Master Maps

[usuallylast]

I was introduced to orienteering in the late seventies, and master maps were one of the main reasons I gave up and didn't try again until a few years ago. I hated the extra stress at the start. As soon as I realised things had since moved on, I was hooked and have been playing catch up ever since.

[Boo]

Master maps are alive and well here in Switzerland, for all events other than than National events and Championships... You get 8 mins before your start time to copy down your course and have a nose at where other courses are going. Took a while to remember to bring a red pen to the start, after years of preprinted maps in the UK.

Some of the small local events have started preprinting maps but it's not always popular - competitors grumble about not being able to see their course before they start!

[AndyO]

Andy,
not totally post master-maps but contemporaneous depending on event level as I recall.

aye, right enough Mike, though it was one or t'other. Bagged maps were fine, if heavy to carry in bulk to the start.

Boo - 8 minutes to copy down your course and study others? No excuse for making mistakes with that, but it also means you can note down other control positions not on your course - handy for relocation or navigation in a tricky area