Join us at scenic Camp James Ray on the shores of Lake Texoma as we welcome the new year. This venue offers a wide variety of forest and terrain with an extensive trail system. The camp has something for every orienteer. The northern part of the camp has lots of campground features to navigate while the south side is more wild and natural. It’s a great place to race or just stroll and admire the beauty of nature.
While 2020 fades into the past, we aren’t out of the woods yet. We have new procedures to help insure the safety of participants and staff. There will be more social distancing and less inter-personal contact at our events. Participants must follow all current government health guidelines. In addition, we will follow guidance from OUSA, the US Orienteering Federation: OUSA Recommendations for Preventing SARS-CoV-2 Transmission at Events.
Pre-registration and pre-payment are required. Use PayPal (payntoa@yahoo.com) when registering, use Zelle (ntoa.treasurer@gmail.com) after registering or email ntoa.treasurer@gmail.com to make other payment arrangements.
Waivers should be printed off and filled in before the meet. At the registration area each participant (or team) will present their waiver(s) and have their payment checked. Then they will be given a bag with their name on it that holds their clue-sheet (and e-stick if they rented one). That labeled bag and clue-sheet is their ticket to receive the correct map at the Start area. The first runners will be able to start earlier than usual and start times will be more spaced out.
All courses will use electronic punching. Be sure to download your e-stick at the computer e-punch download station after finishing your course! Results will be tabulated and posted online. No medals will be given out, but bragging rights will! See the Course Setter’s and Meet Director’s notes for more details.
General info
Event Officials
Meet Director: Mary Lynn Genovesi .. Meet Director notes
Course Setter: Gene Wernette………. Course Setter notes
E-Punch Coordinator: Ray Janes
Courses:
We’ll be offering the following courses:
Yellow: Experienced beginners
Brown: Short-length advanced
Red: Long-length advanced
See a detailed description of each class.
Classes:
Unless stated otherwise, we’ll offer the full slate of NTOA classes. Classes are determined by age bracket for competitive individuals and +/- age 19 for Recreational (two or more people) teams.
See a listing of all the NTOA classes. (PDF)
There will be NO WHITE COURSE. Our reasons for this are:
- Beginners tend to run in groups. Groups aren’t socially distant.
- We don’t encourage groups to travel to our events on buses at this time.
- We will not have the usual training session for beginners that we have at most meets.
Beginners can participate by running on the ‘yellow’ course with a more experienced runner (ideally household member) while following safety precautions.
Scoring: E-punch will be used to score ALL courses.
If you own an e-stick, enter your e-stick number when you register and bring it to the meet. NTOA has 130 e-sticks to rent, so we will not be able to accept any additional registrations that need a rental after those 130 have been assigned.
If you haven’t used e-punch before, there are several good videos on the internet. For example, this British beginner orienteering video shows how to use the e-punch, map, and compass. (Note that they call an e-punch a “dibbler” in the video.)
Scouts: An Orienteering Merit Badge clinic will not be offered, but running the Yellow course will qualify for the badge. Please contact BSA Liaison Ralph Courtney for instructions on doing the report.
Schedule
Please be sure to check the NTOA Facebook Page or Group for last-minute schedule changes. We hold events rain or shine, but we have unfortunately had to cancel events once in a great while due to high water or other extenuating circumstances.
Saturday, Jan 9, 2021
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. | Sign-in at HQ. |
| 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon | Runners start on each course at minimum of one-minute intervals. |
| 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Results tabulated as runners finish and download. |
| 3:00 p.m. (or 3 hours after last start) |
Courses close and results finalized. All competitors MUST be back by this time. (No Awards Ceremony) |
| 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Control pick-up — Volunteer and get a little extra practice. |
Event Fees
Individuals (1 person navigating on their own):
If you’re doing the course on your own, please sign up as a (at a normal meet = competitive) individual. Members and youth (aka, Juniors, age 19 and under) pay reduced event fees. There will be NO day-of-race entries. So be sure to pre-register! Fee covers 1 map.
| Competitor type | Cost |
|---|---|
| Juniors (age 19 and under) | $10 |
| Adults | $15 |
| E-punch rental (ALL courses) | $3 |
Recreational Teams (2 or more people navigating together):
We love teams — orienteering is a great family activity! Teams aren’t eligible for awards, just the fun. Base fee covers the first 2 team members and 2 maps. Add people for $5 each. Kids under age 8 are free (after first 2 team members paid).
| Team type | Cost |
|---|---|
| All teams (first 2 people) | $17 |
| Extra person (over age 8) – includes map | $5/person |
| E-punch rental (ALL courses) | $3 |
Registration
Online pre-registration is required! We use the pre-registration numbers to determine how many pre-printed maps to produce for each event. In particular, group leaders, please pre-register or drop the Registrar an email to talk about your group’s size. If you do not pre-register, you will not have a map. Pre-registration is FREE, so please take a moment to do it. Thanks!
Questions about registration? Contact the NTOA Registrar. For questions on other event matters, contact the Meet Director (listed above).
Pre-registration is closed.
Instructions: Select one of the options below to register yourself, the students of your school group, or your fun recreational team. Clicking on one of the buttons will take you to our separate NTOA Registration website.
Competitive Individual
Large Group
Recreational Teams
Enter 1 competitive individual at a time.
Enter 1-20 competitive individuals from the same group (e.g., school, club, Scout group, JROTC unit).
Enter 1 recreational team (min. 2 people; max 5 people).
Register Individual
Register Group Members
Register Teams
See who’s registered
View by surname
View by organization
Directions
Option 1: From Dallas
- Take US 75 north to Sherman.
- Take exit 63 onto US 82 and go west (left) 4.8 miles.
- Take exit 636 onto TX 289 and go north (right) 5 miles to Pottsboro.
- Turn left (west) onto FM 120 and go 5 miles.
- Turn left (west) onto Locust Road. There are several signs at this corner including one for Camp James Ray. Continue on Locust Rd. for 1.6 miles.
- At the stop sign, turn right (north) onto Mill Creek Rd and go 2 miles to the Camp James Ray entrance.
Option 2: From Fort Worth
- Take I-35W north to Denton.
- Continue north on I-35 to Gainesville.
- Take exit 498 onto US 82 and go east (right) 27 miles.
- Take exit 636 onto TX 289 and go north (left) 5 miles to Pottsboro.
- Turn left (west) onto FM 120 and go 5 miles.
- Turn left (west) onto Locust Road. There are several signs at this corner including one for Camp James Ray. Continue on Locust Rd. for 1.6 miles.
- At the stop sign, turn right (north) onto Mill Creek Rd and go 2 miles to the Camp James Ray entrance.