Western Connecticut Orienteering Club welcomes you to our first ever Rogaine. The ‘rogaine’ name is generally accepted as an acronym for Rugged Outdoor Group Activity Involving Navigation and Endurance, though no one seems entirely certain just where the name came from. What everyone is certain of is that the events are a lot of fun, and that they originated some years ago in Australia and in recent years have become increasingly popular.

What is a Rogaine? A rogaine is an event in which teams of 2 or more visit as many checkpoints as possible in a given amount of time (in this event, there are 3 time categories: 6, 12, and 24 hours). Teams acquire points for each checkpoint visited, with the winning team being the one with the greatest number of points at the end of the time period.

Who Participates in Rogaines? A wide variety of people typically participate in a rogaine, including orienteers and adventure racers, but also including family teams, hikers, walkers, trail and road runners, ultra runners, hash house harriers and others. Generally anyone who enjoys being in the woods can enjoy a rogaine.

What Equipment do I Need? Every participant must have a compass, water bottle (or equivalent), whistle, and watch. We strongly recommend that you also bring a light jacket, leg coverings, appropriate footwear, insect repellant, flashlight or headlamp, first aid supplies, and at least some food (e.g., the sort you would take on a long hike).

What is Supplied? Each team will be supplied with (i) a detailed topographic map of the area for each team member, with the checkpoint locations circled and sealed in a map case, (ii) a page describing the location of each checkpoint, and (iii) a laminated punch card for recording checkpoints visited.

In addition, hot food will be available for competitors throughout the event at the base camp (the "hash house"). Water will also be available at the hash house, as well as being available at numerous checkpoints scattered throughout the course. Free camping is available in a large field surrounding the hash house from the afternoon of Friday, August 19 to Sunday, August 21.

Where will the Great Great Mountain Forest Rogaine be Held? The rogaine will be held primarily in the Great Mountain Forest (the largest privately owned forest in Connecticut), together with sections of the Housatonic State Forest and other parcels of privately-owned land (and we thank all the owners of these lands for their kind permission to let us use this property). All this is located between Norfolk Village and Falls Village in northwestern Connecticut (about 20 miles northwest of Litchfield, CT).

The hash house will be the Yale Forestry Camp, located in the Great Mountain Forest. Detailed directions will be provided on the Web page for the rogaine.

What is the Map Like? The map is 22" x 17", covering about 150 to 200 square kilometers at a 1:30,000 scale, with 10 meter contours. We produced the map specifically for this event, with basemap data coming mainly from CT DEP data, USGS data, and digital orthophotos. Club members have spent a considerable amount of time doing field work, mainly mapping trails. The map symbols are mostly standard orienteering symbols (a legend will be provided in advance), and the map was drafted using OCAD. In short, the map will look a lot like an orienteering map. However, it should not be confused with an orienteering map–although the map has considerably more detail than a standard USGS map, it also has considerably less detail than a standard orienteering map.

What Awards are There? Very nice ones, given to the three teams, in each of the categories below, having the highest point totals in their time category:

1. Male: team consists of 2 or more males.

2. Female: team consists of 2 or more females.

3. Coed: team consists of at least 1 male and at least one female.

4. Masters: team consists of 2 or more people, each at least 40

5. Junior: team consists of 2 or more people, each younger than 18

What are the Fees? Very reasonable. For entries postmarked or emailed before August 5, the fee is $30 per person for the 12 and 24 hour categories and $25 per person for the 6 hour category. After this date there will be a $10 per person additional charge, and we cannot guarantee pre-printed maps for late registrations (that is, you may have to copy the checkpoint locations onto a blank map).

What are the Rules? Team members must stay together at all times during the competition, in particular, all team members must be within visual and casual verbal contact with each other at all times. No outside assistance is allowed, including the use of motorized vehicles and bicycles, and no additional food or supplies can be dropped on the course. You are welcome to return to the hash house for water, food, and rest as often as you like, but you are expected to carry any food you consume while on the course. (One exception: if you want to carry some cash and purchase an ice cream cone, or coffee, or soft drink or the like at one of the two small towns on the map–Norfolk Village and Falls Village–that is not against the rules. But no caching food and supplies on the course.)

When will the Event take Place? Camping facilities at the Yale Forestry Camp will open at 4 pm on Friday, August 19. You can pick up meet packets and make late registrations from 6 to 9 pm on Friday and 8 to 10:30 am on Saturday. No entries will be accepted after 10:30 am. A mandatory pre-race meeting for ALL participants will take place at the camp at 10:45 am on Saturday and maps will be given out at the end of this meeting. All participants for all categories will start at noon on Saturday.

Where Can I Find Additional Information? We will post additional information, updates, etc. as it becomes available on our Web site at

www.faculty.fairfield.edu/rdewitt/wcoc.

Also, feel free to contact Rick DeWitt at wrdewitt@snet.net if you have any questions.

We look forward to seeing you in August.