Quantico LZ Canary
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PDF versionShareThisOctober 9
Saturday
UPDATE AS OF FRIDAY IS BELOW. Pre-registration is now closed and was required.
Welcome back to the expansive woodland around Landing Zone (LZ) Canary in the northwest part of Marine Corps Base Quantico (MCBQ) also known as Training Area 16B. The site is nine miles driving distance west of I-95, Exit 148 (a detailed locator map is here).
Paul Hession has designed a full set of courses on this great Quantico terrain which we have not used since 2018. Parking will be on LZ Canary. Look for a parking volunteer wearing a safety vest when you arrive per directions in the locator map. Port-a-johns will be on site.
In order to process participants through the MCBQ Visitor Control Center (VCC), this will be a Saturday event. We will be using mostly the same procedures that we did in the Fall of 2020, which seemed to work well for our participants. Directions to the VCC are also on the locator map. With the requirement for a pass from the MCBQ VCC and the distance to LZ Canary, you should allow 45 minutes from the time you arrive at the VCC until you get to LZ Canary.
Key point: The VCC hours on Saturday are 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM.
UPDATE AS OF FRIDAY OCT 8: Long lines of contractors are expected at the VCC Saturday morning. As a pre-registered QOC orienteering participant, though, you should GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE and identify yourself to expedite your processing.
Access to Marine Corps Base Quantico:
Because this event is taking place on a US military installation, access is controlled. The process for gaining access to MCBQ is substantially modified from the procedures we used prior to last season so read the following carefully in order to understand what will be required this year especially if you did not attend our October 2020 event at MCBQ:
1. If you are a DoD CAC/DoD ID card holder, there is no change to access requirements. Just show your card at the gate as always and proceed on to the event site per this graphic and the QOC signage on the ground.
2. If you are able to travel with a DoD CAC/DoD ID card holder, show your government-issued photo ID, when the card-holder’s vehicle arrives at the gate.
3. If you are older than 18, not a DoD CAC/DoD ID card holder and are not traveling with one, you will need to acquire a one-day base access pass.
4. If you have CAC issued from another agency (Federal PIV Cards – DHS, FBI, DEA, NASA, State Department, etc) you will have to register using the Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) link below, prior to being allowed access to the base.
For those in category 3, one-day access passes can be obtained at the nearby Visitor Control Center (VCC) not far from the access gate. Your navigation system will not send you to the correct location, so instead, see this locator map and its annotated directions. The VCC is easily identified, as it is a temporary building with no other buildings directly adjacent to it. (There is another Visitor Center specifically for the Russell-Knox complex in a permanent building off Tallmadge Rd, which is NOT the one you want.)
Depending on the number of people getting passes, it will take 10-20 minutes to get your pass. You can speed up the process by pre-registering (which is distinct from QOC pre-registration) in the DBIDS system at URL https://dbids-global.dmdc.mil/enroll#!/. You will have to provide your SSN online to pre-register. You will also need to provide a sponsor. If you want to pre-register with DBIDS, email Bill Wright, our liaison to MCBQ, and he will provide the required sponsor information.
If you do not pre-register in DBIDS, you will simply show up at the VCC and present your driver’s license or SSN. If you have a Maryland, Virginia or DC license you will not have to provide your SSN. Those possessing other state licenses may have to provide their SSN. The Visitor Center will have the sponsor information for the QOC orienteering meet.
If you are not a US citizen, but you are a permanent resident, bring your permanent resident ID card and passport. If you are neither a US citizen nor a permanent resident, contact Bill Wright BEFORE you pre-register to discuss options.
Minors who have not reached their 18th birthday do not require passes if accompanied by a parent. For scouts or other youth organizations, it is preferable that scouts travel with a parent or with a CAC/DoD ID card holder. Contact Bill Wright with any additional questions.
JROTC Units are encouraged to come by bus for this event, as the JROTC cadre will be able to bring the entire bus of cadets under 18 through the gate without going to the VCC. Units should plan on at least one cadre member per bus. More information to follow shortly on requirements for over-18 cadets and any non-ID-carrying adults who may be accompanying the unit on the bus. NEW INFORMATION as of Oct 1: DOD-ID-carrying JROTC cadre members will also be able to escort the over-18 individuals (cadets, driver, chaperones) on their respective buses as they would adults traveling with them in a passenger car. Those individuals should be prepared to present government-issued photo identification if required by the gate guard.
Visitor Center hours on Saturday are 7:30 – 11:30 AM.
