At championship events, like the Westerns and the Nationals, there are “age-group” categories and “open” categories. Every age category is assigned to a certain course, following the standards for course length and difficulty set by the Canadian Orienteering Federation. This is why there are so many courses offered – 10 in the case of the Middle and Long events; and 5 in the case of the Sprint events.
If you enter an age-group category, you will be competing with other people of the same gender and age bracket. However, to participate in the championships, you do not have to enter your age-group category – most courses offer an open (non-competitive) category as well.
For example, for men aged 21-34, the age-group category is Course 10 – the longest, most difficult course. That is the championship course for that age group. However, if you are in that age bracket, but not up to that kind of challenge, you are welcome to enter the open category on one of the shorter courses. (Note though that if you win an open category, you are not considered “Canadian Champion” the way the winner of the M21-34 age category on course 10 is.)
Listed below is a summary of the courses that will be offered for the Middle and Long events, along with an explanation of how the course compares with the Wednesday night meets. Note that for the Sprint races, the same age categories are used, but the assignment as to which course they run is different, as only 5 courses are offered. Refer to the tables of courses on the Westerns/ COC registration page for a visual explanation of which age-group and Open categories are on which courses.
On each course, W = female, M = male. The number following the W or M indicates the age bracket for that course. Note that age is based on December 31st of this year. A 34 year old woman who turns 35 in November is eligible to enter the W35-44 age category if she wishes. The open categories are simply identified by the course number. Courses 8, 9 and 10 do not have Open categories. Groups are only allowed on courses one and two (Open-1 and Open-2).
Course 1
Similar to the novice course, you can expect the course to be between 1.5-2.5 km in length, and to be on trails. Use of a compass is not normally required. The winning time is expected to be 20 – 30 minutes.
Course 2
Harder than the novice course on Wednesday night meets, you can expect the course to be between 2.5-2.5 km in length and to be off trails for portions of the course. Use of the compass is often helpful. The competitive winning time for course two is approximately 30 minutes.
Course 3
Similar to the short intermediate courses, with an overall length between 3.5-4.5 km, and a competitive winning time of 30-50 minutes (Middle vs. Long). Use of the compass is required.
Course 4
This is meant to be a technically challenging, but fairly short course to cater to our oldest participants (W75-79; W-80+, M-80+). Similar to the short advanced courses, you can expect the length to be between 2.0-3.0 km, with a competitive winning time of 25-50 minutes (Middle vs. Long).
Course 5
This course may be considered similar to the Short Advanced course offered at our Wednesday night events. You can expect the length to be between 3.0 to 5.0 kilometers, with an estimated winning time of 25-50 minutes (Middle vs. Long).
Courses 6-10
These courses are considered advanced, similar to (or longer than) the long advanced courses on our Wednesday night events, with an overall course length of 4.5-6.0 km, and a competitive winning time of 50-55 minutes. The difficulty may be more challenging than the average Wednesday night meet. As an example, in the long Distance event, course 10 may be over 11 kilometres in length, with a winning time of 90-100 minutes
Do I need to pre-register?
Yes. Registration on the day is not possible, as we will be pre-printing all of the maps ahead of time, and pre-assigning all start times.
What can I expect at the Championships?
Likely, the biggest difference between this event and the Wednesday night meets that you will notice is the more formalized starting procedure. Start times are pre-assigned, meaning that you have to start at a certain specific time. If you are late for your start, your elapsed time for the course will have started anyway. The start can be up to a kilometre from the parking/finish area, so allow enough time to get to the start. Maps are pre-printed with the course (you will not have to copy your map from a master map), and the first time that you see the map is when your time starts. The rest of the event is similar, except that the finish is more accurately timed. For example, if you are part of a group, the entire group must cross the finish line prior to the final time being given. Plan on socializing after the event, comparing route choices and getting to know fellow orienteers from across the country and indeed, the globe!
