October 1st, 2009
EVENT CANCELLED
full refunds will be sent to all those that registered. If you still would like to orienteer, the Permanent Courses are still open at the Nordic Center. Visit TrailSports to buy a map for $5.
Mountain Bike Orienteering (MTBO) is a very new and very fun form of orienteering. This event will be suitable for all levels of riders and all levels of orienteering experience. All controls can be reached using basic mountain bike riding skills - being comfortable riding along gravel or dirt roads, with some simple single track options. Advanced riders will have some options to travel along more technical riding trails. All controls are on paths.
Mountain bike orienteering has something fun for everyone. Regular orienteers will enjoy new orienteering challenges - route choice is abundant and the straight line is no longer an option; navigation skills are truly put to the test. Locals who ride the Nordic Center a lot will experience the park in new ways that they've never ridden before. Courses will be offered for all levels.
Prizes - for fastest man & fastest woman on long course - plus draw prizes.
Sponsors
News
| Sept 21 | Prize for fastest man & fastest woman on long course - each wins a Nav360 map holder! |
| Sept 21 | Nav360 map holders available for purchase (and a very few available for rent). Details below. |
| Sept 13 | Trail Sports are providing prizes & great bike rental rates. Details below. |
| Sept 13 | Draw Prize: all participants eligible for a draw for an Axis Gear bike shirt. |
Schedule
| Saturday October 3rd | ||
|---|---|---|
| 9:00am - 10:00am | Clinic | Nordic Center Day Lodge |
| 10:00am - 10:30am | Sign-in | Nordic Center Day Lodge |
| 10:30am - 11:30am | Race | Nordic Center Stadium |
| 1:00pm | Awards | Nordic Center Day Lodge |
| 1:30pm | Course closing | |
Results
Check the COF RouteGadget database to have a look at the map and the courses from the 2008 race. You can see the routes racers chose and you can watch an animation (very cool) of the race.
Photos from 2008 Mountain Bike event
| www.flickr.com |
Registration
Click here to register online. Register online to avoid lineups and delays on the day. On the day registration will be subject to a $2 extra fee.
Categories & Courses
See Technical Details below for a list of categories and for course details
Entry Fees & other expenses
| Pricing | Adults | Juniors (under 20) |
|---|---|---|
| Race entry (before Sept 21st) | $10 | $5 |
| Race entry (after Sept 21st) | $15 | $5 |
| Additional team members (max 3 per team) |
$5 | $0 |
| SI Card rental | $2 | $2 |
| NAV360 map holder purchase | $55 | |
| NAV360 map holder rental (5 only) |
$10 |
Last Minute Registration Disincentive
On site on-the-day registration is possible, however only a limited number of maps will be available - and the entry cost will be $2 higher. Save the anxiety, register online.
Cancellation & Refunds
In the event you should cancel your entry, we’ll refund 90% if the cancellation is received in writing before October 2nd. No refunds will be given after then.
Club membership
You must belong to a Canadian provincial orienteering association or a national federation (for insurance purposes) in order to take part. Visit the Foothills Wanderers membership page to sign up. Membership is cheap and all memberships bought after September 1st are valid until the end of 2010.
Electronic Punching
All events use electronic timing. There is a small charge of $2/event to rent SportIdent cards if you don’t have your own.
Equipment
Bike & clothingYou will need the equipment that you would normally take on a ride at the Canmore Nordic Centre: a sturdy bike, a repair kit, normal riding clothes appropriate for the weather, and you should carry drink & food for about a 1 - 2 hour ride.
Map Holder
You will need some way to hold your race map so it is visible at all times. The key features are sturdiness, a rotating map holder, and the proper size. Click here for a comprehensive review of map holder options.
If you are not yet ready to commit to a commercial map holder you can contrive a homemade contraption. For inspiration check this idea or this one
** SPECIAL OFFER ON NAV360 MAP HOLDERS **
If you do want to try a handle-bar mounted, rotating map holder we have a great deal for you. For this event we will have a very limited stock of Nav360 map holders for sale and a very few for rent. For this event only we are offering the *amazing* price of just $55 to buy one or a mere $10 to rent (which can be applied to purchase price if you decide you want to buy right after the race). Because quantities are so limited, we are offering these on a first come first served basis - sign up when you register.