To ensure enough time to get your pass, drive to the event site, and check in, we recommend allowing 45-60 minutes from your arrival at the VCC to your arrival at the event site at LZ Canary. If those who possess requisite DoD ID cards would consider selecting later start times, leaving most of the earlier start times for those who have to go through the VCC between 7:30 and 11:30, it would be appreciated (though certainly not required.) As a reminder, the event time windows (other than JROTC) to show-up at check-in and start are:
- 09:45am – 10:30am – pick up map; start course between 10 - 11am
- 10:45am – 11:30am – pick up map; start course between Noon
- 11:45am – 12:30pm – pick up map; start course between 1pm
- 12:45pm - 1:30pm – pick up map; start course before 1:30pm
Base Waiver Requirement:
Each attendee over the age of 18 (both those who run courses and those who do not) will have to sign and submit a special adult waiver for MCBQ. Please click the link, print out, sign and turn the waiver in to us (QOC) when you check-in at the event. If you arrive without a signed waiver, there will be blank waiver forms at registration, but it will speed the registration process and better conform to our COVID-19 risk reduction efforts if you have it done in advance.
For each attendee under the age of 18, there is a waiver form for minors that must be signed by his/her parent/guardian. Those under the age of 18 who will not be accompanied by their parent/guardian must ensure that a parent/guardian has signed the form before they depart for the event. Each junior running individually and each start-team with a junior must present the requisite waiver to us (QOC) at our event check-in. Check-in crew will verify each junior on the start team has a signed waiver. No minor will be allowed to run without the waiver signed by his/her parent/legal guardian.
COVID Risk Reduction Protocols:
As with all 2021-2022 QOC events, this event requires pre-registration via the link below. QOC’s COVID risk reduction protocols, as also enumerated somewhat here, are in effect. Please read these guidelines carefully. Key points:
- PROPERLY WORN MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING ARE REQUIRED at all times when near registration, epunch and any other areas or queues where volunteers and/or participants are congregating.
- No water will be provided. Provide for your own hydration needs before, during, and after the event.
- There is no planned, on-site beginner instruction, but beginners are encouraged to watch relevant videos such as this one created by QOC's instructional guru David Onkst.
- Pets are permitted on base but must be on the leash at all times.
- The size of start teams (groups of individuals orienteering together with one e-punch) on a course must be no more than four (4) individuals (juniors and adults combined).
- Youth group leaders please contact the event director (John Baker) to provide numbers and plans for your attendance.
- The National Museum of the Marine Corps is a great place to visit as long as you are coming down to Quantico anyway. Daily hours are 9:00am to 5pm. NMMC is a 10-15 minute drive (entirely off base) from the access gate and Visitors Center.
| Location | Quantico Marine Corps Base (MCBQ), LZ Canary, Triangle, VA (Classic) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Registration | Registration for this event will open at 6pm on Monday Sept. 27 via this link. Registration will close no later than 6pm on Thursday Oct. 7. Who's registered? Check by clicking here. Sorting by column is possible too - just click on the column name. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Start Times | Start times will be by windows (to be defined for this event before registration opens). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Schedule | Saturday, October 9
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| Volunteers |
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| Location Details |
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| Course Details | Classic
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| Course Notes | Classic Safety Bearing – East to Hangman Tree Rd. Course map scales are likely to be 1:5000 for white, yellow and brown, 1:10000 for orange and green, and 1:15000 for red and blue. The excellent LZ Canary terrain is very similar to other nearby QOC venues and harkens back to days when the land was rough and untamed. Few trails are present for any of the courses. White and Yellow will make use of trails that are available, but have legs that will be off trail. There will be a streamered section between controls 111 and 112 to assist through a tougher area. The area is a rolling forested landscape. As is typical in the Mid-Atlantic, expect the usual spur and reentrant terrain, with few very steep climbs. The man-made objects (black x'es on the map) mapped throughout the area, are for the most part empty ammunition boxes. The Marines use them for land-navigation training. However, there are several marked boxes that are no longer present due to tree fall or other removal activities. On all advanced courses, there is the potential to get wet feet. All watercourses are crossable. Water levels have been pretty close to normal and should be similar to what is mapped unless we see torrential rain just prior to the event. The stream areas can be very marshy. The mapped rides (long, thin dashed lines) can be very indistinct and difficult to detect. Also, expect more fallen trees than mapped. However, vegetation, in general, is reasonably accurate. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Entry Fees | Individual Entries
Note: juniors = under 21
Group Entries Participants are welcome to orienteer together as a group (up to the maximum for that event; usually 4). Each member of a group is charged their individual rate as shown above, up to a group total of $30 (maximum), and each receives a map. A group receives one epunch. Individuals or groups desiring to compete on a second course after completing their first can do so for a reduced fee of $2/map subject to approval at the event by the Event Director. Important Notes
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