Time Line

Months before the event
 

• Determine which day the event will be held.  Make sure that there are no other activities which would interfere with the event.  Make sure you have permission, at least verbally from the land owner/manager.  Scheduling events is best done in groups.  That is, try to determine the dates for events for an entire season (Fall, Spring, or Summer) at once.
• Fill out any "request for use" forms that the land owner/manager requires.
• Obtain any certificates of insurance that the land owner/manager requires.
• Advertise the events.  Get the schedule out to known orienteers and place the schedule where people who have never orienteered can see it.
• Start to identify who will help you do the work.  Initially, if the event director is not the course setter, it is important to find a course setter.  Finding someone to vet the courses is also needed early.

• The course setter must plan the courses (see the course design guidelines page) and mark the features in the forest to be used as control locations on the courses.  Marking is normally done with surveyor's tape.
• Then, the vetter needs to check the marked features.  The vetter must evaluate the courses for appropriateness in terms of length and difficulty.  The vetter must evaluate each control location to determine if the map is accurate in that area, to verify that the marked feature is the correct one on the map, and to make sure there are no access problems associated with the control - due to surrounding vegetation, human construction, weather related problems, etc.  The vetter should also evaluate the number and location of water stops on the courses.
• The vetter and the course setter must resolve any problems found on the courses.  You can read more about what the vetter does and how the course setter interacts with him/her at vetting.
• The event director should identify who will be helping the day of the event.  Helpers should be assigned to handle registration, start, finish, and instruction.  If possible, helpers should be found to put out the controls before the event and to take them down after the event.

A week before the event
 

• The course setter should print the maps) to be used on the day of the event.
• The course setter must assign control flags to each control location on each of the courses.
• The course setter must make the control descriptions for the courses.  Generally, the descriptions will use standard orienteering terminology but be written in English.  If international symbols are used on descriptions, they should be used only on Orange and advanced courses.  Copies of these descriptions need to be made unless they are printed on the maps.
• The event director should group the control flags in such a way that it will facilitate placing the controls in the woods. Generally, only off-trail controls can be put out the day before an event.  On-trail or easy access controls must be put out the morning of the event.  The grouping should reflect this difference.  The grouping of control flags should also consider the location of the controls - All controls in one section of the map should be grouped, rather than grouping the controls by course.  The event director must make maps that can be used to put out the control flag groups.  If the same people who are putting out the controls are also placing the water on the courses (a very likely event), the water stops must be marked on the map and the appropriate water containers, cups and garbage bags given to the people placing the controls.  Whoever puts out the controls should be removing the marking tape as the control flags are placed.
• If electronic punching is used, the event director should group the control boxes in the same way as the control flags as these need to be placed together.
  
• The event director should make sure that all equipment needed to hold the event is available:  registration forms, compass loan forms, start-finish records, copies of the maps, copies of the control descriptions, punch cards or SI cards, plastic bags, pens, clipboards (if the writing surfaces are poor), money for making change, water at start and finish, any special event notes, direction signs, first aid kit, string, tape, scissors, ...

• Make sure all volunteers know when they need to be at the event and what they are going to do.
• Put out the off-trail control flags (and control boxes if using electronic punching).
• Check the weather forcast.

Morning of the event (up to one hour before the first start)
 

• Put out the on-trail and easy access control flags (and control boxes).
• Put up direction signs to parking (and registration if necessary)
• Set up registration, start, and finish.
• Show new volunteers what to do if they have never done the task before.

• Solve whatever problems come up
• Keep the registration and start moving when there is a large number of people present
• Fill in for any position that needs help
• Make sure instruction is available
• Remain alert for competitor problems:  injuries, getting lost
• Be patient

• Retrieve the controls flags (and control boxes).  You may be able to use the put-out maps to do this; but sometimes, it is more ad hoc.
• Remove water stop materials
  
• Take down the signs.
• Account for all the equipment and money.
• Post the results
• Rest