Discussion: Fort Leavenworth

The map is not a real orienteering map, but is also a good bit better than a normal adventure race map.

It seems like every time you attend an event up there, you have a comment along these lines. Since I left for Seattle before these guys set up shop, I haven't had the privilege of seeing this for myself, though.

Now that this group has been hosting orienteering events for a while, I'm curious as to why they don't have better maps. Is their regular customer base fine with the current maps? Do they not have the desire, skill, or money for making better maps?

I'm not criticizing them, as they are still going after several years, so they are doing something right. I'm really more curious about their motivations as a race organizing entity. Do they still give you a club jersey for attending X amount of events?

Here's the map to give you an idea:

http://sprintseries.org/doma/show_map.php?user=map...

When they started up, they were using a USGS topo. There had been enough changes to the post that roads were wrong and only the major buildings were shown. After I did my first event there, I created a simple map from lidar contours + road and buildings from open street map. Then I added some land cover data from the National Map (to show wooded versus not). I sent them the map and they liked it, so they've been using it. Connie C is the organizer of the Ft Lev races and she comes to a few PTOC and OK events each year, so she knows what orienteering is about.

I think the audience is fine with the current map. It'd take a lot of field checking to create a legit ISOM map. I think the work out weighs the benefits for their use. To map the entire post would be a load of work.

I don't know if there would be issues with permission to map and use the post for orienteering. It is a bit of a chore to go there if you don't have a military ID. You have to go through a security control that adds a bit of work to every visit.

I've been gradually improving the map from newer air photos. Every time I run there, I find something to add or fix.

I also made a "tiny orienteering map" to ISSOM and gave that to the organizers. They've used it a couple of times.

They do still give you a jersey for attending X events (I think it is 5) and you get a sport bag when you hit 2X.

OK has co-hosted an event there the last 2 or 3 years.

IF permission wasn't a chore, the post would be a nice venue for an event. The forest is pretty good (we used it for the 1981 US Team Trails) and the built up areas would be a good sprint venue.