A-meets are events that have been sanctioned by Orienteering USA. Sanctioned events are expected to meet the highest quality standards in event and course organization. An event which has been sanctioned will provide ranking points for the competitors and, as a result, tends to draw a larger, more competitive crowd than a local event. All Orienteering USA Championship events must be sanctioned A-meets.
The information on this page is intended as a supplement to the Orienteering USA Rules of Competition. In the event of conflicting information, the rules take precedence.
Info for third-party event organizers
Key documents: 
I.A SANCTIONING COMMITTEE
I.A.1. Functional Description
The Sanctioning Committee prepares a national orienteering calendar and evaluates sanctioning requests for those events to be put on the calendar. It insures standards are met by assigning consultants to assist/advise the hosting club. The Sanctioning Committee Regional Representative is available to advise clubs in preparing requests.
I.A.2. Contacting the Sanctioning Committee
As of August 2008, the chair of the Sanctioning Committee is William Hawkins, 149 Livingston St #3, New Haven, CT 06511; 203-752-6761. (willhawk [at] gmail [dot] com)
I.A.3. Event and Course Consultants
Upon approval of a Sanctioning request, the chair of the Sanctioning Committee will notify the Event Consultant coordinator and Course Consultant coordinator who will then assign consultants for each event and place them in touch with the event director.
I.B EVENT SANCTIONING REQUESTS
Here are some protocols concerning the sanctioning process.
The Meet Director has the primary responsibility for managing all aspects of the meet. The information below details these responsibilities. In addition, the following checklists and procedures are provided to assist the meet director in meeting these responsibilities.
Key documents:
ORGANIZATION AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR A-MEETS
II.B CONSULTATION SERVICES
II.B.1. EVENT CONSULTANT
The Event Consultant is provided by the Sanctioning Committee. Event consultants have had experience with "A" meet organization and are familiar with Orienteering USA administration. The Event Consultant's duties are to:
II.B.2. COURSE CONSULTANT
The course consultant is assigned to work with and assist the course setter in producing courses that meet Orienteering USA course-setting guidelines. The course consultant should review the course setter's work from preliminary routes through final courses and keep the Event Consultant informed of progress or problems. The course consultant is assigned by the Course Consulting Committee.
III. RESPONSIBILITIES/ACTIVITIES FOR A SUCCESSFUL MEET
III.A. THE MAP AND MEET SITE
An accurate map, or steady progress in the production of one, is essential to obtain and retain sanctioning for your event. Whether the map is produced by the club or an outside mapper, a member of the club must be assigned as the mapping coordinator. Specific map requirements are given in the Orienteering USA Rules for Orienteering Competition. It is practically impossible to conduct a high quality meet without a high quality map. Early and constant progress on completion of your map is essential.
III.B.3. REGISTRATION
Registration information is very important in preparing for the meet and meeting Orienteering USA requirements for sanctioned events. An invitation must be prepared. The invitation may contain its own registration form or use the Orienteering USA Standard entry form.
Some information an invitation should provide:
Some items a registration form should request are:
More information concerning these items can be found in the Orienteering USA Rules for Competition. Your Event Consultant can help you with this. Remember to have her/him review it before distribution.
REMEMBER: THE ORGANIZER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CONFORMING TO THE ORIENTEERING USA RULES FOR COMPETITION AND PAYING ALL APPLICABLE FEES DUE TO ORIENTEERING USA.
III.B.4. THE AWARDS
The type and number of awards is left to the discretion of the Meet Director with the exception of certain championships as given in Rules for Orienteering Competition. Contact the Competition Awards Committee Chair for information and requirements on obtaining Orienteering USA Championship awards.
III.B.5. YOUR ORGANIZATION
For the most part, how you organize your meet is up to you. You should make some written plans to give to your Event Consultant and key personnel. Written plans tend to get done as they remind everyone of their jobs and permit all to gauge their progress. Many jobs must be coordinated with each other and everyone in your organization should know who is doing what job.
An organization chart will help you and your key personnel see if there are holes in your organization. The chart with the jobs, the workers names, and phone numbers will promote communication within your organization. All communications won't have to go through the meet director. The job of recruiting volunteers will be eased if you publish the chart periodically with an appeal to the membership to volunteer and fill vacancies. Remind them they can compete if enough workers are available to work in rotation.
III.B.6. FINANCES
One of the first things a club should do when planning an "A" meet is to look at the finances involved. A carefully prepared budget will show what expenses can be expected as well as how much revenue might be generated and can eliminate a financial crisis and hard feelings within the club later. Some expense items to consider are:
Other Equipment and Supplies
If the income/expense ratio look overwhelming, don't despair. Loans for the map and other assistance is available from Orienteering USA. Please consult your regional Sanctioning Committee member for assistance.
III.B.7. PUBLICITY
A. Pre-Event
Pre-event publicity can help generate additional entries and attract local sponsorship. The types of pre-event publicity are: Promotional flyers to distribute at local meets, other "A" meets, as well as running stores, outing clubs, public libraries, etc.
