Discussion: Prince William Forest Camp
Feb 3, 2015 7:22 PM
#
Calling all US juniors!
This is information about a regional junior training camp that will be held in Prince William Forest Park just south of Washington, DC, on February 14-15. The camp is organized by the Mid-Atlantic Junior Regional Team in conjunction with Quantico Orienteering Club.
Here is the schedule for the camp (I will send out detailed instructions for each exercise to camp participants closer to the camp. This is just the general information):
Saturday 11am-1pm: Multi-technique exercise designed by multiple World Orienteering Champion Thierry Gueorgiou from France.
Saturday 1-2:30pm: Lunch
Saturday 2:30pm-4pm: Pairs route choice exercise designed by one of Sweden's best course setters, Johan Hamelius
Saturday 5-6pm: Group dinner at the cabins, with a theoretical exercise and games.
Saturday 6-8pm: Night-O set by Jon Torrance
Sunday 10am-12pm: QOC Local Event set by Jon Torrance
Sunday 1:30pm-3pm: Fun relay, set by me
You can participate in as many or as few exercises as you want. There will be beginner, intermediate, and advanced options for each exercise, and we can decide together what is best for you for each session.
Housing is available at the cabins in Prince William Forest Park for the whole weekend. ($10)
Meals (Saturday lunch and dinner and Sunday breakfast and lunch) will be provided by Florence and Tom Nolan of QOC. ($10 for the weekend)
Online registration for the camp ($10 per junior) will soon be up on QOC's website. I will post the link once it's live.
All parents and coaches are welcome to participate in all the exercises.
Please let me know as soon as you can by emailing me if you are planning on coming, and for how much of the camp. I encourage all of you to participate - this is the best local training opportunity you will have this spring!
This is information about a regional junior training camp that will be held in Prince William Forest Park just south of Washington, DC, on February 14-15. The camp is organized by the Mid-Atlantic Junior Regional Team in conjunction with Quantico Orienteering Club.
Here is the schedule for the camp (I will send out detailed instructions for each exercise to camp participants closer to the camp. This is just the general information):
Saturday 11am-1pm: Multi-technique exercise designed by multiple World Orienteering Champion Thierry Gueorgiou from France.
Saturday 1-2:30pm: Lunch
Saturday 2:30pm-4pm: Pairs route choice exercise designed by one of Sweden's best course setters, Johan Hamelius
Saturday 5-6pm: Group dinner at the cabins, with a theoretical exercise and games.
Saturday 6-8pm: Night-O set by Jon Torrance
Sunday 10am-12pm: QOC Local Event set by Jon Torrance
Sunday 1:30pm-3pm: Fun relay, set by me
You can participate in as many or as few exercises as you want. There will be beginner, intermediate, and advanced options for each exercise, and we can decide together what is best for you for each session.
Housing is available at the cabins in Prince William Forest Park for the whole weekend. ($10)
Meals (Saturday lunch and dinner and Sunday breakfast and lunch) will be provided by Florence and Tom Nolan of QOC. ($10 for the weekend)
Online registration for the camp ($10 per junior) will soon be up on QOC's website. I will post the link once it's live.
All parents and coaches are welcome to participate in all the exercises.
Please let me know as soon as you can by emailing me if you are planning on coming, and for how much of the camp. I encourage all of you to participate - this is the best local training opportunity you will have this spring!
Feb 13, 2015 10:32 PM
#
More details:
Saturday 11am-1pm: Multi-technique exercise designed by multiple World Orienteering Champion Thierry Gueorgiou from France.
Beginner - 1.9km, Intermediate - 5.0km, Expert - 5.0km (but DIFFICULT!)
This exercise consists of several parts. Each part emphasizes a specific technique, and your goal is to focus on that technique during the corresponding section.
The first part is a corridor, where your goal is to orienteer slowly and precisely while staying between the purple lines on the map. This exercise trains precise map-reading skills and forces you to always maintain map contact.
The second part is a control pick, which is a section with many controls in a very dense area. Here, you should focus on always having a plan for approaching and leaving the control, making sure to know the direction you will leave the control before you get to it.
The third part is a compass section, where you have to use your compass and distance estimation skills to get to the control. Be precise with your compass, look at it often, and look far ahead in the distance to help yourself stay on your bearing.
The fourth part is contours-only for the advanced course. You will only have contours on your map to help you find the controls. Use the general shape of the ridges and reentrants to navigate to the controls in this part. The same applies to the intermediate course, but a little less information has been removed from the map.
