Patuxent

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October 26
Sunday

This week at Patuxent we'll have two score-O courses and one traditional white course. For those who haven't done a score-O before, the course consists of a number of controls scattered throughout the woods, which may be visited in any order. Register anytime between 10:45am - 1:15pm, start between 11 - 1:30, and be back at the finish no later than 3pm. Pre-registration is not needed (or offered) for this event (but is needed for next week's Great Falls meet).

Controls have different point values, depending for the most part on the degree of difficulty, ranging from 5 to 20 points. There is a time limit of 90 minutes, and the object is to get as many points as you can in the time available. A penalty of five points is deducted for every minute over 90 minutes. Most people won't be able to get to all of them, so there's some strategy involved. Is your time is better spent getting a quick 5 points, or spending some more time to get a 20-pointer? What's the most efficient way to route yourself from control to control?

The "long" course consists of controls that are mostly at a blue/red/green/brown level of difficulty (there are a few easier ones) scattered across a wide area. The "short" course consists of controls that are mostly at an orange level of difficulty, with a few yellows and a few harder ones thrown in for good measure. Update! Note that the scale for the Score-O maps is 1:15000, while the White course map is at 1:7500.

When considering difficulty, for controls numbered between 7 and 50, the higher the number the more difficult; controls 101 and over are easy. Beware that the number or letter pattern on the control itself doesn't relate to anything and you should ignore it - see the photo to the left. The number on the epunch control box is what counts.

For those who prefer a traditional course, we will have a traditional white course with 10 controls, 2.9 km long, and 25 meters of climb.

New to orienteering? We will hold beginner clinics continuously during the event; just tell the friendly folks at registration if you'd like to be in one and they'll take care of you. Also, make sure to check out our Your First Event and For Beginners webpages, and if they don't answer any question you have, just use our Contact Us form and ask away!

Group Leaders: please see our For Group Leaders webpage and then contact the Event Director so your group can get pre-registered in advance.

Many thanks to Dave Linthicum for allowing us to piggyback off of his control setting for the previous day's Boy Scout orienteering event and for letting us use his controls.