B. Post-Event
Don't let your promotional efforts end with the meet itself. Immediately send the meet results and a brief write-up to the local newspapers. Give your meet award winners a generic press release they can fill in and submit to their local newspapers. Remember to capitalize on any public interest created by pre-meet promotion; try to have a series of well-publicized local meets (or clinics) planned after your A-meet for the curious.
III.C. DURING THE MEET
There are many areas to be considered: check-in, final course checking, start, finish, results, meet equipment, meet facilities, search and rescue, first aid, awards, and, various other services such as accommodations, meals, babysitting, social events, etc. Each meet director will need their own unique set of plans to take into account the specifics of what their meet will offer and the circumstances under which they will be operating. Certain operations are essential to conducting the meet. Others are not directly involved with the meet itself but necessary to meet Orienteering USA requirements for a safe and successful event. Following are brief descriptions of each area with references to Orienteering USA and other publications. Sample documents are provided as aids to organizing each area.
III.C.1. Registration at the meet includes a check-in of each competitor, any late or map hike registrants, and needed changes for pre-registrants. Everyone who has pre-registered should be given: start times, course information, area map, meal tickets, accommodation information, specific instructions covering rules or safety at the meet, social events, local attraction brochures and local hospital or emergency numbers. Refer to the Rules for Competition for more information.
III.C.2. Courses: Early on the day of the meet, you will want to have competitors who have agreed to run the course "as is" and report any missing or misplaced controls. They should run the courses using competition maps, clue sheets and punch cards to insure the other competitors have error-free courses. A field supervisor in charge should be prepared to delay the start to give time for any problems to be corrected.
III.C.3. Start: Start procedures should be planned and practiced well in advance. It is essential that the competitor understands the start procedure, be started at the correct time, and be given the proper map&clue sheet. Times recorded at the Start must be synchronized with the finish. Ref: Rules for Competition.
III.C.4. Finish: Finish procedures should be planned and practiced well in advance. The run-in to the finish should be marked as the clue sheet says it will be. A finish chute should be constructed so as to guide the competitor to a clearly marked finish line. The competitors finish time should be recorded and associated with the competitor. A system for resolving any disputes should be planned. Collecting the competitors map and punch card should be done in a manner that doesn't interfere with following runners. The competitor's time, map and punch card should be associated, checked and results compiled. Results can be calculated as a separate function. Ref: Rules for Competition.
III.C.5. Results: Elapsed times for the qualified competitors should be calculated or the reason for any disqualifications determined. All competitors' results should be posted as quickly as possible at a clearly marked area and official results lists prepared for submission to Orienteering USA for rankings and for release for publication.
III.C.6. First Aid: A qualified first aider with adequate supplies should be stationed at a well marked area near the finish. Many meet directors obtain the services of military or civilian paramedic teams. The quickest means to convey the injured to medical treatment should be known by the first aid crew.
III.C.7. Search and Rescue: Have a viable Search and Rescue procedure and make sure all appropriate meet personnel are familiar with it.
III.C.8. Other Services: as determined by the Meet Director.
III.D. AFTER THE MEET
III.D.1. RESULTS -- The meet results, in electronic format, should be sent, no later than ten days after the meet, to the national publication, the Rankings Coordinator, and the chair of the Sanctioning Committee. The results should include:
III.D.2. THE MAP AND COURSES
A competition map for every course is to be sent to the Sanctioning Chair.
III.D.3. MEET REPORT
A report on the meet should be submitted to the Sanctioning Chair. The report should contain a copy of a meet administration chart. There should be feedback on Orienteering USA support, where it was of help and areas it could have helped more. This report will be used by the Sanctioning Committee in planning support activities.
The Ranking Coordinator should be sent a list of those applying for worker credit or credit courses for rankings along with the results.
III.D.4. FEES COMPUTATION
Fees are to be paid within 30 days after the meet. The requirements for paying fees are in the Rules for Competition and a form for computing them (A meet fees computation form) is provided by the Orienteering USA Office. Your "A" meet fees (payable to Orienteering USA) and computation form should be sent to the Executive Director at the Federation office.
Key documents:
Course planning requirements are in the Rules for Orienteering Competition. The Rules can be found on the Orienteering USA web site and should be available to the course setter. For course planning, your club should choose someone who has had experience competing at sanctioned A-meets and has had experience in planning courses at local, regional or national meets. He should have access to one or more books on course planning.
Courses at sanctioned A-meets must be reviewed by the Course Consultant assigned. Together the course planner and course consultant must make the courses meet national course setting guidelines. Before you begin the course planning process, read the planning schedule in this package as well as the information on course consulting and Course Design Guidelines (link above). Typically the consultant does not visit the site, so course planners should write down the reasoning behind their designs to submit with the courses. The consultant, as an expert observer, can help spot mistakes and suggest corrections.
