Are you looking forward to a Wilf's veggie chilli?

[RJ]

It is such a shame if we are going to lose 'caterers' at our local event structure but our real problem is that we just don't have the numbers, the participants, at our local events to sustain all the peripherals.

For the moment the sensible thing to do is maximise the income for the sport to keep it going in the short term. But the long term strategy must be to grow the sport from grass roots level and to increase the participation levels at our level D and then level C events. We, obviously, aren't doing enough at the moment so much greater effort at club level is needed. Maybe we need to divert some of the effort on big prestigious events into low key participation models..... mainly the intellectual energy, which can design new structures and models to take the sport to many more people.

[awk]

It is such a shame if we are going to lose 'caterers' at our local event structure but our real problem is that we just don't have the numbers, the participants, at our local events to sustain all the peripherals.

It seems fairly obvious from the discussion here that those caterers wouldn't be lost if able to sell at all events. The real problem is bringing in cherry-pickers and short term planning: maximising short term income at the expense of the infrastructure.

As to your other comments on numbers - are you still finding numbers declining? My impression (without being able to quote any substantiation!) was that numbers were starting to hold up, even go the other way - but I could be very mistaken!

[charles2]

BTW Do Wilfs even exist any more? - we seldom see any caterers up here.

They do exist, but not sure if they do as much event catering as before.
If you go to their cafe in Staveley (Cumbria) and pop to the loo then you'll notice that the walls are papered with old orienteering and MM maps.

[madmike]

BTW Do Wilfs even exist any more? - we seldom see any caterers up here.

They do exist, but not sure if they do as much event catering as before.
If you go to their cafe in Staveley (Cumbria) and pop to the loo then you'll notice that the walls are papered with old orienteering and MM maps.

Wilfs sold off their event catering business to help fund a 2nd cafe in the lakes. The event catering business continued to trade as Scotts (a guy called Iain Scott was the new owner) but I understand Scotts is no more.

[Glucosamine]

It's working out how 'commercialisation' can be sustainable in orienteering that is the challenge. Note that the job description for the commercial manager has mention of commission on top of salary - does that encourage short-term thinking?

I'm sure good work is being done, but how many short term decisions (like hamburger franchises) does it need to justify the cost of a commercial manager post as being self-sustaining on the annual accounts? I comment as one whose salary used to be paid by the external grants I could pull in, and whose projects were sometimes stymied by public sector tendering requirements which squeezed out the little (wo)man who could do the job in favour of the larger company which could play the tender game but could not deliver what the customer wanted.

[graeme]

I understand Scotts is no more.

Indeed, and therein hangs a tale...

But isn't it just a bit odd that all this whinging is predicated by the idea we were planning to drive from South Wales to the Lakes to purchase a savoury snack? I think I'll follow Arnold's advice and stick to Welsh Cakes

[King Penguin]

Wilfs still have the cafe in Staveley, and last year opened a second one on the main road at Grasmere.
Wilfs veggie chilli is to be had at events from ONosh (and maybe elsewhere, as well as the Lake District cafes)

[RS]

Wilf's at Grasmere has closed

[charles2]

Wilf's at Grasmere has closed

Thats a shame - used to like going there as well as Staveley.
Perhaps the fact that the car park for the cafe in Grasmere was also the one for Dove Cottage and wasn't free (was pay and display) affected casual custom.

[denbydale]

Wilf's contract was up & although offered another short term contract , they decided not to accept

[Mrs H]

Onosh have issued the following statement on their Facebook page

Sorry to all our customers who love the taste of veggie chilli or pasta at the JK or British Championships. We have not been able to secure a pitch due to BOF taking control of the bidding war approach to dealing with traders. We are now very unlike to survive the year as our two major events that allow us to attend other smaller less profitable events have gone!

Thank you BOF and it might be good bye to orienteering by the end of the year.

[jab]

And Onosh are a company who sponsored the British Champs last year by providing T-shirts for prizes. Bet they're really glad they bothered.

[Jayne]

Onosh facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Onosheventcatering

[Paul Frost]

The official response from CEO Mike Hamilton on the British Orienteering website.
That link may break as time goes by due to problems linking to specific pages on the site.

[Big Jon]

The letter from Mike Hamilton epitomises everything that is wrong (in my opinion) with the present organisation of BOF - a massively complicated, lengthy and time consuming process - all to get 2 or 3 food traders for a relatively small event (in food traders terms). At events that I have coordinated sorting out food traders has taken a couple of hours, a few e-mails and maybe speaking to someone on the phone. Mind you I regard food traders as being a bonus to an event - not something to be charged for.