When - Completed
was held Sunday, September 17, 2023:
- Beginner at 10:00am.
- Advanced at 10:00am.
Where
Lake Accotink Park
McLaren-Sargent Pavilion
Access is off Heming Ave
Springfield, VA 22150
Directions: From the North or South: use I-495/Beltway exit 54AB/Braddock Rd/Rt 620, heading east on Rt 620/Braddock Rd as you exit. In ~0.8 miles, turn right on Heming Ave. In ~1.3 miles, turn right at the Lake Accotink Park sign and follow the park road to the parking area. The pavilion is up a small path starting at the far (west) end of the parking lot.
Event Directors
Keg Good and Sid Sachs
Contact Keg by email OR Sid by email.
Volunteers
See our volunteers page for details.
Results and Records
Results and Records of the NVSO 2023 Orienteering Events:
Photographs
There are no Photographs from the NVSO 2023 Orienteering Events.
Rules
General Rules
Please go here for rules covering all events.
Orienteering Rules
Events will be held in 10-year age groups (50-59, 60-69, 70-79, 80-89, 90-99, 100+) with no gender divisions. US Orienteering Federation Rules will be used with exceptions and modifications. The Event Host will provide equipment. For questions call 703-987-9070.
A) The Events
- A Beginner/Advanced Beginner course of approximately 1 to 2.5 kilometers straight distance.
- An Advanced course of approximately 3.2 to 5 kilometers straight distance.
- Only one orienteering course may be entered per person.
B) Equipment
- The Event Host will supply orienteering maps (1:5,000 or 1:7,500 Map Scale for the Beginner/Advanced Beginner Course and 1: 7,500 or 1:10,000 Map Scale for the Advanced Course), epunches (electronic timing devices), if used, and compasses. Competitors may use their own equipment.
- GPS units with visual displays are not permitted.
- Any other equipment may be carried provided it is not used for navigation or communication.
- There will not be any water available to participants out on the course, so they should plan to carry the volume of water they feel they will need.
- Control descriptions will be provided in English on both courses and international symbols on the Advanced Course.
C) General
- This is an individual event.
- Competitors will be released onto the course in 2 or more minute intervals.
- Competitors must visit checkpoints (controls) in sequential order. No controls may be skipped.
- Any route is permissible between checkpoints, except private property and out of bounds areas shall not be entered.
- Obvious following an other competitor is discouraged.
- There will be no overtime designation (there is no maximum time limit for completing the course). However, for security reasons, every competitor must finish by 3:00 p.m. even if he/she has not finished the course.
D) Declaring Winners
- Medals will be awarded and competitors will be ranked according to best times in each age group and course category.
- In the event that not all controls are visited, winners will be based on the number of sequential controls from the start.
- Medals will be awarded following the competition.
Which course is for me?
Beginner
Choose this novice course if you are just beginning to orienteer and have had little or no experience. Before starting you should know:
- how to interpret map symbols and colors (legend).
- how to orient the map to North using a compass and/or land features.
- what are the basic objectives (rules) of orienteering competition.
- what to do when hopelessly lost (how to use a "safety bearing").
This course is designed to introduce you to, and give you experience in:
- following land features ("handrails" such as trails, roads and streams)
- learning to relate the map to features on the ground
- judging the distance between control locations
- gaining self-confidence in map reading
Advanced Beginner
Choose this beginner course if you have had some experience with orienteering and are quite comfortable with the beginner course, or have done a lot of hiking using topographical maps. Before starting you should know:
- everything listed for the white course above
- how to read contour lines
- how to select and follow a "handrail"
- how to select and use an "attack point"
- how to interpret a scale and judge rough distance
- how to take a rough compass bearing
- how to select a route choice (safer vs. shorter)
- how to "recover" from an error by backtracking to last known point
This course is designed to introduce you to, and give you experience in:
- following handrails to an attack point (rather than to the control)
- taking a bearing from the attack point to the control
- judging fine distance between the attack point and the control
- selecting between simple route choices
- recognizing "collecting features" and "catching features"
- reading and interpreting contours
- recovering using attack points and maps features
Intermediate Level
This course was not available in NVSO 2022.
Advanced Level
Choose this competitive level course if you are an experienced orienteer and have done several orange courses with confidence. Before starting you should know:
- everything listed for the other courses
- how to "pace count"
- advanced techniques such as attacking from above, contouring, thumbing your map, red light, yellow light, green light
- how to evaluate your own physical and orienteering skills
- extensive recovery techniques
This course is designed to give you experience in:
- pacing yourself (physically)
- recognizing the challenges presented to you by the course setter
- perfecting your orienteering skills
- discrimination of mapping details