SHI 'a planners reflection'

[harry]

I agree that the autumn is a better time but these clashes should be avoided at all costs.

Why o why is the British Middle distance Champs 2006 clashing with Tio Mila? Apparently someone found the wrong date.

Its our choice and many would harp back to the "you've got to run your nat. champs" but it looks like it won't be a selection race and therefore since the travel is the same from Glasgow to Sweden or South England I will be representing my Swedish club who have given loads of support and opportunities. Annoyed at the clash though if the rumour is true.

[Rach]

I'm also very dissapointed at the tio-mila / BEOC middle clash... there aren't many races that elite orienteers are 'obliged' to do for their foreign clubs but tiomila is definately one of them. It's also one of the best races for international relay experience. BEOC should be a test of the best british orienteers, so clashing it with an international competition is just silly.

[Guest]

Is the GBR Head Coach not also on the Elite Steering Committee? Did he not say in Focus that part of his remit was to plan racing programmes & calanders with the athletes?

Must be part of an overall international strategy then.

[Dave H]

Is the GBR Head Coach not also on the Elite Steering Committee? Did he not say in Focus that part of his remit was to plan racing programmes & calanders with the athletes?

Must be part of an overall international strategy then.

Guest is quite right about is that Dave Peel does attend ECSG, as do I. But what guest is missing in their anonymous sniping (and yes the minutes are published) is that the ECSG originally produced a UK Cup programme that didn't clash with Tio, something we always strive to do. However, as ever the UK Cup programme is a balancing act between what we would like and what clubs are prepared to do. Unfortunately our first choice of date for BEOC Middle wasn't possible and an alternative had to be found. In the resultant discussion and rearrangement the clash with Tio has been overlooked, a simple collective human mistake, no conspiracy theory.

Maybe guest (or anyone else) feels that they never make mistakes, in which case perhaps they would like my place on the ECSG, I'd hate to be in the way of someone who could do guarantee to do a better job.

[harry]

There are only so many weekends in the year and sadly sometimes, especially in the spring, clashes are inevitable.

We as athletes will just have to look at the available options and choose the best programme for ourselves and the squad coaches will give advice if we need it. This is different from the overall programme of UK races which obviously has other factors playing a role like what fixtures are on offer.

I certainly don't expect ECSG to liase with the Swedish Federation when planning fixtures! If a clash is unavoidable then we'll just have to decide what is right for each of us. In the case of the British Men I would say running a tough race at a silly time in the cold may not be the best thing in the run-up to the European Champs (we women run short courses in the sunshine!)so maybe the clash is a tactical one to enable the guys to have excuse to skip Tio and gain advantage over the Swedes!