Registration will be inside the main entrance to the Olympic Speed Skating Oval.   Pay parking ($4.00) is available in the parking lots directly north of the Olympic Speed Skating Oval.  Access is off of 32 Ave., turning left onto Collegiate Blvd.

There will be 3 course for the event.  Easy-1.2 km for Super Juniors, Intermediate-1.8 km, Juniors-adult recreational orienteers, Expert-2.8km.  Winning times for the Expert course are expected to be around 15 minutes.  There is considerable construction taking place at the University and the map has been upgraded recently to include areas that are blocked off due to this construction.  The course planner has tried to stay clear of construction areas in planning the courses and considering route choices.  Please do not enter any construction zones or run through any garden areas that may be on your route.  Classes at the University have not started yet however students have arrived on campus this week so watch out for pedestrians during your race. 

Pay parking ($4.00) is available in the parking lots directly north of the Olympic Speed Skating Oval.  Access is off of 32 Ave., turning left onto Collegiate Blvd.

• Some trails drawn on the map can be very faint on the ground, and in general smaller trails should not be relied on for navigation.
• There has been some blow-down in areas of the map. Some areas of blow-down are marked with vertical green lines, but unfortunately we have not been able to update the map to show all the new blow-down areas.
• Outhouses are at the parking area.
• water levels in 2008 (last year) were much higher than shown on the map, often up to a form line around the water feature. In particular, courses 2 and 3 should note that two lakes shown in the middle of the courses have combined into one, with an island where the causeway separating them used to be.
• Safety bearing for all courses is East to highway 1A.
• Alberta Champs status event

Directions to the parking:
From the intersection of the 1A and 1X highways (a little north-east of the village of Exshaw) travel north on the 1A for approximately 1km. Turn into the Yamnuska parking lot. Allow 20 minutes from Canmore, 60 minutes from Calgary city limits.

Start time:            9:00pm mass start
Course closing:    10:30pm (max time is 90 minutes)

• Night 1: 3.3km. Gentle introduction to night orienteering, with most travel along paths or across fields. Controls slightly off the trails in the forest. Good navigational challenge for night time novices.
• Night 2: 4.1km. Slightly more challenging course. For some legs the best route is through the forest, though options are always available to take paths or cross fields.
• Night 3: 5.2km. Challenging course, with lots of travel through the forest and few trail options. For very experienced orienteers only.

• Sunset is about 8:30pm
• Control sites are marked as usual with a flag on a stand as well as by one or two pin flags with light-reflecting tape.
• Don't forget your headlamp!

Parking and Finish are at the Bowfort Lodge.

The Start is at the 'outfitting parking lot' - easily identified by the large number of canoes. If you are staying at the camp, then a limited number of cars can be driven from the main parking to the 'outfitting parking lot'.

What a pleasure to course set on a brand new map! Bow Valley Provincial Park (BVPP) has always been one of our favourite spots to orienteer and the new map adds even more fun. Orienteering in BVPP is all about the ridges � use those ridges to guide you along. Even course 1 and 2 will be spending some time on ridges. The new map is hot of the press so the vegetation is right up to date. Remember that it�s 2.5m contours. There are lots of controls out there  - so be sure to check your control codes. For the advanced courses � stay focused out there and keep your map oriented. Parallel errors are easy to make in this terrain � but you are never all  that far away from a significant feature if you need to relocate. Have fun!

Mandatory Bus Shuttle from YMCA

There is no parking at this event. Everyone must take the bus shuttle from the Event Centre (even if you aren't staying there!).

To the race:
The first bus will leave the YMCA in front of Bowfort Lodge at 9:10am. One bus will leave every 20 minutes.

Return from the race:
Busses will leave from the event site every 20 minutes. The last bus will leave at 12:40pm.

• Part 1: The race starts with "the First Box". There are 11 controls in the box of varying difficulty. You must visit the number of controls indicated by your handicap. You may choose any order to visit the controls. Forest is thick and blow-down is nasty - appropriate use of trails recommended! (note: one new trail has been approximated on the maps - it is indicated as "approximate" on the map).

• Part 2: After "the First Box", runners get a second map. This second map has a point-to-point course. All groups have the same 1.4km course, except for the Juniors who have a shorter course with easier controls. Glorious running in fast open terrain - but watch out - there is lots of "rough open" and so forest edges are vague.

• Part 3: After the point to point course, there is a third map with another box, known as "The Second Box". Again, the number of controls to visit is determined by your handicap. Forest is runnable, and has lots of small unmapped tracks. Watch out for the yellow rope that runs through this area! Final sprint into the finish through the big meadows.

If the course planners have done a good job setting the courses appropriately, then we should enjoy lots of exciting racing, kids against National Team athletes against the August and most Venerable club members, in head to head competition.

• There has been some significant blow down on some patches of this map. The C and D runners will be most affected by this on their long legs. We have not attempted to map this deadfall, so please be aware that you will find some unexpected zones of difficult running, despite what the map shows. We believe (and hope) that all teams will be affected equally by this blow down.

• we are trying out some new relay concepts. In particular, this year there will be no forking - so legs are running exactly the same courses this year. We expect this will add to the fun of the race and give an improved "relay feel" - with running in packs (aka "trains") very much encouraged.
• Immediately before the race we will give the instructions about how the change-over area is to work. Please be present for this and listen closely.
• Each team will carry a special Barebones Baton in the race

Team Composition

•  You should make teams if possible from your club. Orienteers from outside Alberta should make teams from your region, or your country.
• We will help you fill teams. In particular we will assign �A� runners to all teams following Saturday dinner. If you have a strong desire for a particular �A� runner you can put him/her on your team � but we reserve the right to over-ride.
•  You must submit your team lists to Richard before Sunday evening.

Each team will have four runners, named A, B, C, D. Each runner will run two legs. Leg difficulty is as follows:

• Runner A - suitable for super juniors - all controls on obvious handrails.
• Runner B - intermediate, shortish - suitable for juniors, recreational, sport, or super-venerable
• Runner C - technical, shortish - suitable for "Expert" and "Youth Plus" category runners
• Runner D - technical, long - suitable for "Elite" category runner

Each runner will have a certain handicap point value. Points values are based on your age as of 31st December this year as in the table below. Add up all runner's point values to determine the team's category. There will be three categories: 4-7 point teams, 8-11 point teams, and 12+ point teams.

Leg Descriptions & map scales

Each team member will run twice - one sprint and one middle distance leg.

Maps will be identified by the leg number and the runner number. For example 1A is the first leg map for runner A, and 4B is the forth leg map for runner B.

As you can tell, the mass start will include almost everyone. To prepare for this you must do lots of mental preparation so that you are able to focus on your own navigation and not be distracted by others. To help with this mental preparation, here are two video clips from the absolutely massive Jukola relay that our club had a team in... Video One and Video Two (warning: these take a while to download, but they are worth it).

Following: While following is generally frowned upon in orienteering (actually it is quite against the rules), an exception is made for relays. In fact a lot of the fun of running in a relay is being in a "train" - moving together with other runners much faster than you would if you were alone.

Second Mass Start

A second mass start, for all runners not yet started, will be held at the organizer's discretion. It will likely be just after the winning team finishes. We expect the following fastest times:

Leg 1: 10 minutes
Leg 2: 35 minutes
Leg 3: 12 minutes
Leg 4: 25 minutes
Leg 5: 12 minutes

From down-town Canmore, follow signs to the Canmore Nordic Center. Drive past the Day Lodge and park at the biathlon range. The Assembly area is in the wax-test area beside the biathlon shooting range.