Praise and brickbats

[EddieH]

I may not be the most tactful person in the World, but I do try to keep criticisms constructive. They are a necessary part of improving the sport.

I've just finished working with the best team ever for a big event. Everyone pulled together - everyone did their bit thoroughly and without fuss. I believe that (except for the course lengths which were forewarned, and controller and I both believe was the right compromise) we got everything right.

Having anticipated doing most of the work before Christmas, we lost no fewer than 5 venues (4 to capercaillie and 1 to car parking) before I could finally get going in April! Yet because of the team I never felt stressed.

What a contrast to working on WOC99 and Highland99 where intolerance and unconstructive criticism made life so unpleasant that I didn't want to get involved in any big jobs for about 5 years, and it proved to be the end of orienteering for at least one official.

Similarly, some totally unjustified harranguing from 1 Scandinavian tour operator (long defunct) drove one official not only out of the building but out of the sport forever.

Please think before you condem those that give us such a wonderful sport, and here's to many more events like this weekend's.

[graeme]

Can't say I ever liked MacScratchy forest much, but it is good for relays, low visibility, OK runnability. My course was excellent and maybe the best relay course I've had in the UK for years, I liked the route choices, and the controls were all clear and fair. The like-it-short brigade always have plenty to say promoting their personal prejudices, so I should mention that some of us like running up three age classes and getting a longer course.

The main disappointment is the quality of the field. It's SO uniformly high (in UK terms). The MO pack came in in 52, the last finisher did 57 ! Compare e.g. the WOC relay, with times ranging from 43 to 82.

I think the same is true for BRC and JK-relay, this makes it very intimidating for the average orienteer to take part, and unlikely they'd have much fun if they did. The Scottish format is meant to increase head-to-head racing with slower people "cutting inside".

Results are sort-of here

http://www.obasen.nu/winsplits/online/e ... seId=11762

Having anticipated doing most of the work before Christmas.

That'll be why I was hotfooting across to Dalrulzion rather than cheering rocky down the sprint.

On balance...

The purpose of the handicap is to give everyone a chance to race against each other. To make this work, the planner needs to balance the course lengths carefully. The top five had 4 different handicaps

12 FVO FVO 11 2:04:39
18 BL Best Lot 2:22:53
9 MAROC Masters 2:23:07
9 CLOK ..Lemons 2:25:46
6 CLYDE Battleshps 2:27:35

Pretty good job done there Eddie.

On the downside, only 3/15 were women, and there are some long times on WO. I think the handicap might need a bit of rebalancing there?

(Yes, I do know I should write to the Competitions Convenor, but we don't seem to have one at the moment)

[graeme]

dιbber

[EddieH]

Well Graeme the rules have to be taken with a large dose of interpretation. Course B should have a top W21 winning in the same time as a top M50 wins course C. Maybe when that was written it was the likes of me in M50, but with Jethro, Dixie and pretty soon Jon M the idea tht they are much slower than the ladies doesn't seem to add up.

I made the decision that crossing the river produced far better orienteering which effectively set the length for the D, as I had to use the bridge in case of high water. I therefore made the other courses proportionally longer as I saw fit. I am absolutely delighted by how close I seem to have got it.

[graeme]

Yes, it's essentially the same problem as the Handicap, where W21=M40.

The pressure from the elite steering group was that as a UKRL race all the top UK women would come (as opposed to top Scottish M50s). And they should have a special course, modelled after WOC. That seems not to be the case anymore (I think all the teams were 9+ handicap points). Finding three women is obviously harder than finding any three people. If it were still up to me, I'd be inclined to add +1 to all the women's handicaps, and run WOpen as BCC.

[housewife]

While not wanting to tar all girls with the 'wimp' brush, maybe the more physically tough areas such as Strathmashie make it harder for the girls to get as close to the lads time wise. Surely a longer-legged person has an advantage through the grot, though I would fancy my chances on a faster area. Also, the womens races were not generally as as competitve as the mens, so maybe we weren't going for it as much?

[Scott]

Surely a longer-legged person has an advantage through the grot

How true - but it's not just the women who are affected. Personally, I think it's about time the "Men's Short" relay at the JK/British started to live up to its name by restricting entry to those under 5'6".

[mappingmum]

I think it's about time the "Men's Short" relay at the JK/British started to live up to its name by restricting entry to those under 5'6".

[awk]

While not wanting to tar all girls with the 'wimp' brush, maybe the more physically tough areas such as Strathmashie make it harder for the girls to get as close to the lads time wise.

Nothing wimpish about it all. In general terms, women tend not be as strong as men, and those sorts of areas tend to be more about strength. It's why (to my mind) the course ratios tend to fall apart sometimes: they aren't consistent, with the gaps opening up the tougher an area gets.

Surely a longer-legged person has an advantage through the grot, though I would fancy my chances on a faster area.

It's a commonly held belief, but I've not seen any evidence to support it. A lot more other factors come into play: power to weight ratio etc etc. Is there an optimum build for orienteering? Given the range of sizes at elite races, it doesn't look like there is, but would be interested if anybody has got some evidence one way or another.

[Meat Market]

I think it's about time the "Men's Short" relay at the JK/British started to live up to its name by restricting entry to those under 5'6".

Or you could have a "Boys" course

[Big Jon]

While not wanting to tar all girls with the 'wimp' brush, maybe the more physically tough areas such as Strathmashie make it harder for the girls to get as close to the lads time wise. Surely a longer-legged person has an advantage through the grot, though I would fancy my chances on a faster area. Also, the womens races were not generally as as competitve as the mens, so maybe we weren't going for it as much?

It is generally accepted that older orienteers and females run relatively slower in tough areas than in easy areas - probably to do with strength and muscle bulk being greater in younger/male members of the population.
Personally I found the relays very, very tough physically - my legs didn't have the bounce and power I can remember from events many years ago in Strathmashie.... time to go down to the gym??

[mharky]

No need to pay high membership fees, use natures gym, à la Rocky 4!!!

[Big Jon]

I won't pay high fees - just go to Aboyne Community Centre and use their gym... once I've had a session with a properly trained weights person.