"Luck" in orienteering

[Roger]

Is this bad "education" of course planning/controlling techniques, or people thinking it's OK because they've had that sort of experience in the past? Shouldn't we be trying to make things as fair and enjoyable as possible, whatever the level of event?

Have you been reading my controller's e-mails to the planner of the event that you're staging in the near future?
"You need to map those thickets, because they're now the same size as the ones that are on the map."
"That control must go on the lip of the pit, because putting in the bottom would make it unfair."
And a little less recently, "Either we cancel the event or we map the bracken" (score event scheduled for October).

Ensuring that the controls go in the right place is only part of the controller's job. One of the strengths of orienteering is that the event officials are mostly also current competitors; the bad experiences that we've had when competing will surely have reinforced our determination to avoid such experiences in events that we're planning, controlling, organising or even merely helping at. Start officials separating maps is a good example.

I'd argue the opposite of your point: people think that it's not OK because they've had that sort of experience in the past.

[Brian Hughes]

I believe that the latest guidelines for Planning say something like " the control feature should be seen by the competitor when within 10% of the distance from the nearest visible attack point". IF that was used consistently then 'bingo' controls, particularly kites hidden at the bottom of small pits with the forest floor nearby covered with ground vegetation, would become a thing of the past. As the previous posting suggested if such a pit must be used, hang the kite high on the lip.

Having got that off my chest, I really think that here is less luck in O than we may think. Certainly, I know that I will get beat by the likes of Andy Hemsted, Mike Murray, Pete Gorvett and Julian Lailey more than 95% of the time (nearly 100% by some of them), no matter what the course or how the kites are hung.

Brian Hughes (M60 HOC)

[drobin]

Certainly, I know that I will get beat by the likes of Andy Hemsted, Mike Murray, Pete Gorvett and Julian Lailey more than 95% of the time (nearly 100% by some of them), no matter what the course or how the kites are hung.

I often wondered how these people find those 'hidden' controls.

Is it because they are tall(er) and therefore can see the pit from further away?

Or, more probably, they also can't find it, but because they are running faster, their searching is faster. And the splits seem to be bear this out. So it's not luck after all.

[EddieH]

It's because they KNOW that they are in the right area and therefore search without hesitation or wandering off to try somewhere else.

Doesn't make some controls fair though, although I often hear people complaining about bingo controls which I felt were perfectly fair.

[mharky]

it's only a bingo control if you don't find it

[IanD]

it's only a bingo control if you don't find it

It's still a bingo control if I find it first, and half a dozen people in the vicinity immediately pile in - as happened at a level 1 event recently (and I reckon my finding it was largely down to luck).