What Should I Bring?
The only piece of equipment you really need to go orienteering is your brain. However, the following may also be useful:
Suitable footwear: Light hiking boots or running shoes. For advanced courses, studded shoes such as baseball or soccer shoes are recommended for traction on steep slopes. Clothing: Dress as you would normally for a hike that might take you through some brushy areas. The beginner's (White) course generally sticks to trails, but other courses may go through fields and forests. Water/snacks: Water is almost always available, but you might want to bring your own for convenience and to drink on the course. Compass: Helps you orient the map to North and take bearings. You can also rent one when you arrive. Soap & water: Many Bay Area parks have poison oak, which you might encounter on any course except White, although it's mainly a risk on the advanced courses. If you're sensitive to poison oak, it's a good idea to wash off as soon as possible after you finish orienteering, so bring water and Tecnu or another oil-cutting soap (e.g., dish-washing soap).
Should I Bring My Dog?
If you are a recreational orienteer on a beginning-level (White) course that stays on trails, bringing the family pet may be appropriate if park regulations allow it, the dog is used to crowds, and you are planning to walk, rather than run or jog. Please use common sense. If in doubt, check with the event director before the event to discuss your particular situation.
What Do the Abbreviations Found in Results Mean?
When an orienteer does not complete a course, one of the following abbreviations will appear in the finish-time column of the results:
DNF – Did Not Finish
The orienteer did not complete the course—that is, one or more controls are missing from their results. They may have gotten lost, tired, or injured, or they may not have found one or more of the controls. When the orienteer reports to E-punch Download (or at the Finish when [paper] control cards are used), the E-punch computer will note the missing control(s) (or the results crew will notice the missing punch[es] on the [paper] control card), and the DNF classification will be applied. Notes: For administrative reasons, it is desirable for everybody to punch at the Finish, even if they skipped/missed any controls on the course. However, punching at the Finish is not sufficient to be classified as successfully "finishing" the course. For safety reasons, it is important that everybody go to E-punch Download after their course, so the organizers know they are back. (Failing to download can result in a DSQ classification as described below.) If a control is actually not present at the mapped location, the orienteer should report it at the Finish and at E-punch Download. If a control is verified to actually be missing, the missing control will be ignored in the results—i.e., the DNF classification will not be applied. (However, at a National Event, the entire course could be "voided"—i.e., everyone's results for that course could be canceled, as though it never happened.) If the E-punch unit at a control does not beep/flash, the orienteer should punch their map with the manual pin-punch at the control to "prove" they were at the control, and that should be mentioned at E-punch Download.
MSP, MP – Mispunch
The orienteer punched at an incorrect control instead of at the correct control. For example, this happens when someone punches at a control without checking the control code, and it's the wrong control for their course. This result can also be applied when an orienteer punches the correct controls, but in the wrong order. Notes: Some E-punch software reports "mp" when the orienteer had any control error—either punched an incorrect control, or skipped one or more controls. At BAOC, we attempt to change "mp" classifications to either DNF or MSP. Punching "extra" controls is not a problem as long as the orienteer ends up having punched all the course controls in the correct order.
DSQ, DQ – Disqualified
This means the competitor violated an orienteering rule, such as running through an out-of-bounds area, getting help from others, using an illegal navigational aid, or failing to download their results. Note: The OUSA rules state (in section A.29.9 in the March 2018 edition) that DSQ should be applied if the competitor "visited the control points in the wrong order". BAOC applies MSP in that case (which still indicates an invalid result).
OVT, OT – Overtime
At a National Event, this indicates that the orienteer took more than the maximum time allowed to complete the course. Under OUSA orienteering rules, unless a longer or shorter time is declared in the event information, the maximum time allowed is 1 hour for Sprint courses, 2 hours for Middle (Short) courses, 3 hours for Long (Classic) courses, and 5 hours for Ultra Long courses. At other events, this indicates that the orienteer finished after the announced course-closing time, or took more than the announced maximum time to complete the course.
DNS – Did Not Start
Indicates that a registered orienteer did not show up to run their course. This is used mainly at National Events.
SPW, SWD, SWL – Sporting Withdrawal
The orienteer aborted their course for altruistic reasons. They may have stopped to help an injured orienteer, for example, or discovered a missing control and returned to report it.