Sat, Jan 18 & Sun, Jan 19 -- Sweetwater Creek State Park

Location

Sweetwater Creek State Park
Address: 51750 Mount Vernon Road, Lithia Springs, GA 30122
GPS Coordinates: N 33.753783 | W -084.639000
Typically less than 1 hr drive from Atlanta International Airport Rental Car Center on Saturday mornings, driving at rush hour Friday afternoon is an unknown but almost certainly more than an hour.
Exit airport via GA-6 W/Camp Creek Pkwy.

Click map to open in a new window.

Sweetwateer Creek State Park website (includes State Park Maps and Directions)
*** Please obey the park speed limits at all times ***

Site Map - Park Overview

Click map to open in a new window.

Saturday and Sunday Meet HQ is in the Group Shelter.
Access via Visitor Center park entrance, second left after the entrance toll booth.

Registration, Check-In, Packet pick up will be available from 8:30 am - 12:00 pm at Meet HQ.

Starts

Saturday Starts will be from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm. Maximum Time is 3 hours. Courses close at 4:00 pm.
Sunday Starts will be from 9:30 am - 12:30 pm. Maximum Time is 3 hours. Courses close at 3:30 pm.

Map

• White, Yellow, Orange, Green, F-18 (on Brown) and Red (except F-21+) : Map scale is 1:10,000 with 5 meter contours.
• M/F-21+ : Map scale is 1:15,000 with 5 meter contours.
• All Brown courses except F-18 : Map scale is 1:7,500 with 5 meter contours. F-18 will be 1:10,000.

Embargo

Entire Sweetwater Creek State Park is embargoed from June 1, 2024.

The old Sweetwater Creek State Park map is available to download here.

Course maps from various GAOC local events are on GAOC's RouteGadget here.

Courses

Course	SE Interscholastic Classes	OUSA Classes	Sat Dist / Climb / Cntrls	Sun Dist / Climb / Cntrls	Map Scale
White		F-10, F-12 M-10, M-12 M/F White, Grp White	TBD	TBD	1:10,000
Yellow	ISIF, ISIM	F-14, M-14 F Yellow, M Yellow, Grp Yellow	TBD	TBD	1:10,000
Orange X	ISJVM	M-16, M Orange	TBD	TBD	1:10,000
Orange Y	ISJVF	F-16, F Orange	TBD	TBD	1:10,000
Brown X		F55+, F60+, F65+, F Brown M65+, M70+, M75+, M Brown	TBD	TBD	1:7,500
Brown Y		F70+, F75+, F80+ F85+, F90+ M80+, M85+, M90+	TBD	TBD	1:7,500
Brown Z	ISVF	F-18	TBD	TBD	1:10,000
Green X	ISVM	M-18 M50+, M55+, M60+ M Green	TBD	TBD	1:10,000
Green Y		F-20 F35+, F40+, F45+, F50+ F Green	TBD3	TBD	1:10,000
Red X		M-20, M35+, M40+, M45+ M Red	TBD	TBD	1:10,000
Red F21		F-21+	TBD	TBD	1:15,000
Blue		M-21+	TBD	TBD	1:15,000

Restrooms

Restrooms are available at the Group Shelter/Meet HQ. No studs or cleats of any kind are allowed in any buildings! Restrooms are also available in the picnic shelter loop next to the playground, between picnic shelters 4 and 5.
There will be porta-potties near the Start.

Cell Phone Service

Cell phone coverage is generally good for all carriers.

Parking

Please car pool! Parking is available in the Group Shelter area and at various areas in the picnic shelter loop. Please cooperate with the parking volunteers' instructions.
All passenger vehicles must have a state park parking pass. Rates are charged based on vehicle capacity, not the number of actual passengers. Cars and vans with 1-12 passenger capacity are $5/day. You will need a pass for each day you are in the park. Georgia Yellow School buses are state vehicles and are exempt from parking charges and do not require a parking pass. Buses, other school buses and 13+ passenger vehicles MUST display a Park Pass each day.
If you are bringing a bus, please contact the Meet Director in advance

You risk a ticket without a parking pass!

Usually the "toll booth" at the park entrance is manned and you can buy a park pass there when entering the park. Otherwise. you can pull an envelope from the green boxes in the parking areas and follow the instructions if you use cash. Also you can buy your Daily Park Pass online. You can print your pass and place it on your dashboard or simply pull an envelope and write your pass number on it before placing it on your dashboard

Practice Map

A model map is available at the north end of the park. See the Site Map - Park Overview

Babysitting

Babysitting will not be provided. Please do not plan on just leaving your young child at the Meet HQ. Please let the Registrar know if you have special start time requests that would help your own child care arrangements.

Emergency Information

In the case of a life-threatening emergency, call 911.
First aid kits and an AED will be located at Meet HQ.

