantage. Here are the organizer's recommendations for choice of footwear:
- If you're at all worried about damaging your skis or snowshoes, then wear running shoes or winter boots.
- Whatever your mode of transportation, make sure your footwear is warm and durable.
- Until the weather and trail conditions are known, be prepared to run in case skiing becomes impractical.
Scoring and Ranking
The scoring will work the same as in 2016, but some of the special legs will be connected. Connected legs simply share a control and otherwise have no special significance. As a result, it may be advantageous to punch the common control multiple times, depending on where other controls are located.
Points calculation will work according to the following instructions:
- Consider only the control punches within the first 90 minutes. In other words, discard/delete any control punches after 90 minutes.
- For each control on the map, check whether the participant punched it at least once. If so, add 10 points for that control.
- For each specified leg (indicated by a straight line connecting two controls), check whether the participant punched one of the controls followed immediately by the other one (no controls in between). If the participant has done this at least once, then add 10 points for that leg.
Participants will be ranked according to number of points. Participants with the same number of points will be ranked according to total time (from start punch to finish punch).