And finally, a couple of regular controls to help you put all the techniques back together.
Saturday 1-2:30pm: Lunch
Eat food!
Saturday 2:30pm-4pm: Pairs route choice exercise designed by one of Sweden's best course setters, Johan Hamelius
Short - 3km, Medium - 4.5km, Long - 6km
For this exercise, you will get a partner of approximately the same speed as you. You will get the maps ahead of time. Go through each leg with your partner and pick out different routes that you will take for that leg. Then, when you start the course, execute your route, and meet up at each control to see whose route was faster. After the training, go through the course with your partner and discuss what you did and did not like about your routes.
Saturday 5-6pm: Group dinner at the cabins, with a theoretical exercise and games.
Saturday 6-8pm: Night-O set by Jon Torrance
Sunday 10am-12pm: QOC Local Event set by Jon Torrance
Sunday 1:30pm-3pm: Fun relay, set by me
Courses between 1.5-3km
We will pick teams of two people each. Each person will run two legs, tagging off with their partner. The relay is set in fast, open woods, so it should be a lot of fun. We will try to make fairly even teams so that the competition is fast, furious, and fierce! The goal for this exercise will be to get some experience with head-to-head racing, and to learn to use other runners in the forest while still paying attention to your map and not blindly following.
Saturday 11am-1pm: Multi-technique exercise designed by multiple World Orienteering Champion Thierry Gueorgiou from France.
Beginner - 1.9km, Intermediate - 5.0km, Expert - 5.0km (but DIFFICULT!)
This exercise consists of several parts. Each part emphasizes a specific technique, and your goal is to focus on that technique during the corresponding section.
The first part is a corridor, where your goal is to orienteer slowly and precisely while staying between the purple lines on the map. This exercise trains precise map-reading skills and forces you to always maintain map contact.
The second part is a control pick, which is a section with many controls in a very dense area. Here, you should focus on always having a plan for approaching and leaving the control, making sure to know the direction you will leave the control before you get to it.
The third part is a compass section, where you have to use your compass and distance estimation skills to get to the control. Be precise with your compass, look at it often, and look far ahead in the distance to help yourself stay on your bearing.
The fourth part is contours-only for the advanced course. You will only have contours on your map to help you find the controls. Use the general shape of the ridges and reentrants to navigate to the controls in this part. The same applies to the intermediate course, but a little less information has been removed from the map.
And finally, a couple of regular controls to help you put all the techniques back together.
Saturday 1-2:30pm: Lunch
Eat food!
Saturday 2:30pm-4pm: Pairs route choice exercise designed by one of Sweden's best course setters, Johan Hamelius
Short - 3km, Medium - 4.5km, Long - 6km
For this exercise, you will get a partner of approximately the same speed as you. You will get the maps ahead of time. Go through each leg with your partner and pick out different routes that you will take for that leg. Then, when you start the course, execute your route, and meet up at each control to see whose route was faster. After the training, go through the course with your partner and discuss what you did and did not like about your routes.
Saturday 5-6pm: Group dinner at the cabins, with a theoretical exercise and games.
Saturday 6-8pm: Night-O set by Jon Torrance
Sunday 10am-12pm: QOC Local Event set by Jon Torrance
Sunday 1:30pm-3pm: Fun relay, set by me
Courses between 1.5-3km
We will pick teams of two people each. Each person will run two legs, tagging off with their partner. The relay is set in fast, open woods, so it should be a lot of fun. We will try to make fairly even teams so that the competition is fast, furious, and fierce! The goal for this exercise will be to get some experience with head-to-head racing, and to learn to use other runners in the forest while still paying attention to your map and not blindly following.
Feb 15, 2015 9:50 PM
#
Thanks, Boris - that was a really awesome event! Anna commented she'd learned more Saturday than she has her entire time orienteering. And great for the adults, too. Let us know when you want to do that again, even for a day - well worth the time invested!
Feb 16, 2015 6:29 PM
#
You are very welcome! It was really fun to have such a good group of juniors and parents there. Too bad the weather didn't cooperate on Sunday, but I think we made the most of the day anyway!
Than you for putting out the relay streamers. We will definitely have to go back and redo that exercise at some point this spring.
Than you for putting out the relay streamers. We will definitely have to go back and redo that exercise at some point this spring.
This discussion thread is closed.