Georgia Orienteering Club

Education > Local Event Director Procedures

Introduction

These procedures outline the basic steps to insure a good local club event and should be used as a guide, with modifications to suit circumstances.

What Makes a good Local Orienteering Event?

  • The event is planned and organized to run smoothly
  • The courses are fair and set to the correct difficulty level
  • The park/landowner welcomes the club to return
  • The event staff has fun and is not hurried or hassled
  • The participants are impressed with the event and glad they came

Before the Event

  1. Obtain assignment from club president. The event director will usually either volunteer or be asked to direct a club event. Once the scheduling is complete, the event director will be notified by the club president of the exact date and location of the event and any special circumstances. It is very important that the club president makes sure the event director understands the scope of duties and what exactly is expected of him/her. It's best to put everything in writing or email to avoid misunderstandings.
  2. Set your Timetable for the event. It's best to begin planning your event about 2 months prior to the event date. Leave plenty of time for things to go wrong and for you to double check yourself and follow up with your event staff.
  3. Contact the park ranger or landowner. Before you begin to make decisions, you need to know any park restrictions or concerns and you must abide by them if the club will be welcome to hold future events. Ask the ranger or landowner for areas to avoid, known safety hazards, what other groups may be in the park that day, arrangements for parking, what paperwork and fees will be required, and any other considerations you or he can anticipate. A good park-club relationship is built on communication, so talk early and often.
  4. Arrange with the club President, Vice President of Scheduling, Secretary and/or Treasurer for all required permits, insurance certificates, porta-potty and shelter reservations.
  5. Get Help if needed. You may either have a co-director or an assistant event director. The phrase "two heads are better than one" applies when organizing an event. In addition, normal club growth requires the constant training of new event directors, so if you can get an assistant who is not already a trained event director, but has the time and desire to learn, you are benefiting the club. Plan together who will do what, when it will be done, and how many other people you will need to help. This is also a good time to make sure you know who will be handling Results for you. Usually this will be Vinton Wolfe. Contact Vinton to make sure he is aware. Vinton will give you the control codes to use when setting courses. If Vinton is not available, he will help arrange for somebody else to do it.
  6. Arrange for Maps. Contact the Map manager (Kevin Haywood) for the latest map file, the process of getting any map corrections onto the final map, and when final courses need to be provided for map printing. Discuss with the Map manager how many maps are needed for each course. Always plan for plenty of extra maps, you do not want to run out of maps on the day of the event. This is NOT the place to try to save money. If you do run short of maps, the club LaserJet printer can be used to make up any shortfall.
  7. Event Director's Site Visit
    • Pick a general area of the map to use for the courses.
    • Pick an event HQ near parking and preferably with rain shelter and comfort facilities. If a picnic shelter is available, identify which one you prefer.
    • Make lists of what you'll need in the way of porta-potties and extra equipment.
    • Check in with park ranger for special access needs, what time the park opens and closes, other arrangements.
    • Collect emergency phone numbers of park manager/landowner, nearest EMT unit, directions to nearest hospital, discuss safety issues/plan as necessary with park manager or landowner.
  8. Inform club president and persons in charge of obtaining permits and insurance certificates of the location of event HQ and parking. Make sure the driving directions and your contact info is correct on the club's website.
  9. Coordinate Course Setting. Course Setters, vetters and field helpers comprise the course setting team. This should be at least two people, but can be more or less. Often the team will be just you. Offer to allow those interested in learning course setting to "get their feet wet" by tagging along with an experienced course setter or vetter. Designate a Head Course Setter who will coordinate. Event Director should be sure:
    • Team members are active Orienteers and familiar with Course Setting Guidelines.
    • Each knows what they will handle, by when, and has plenty of time to do it.
    • Each team member is given training or has the experience they need.
    • Each knows the out-of-bounds areas and other park considerations.
    • Head CS has the map file and course setting program (usually PurplePen).
    • Head CS has necessary equipment, including control flags, stands, punch boxes, surveyor's tape, map bags, and control tote bags.
    • Set a deadline (no later than Monday morning before the event) by which the head course setter will give the Registration manager (Andi Berger), Map Printing manager (usually Kevin Haywood), and Results manager (usually Vinton Wolfe) the final course data information. Include All Control maps for control pickup.
    • By Friday before the event, pick up maps from the printer when they are ready. The printer is closed on weekends.
    • Before the event, controls with punch boxes are correctly placed in the park.
  10. Staff for day of the event. Volunteers for event staff positions are requested during the preregistration (required for all participants) process. Notify the Registration manager (Andi Berger) what positions you need to fill. Recruit both early and late staffers for each event job so that all can run courses. The event director shouldremain available to handle problems and to fill in if a staff member needs a short break.
    • Beginner briefing instructors. With preregistration being required for Beginner Instruction, only one instructor is necessary unless there is an extraordinary number of beginners who preregister.
    • Starters. Since start times are preassigned in the registration process, only one starter at a time is necessary, but you will want an early starter and a late starter so that the starters can run a course.
    • Results worker. You will have already determined who is doing Results for you.
    • Search and Rescue (SAR) coordinator. Somebody to coordinate SAR efforts as necessary.
    • Control Pickup crew. The more you got, the faster you get done.
  11. Arrange for Equipment and Supplies. Contact an officer or other meet director to obtain the codes required to get into our equipment storage units at ExtraSpace Storage. The unit numbers are 741 and 742. There is a Blue Kit and a White Kit in the storage unit on the left as you look at them from the driveway. Generally, you only need one. Take the entire kit, and sign it out in the notebook that is there. Once you have the equipment, check to be sure everything is there and make sure all equipment and supplies are clean, dry and ready to use. When you return the equipment make sure it is clean, dry, and ready to use, replacing anything as necessary. An Equipment Checklist is at the bottom of this page.
  12. The Sunday Before the Event - Email the Registratian manager (Andi Berger) event information and course details so that registration can be set up by Monday afternoon. Include
    • time of first start
    • distance, number of controls, and climb for each course
    • volunteer positions to be listed on the registration form
    • anything that will be different from typical events
  13. The Night Before the Event
    • Event Director phones event staff and confirms time and location for their duties.
    • Check email and phone messages for event questions and respond.

