You are going to learn a lot in your first event so don't take it too seriously. The top teams recover from navigation mistakes very quickly, they never stop moving and they have very fast transitions. In your first event you will probably get misplaced and not even realise, you will stop along the way and you will have slow transitions. But don’t worry, it’s all part of learning a new sport. These events are designed for you to have fun with your mates, to try new things, to get you fit and to see some nice scenery so if you keep that in mind you will have a ball.
The information below is to try to help make your first race easier. So please read the following race tips as well as information on kayaks, safety and navigation training.
We’ll see you at the race and we hope you enjoy your first AROC.
PRE RACE DAY
If you get a chance get in some navigation practice. The easiest way to do this is turn up to an orienteering event. During the summer there are Wednesday night 45 minute orienteering events around Sydney and Canberra and there are various rogaining events that might be suitable. Check out the links page for more info.
Make sure you read any pre-event instructions and check you have everything required on the compulsory gear list. Do your shopping for food and ensure all the team knows where and when the start is!
BEFORE THE START
Turn up to the start area with plenty of time to register, get your bikes ready, drop off your bikes if required, pack your bags and prepare your maps. Aim to get to registration as soon as it opens so you have time to mark up your course route. At registration you will receive maps, a pre-laminated control (punch) card, a list of instructions and a list of checkpoint descriptions. Bring different coloured highlighters as well as pencils, pens, scissors, sticky tape, map covering contact. Read through the instructions with the map beside you. Decide on the best route to travel from checkpoint to checkpoint and draw this route in using a highlighter pen. Make notes of relevant instructions on the map so that you don’t need to read the instructions while racing. If you get time you can even write the checkpoint descriptions on the map beside each checkpoint.
Work out the approximate distance between checkpoints or legs. This will help you know how long it will take for each leg and then how much food and water you need to take with you. You will get the hang of this through experience so don't worry too much at first. Waterproof your maps and instructions either by contacting them or using a waterproof map case.
Make sure you read any instructions and take particular note of out-of-bound areas, compulsory routes to take, any special gear you might need and so on. You will loose a lot of time out on the course if you go the wrong way, fail to do something or get penalised for going in an out-of-bounds area.
It is also critical that you protect your own mobile phone from all moisture. A good way to do this is by putting the phone inside a small zip lock bag and then inside a small dry bag or sealed plastic container. You need to make sure that everything is correctly sealed.
The course may take you up to 5.5 hours so make sure you carry enough food and water for this.
Navigation training
If you would like to learn how to navigate or get a refresher, please come
along to the navigation training. This is held for 30 minutes about an hour
before the start. You need to have registered and collected your maps for
this nav training session.
DURING THE EVENT
During the race, don’t put your map away and blindly follow another team (it happens all the time). How are you going to know where you are if you lose them or if they are lost. They may not be taking the best route either. Make sure you read the checkpoint descriptions as these tell you the exact feature where you will find each checkpoint.
You will wear the same clothes the whole way. You will need to wear or carry your running shoes the whole way depending on whether you wear bike shoes with cleats or not. You will need to wear your PFD while paddling and swimming. You must wear your racing bib / number over the top of your PFD.
You will get wet shoes and clothes during the paddling legs. Don't forget - it is very important that you are able to keep your maps dry. It is a good idea to contact your maps before the start. You will be getting some maps along the way so you will need a map bag to put them in to keep them dry.
There are no spare maps, instructions or checkpoint descriptions. If you can’t read your maps because they have fallen apart due to water damage, then you will have trouble finishing the course (unless you can bribe another team to help you out!).
Kayaks
The kayaks used for the AROC Sport events are the Toy Boy voyager III. These
are a hard plastic 3 person sit-on-top kayak. All 3 people paddle. The kayaks
are very stable and track straight. They are self-bailing so you will get
wet shorts. Paddles and PFDs / life jackets are provided. You are not permitted
to bring your own paddles or PFDs for the AROC Sport Adventure events.
Safety
Roads ARE NOT closed to traffic. You must obey road rules at all times and
give way to traffic. Also cycle paths, fire trails and other tracks ARE NOT
closed to the public. You may find walkers, cyclists, runners, horses and
children playing on the tracks and paths so please be sensible and courteous
and give way to all other users.
Please be careful of your ankles. We hate to see people injured and sprained ankles are our most common injury especially on rocky trails or when carrying your bike. Just be aware of where you place your feet! If you are not used to running off roads you should consider taping your ankles.
The best adventure racers are those that work together as a team. Make sure you talk to each other throughout the event so that all team members know where you are, what is coming up next and what gear you might need to get ready.
Most important - HAVE FUN!!!
When you register on the morning of an AROC Sport Adventure you will receive a registration pack which, amongst all the other goodies, will contain maps, control descriptions, instructions and a control card. The maps will probably be a combination of topographic maps and orienteering maps. These maps have different scales so make sure you take note of this.
The links below will take you to a sample course to give you an idea of how an AROC Sport Adventure works. This is based on an actual event that took place in Canberra on 15 January 2005. At this event teams received:
Sometimes you might also receive instructions or additional maps out on the course so be prepared to think on the move.
