Orienteering Rage at the BOC 2010

[Gross]

Gross said

.... the ideal route for the leg took you to the left... anyone going right had at least 1 extra contour.........

two posts later he says

I was of the opinion that the only sensible choice was to go right as going left was in the opposite direction to the control..

Can you let us know which is correct?

Both Actually the first quote was as I saw it & I was facing the runners.... so it was to my left.... but really it was to the runners right

[Adrian]

Perhaps this is a "West Midlands" thing. .

While orienteering in the West Midands, I have been shouted at to get away from the control, but I thought it was fair comment. The problem, as has already been mentioned, is that novices would be less than impressed with being ranted at.

One event where there was some bullying was the JK sprint in Newcastle. Some of the fast runners got quite tetchy waiting to dib the controls in the park. Part of the problem was that some of those controls were overloaded, part was that they were mounted on springy stakes, so if you didn't grab them it took a second or two for them to be still enough to punch.

While I'm here, a quick plug for the West Midlands League event on Kinver Edge this Sunday (16 May). Entries are now open till Friday at http://www.fabian4.co.uk/

[dogsbreath]

It's all very well debating orienteering etiquettte from the comfort of your pc chair. Real competition conditions bring out the worst in some people though.
I wouldn't see an upset junior stuck and would pause briefly to help them re-orientate, but if some adult halfwit suggested I move away from a control site while trying to sort myself out, I would most probably respond via carefully chosen verbal abuse, or in extreme circumstrances, a carefully and accurately executed grab and toss of their map/compass/SI Card. And yes, it would bring out the worst in me.

[IanD]

Have to say that some adult half-wit standing over the control and preventing me from seeing and/or punching it might bring out the worst in me.

[dogsbreath]

Absolutely. I couldn't agree more!

[Brian Hughes]

Why the fuss about buzzards in the first place? Aboout 30 000 pais and probably the UK's most common bird of prey.
Brian Hughes (M60, HOC)

[geomorph]

Why the fuss about buzzards in the first place? Aboout 30 000 pais and probably the UK's most common bird of prey.
Brian Hughes (M60, HOC)

I think there are only 3 pairs in my local area, but that's 3 more than a decade ago.

They are pretty savvy creatures - not quite at a Robin's boldness, but great fun when you encounter them out on a run.

A couple of years back I flattered my self by thinking that the pair circling for the last half hour overhead was following me round on my run. Three weeks later 'they' did the same thing in a different locale. It happens a lot now. I think they use me to scare up prey movements that they can then follow/monitor.

I've run repeatedly round a perched buzzard (at about 20ft) sitting below its nest. Not in the least disturbed, just cautious, no more than it would be be any large potential predator hanging around its young.

We tend to anthropomorphise animals reactions to disturbance. A lot of it results in overreaction.

[EddieH]

The most likely problem with a buzzard's nest would be a particularly aggressive bird - there could be a few bloodied heads with the most testosteroned individuals

[Gross]

The most likely problem with a buzzard's nest would be a particularly aggressive bird - there could be a few bloodied heads with the most testosteroned individuals

The biggest problem was not the buzzards but the FC Rule Book & Government Legislation & a guy new to the job calling in his bossess