Training Weekend

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March 11 - March 12
Saturday - Sunday

Update: registration is now closed since, for the first time in several recent years of doing training events at the Happyland cabin camp, we have filled the camp to capacity. If anyone currently registered backs out, we'll see about making the space freed up available, so if that would be of interest, keep an eye on this space/your email/social media.

QOC will return to Prince William Forest Park this March 11-12, offering a weekend of training focused on juniors but open to everyone, including a regular QOC night-O event on Saturday evening. NOTE: There will be no regular QOC event on Sunday.

This webpage will focus on the training and overnight accommodations; please see the Night-O event webpage for information about that event specifically.

The training camp, designed by Boris Granovskiy and led by U.S. Team members Hannah and Kevin Culberg, will run from 11am Saturday to early afternoon on Sunday. The plan is for training on the Turkey Run Ridge map (center of the park) on Saturday and on the Happyland map (SW part of the park surrounding Cabin Camp 5) on Sunday.

Update: option to participate only on Saturday. To accommodate people who may not be able to commit to an entire weekend of training, an option to participate in only the Saturday training has been added to the online registration - look near the bottom of the registration page for "Saturday Training Only". Signing up for this gets you the Saturday training exercises and meals. For maximum flexibility, it doesn't include night-O participation - you can sign up for the night-O on the spot, or just hang out and be social after dinner, or move on to any other Saturday evening plans you might have. This option will be offered at an earlybird rate of $17 per person until midnight on Monday, February 13th. Regular and late fees will be $22 and $27 respectively, with the same deadlines as for the whole training camp.

Coaching will be provided for all skill levels. The training sessions are open to everyone, including adults at any skill level, but the coaching effort will be focused on the juniors, i.e. as an adult, don't expect focused individual attention from the coaches.

Night-O: On Saturday evening there will be a night-O, with beginner, intermediate and advanced course options and starts from 6:30pm to 8:30pm, with socializing and games the rest of the evening.

Accommodations: Happyland can accommodate up to 104 people staying overnight in one of 4 heated dorms (mattresses are provided; overnighters will have to bring their own bedding. If your travel arrangements dictate travelling light; please inform the registrar and we'll work on lining up bedding for you.). For early arrivals, the camp and dorms will be open starting Friday evening as well as on Saturday night.

Meals (Saturday lunch and dinner and Sunday breakfast and lunch) will be provided courtesy of a highly skilled culinary team led, once again, by Florence Tan. The food alone makes the camp worth coming to! (BTW, please be sure while registering not to neglect to inform us of any food allergies, sensitivities, or special diet.)

Transport please note in the registration form comments if you won't have a private vehicle with you for the duration of the camp. This will help us plan how to move people to and from the training sessions at Turkey Run Ridge. Also, if you could use a lift to and from the park from a DC area airport, bus terminal, train station, etc. we'll do our best to arrange that rather than leave you at the mercy of taxi services.

See below for the schedule and other details of the junior training weekend.

The fee for the training camp will be $50 per participant. This includes meals and overnight accommodations at the cabin camp as well as participation in the night-O. An early-bird registration fee of $40 is available through February 7 (extended from January 31st originally so it wouldn't be necessary to tell people at the QOC Winter Meeting on Saturday they were already too late for early-bird fees). A late registration fee of $60 will apply after February 24. Registration will close at midnight on March 6.

A full refund of camp fees will be provided if requested before the close of early-bird registration. Once the regular registration period begins, $10 per registered participant will be deducted from any refunds. This will increase to $15 during the late registration period. No refunds will be provided after the close of registration.

If you will be accompanying a group of participants but not orienteering yourself, you may register for meals and accommodations as a non-orienteering coach/chaperone for a reduced fee of $40 ($30 early/$50 late).

Since training requires advance organization and beds are fairly plentiful but not in infinite supply, online pre-registration is required via OUSA's Event Register system.

Locator Map: For those who would like a printable map showing the drive from the Rt 619 Joplin Rd & Mawavi Rd junction to the night-O registration and parking area(s), click here. Camp participants should park in the eastern of the two parking areas, nearer the cabin camp buildings.

Note: park rules prohibit pets and alcohol within the Happyland cabin camp, which is our base of operations for the weekend - please leave both at home. Smoking is also forbidden by NPS rules inside buildings at Happyland.

Saturday, March 11

11:00am - 1:00pm: Training session 1

1:00 - 2:30pm: Lunch

2:30 - 4:00pm: Training session 2

5:00 - 6:30pm: Group dinner at the cabins, with reviews of the training sessions.

6:30 - 8:30pm: Start window for Night-O.

Sunday, March 12

8:00am-9:00am: Breakfast

9:00am-11:00am: Training session 3

12:00pm - 2:00pm: Training session 4

2:00pm-3:00pm: Lunch and departures

You can participate in as many or as few exercises as you want. There will be beginner, intermediate, and advanced options for each exercise, and you can decide together with the coaches what is best for you for each session.

Parents and coaches are welcome to participate fully in the camp, i.e. in all the exercises, meals and night-O. Please sign up online as a junior camp participant if you wish to do so. If you won't be orienteering yourself but focusing on coaching/supervising your children/juniors accompanying you, please sign up as not competing for all the training camp options and select only the "Training Weekend W/O Orienteering" option near the bottom of the online registration form.

The expectation is that minors participating in the camp will, in general, be accompanied by an adult also in attendance throughout the weekend, fully participating in the orienteering activities or not. Should you wish to send an unaccompanied minor to the camp, please contact the Event Director or Registrar first so we can go through the issues that raises and make sure they can be adequately addressed.