Discussion: Great Event by Ottawa O-club

Thank you all for organizing such a great week of Orienteering and Canadian Orieteering Championship!

Thx for new maps and your courses!

Thx Anna and Jeff T. for the Junior's Training Camp!

Great job, you moved COC into the higher level, so Yukon has a challange now!
;)

Definitely! Very nice. So many details, well done.

Thanks for all the hard work on our behalf! Great job.

The Ottawa Citizen produced a pretty good article on the long event. Nice quotes by Magnus. http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Gaining+ground...

The Ottawa CItizen also have a video from the event. You have to endure a few seconds of commercial before it starts.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/videos/index.htm...

I want to add a quick note about how great the arena production was. So much fun to hang out - nice music, great announcing, loads of people hanging around to chat with, and the Red Group starts timed to make an exciting conclusion to the event. It was a showcase of how much fun it can be to spend the day at an orienteering event.

For sure, although I could only make it for the weekend, was fantastic, thanks to all!!

That was fantastic - I loved the maps, the whole ambiance of the weekend, and everyone was so friendly! The long course just about killed me, but the map was one of the most interesting ones I've ever run on. Thanks for a great event!

Those Canadians sure know how to put on an event. Coupled with the events from BC this summer, they have set a new standard for A meets. Loved the dynamics at the event centers with the great music and announcing, the terrific food (watermelon at every event--yes!), the tents for shelter from sun and rain, and the spectacular "prayer" flags that framed the finish chute of several of the days. They elevated the excitement both visually and experientally. Thanks to everyone for a terrific week. That includes Randy Kemp, Ann Teutch and all the other involved in the Sass Peepre Jr. Training Camp. Oh yeah, can't forget the beautiful forests and interesting campuses for the sprints and the ambiance of the nation's capitol. Great event.

P.S. Since we missed the long on Sunday, I'd love to hear more about the event. Stephan's photos are fabulous.

Carp Barrens=challenge, diversity, and fun. What a joy to run there! Congratulations to Ottawa OC. I loved the courses, terrain, variety, and ambience. NAOC 2014 in similar terrain?

What a suggestion...oh my!

Yes, it really was a great week. Tori also enjoyed herself - nice to see a few juniors in their late teens! And lots of competition in W55

Awesome event all around. Thank you Ottawans! While the long course was the highlight of the weekend - loved the swamps and crazy route choices - my favorite control had to be on the Street-O:

Speaking of the City Search-O (Street-O), are the results and answers posted somewhere?

I thought it was the case that results would be taken, but not posted for this event? Not sure, but I thought I read that somewhere.

Thanks for the positive feedback about the City Search-O. Linda Connell sure put a lot of work in to it.
It would be a good idea to post the answers. It was great that one who travelled so far came away as the winner - Trish Strat of Quantico.
On the lighter side the event was not without controversy. The number of shutters on the windows of the Old Mill was ruled to be 13. However if there are two shutters on each of 13 windows does that not make the total 26, pointed out Glen Birnie of GHO.
I had a beef with the question "Who lit the centennial flame in 1967?"
Well everyone knows that then Prime Minister Pearson lit the flame but everyone who was witness to the event (like me) knows it was lit on Dec 31st, 1966!!
And yes the circle was slightly off for the question on the number of portages on the Ottawa River.
I sure learned a lot about my own city by travelling around answering those questions. Who knew Parliament had its own cat house???
While I was doing the City Search-O I encountered one of the top officials of the National Capital Commission (the NCC administers all the federal property in the Ottawa -Gatineau area). He is very familiar with orienteering from his days in charge of the Gatineau Park I showed him the Search-O map and explained what was happening. Just then Tom and Trish came by. He seemed really impressed with the event. I think we will talk about making it a regular attraction for tourists.

I'd like to add my two-cents worth here and give my congrats to Ottawa OC for a great Canadians. I've just moved back to Ottawa I've always been impressed with the depth of quality Ottawa officials, which was really evident this past week.

