WOC in the future

[Gross]

That'll be the end of GB in the classic / long then... with the specialisation on sprint & the middle disappearing also and no qualification in long then the one or two places that GB will get won't be enough to interest the top guys....

Long live locked gates

[Spookster]

That'll be the end of GB in the classic / long then.

I don't think so. It would be great to have GBR ranked in the top 6 nations, but if we assume we rank in the 7th-12th, then we'd get 2 Long Final places. Currently we get 3 Long Qualifying places, and we often achieve 2 Final places from that.

So we'd still have 2 Long Final places, but the runners would not have had to run a qualifier a couple of days before. Unless you're suggesting we can't achieve a ranking in the top 12, then I don't see much difference.

Here's a WOC medal ranking table by country in which GBR is 8th. Of course IOF will use a different method (last 3 WOCs only), and we don't have further details of how the ranking would work.

[Gross]

Here's a WOC medal ranking table by country in which GBR is 8th. Of course IOF will use a different method (last 3 WOCs only), and we don't have further details of how the ranking would work.

That table doesn't say much... except that there is a big gap between GBR & the nation above.... and an massive gap between GBR & the top 2 nations.

It will be interesting to see how big a role the WRE tables play in deciding who qualifies for the long final... if it's based purely on performance in WOC's then many nations will never have a hope of getting athletes into the final... unless each IOF nation is guaranteed a place... in which case the start list will need to run over two or three days (or maybe go down to a 30 second start interval!)

[Scott]

For the Long final, starting places are awarded based on the following criteria:

Nation’s places Nations are ranked based on all results achieved in the previous three WOC’s
Women and men are calculated and ranked separately
Nations ranked 13-24 are guaranteed one place
Nations ranked 7-12 are guaranteed two places
Nations ranked 1-6 are guaranteed three places

Regional place Each region is guaranteed to start with at least one athlete

Individual place The reigning World Champion is guaranteed a personal place

This will give a start field of 47-49 athletes from 28-30 nations, which can be compared to the current model where 45 athletes can start coming from between 22-25 nations.

I have a feeling that there would actually be quite a rapid variations amongst the placings of the nations ranked 18th and below, so I suspect most countries would get an occasional chance to enter somebody in the long.

It won't make much difference at the top end anyway, but that said, I'm not convinced by it - it would be a pity if one of your two strong Long runners was denied a place because your country had put in a disastrous performance in last year's sprint.

[IanD]

Is the "chasing start middle", as it sounds, a middle-distance race with a chasing start?

If so, I'm pleased to see middle-distance retained, it's my favourite format. But a chasing start? Chasing starts are fun, but surely no way to settle a serious championship; orienteering should be a navigation sport, not a following sport.

[Arnold]

yes, it's two middles, one timed start and then a chasing start based on the results of the timed start race.

I wonder whether JOK will get royalty payments for having their format stolen?

It probably will change the results of the middle quite a bit - time differences from the prologue are likely to be quite small so there will probably be big bunches of people.

For what it's worth, I think the whole thing is a decent compromise between media needs and still retaining the core values of orienteering. But it would appear I'm in the minority..

[Monte]

It's that 'all results' phrase that needs expanding on. Selection for Long based on previous years' performances mainly at other formats seems very strange. If based on Long only there would be no way to get back into the top 24 nations if you're not in the Long to compete; except, of course, for the Regional representatives.
Selection of the Regional representatives may require pre-qualifying events for all but Europe and 'home advantage' could play a part in who gets through.
No guaranteed place in the Long for the host nation either - not very media friendly.

I feel that there should be some way for a person to reach the World Champs final based on their results alone. The IOF proposal could, in theory, exclude someone who wins every World Cup event that year from taking part.

[King Penguin]

Is the "chasing start middle", as it sounds, a middle-distance race with a chasing start?

If so, I'm pleased to see middle-distance retained, it's my favourite format. But a chasing start? Chasing starts are fun, but surely no way to settle a serious championship; orienteering should be a navigation sport, not a following sport.

I think a "seeded start" is more appropriate for a world champs, with fastest starting last not first. I know this removes the "first past the post" element, but it maintains interest right to the end.
With a chasing start tactics will play a considerable part in the qualifier - who will want to start first in the final, lead the rest of the best in the world round and get outsprinted at the end ? On the other hand, go to slow and you might miss out on qualifying for the final altogether. Not the best way to determine the best in the world.
With a seeded start there is an incentive to be as fast as you can in the qualifier.

[Kitch]

I don't think anyone has said -
Mixed sprint relay! What a laughable load of piss!

so I will
Mixed sprint relay! What a laughable load of piss!

[Spookster]

I don't think anyone has said -
Mixed sprint relay! What a laughable load of piss!

I think you (and several others) said it yourself, back in August!

But IOF has recognised that traditional relay must stay, so mixed sprint relay is in addition to, not instead of, the relay.

[Gross]

I don't think anyone has said -
Mixed sprint relay! What a laughable load of piss!

Kitch.... It's so obvious I don't think it needs said.... hope the gate is open after the massed start

[Monte]

The gate will be open - but it'll be at the end of a 100m long 1m wide path between areas of grass mapped as olive.

[Becks]

Hell, I'm not bothered by the addition of the mixed sprint disaster now the real relay is there to stay!

I reckon it'll be a pretty good way to get youngsters into the team and get a bit of experience before heading to play with the big boys. It's going to be a busy week, so I wonder whether the max team size will be increased?

[ifor]

Of course mixed sprint relay may turn into the main GBR target given our recent ability.

[graeme]

I wonder whether JOK will get royalty payments for having their format stolen?

I suspect "opportunity to organise" might be nearer the mark.

Now we just need to get it into the 6-day schedule...

Mixed sprint relay! What a laughable load of piss!

Why pick on that? The format is the same as it always was: classic, relay and some comedy formats that won't survive long.

...but then I like comedy formats.