Waikato Orienteering host an urban rogaine series of ten events on Wednesday evenings starting early October. Our urban rogaines are predominately based around community parks in the beautiful suburbs of Hamilton with one event held in a neighbouring township.
Our urban rogaine events have a time limit of 45 minutes. You will receive an A4 map of the surrounding parks and suburbs (without street names) and can access a GPS tracked smart phone app call MapRun6 for tracking your progress. Thirty to forty control locations will be marked on the map with a circle. Your aim is to visit as many of these locations as you can (or want) in the 45 minute time limit. The points awarded per control vary, so some planning can help. There’s a mystery activity worth 100 points that can be completed between the first and last ten minutes of the event. Make sure you’re back before the time limit or you’ll have points deducted.
There are several ways to keep up to date with Orienteering Waikato events
- Subscribe to our e-mailing list by emailing [email protected] with “subscribe” in the subject
- Follow our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OrienteeringWaikato/
- Keep an eye on our events page http://orienteeringwaikato.org.nz/events/
- Check out the Orienteering NZ events register https://www.orienteering.org.nz/events/?clubs=Waikato
Our urban rogaine events are held predominately in suburban parks around Hamilton city. You can expect to be walking or running down footpaths, gravel tracks, across parks around and under trees. Walking or running shoes are a good idea and a light jacket might be handy if rain is expected. The beauty of urban rogaines is that there is no prescribed course; you can choose which control sites to visit. If you are not feeling up to walking or running around for the full 45 minutes you can come back early.
If you have a smartphone please install MapRun6 from http://maprunners.weebly.com/. MapRun6 is used as the timing app for our urban rogaines. You can still participate without a smartphone but you will need to manually note down which controls you visit and tally your points.
Our urban rogaine event maps have many distinguishing features such as roads, buildings and parks. Most people can successfully orient their map using the features available and do not require a compass. Participants have ten minutes with the map before the mass start, giving you time to plan your route and orient yourself and your map. You are most welcome to bring a compass if you wish.
We are very grateful for our volunteers who manage registration at our events. We aim to have registrations open from around 5:30 pm. If you arrive early enough you might get the chance to help set up the gazebo! We will ask you to write the following details on our registration form.
- Name
- Mobile phone number – so we can check you’re okay if you don’t return when expected
- Member Y/N – membership is from January to December and is $20
- Course Fee – amount due, members $5, Non-Members $10 per adult. School children free with a paying adult. Family maximum $25 (living at same address)
- Amount Paid – amount actually paid
We also ask participants to place a tick beside their name on the registration sheet once they have finished their event. This helps us to know that everyone is back safely.
Our urban rogaine fees for 2021 are;
- Members $5
- Non-Members $10 per adult
- School children free with a paying adult
- Family maximum $25 (living at same address)
Membership is for the calendar year, January to December
- $20 per adult
- $10 per child (school-aged or younger)
- Maximum of $50 per family (living at same address)
If I told you, it wouldn’t be a mystery!
What I can tell you about the mystery activity is that;
- it can’t be done in the first ten minutes of the event nor can it be done in the last ten minutes
- it is worth 100 points!
- it is a relatively short activity dreamed up by our event volunteer
The following map was used for an event in November 2018. See if you can locate the start and finish. The start is identified by a triangle and the finish by a double circle. You might also see control 901 which is the mystery activity location and is worth 100 points.
You’ll be given a map about ten minutes before the event starts. This is a good time to figure out where you are on map and to identify the best roads and paths that lead to, and between controls. Controls are worth between 10 and 40 points and there is a mystery activity available mid-way through the event worth 100 points. The mystery activity can only be completed between ten minutes after the start and ten minute before the end of the event. During the planning time you can find a couple of loops that get you out and back to do the mystery activity and then out and back in time for the finish. You might want to think about alternative routes in case you’re quicker or slower than expected. Some participants bring a highlighter to mark their planned route.
Don’t be late back or you’ll lose 20 points for each minute or part-minute after the 45 minutes.
Please install MapRun6 from http://maprunners.weebly.com/. Make sure you have location services turned on. You will also need mobile data if you haven’t downloaded the map before you arrive at the event venue.
The event co-ordinator will give participants any special instructions before the start and then will guide everyone to the starting location. You will be asked to select the correct map in the MapRun6 application. You may also be given a PIN number to enable the event. Once you are set up for the correct event you can move towards the Start banner. Once you hear a beep, a visual check of your phone will show that the MapRun6 timer has started counting down from 45 minutes.
You should hear a beep at each control location you visit. The MapRun6 will show the last control number visited, in case you miss hearing the beep. If your phone hasn’t detected the control location make sure you’re on the correct side of the road and in the correct location shown on your map. The GPS accuracy can vary between phone models so you may need to move around a bit for the control location to register successfully.
The MapRun6 application will end your event as soon as you get close to the Finish banner. Make sure you don’t run through the Finish area in the middle of your event otherwise the MapRun6 app will end your race timing.
Our urban rogaines can be run without a smartphone. You can plan your event with everyone else and listen to any special instructions given by the event co-ordinator (you can ignore any instructions about the MapRun6 application). You start with everyone else but you will need to keep track of your own time and control locations visited. Finish your event at the Finish banner and note if you were late and by how many minutes. Add the points value for the control locations visited and subtract any penalty points^. There should be a form at registration to note down your result (if not, note your result on the back of the registration sheet).
^Minus 20 points for every minute or part minute late. For example, 2 minutes 11 seconds late is 2 minutes + 1 part minute, so 3 * 20 = 60 penalty points.