What's also great to see is the younger Orienteers (Jeff T, Robbie, Kemps) are contributing as well; the club doesn't only have a strong present, but future as well. Historically, as well, they've been super suportive of new initiatives in Orienteering; OOC will say, sure, let's do it.

Having a freezy after a race is hard to beat.

I also loved the city search and would be interested in the "official" answers.

I thought there would be a problem with the number of shutters so put both 13 and 26. Definition for shutter - "a hinged doorlike cover, often louvred and usually one of a pair, for closing off a window".

Same with the number of children in the statues at the museum. Yes, there was one called "Three Children" but there was also a pregnant woman and a family with a child.

I could not find the answer to who Zoe was related to posted anywhere outside the hotel and asked inside. I was told that they could not answer any questions from these types of games since they do not want to encourage people to come into the hotel. Sorry! (Finally, I went into Zoe's bar and asked the barkeep, without mentioning the game. She was nice and answered the question.)

But, even with a few "issues" this was a very great way to learn about the city. I'd like to see more of these for week-long events. Thanks for the work!

BTW--question for the organizers.

Some of the controls, like the last one, for instance, seemed festooned with a lost of wires. What were they for? Was it like a "pre-warning"? And a related question is how Emily knew who was coming and when?

Could you please describe how you made this system work so well? It was really great.

These were indeed 'prewarning' or 'radio' controls that passed the information via radio to the computer Emily was sitting at and was displayed using speaker software with lots of handy information such as time on course for each runner, time to the radio control, etc.
I don't know the technical details about how it worked but could probably find that out for you or connect you with someone who does know if you are interested.

Thanks. I would really like to find out more. That would be great.

Has that been done before in NA? Did the NAOC have it?

Yes, NAOC had it, too.

j-man, I know it hasn't been used at any US events I have worked, but I think it was also used at NAOC and Barbones this summer.

I have been doing research in the hopes of using it at some future events, and I would like to know the setup these clubs used, whether it was via cables or via radio transmissions, or a combination depending on the control monitored.

Here is some information on using radio transmissions:
http://www.gpprojects.com/si.htm

If I understand correctly, the cable setup option would be a download unit programmed as a control (Finish), with a long enough cord that it connects directly to a computer on the network, so when they punch, the information pops up in the Speaker window.

At least for controls other than the last control, communication was wireless.

This equipment was purchased by the Alberta Orienteering Association and was used the first time at the Western Canadian Champs in 2008. It has since then been used at the COCs in 2009 and 2010, NAOCs 2010 and Barebones 2010.

I was the person running this equipment for the NAOCs. I designed the arena layout (spectator controls, start chutes, finish chutes etc), and worked with the race announcers to provide excitement to the spectators.

There was a write-up made after the COCs in 2009 that touch on most issues you need to consider to use this equipment successfully. Send me an email if you are interested!

How about this for a Result Page for showing off the week of races?

I for one am shocked that Gord Hunter didn't know that Parliament Hill had a cat house, even if it's overrun by squirrels.

I would also like to express my gratitude to OOC for a wonderful week of orienteering, I particularly enjoyed the maps and terrain for the Middle and the Long. Fantastic stuff!

Yeah--that is a sweet results page.

Presently, there is email traffic within OOC seeking official answers to the City Search-O. I stole the incomplete list below from an unnamed participant in that email conversation.

