How to be a Course Setter
The course setter designs the courses and sets them out the day of the event. This volunteer setter should be an experienced orienteer, and needs to visit the event area well before the event to locate each marker location. The course setter creates the event maps and arranges for them to be printed, along with the control description sheets, and typically also coordinates control pickup.
Setting good orienteering courses takes some practice and experience. First-time course setters should attend a course setting class or apprentice with an experienced course setter. The following resources will be of use for all course setters:
Winter O/WIOL Course Design Guidelines
Purple Pen Course Setting Software
NOTE: Remember to check previous meet reports for your park to identify any course issues, how many maps were needed previously, and previous course setter name. You will also need to submit your map costs to the meet director to complete this meet report.
Other Course Design Resources
Long ago, Mike Schuh wrote two articles on course design that were published in Bearing 315, the Cascade newsletter (part 1 part 2). These were written before the advent of electronic punching and OCAD, but still contain timeless learnings.
There are other useful documents in the USOF "Virtual Binder".
Here is a suggested layout for the start area at WIOL meets.