2019 Ontario Championship

The University of Guelph campus in the heart of Guelph is the site for the Ontario Sprint Championship event. More than one organizer has noted the excellent proximity to fine coffee shops and more in the scenic downtown area, but that might be for after the race! (Eugene particularly recommends the independent coffee shop called Planet Bean.)

Parking for the race will be on the eastern part of the main campus, and the event itself will run through the open grass and treed areas of the U of Guelph Arboretum. Success in this newly remapped area will require speed and quick decision making, as there will be little to slow competitors down. Some courses will likely make a foray into the few forested parts of the Arboretum, but even in that case, the courses will primarily stick to the trail network.
In summary, come prepared for a superb sprint event requiring speed, decisions and vision. It will be a lot of fun.

The Middle and Long events at the Ontario Orienteering Championships will both take place near the hamlet of Arkell, just to the southeast of the city of Guelph. This is a truly historic area for the start of Orienteeering in Ontario (and in Canada), due to the efforts of Sass Peepre at the University back in the mid to late 1960s. The terrain itself can only be considered “classic,” with a mix of fully open but rolling fields cleared by early settlers attempting to farm the area, with many rockpiles and intricate contour details left behind by glaciation. These open areas run alongside wooded sections, with mostly fantastic, open running, and a continuation of intricate contour detail. There are some small water features and one significant pond, around which there can be many mosquitoes in the heart of summer, but thankfullly they won’t be around at the time of our event.

Both courses will feature some degree of looping and lots of changes in course direction, in part due to the fragmented nature of land ownership on the map, which is almost exclusively in private hands (we thank all the many landowners for their generous permission to use their land, and also to the Victoria Park Valley Golf Club for use of their clubhouse and additional support).

Those who do well in the Middle and Long will run swiftly, but also pay maximum attention throughout the duration of each race, as there will be few sections not requiring continuous nav and decision making. There are quite a few paths in the area, but many of these are indistinct and therefore require care when used for navigation.

The organizers are truly excited to return to Arkell since we are never sure where the future lies for this map and especially with respect to future land ownership changes. You will love it too.