COW Stage 4 at Mills College Campus 2018

Day 5 of California Orienteering Week (COW) 2018

Mar 21, 2018 (Wed)

BAOC

Mills College Oakland, CA

Director: Vicki Woolworth (510.407.1876)
Course Setter: George Minarik

Type A: National Ranking Event (NRE). Offers courses in all the OUSA competitive classes (see section A.39) and are counted in the national rankings. Note, however, that these events also have courses for recreational orienteers and do welcome beginners, and sometimes an event will consist of a combination of NRE and non-NRE events.

Stage 4 of California Orienteering Week (COW)

Related events:

Schedule ↑

Packet pickup: 9:30 AM to 12:30 AM
Recreational registration open: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Beginner clinics: 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM
Competitive start window: 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Recreational starts open: 11:00 AM to noon (this changed on 3/6)
Courses close: 2:30 PM (except for competitive starts after 12:30)

Campus is Out of Bounds! ↑

Except for the entry road, parking lot, walkways directly to the Assembly Area, the Assembly Area itself, and the walk to the Start, the entire campus is embargoed from 6:00 AM on March 21st until course closure. That means you may not enter other areas of the campus on that day until after the entire competition is completed.

Arrival Logistics ↑

Registration and restrooms are in Haas Pavilion, a 200 m walk from parking. We also have use of the locker rooms in that building for changing and clothing storage (but don't leave valuables there). (A PDF map of the area is linked from the Parking section below.)

The Start is 150 meters from registration. The Finish Arena is in the main quad, another 200 meters from the Starts.

It is prohibited to walk into the campus past the Start line until after you have finished your course.

After you have finished, there are ample spectator opportunities in the Finish Arena. (It is prohibited to walk past the Finish area until after the entire competition is completed.)

Notes for Competitive Entries

  • Start times are pre-assigned (except for event-day registrations). They are available here.
  • Times over 2 hours will be recorded as overtime (OVT) per OUSA rules.
  • You must return to the Finish by 2:30, and then go to the download tent, even if you have not finished your course. (If your assigned start time is after 12:30, you will be permitted your full 2 hours on your course.)

Notes for Recreational Entries ↑

  • At registration, all juniors must be accompanied by parents or legal guardians, or bring with them a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian (the registration form is available here (PDF/100KB)).
  • You can register and start on courses anytime during the open times above. Thus, for example, you do not need to be "punctual" when registration opens (but you can if you want, but please don't show up earlier and expect to be served).
  • Beginners' clinics are short, repeating sessions that introduce the sport of orienteering, and provide enough instruction to be able to complete the beginner (White) course.
  • You must return to the Finish by 2:30, and then go to the download tent, even if you have not finished your course. If there are unaccounted people after 2:30, we must initiate a search for them.

Courses ↑

Here are the final course details:

Course    Length    Climb   Controls
White     2.0 km     30 m      19  
Yellow    2.2 km     30 m      21
Orange    2.8 Km     70 m      23
Brown     2.9 Km     70 m      25
Green     3.5 km    100 m      29 (*)
Red       4.2 km    140 m      30 (*)
Blue      4.6 km    140 m      34 (*)
(*) Note that SI-Card5 and SI-Card8 E-sticks can record only 30 controls!

Recreational (non-competitive) entries will be allowed on the White, Yellow, and Orange courses.

Beginners should note that the course Length is simply the sum of the straight-line distances between controls. Your actual distance will be somewhat longer, and will depend on your route choices (and any errors you make). (A rough rule of thumb is to mentally replace "km" with "mi", so a "2.0 km" course might cover about 2 miles.)

Climb is an estimate of the cumulative "up" that would be encountered on the optimum route, with no regard for any "down" along the way. As with course length, the actual climb you encounter will depend on your route choices (and errors).

Start Procedure ↑

The same start procedure will be used at every Stage of the COW event. It is described here.

At Mills College, you are in the Start Triangle when you are at the Start Line.

Assigned start times for competitive entries are available here.

Driving Directions ↑

The address of the college is 5000 MacArthur Boulevard, Oakland, CA 94613 (Google Map)

From the west, get to I-580 East. Take the MacArthur Blvd exit (#25B). Continue on MacArthur Blvd to Richards Road (the campus entrance) on the left. See Parking below.

From the east, get to I-580 West. Take the MacArthur Blvd exit (#25). Turn left onto Buell St. Turn left onto MacArthur Blvd. Turn left onto Richards Road (the campus entrance). See Parking below.

From the south, take I-880 North to I-238 (exit 31A) toward Castro Valley. After about 2 miles, take exit 14 to I-580 West. After about 9 miles, take the MacArthur Blvd exit (#25). Turn left onto Buell St. Turn left onto MacArthur Blvd. Turn left onto Richards Road (the campus entrance). See Parking below.

Parking ↑

After passing through the entrance station (they might ask you what you are coming for), turn right and then turn right immediately again to park in the visitor lot. Walk back to the main campus road, and then to the Assembly Area next to the soccer field.

A small map showing the parking lot ("Renter Parking") and soccer field is available in this PDF file (280KB). (Before you ask, we don't know the significance of the dashed orange line.)

Public Transit ↑

The AC Transit NL bus stops at the entrance to Mills College. The bus can be boarded at the San Francisco Temporary Transbay Terminal (bounded by Folsom, Beale, Howard, and Main Streets), at the Oakland 19th St BART Station/Transit Center (1900 Broadway), or elsewhere along the bus route.

Updated: Jun 13, 2026, 3:56 PM PDT • Edit