Event Day

  1. Early Morning of the Event:
    • Before leaving the house, check Racerpal Admin for final map tallies and print extras as needed on the club LaserJet printer. Download the registration file and volunteer list.
    • Make sure to have onsite before the event begins all permits, insurance certificates, maps, and control description copies.
    • Hang last of the controls.
    • Put direction signs along approach roads.
    • Put out any needed signs for Parking instructions and walking to event HQ.
  2. Setting up:
    • Arrive 1 hour before first start.
    • Brief event staff as necessary, assist staff with setting up their areas, do not allow early arrivals to bother them until they are ready to begin.
    • Make sure maps are ready to go at the Start.
    • If the Start is ready to go Early, make sure Starters can handle changing Start times and make announcement to participants.
    • Make sure the first aid kit handy to the Finish area.
    • Make sure Results manager is ready before sending out the first starter.
  3. During the Event:
    • Check periodically with Results manager for participants out over 3 hours. Initiate SAR procedures as appropriate.
    • At the pre-arranged time, have 2nd shift event workers ready to take over and make sure the transition is smooth without upsetting event procedure.
    • At the announced close of Starts, instruct Starters to disassemble the Start area, and take Start Time sheets to the Results manager.
    • Shortly prior to the close of Finish, have Results give you a list of those still out on courses and organize checking for their friends and looking for cars in parking areas to determine if they are truly out or simply missed checking in.
    • At course closing time, notify the control pick up crew to begin.
    • Once all participants are finished, organize clean up of the HQ area and the repacking of equipment and supplies.

After the Event

  1. Check with Results person to be sure all participants have returned. Make sure any injured competitors were sufficiently helped.
  2. Assist designated SAR person in arranging searches for any lost participants.
  3. Determine if any special post-event handling of control is needed (wet, muddy). Identify any controls that need to be brought to the attention of the Equipment manager for repair or replacement.
  4. Make sure the event area is clean and all event workers have repacked and put event equipment back in your car.
  5. Make sure there are no cars left that belong to participants or event staff. If there are, identify the missing persons and notify and assist SAR person with finding them.
  6. Verify that all controls and vetting tape are out of the woods and that the entire control pickup team has returned safely.
  7. Once everyone is back safely and all equipment is packed and in the car, thank event staff and dismiss. You should be the last to leave.
  8. Return all Equipment to the storage unit.
  9. Confirm that Results have been sent to club webmaster and posted on club net.
  10. Make sure all expenses of the event have been paid/reimbursed. Prepare receipts and send to Treasurer.
  11. Email a short event summary to the club email list. Be sure to list and thank your event volunteers to make sure they get the club's volunteer coupon.

Equipment Check List

  • COURSE SETTER
    • vetting tape
    • map file
    • control codes
    • printed course maps
    • control descriptions sheets
    • control markers
    • stands
    • punch boxes
    • control tote bags
  • START LINE
    • table & chairs
    • rain protection
    • scissors
    • start time sheets
    • finger stick rental sheets
    • clipboard
    • pens
    • maps
    • map bags
    • map boxes
    • Clear, Check, and Start boxes with stands
    • start banner
  • RESULTS
    • table and chairs
    • rain protection
    • laptop with results program
    • download box
    • results monitor
    • generator (if needed)