Discussion: Question about BAOC's A meets, 2007-2009

Can someone from BAOC comment on their plans for A meets in fall 2007, 2008, and 2009?

The plans for 2007 seem fairly firm: this page gives the details. On the other hand, Randy's calendar suggests BAOC is also planning a fall A meet at the same venue in 2008. Then, if I understood the verbal announcement at this year's team trials correctly, BAOC are also planning to bid for the team trials in spring 2009, again for the same area (Boggs Mountain).

What gives? Will there be three meets on the same map three years running? And if so, if I'm planning to go there only once, shouldn't I just wait for the best field of all three years (which would surely be at the team trials in 2009, if approved)?

(Sorry if this question doesn't seem urgent. On the other hand, airfares from Rochester at least are cheap right now, so I'm thinking about booking flights for the fall now.)

Based on what information has drifted my way, I think at least one of the meets you mentioned is planned for the tahoe area (2008?). Other people out there know more than I do.

Boggs will be used for the Team Trials in April or May, 2009. The terrain in 2009 will have little or no overlap with the terrain used for 2007.

For 2008: spring/early summer event in Tahoe, probably Burton Creek, no Champs bids I know of.

The location of the fall event for 2008 is still being worked on. There is a proposal floating for South Bay locations, and it is not popular; and another proposal hinges on a new map being made even more south, at Pacheco Pass, where the terrain is not that different from the South Bay venues—just, a new map.

I do not know the details of the plans for the fall of 2009.

South Bay locations not popular????

Almaden Quicksilver, Calero, Rancho San Antonio ... how could you ask for more? Running in those beautiful golden Coastal Range foothills, in the live oaks, wild oats, and morning fogs that suddenly lift revealing a crystal-clear view out to the Pacific.

Then later, retiring to the tony neighborhoods of Silicon Valley...for a microbrew in Los Gatos, a seafood dinner in Palo Alto , or some entertainment in downtown San Jose.

How could any orienteer ask for more?

Exactly. This is pretty much what I had proposed, with an event center in downtown San Jose. There is a city bus that goes to Quicksilver every 30 minutes, even on weekends, and the ride is only 35 minutes. A shuttle could be organized to Joe Grant. Add a Friday Sprint at Berkeley, and you have a three-day event with a near-zero carbon footprint, which should alleviate at least a bit of the guilt of those who fly in. With plenty of urban sightseeing, dining, and art appreciation opportunities thrown in

But the club's more interested in having people drive in average-two-person-occupancy vehicles to a location three hours away from the airport, hang out there by the cows and the trees, then have an unremarkable $25/head dinner at a chain restaurant in the like of Livermore or Gilroy, surrounded by other orienteers, who then retire to a standard-issue Best Western at a freeway exit. An experience, apart from the orienteering itself, that can be had just about anywhere in North America.

I've been quite amazed at this tendency of orienteers to neglect the local sights and hide in the woods, or among those of their own kind, for the whole weekend...

I'd be more inclined to hop up for the steep Bay Area terrain if it were what Tundra/Desert proposes. Add one out-of-town vote to your proposal.

It would be great if clubs would get in the habit of showcasing some local flavor as part of the A meet package. Of course, we all know how much hard volunteer work is required just to get the technical aspects done, so this is always a bonus, not an expectation.

However, given that Vlad seems to have already done the heavy lifting in this regard, it would be disappointing if the powers that be didn't jump on it.

(BTW, if someone from BAOC wants to send me updates to their plans, I'll update my calendar. I'm not exactly sure what is or isn't right except the 2 Boggs Mtn meets).

Hey, Gilroy has Bonfante Gardens, which apparently has recently changed its name to Gilroy Gardens. This place is a must-see for families with young kids!

I am a little puzzled why Vlad has written that the proposal for a South Bay A meet is "not popular" unless I missed some of the discussion. The Bay Area is in the unfortunate position that most of the near by parks are very steep and have a lot of poison oak. Many people in other parts of the country are definitely not inclined to fly across the country for this. Also, many of our South Bay parks have been used multiple times for previous A meets, such as Morgan Territory and Joe Grant, and although not bad terrain, it is a little stale. Tahoe has nicer terrain (at least it doesn't have PO), but is 4 hours away, and hard to get people willing to direct or set courses there. Thus we are very excited about Boggs Mountain, about 2 hours north of San Francisco which is supposed to be a plateau, relatively flat, and very runnable pine forest with no poison oak. I personally have not seen the terrain, but the reports I hear about it sound great. We are also exploring new areas for A meets, namely Pacheco Pass, because not only of the unhospitable terrain of many of our parks, the over use of others, and the loss of two of our better areas, Annadale and Big Basin, because of new park policies prohibiting off trail usage. At least the ranger at Pacheco Pass is very enthusiastic about us developing a map there, but I do not think a final decision has been made yet whether or not to map it. As indicated, we have not finalized plans for 2008, but to my knowledge, have not completely vetoed a South Bay A meet. There are a lot of variables in making these decisions.

Evan

Let me apologize for not updating BAOC's A Meet plans on Randy's calendar. I will send Randy the update today. We plan to hold A Meets as follows:

Oct 13-14, 2007 Boggs Mt St Forest
Jun 20-22, 2008 Tahoe 3 Day Burton Creek & Northstar
Fall, 2008 To be decided soon, maybe South Bay site
Apr/May 2009 US Team Trials, Boggs Mountain
Fall, 2009 Not yet under discussion.

Let me put in a good word for our new Boggs Mountain map. Only a few of us have seen the map, but I feel the Boggs pine forest is the best terrain in the Bay Area. Although it is a 2 hour drive from San Francisco, much of the drive is through the beautiful & famous Napa and Sonoma Valleys.

BAOC has an A Meet Committee made up of past A Meet directors and course setters. The committee has the goal of offering orienteers the best possible A Meet experiences. Extensive discussions take place before any event site is selected. Decisions are made on a consensus basis. Vladimir is a member of this committee and his views are held in high regard. But his strong opinions are not always shared by the other members.

I have some other thoughts and will add those later. Plan on coming out to orienteer with us in October.

George Minarik
BAOC A Meet Committee Chair

Excellent, thanks for all the updates.