Attermire National Event map restriction

[Oldman]

The final details for this Saturday's NE contain this:

"Possession or use of any orienteering or other map of the competition area is prohibited during the competition day at the race site until 2.00pm."

This raises some questions:
1. Can an organiser add new rules beyond what BOF have set up as the Rules for UK competition?
2. Is it not normal (and fairer) to allow everyone to see any previous O maps of the competition area in the Assembly area?
3. Does the restriction mean I can't take my OS map with me to help me find the assembly area?

Is this pronouncement not a bit OTT?

[Simon E]

1. Can an organiser add new rules beyond what BOF have set up as the Rules for UK competition?

1.3.5 For Level 1 and 2 events, the Organiser may vary or supplement existing Rules to meet particular local requirements, subject to approval from the Controller and Rules Group.

(Plus rules for other levels, but this is a National so is Level 2.)

[awk]

The apparently draconian wording belies a fairly simple aim. That aim was to address a concern of the organiser that , with some of the competition area visible from the car park, he did not want people to be standing around in the car park trying to work out where some parts of the courses go. The wording was simply lifted from the final instructions from another event. In fact, most courses can't be seen at all, but there are glimmers of a few if the sun is out.

Hope that answers your concerns. Certainly, there was no desire for you to get lost on your way, although the route will be signposted (via Settle and not via Malham though, which would be an exceedingly unpopular approach!).

[GML]

How are we supposed to run our courses without possessing a map of the competition area?

More seriously, this just highlights how badly worded this "rule" is. Since maps aren't being collected, everyone who finishes their course before 2pm will technically be in breach!

Graham

[awk]

As you say, the wording could have been improved, and I along with the other officials, missed it twice during the drafting. Frankly, I was concentrating on more important issues, and skim read this section.

[Adventure Racer]

2. Is it not normal (and fairer) to allow everyone to see any previous O maps of the competition area in the Assembly area?

Nobody else seems to have picked up on this point, which I agree with. Surely having such a rule makes it unfair for those who don't have access to a previous map before they get to the race site compared to those who do and are allowed to look at the map before they get there, just not when they're there (though presumably they should throw them out of the window of the car just before they arrive)?

Since maps aren't being collected, everyone who finishes their course before 2pm will technically be in breach!

I predict a large pile of maps between the last control and the finish belonging to all those not wanting to get disqualified before they download.

[DM]

I have found that as a relative beginner, running on an area for the first time, you are at a small disadvantage having not seen the map. If you have run on a map numerous times, I have found that mistakes creep in, based on the feeling that I know where the next control is, leading to a mistake.

Knowing the general lie of an area is useful but not (at least to me) a massive advantage. Accurate navigation is what I will be aiming for this weekend, I don't believe those Yorky tussocks are anything like as bad as Cumbria.

[NeilC]

This is one of my favourite rules:

1.5.1 The spirit of fairness and good fellowship shall be the guiding principle in all aspects of the
sport, including the interpretation of these Rules.

From which I interpret the following:

1) Don't stand in the assembly area with a map working out where your course goes.

2) Don't show those yet to run your map/course

No one is bothered if you use an OS map to navigate to the event whatever the literal meaning of the 'rule' might suggest.

Hope the event goes well, and those seeking selection have good runs. Too far for us plus there's work on the cricket square to be done.

[awk]

Neil
Sorry you won't be there, but I think you summarise the intention perfectly even if, as I said, the wording was accidentally more draconian and less clear than it was meant to be.

[Snail]

Quite happy with Neil's interpretation of the organiser's new rule, provided it was actually approved in advance by Rules Group in accordance with Simon E's post above.

Didn't spot that approval in the (draft) minutes of the last Rules Group meeting, so I assume the next minutes will disclose that they have had an interim meeting / discussion to deal with it. If they haven't then it can't be valid!

[candyman]

The rule quoted by Neil is not at all new, but rather one of the founding and basic guiding principles of orienteering. So if you are not following the spirit of fairness at an event then i believe that the organisers have every right to make your run unofficial.

In this case the organisers have just helped you out by outlining the sort of activities that would be seen as gaining an unfair advantage. As in life common sense should be applied by both the participants and the organisers when it comes to enforcing these rules.

[zulu_warrior]

Might help if I could read the final details! Posting in a format that is not available to all is not all that clever! Phone call to organiser coming up.

[Oldman]

I cured the printing formatting problem by going into WORD's Page Setup and changing the paper size from custom to A4: it then printed OK.

[awk]

Might help if I could read the final details! Posting in a format that is not available to all is not all that clever! Phone call to organiser coming up.

The final details are in Word .doc format. This can be read by pretty much every standard word processor (all five of those I use at school can), including the freebie WordPad which comes with every copy of Windows. If you run a Mac, I understand from Mac users they can read it too. However, if you PM me with your email address and let me know what formats you can read in, I will endeavour to send you a copy after I get back from my final stint this evening.

As for phoning the organiser, don't bother. He is away from home having taken time off work to finalise essential work on the area, having spent hours in the last few days dealing with real issues such as liaising with the many landowners (there are over a dozen involved) in light of the latest foot and mouth outbreak to make sure you've got something to moan about.

[DM]

AWK, I thought your message about the minor printing issue (which is most likely "user error", some odd setting they have on their machine) highlighted very well the real issues AIRE are facing ahead of this weekend, and what people are doing to solve them (ie taking time off work to ensure we get a good event).

I see the web details now ask people to use the disinfectant troughs (foot and mouth precaution). Based on what I saw at Balavil this year the placing of these troughs needs to be somewhere that people can not avoid passing. At Balavil the trough was ahead of a stile with a low fence alongside, some bypassed the stile. Just a suggestion.