Schedule

Saturday, October 16 - O-Fest Middle Distance
9:30 AM

Check-in and Race Kit Pick-up Opens

 

Relais plein air du parc de la Gatineau

397 Boulevard de la Cité-des-Jeunes, Gatineau, QC

View on Google Maps

 
11:00 AM

First Start - O-Fest Middle Distance

2:15 PM

Courses close

Sunday, October 17 - O-Fest Long Distance
8:30 AM

Check-in and Race Kit Pick-up Opens

 

Relais plein air du parc de la Gatineau

397 Boulevard de la Cité-des-Jeunes, Gatineau, QC

View on Google Maps

 
10:00 AM

First Start - O-Fest Long Distance

2:15 PM 

Courses Close

The start/finish area is in an open sports field with plenty of room for a picnic or for the kids to play around.  The Gatineau Park cycling trails are accessible from here if you have the energy for a post-race bike ride.

Terrain Description

The terrain is typical of Gatineau Park - deciduous forest with lots of rock features. Technical orienteering. The woods are open and will be absolutely beautiful in the Fall. There are many trails in this area - both paved bike paths and smaller hiking trails. It will be physically challenging due to the many hills and rocky areas.

Saturday -- Middle Distance

The Middle Distance event is designed to test technical ability with an emphasis on detailed navigation.  Middle Distance events require constant concentration on map reading, demanding navigation, as well as occasional shifts in running speed and direction.

The new Cité des Jeunes map is perfect for this event with lots of rock features and contour details.  It will be tough physically in the sense that the terrain is rocky and hilly, but the nice open woods will make for a fun course. 

Course Setter: Cherie Revells
Controller: Marketa Graham

Sunday - Long Distance

The Long Distance event is designed to challenge physical endurance and technical ability.  Long Distance events test the athlete’s ability to make efficient route choices; to read and interpret the map; and to appropriately plan for a long and physically demanding trek.

The Cité des Jeunes map is also very suitable for this event with many hills, marshes, and trails providing opportunities for interesting route choices.

Course Setter: Andrew Cornett
Controller: Frederic Bedard

Mapper's Notes

The Cité des Jeunes map has been a staple for orienteering in the Ottawa area for many decades. This version of the map was created in 2020 by Jeff Teutsch with significant updates and cleaning up in 2021.  The following notes were written by Jeff to give you an idea of the mapping:

The approach going into this map was to find a way to map the extremely complex rock and contour detail throughout the terrain in a way that is as legible as possible at 1:10,000 and even 1:15,000. That said I believe many age classes will be getting maps printed at 1:7,500 and there is wisdom in that! 

Rock! Gatineau Parks predominant terrain feature.

As anyone who has ever orienteered in Gatineau Park knows there is a huge amount of small and broken rock. Where this greatly impacts runnability this has been mapped with stony ground (small black dots) but the dots are carefully used and individually placed to minimize their impact on readability of contours and other features. Cliffs and boulders, which are practically countless, have two criteria for being on the map: They must be at least 1 metre in height and they must be prominent from a distance. There are many rocks and cliffs that do not meet those criteria. Those have been simply included through stony ground and boulder field symbols and some have been left off completely. There are many very large cliffs that are quite large and crossing these would be dangerous. These are shown as thick black lines with OR WITHOUT standard cliff tags. 

Contours - The area has both large and small contour features in different areas.

This is a 5m contour map. The contours have been carefully drawn and checked in the field to incorporate all important detail and formlines have been carefully used to highlight hill tops, reentrants and spurs that can't be captured with regular contours. That said, there are some smaller details in the terrain that may not be shown. There are also some big hills and steep slopes so keep in mind that contour interval when choosing route choices!

Water and Vegetation - subtler features but worth paying attention to!

At this time of year water features will generally be fairly dry but as the map will be used at all times of year there are some small dry water features that are still on the map. When mapping, water features were carefully drawn to accentuate low spots in the terrain, complementing the way the contours were drawn. 

Vegetation was drawn quite accurately using all shades of green and yellow, scattered trees and bushes, and undergrowth stripes. A wide variety of vegetation can be found across this map but most of the woods are quite runnable and are mapped with white. There is a swath of tornado damage from the tornados that swept through the area in 2018 which has been carefully mapped. Due to the nature of the damage this makes an extremely interesting maze to navigate. 

Paths

Finally there is a significant path and trail network through the map including mountain bike trails, hiking trails, and paved bike paths. All are mapped as one would expect with the note that the paved bike paths are marked as solid black roads. Pay attention to other park users while racing and be respectful!

Have fun out there! The terrain is challenging, at times inspiring, and hopefully very enjoyable!

Jeff

COVID Accommodations

With the Covid-19 pandemic still around, there will be various modifications that will take place, and a number of regulations that organizers will need to abide by.  We will follow all regulations and recommendations for the province of Quebec, the City of Gatineau and the National Capital Commission / Gatineau Park.

All participants will be required to complete Orienteering Canada's Declaration of Health the day of the event -  on the day of the event.  If you are participating Saturday and Sunday, you will need to complete the form each morning.  On site volunteers and spectators will also need to complete the form.  The Declaration of Health form can be completed  online English   French or as a printed pdf or on-site.

As per province of Quebec regulations, all those participating in Ottawa O-Fest 2021, aged 12 years and over, will be required to show proof of fully vaccinated and photo ID to be permitted to participate.  

Start lists will be assigned in such a manner as to accommodate any gathering size restrictions in effect at the time of the event.

Facilities

There are bathrooms on-site under the stadium seating.  The Relais Pleine Air du Parc de la Gatineau facility & cafe is closed due to construction.

Extra Activities

KidZone

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will be no KidZone this year but there will be unsupervised games and activities available.

Food Options

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will be no food available for purchase.  There will be water available at the finish to refill your water bottle.  There will be apples available at the finish refreshment table.

Accommodation

Camping

Gatineau Park campgrounds, Wesley Clover campground in Ottawa, and any nearby Ontario Provincial Parks are not open during this weekend.

Hotels/Motels

Tourism Outaouais - City of Gatineau    https://www.tourismeoutaouais.com

Ottawa Tourism                                  https://www.ottawatourism.ca