Discussion: Night Score O Setting Tips?

I directed my first C meet, and it went alright, so I'd like to try having a night o meet in the fall. We used to have night o, but one guy used to do them, and understandably tired of hosting and never getting to participate.

Unfortunately I have not been successul in finding tips for setting/directing. Do you have any suggestions or considerations, such as preferred moon phase, good or bad features to use, etc.? Or good resources?

Thanks!

Forget the moon phases. Just set an regular orienteering course on the date of your choosing and people will have fun.

Keep the controls out of eye-level underbrush. Which should go without saying anyways. But with headlamps the eye-level brush reflects light back into your face and obscures controls just a few feet beyond.

Depending on your audience, you probably want to tone down the difficulty a little. Use bigger features as controls, and design you r legs with more catching features to minimize the pain of errors.

A little reflective tape on the controls makes it much easier to find them.

Butterfly loops and mass starts will promote excitement and camaraderie.

This is probably not an issue in Michigan but stay away from deserts. I did some moderate but permanent nerve damage to my leg by running in to cactii that I could not see in the dark. This was in the Palm Desert, CA area back in the last century.

We have traditionally done mass start score o, with your entry into the 1.5 hour or 3 hour category determined by when you return to start.

Fair point on pokey bits; no cacti but some parks have large aged pine sections with low dead branches.

What's nice about a mass start at night is that you can reduce the size of the event window, which makes it easier on the organizers.

What's nice about a score-o at night is that for night-o newbies, it's a lot less frustrating when you can't find a control... you can always bail on it. Or, if you find another control first, you're still ok. And with a score-o, you can have easier controls for the newbies, and still have some challenging ones for the vets.

I'd also recommend the little reflectors, too. I think they are required on flags used for rogaines, so it makes sense to have them for night-o.

3 hours sounds long for a Night O'. 1 hour and 2 hours perhaps?

I suggest that local participants would love the week of the full moon! More friendly and easier. If cloudy, still fun.

Reflective tape on PVC pipe (6-8 inch?) hung on the hanging string above control is one effective, cheap way to provide reflectors.

Gidlines for the our local night leage here
http://www.westernnightleague.org.uk/Documents/gui...

We do a 1 hour score format but not mass start although I plan to do a mass start next season.

Main thing is to have some easy controls for newcomers. Have spair light and at least think a bit about what you would do for a search if needed.

I'd also recommend the little reflectors, too. I think they are required on flags used for rogaines, so it makes sense to have them for night-o.

Not in this country.

I've only run in a 'fun' night-O course once. It was done as a two person relay with four loops and a mass start but only with short, line course legs (~3km). It was fun.

Reflectors will be appreciated by the competitors, especially if they aren't experienced at night-O. You don't need much -- a piece of 3/4" PVC pipe about an inch long, wrapped with one turn of reflective tape, and slipped over the string that the control hangs from is completely adequate.

Use an area that is much 'easier' than for a day meet - lots of trails and open areas. Parks or campgrounds are ideal. Your world becomes very local when illuminated by a head/flashlight. Make courses one level below the day ones. For score-O 1½ h is good; with # of visited CPs determining class.

A backup light is an absolute requirement for individual participants.

Reflective tape markers are the things to use. I like the markers a bit bigger than JJ's; like 5" long 1½" PVC or 1¼" closet rod pieces wound with white reflective tape (red is less popping out for some color blinds). Hang them visible and away from obscuring tree trunks. There is no need to have regular markers. Moon doesn't matter - more than for everybody's ambiance enjoyment; bar cloudiness.

Two reasons to use regular control markers:
1) Some clubs already have controls set up with punches/epunches attached. If so in your case, adding reflectors to them is simpler than disconnecting the punches.
2) It's a lot easier to find the controls during daytime pickup if there are regular controls there. Reflective things become almost invisible in the daylight.

Set basically normal day courses, except drop down one in course length (Blue for night would be as long as a daytime Red).

Go above and beyond to avoid any bingo controls. Ask yourself, "If the runner executes the leg in a reasonable manner, will he or she find this control on the first pass?"

I prefer to use reflective controls. It takes a lot of the bingo out of the course. That is not to say you must use reflective controls---you just have to be extra certain any reasonable attack will find the control. The one problem with reflectors is that they favor runners with better lights.

Funny thing around here is that regular orienteers shunned night events to the point where they dried up. However 3hr afterwork rogaines have a regular constituency that only somewhat overlaps the orienteering people. But then the word "rogaine" is cool here - "orienteering" less so. You could run "team orienteering" without using the word rogaine, and that reduces a lot of issues - perceived difficulty, headlamp failure, safety.

A lot of suggestions about reflectors. These rogaines use questions and answers. Where there isn't a suitable feature its an orange ribbon with a code letter to be recorded. If they are made of the right stuff they will biodegrade.

Check out this wonderful start and finish location, have not done many of these over years however have enjoyed those I have - http://onsw.asn.au/index.php/home/344-possibly-the...

"The one problem with reflectors is that they favor runners with better lights."

Night-O always favors runners with better lights. That is just the way it is.

And orienteering favours runners with spiked shoes. There's no way to make any competition totally fair.

Yup. Let em run with whatever light they want. The brighter they are, the safer they are.

We have 5x30cm of US Coast Guard approved reflective tape on our controls. You can see them from a kilometer away if the view was unobstructed. Waaaay too reflective. Go with something smaller. A single wrap on a small piece of PVC tube sounds about right.

re: better lights

It's not a problem if everyone has a good light, but if you expect certain people to show up with flashlights like this, you might need to adjust the course.

As a course setter take care not to bring your competitors through an area that would be dangerous in the dark. You know - someplace with a steep cliff bank;-)

Yeah, like never go orienteering in the dark in Scandiland.

If you set a night course that provides an opportunity to go near a marsh, somebody will wind up completely submerged and blame you.

@jjcote LOL - that sounds like personal experience - also you might want to advise any high school coaches not to call 911 if their kids are running late (made for a very long night)

Also, have a Model Control at the Start so people know what to look for.

I saw an ad at the 10-mila webcast for a new headlamp; the Petzl Nao. Changes the brighness depending on the light reflected back. Will not blind you when look at the map. Smart!

A bikini model at the start would be better than a model control I reckon. No need for a warm up.

Make sure there is mobile reception and insist everyone takes a phone. If anyone is late they will get a phone call from their mother that will be broadcast over the event centre PA. That should discourage stragglers.

and make sure to wrap everyone up in cotton wool before letting them go out into the dark scary woods!

I thought for the potential canoe o event that every five minutes after the buzzer means you buy ice cream for a volunteer. Working on the night o equivalent...

Separate courses for boys and girls, because the males in certain age groups navigate towards the females in after-dark competitions.