From Mark Honsberger, creator & distributer of the Nav360: "It's very important to provide the racer with the very best product that they able to purchase and the NAV360 is the #1 map board used by adventure racers as well as MTB orienteering racers. It's very important to provide a safe way of reading a map while on a mountain bike."
** SPECIAL OFFER ON BIKE RENTALS From TRAIL SPORTS **
Trail Sports at the Nordic Center has Rocky Mountain ETSX 10 bikes for rent. They're offering a 25% discount to MTBO participants - just $11.25 / hour. And if you want to buy one of the rental bikes they are on sale at great prices.
Clinic - Introduction to MTBO
Introduction to MTBO (Mountain Bike Orienteering)
Free clinic in the Day Lodge. No pre-registration required.
We will cover the rules, the map, navigation, route selection, and safety. No previous orienteering experience necessary.
Race Information
Super important information
- You must always report to the finish, even if you don’t finish your course. This is to avoid us worrying unnecessarily and/or pointlessly executing our emergency search procedure.
First Aid and Emergency
- Limited first aid is available at the finish.
- Contact Adrian Zissos in the case of serious injury or an overdue competitor.
- Medical services are available in Canmore and Calgary. Dialing 911 will contact emergency services./li>
Start times
We will use staggered starts - go to the start line at 11am and you will start shortly afterwards.
Maps
Maps will be sealed in plastic bags. Legends will not be printed on the maps; control descriptions will be.
Control Descriptions
There are no control description in MTBO! All controls are on trails.
Water
There is no on-course drinking water. Please keep this in mind and plan accordingly to stay well hydrated.
Electronic timing
SI timing is used for all events. If you don't have your own SI timing device you must rent one for a nominal fee.
Event details
| Saturday | Canmore Nordic Center: MTBO | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Officials | Course planner: Adrian Zissos. | ||||||
| Terrain | The Canmore Nordic Center has excellent terrain for mountain bike
orienteering with a complex network of trails ranging from easy, wide
tracks to technical single track. It also has lots of elevation gain to
provide route choice and a test of fitness and endurance. All controls are accessible from easy trails, but the faster routes may involve taking more technical trails. |
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| Map |
1:10,000 5m contours (possibly 1:15,000 for the long course - check at
the start) Drawn to MTBO mapping standards. New trails have been built since the map was made - especially some new sections of the "Orange loop" and "Yellow loop". These sections will not be shown on the map. |
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| Courses |
Long - approximate winning time: 45 - 50 minutes Short - approximate winning time: 20 - 25 minutes Both courses have intermediate navigational difficult. All controls are on the trails. All navigation can be done on double track or the gentler single tracks - though the fastest routes will include some intermediate-level single track. Expert riders will also have the option to take the most difficult trails if they want to. |
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| Categories |
Open Long (men) Open Long (women) Masters Long (men) 45 & over Masters Long (women) 45 & over Team Long Youth short (men) under 20 Youth short (women) under 20 Open Short (men) Open Short (women) Masters Short (men) 45 & over Masters Short (women) 45 & over Team Short |
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| Prizes |
The fastest man and the fastest woman on the long course will both win a
Nav360 map holder. There will be draw prizes from Axis Gear & Trail Sports. |
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| Start times |
Start time: 10:30am – 11:00am.
Interval starts, assigned at the start line. Course closing: 1:00pm (max time is 120 minutes) |
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| Notes |
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| Directions |
Park at the Canmore Nordic Center day lodge. The clinic is in the day lodge. Start & Finish are in the stadium. |
FAQ
Q. I've got a question - how do I ask it?
A. Send email to adrian _at_ barebones.ca. Or try phoning 403.262.4457.
Q. Is there any childcare organized? Or courses for kids?
A. Unfortunately not. If the kids are good riders they can go with their parents
in the Family category.
Q. What is the difference between MTBO maps and FootO maps?
A. They are very similar - the main differences are with the trails and tracks.
Because MTBO navigation and route choice depends on the condition of the tracks
- how easy to ride and how fast - there are a lot more track symbols. Have a
quick look at the
MTBO mapping standards and pay particular attention to the trail symbols.
Also note the very last symbol - a purple line across a trail that depicts a
blockage on the trail (we have not checked if any of the blockages have been
removed since the map was made).
Links
MTBO has somewhat different rules and map standards from foot-orienteering.For good overviews & introductions to MTBO visit these links:
* The Canadian Orienteering Federation's MTBO page.
* The British MTBO page
* MTBO mapping standards.