Should you require additional medical aid, the nearest urgent care facility is:
Piedmont Urgent Care
2976 Chapel Hill Rd, Douglasville, GA 30135 (470)579-6599
approximately 11 miles (21 minutes) west of Sweetwater Creek State Park

The nearest hospital emergency room is:
Wellstar Douglas Medical Center (hospital)
8954 Hospital Dr, Douglasville, GA 30134 (470)644-6000
approximately 11 miles (21 minutes) west of Sweetwater Creek State Park

Search and Rescue (SAR)

The SAR coordinator is Fred Zendt. His cell phone number is 678-640-5828. Put this number in your cell phone now.

He can be found through Meet HQ. Please coordinate the search and rescue of all missing or injured persons through Meet HQ.
Do not attempt search and rescue operations of your own.

Time Limits

Time limit is 3 hours on all courses. You must return to the Finish, punch the Finish control and Download your e-stick within 3 hours after you start, whether you complete your course or not. Do not go out on a course if you do not have the means to tell the time and how long you have been out. This generally means a watch or a cellphone.

Safety

If you have been out for 3 hours or it is clear that you cannot finish in 3 hours, you must stop immediately and report to the Finish.

Saturday Safety Bearing: Go west to the river, follow the river north to the bridge.
Much of the map is also bounded by a dirt road on the east side. Meet personnel will patrol the dirt road on the east side for competitors in need.
If unsure, STAY on any trail or road you come across.

Sunday Safety Bearing: Go north to the picnic shelter loop or Visitor Center.
The park is well bounded by the river on the east and a road on the west. Meet personnel will patrol the roads for competitors in need.
If unsure, STAY on any road or trail you come across.

Carry a whistle. One will be provided upon request. Three (3) short blasts from a whistle indicate an emergency. Blowing the whistle otherwise will result in Disqualification. If you are lost after the courses close, you are already disqualified, and it is an emergency. Please blow your whistle so that we can locate you before it gets dark. You are encouraged to carry a cell phone to be able to call in an emergency. If your calls do not go through, try text messages. Before starting your course, make a contingency plan. Share your start time, expected finish time and contact details with someone who can raise the alarm. The courses close at 4:00 pm. Sunset is at 5:54 pm and last light is at 6:21 pm.

Dress appropriately for the weather conditions. Weather conditions in Georgia in January vary from freezing and/or cold rain to very pleasant. If the ground is wet, exposed red clay will be extremely slippery. Please be careful not to slip.

Assist an injured competitor. If another competitor is hurt and in need of assistance, help to the best of your ability or go to summon help. Report the injured competitor’s bib number and exact location to officials at the Finish or Start line.

Warm Up Area

You may warm up along the paved roads around Meet HQ or towards the Start. Please watch out for vehicles.

Clothing Return

Sunday - TBD.
Saturday - TBD.

Walk to Start

Routes will be clearly marked with signs.
Saturday walk is TBD from Meet HQ.
Sunday walk is TBD from Meet HQ. Follows signs and streamers.
Rest rooms both days are at the Meet HQ and near the Start area.

Control Descriptions

Will be available at the Start mid-line (1-min to go). Also printed on the map.

Call Up

Be at the Call-up area approximately 5-10 minutes before your Start time.
Call up is 3 minutes before your start time.
Start procedure will consist of three one-minute stages: Call-up, Mid line and Map lines.
Control descriptions will be available and will also be printed on your map.
At the Map line you will receive your map. Markers will be available to write your bib number on the back of the map.

If you finish before the last start, we will collect your map at the finish. You may retrieve your map once all competitors have started. There are only sufficient maps for each person to have one each day, so please do not take anyone else’s.

Finish Line

When arriving at the finish line, be sure you punch the “Finish” control at the Finish banner.
Proceed immediately to the Download Station to have your e-stick read. Take the printout of your results and split times.

If not all competitors have started, you will be asked to turn in your map and may pick it up later. Once you have finished, you may not re-enter the competition area without permission of the Meet Director.
Rental e-sticks must be turned in on the last day of your competition at the Download Station.

Map and Course Setter Notes

Sweetwater Creek State Park is mostly ridge and reentrant terrain. The map uses symbols set forth in ISOM 2017. North lines are spaced at 300m. Map scale is 1:10,000 with 5m contours with the exception of Brown-X and Brown-Y courses which are printed at 1:7,500 and F/M-21+ which are printed at 1:15,000.

TBD

Non-standard symbols used are:

• Rootstocks are mapped with the green “X” symbol (prominent vegetation feature). Rootstocks less than 1 meter high are not mapped.
• Black ‘O’ used for "junk pile". Must be ~1m high or otherwise very visible.
• Black ‘X’ used for man-made object that is not trash/junk. Must be ~1m high or otherwise very visible.

The competition maps have an abbreviated legend with just the most commonly used and relevant map symbols. A more extensive, complete map legend (as shown in the Mapper's Notes) is available to download here.

Saturday

Saturday courses are in the steeper area of the park. The woods are generally open and beautiful, runnability is excellent, but the hills will feel big.
Water for orienteering participants is placed at several locations, as indicated with the water cup symbol on your maps.

Sunday

Compared to Saturday, the Sunday courses may have a little more light green.

Reserve Punch Boxes

In the rare event that an electronic punch units fail, three (3) Reserve Punch boxes are provided on the map. Use the pin punch at the control to record your presence at the control.