1. TOURIST INFORMATION: Who is the famous athlete outside the Tourist Information Office at 90 Wellington Street?
2. NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE: How many flags are there at the NAC entrance facing the canal?
3. QUEBEC CYCLE PATH: What animal is sculpted on one of the three plaques?
4. BYWARD MARKET: Draw a design of an Obama cookie available at Le Moulin de Province in the market?
5. BYTOWNE MUSEUM: When was the Bytowne Museum built as a commissariat? 1951
6. OLD MILL RESTAURANT: How many shutters are there on the front of the Old Mill Restaurant? 13 (or perhaps 26)
7. RIDEAU LOCKS: How many locks are there in this series of locks going into the Ottawa River? 8
8. CENTENNIAL FLAME: What is the name of the missing territory at the centennial flame? Who lit the flame in 1967? Nunavut, Pearson
9. CAT HOUSE: Who is the caretaker of the Cat House up on Parliament Hill? Rene Chartand
10. WAR MUSEUM: In what ‘language’ is ‘Lest We Forget’ written on the fin of the museum?
11. JACQUES CARTIER PARK: There is a statue of a person wearing skates. Who is it and what year did he join the Privy Council?
12. CYCLE PATH BELOW PARLIAMENT HILL: Why should you walk your bicycle on the path below the Supreme Court?
13. FAMOUS 5 MONUMENT: What was written in the journal on October 18, 1929 by the five famous women located just east of the centre block? Women are Persons
14. NATIONAL ARCHIVES: What is one of your favourite inscriptions carved on the bench in front of the National Archives? Why do I call them the ‘modern Adam and Eve’?
15. VICTORIA ISLAND: How many faces are on the totem pole on the east end of Victoria Island?
16. MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATION: How many of the white statues behind the Museum of Civilization are children?
17. PORTAGE BRIDGE: In olden days, how many portages did the fur traders and aboriginals have between Montreal and the Great Lakes?
18. MAJOR’S HILL PARK: What statue is looking out over Parliament Hill from Major’s Hill Park? Colonel By
19. TOURIST SHOP: What is the name of the tourist shop famous for its Canadiana at the corner of Sparks and Metcalfe?Canada's Four Corners
20. MUSEUM: What museum is across the street from the west end of 240 Sparks Street Mall? Currency
21. WAR MEMORIAL: What are the two items on top of the grave for the unknown soldier? Figures of Peace and Freedom
22. NEPEAN POINT: Who is the statue of at the top of Nepean Point? What is the proper name of the item he is holding in his hand? (a very old orienteer or star gazer may know) Champlian, astrolab
23. THE PUMP HOUSE: What organization looks after the whitewater kayaking course?Ottawa River Runners
24. NATIONAL ART GALLERY: Is this famous statue of an anthropod having twins, triplets or more?
25. CONFEDERATION PARK: What are the five wild animals on the statue commemorating our aboriginal war veterans?
26. CHATEAU LAURIER: What is the name of the room where high tea is served at the Chateau Laurier? Who is this person related to?Zoe's lounge Wilfred Laurier's wife
27. CANADIAN MINT: Where are the coins that we use everyday minted? When were the first pieces minted in Ottawa?Winnipeg , 1908

Sweet! That results page is the best ever I've seen - classy, stylish. Nicely done.

Ottawa Sass Peepre 2010 Pictures:
Sass Peepre Tuesday - Beaver Pond
Sass Peepre Wednesday - Relay
Thursday - Relay & City O

I've been very impressed with the work Eric Kemp has done with the website. Well done EK!

Does Eric K or Eric T get credit for results getting on AP?

EK does

OOC, thanks for a great event. Map quality was great.

I have a friend who is a prof at Carleton that tells me the LiDAR of the Gats has been re-flown and he should have that data very soon. The prof is a LiDAR expert. He watched some of the Chase Sprint on the campus last week. I suspect this means that OOC can likely get a hold of this LIDAR data for a low cost (or most likely free) as well. It would be awesome to see those Gats maps with high quality contour detail like the Carp maps.

Ooh, that's exciting to hear hammer!

Did anyone else see the inuksuit on the approach to Long Control 200 (Course 10 Control 11), or did I dream them up in my sleep this week?

I think I saw something weird like that, too. But, it almost seems like a dream now. I may have seen a yeti out there and not have completely appreciated it.

The official answers to the City Search-O are posted on the website here or you can download them directly from here.

Thanks everyone for the feedback on the website. It's been a learning experience.

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Lest we forget.

Well done bigE.

Yes, fantastic website!