What does “safety whistle and weather appropriate attire required” mean?
All competitors are required to carry a whistle, for emergency use. If you are injured or incapable of getting out of the woods, the emergency signal is 3 blasts, pause, repeat until help arrives. Whistles are not to be used for entertainment or because you simply can’t find a control (under penalty of disqualification). We will have whistles for sale at registration. Two years ago, at the interscholastic championships in Georgia, heavy rain and falling temperatures caused several under-dressed competitors to become hypothermic. This could have been a catastrophic situation, as even many experienced orienteers were too cold & wet to assist with search and rescue. So, if similar conditions exist, you should wear at least a light jacket or carry a trash bag that can be used for emergency protection. If it is 45 degrees and raining, we’re not going to let you start out wearing only shorts & a t-shirt. And by the way, there are lots of low brambles… anyone who wears shorts on these cours
