IOF General Assembly

[mharky]

In summary...

WOC 2014, Italy
MTB WOC 2013, Estonia

Barbados new IOF member

The Council presented a report on future directions for World Orienteering Championships (WOC). The three guiding principles are that the WOC programme should diversify, the WOC week should remain within 8 days, and a new, mixed, relay should be introduced. After the report, the General Assembly decided to introduce a mass start into World Orienteering Championships. The Council will now continue to develop a detailed programme, including in which format the mass start will be introduced.

Hmm... WTF?!

[bendover]

After the report, the General Assembly decided to introduce a mass start into World Orienteering Championships. The Council will now continue to develop a detailed programme, including in which format the mass start will be introduced.

i'll be interested to see how they intend to make this work while retaining the (relative) integrity that is achieved by staggering the starts.

[Adrian]

How about a mass start score event? Otherwise a mass start event does seem a bit pointless - no point having one just for the sake of it.

A chasing start would be more interesting - perhaps they could run the Sprint event that way.

[andypat]

It makes me squirm that we even have an organisation called the "general assembly". Sonds like some sort of quasi-religious secret society.....

[mharky]

Seems to me like the UCI. Old men in expensive suits going to nice hotels to make big decisions on events in which they no longer compete of have any sense of.

It is quite clearly for TV purposes, I can think of no other reasons for it. And I can't help but feel that TV coverage is, obviously, great for out sport, but also great for the IOF's pocket...

Currently, you have to pay the IOF 1000 euros to apply to host WOC, and then 60,000 when you actually get the event. This is a very large some of money. I can't help but think that WOC is going to go the way of the World Cup...

That is to say, only held in the big rich orienteering nations on a short cycle. Are we ever going to see a WOC in the Slovenian karst, or Portugese granite, or Spanish dunes... Or is it going to end up in Scandinavia and Switzerland like the World Cup.

[Gnitworp]

Orienteering, in its essence, is about navigating a course independently. In practice it is impossible to ensure that this can be achieved for everyone, but there are a number of devices that go a considerable way towards achieving it, e.g., introducing as much route choice as possible (reduces 'tracking up' as well as encouraging independent running), increasing start intervals, multiple heats, butterfly loops, multiple gaffles in relays. The search for ways of reducing the very severe weakness of the sport of people being able to follow others has always been the objective, and should continue to be so. Concessions to making the sport more televisable and more exciting for spectators (and competitors?) only compromises the fundamental essence of the sport: INDEPENDENT NAVIGATION.

[awk]

How about a mass start score event? Otherwise a mass start event does seem a bit pointless - no point having one just for the sake of it.

Not exactly televisual though! The programme is currently really good. The only one of the current individual races that could possibly handle a mass start is the long - no way could they introduce anything in the other two to sufficiently split the field up. The long would require something like the loops tried out in the World Cup, which (personally) didn't work as a spectator, and would struggle to work on TV (runners too far separated).

So it looks like either messing with the long, or adding a new race - surely that's one too many, especially in the 8 day period.

I'd hate to see the long messed around with - it's the race with the greatest tradition in WOC - and I'm not sure for one second that a mass start would actually make it more spectator friendly.

As mharky said, it does look awfully like the UCI, and they have made an AWFUL mess of cycling - especially the track Olympics. But remain to see what is come up with.

[Blanka]

WOC 2014, Italy
MTB WOC 2013, Estonia

And JWOC 2013 in the Czech Republic - should be a good event as Czechs very experienced at putting on these big events!

[Ernie_Wise]

How about a mass start score event?

That would be mental from a TV/spectator perspective. There would be people flying around all over the place and then converging on the finish all at the same time. Actually... if it's full contact it'd be great TV.

[madmike]

It makes me squirm that we even have an organisation called the "general assembly". Sonds like some sort of quasi-religious secret society.....

or the United Nations

[EddieH]

Heavens I despair Quite apart from the fact that this will devalue the result totally IMO I fail to see how it will be more exciting. The new race will be over an hour in an invisible forest when we hear that the first 60 runners all go through control x withing a few minutes, and then it will come down to a sprint finish.

How can that conceivably be more exciting than the current system where things are constantly changing. After all championship golf is massively popular and that is exactly how that works except that the whole thing is longer and slower.

[King Penguin]

After all championship golf is massively popular and that is exactly how that works except that the whole thing is longer and slower.

Imagine a mass tee-off ! The chaos as everyone tried to find their ball. The probablity of one hitting another.
Maybe they should have speed gold - who can get their ball down the whole the quickest.
(rapidly deteriorating to something that belongs in banter not serious discussion).

[andypat]

How about a mass start score event?

That would be mental from a TV/spectator perspective. There would be people flying around all over the place and then converging on the finish all at the same time. Actually... if it's full contact it'd be great TV.

That does sound like it might work - if they kept totting up your points as you got them - the only snag is would we be happy that our World Champion was decided on the basis of a Score event. In Scotland theres a fair bit of support for dropping the scottish score championships on the basis that hardly anyone does score or goes to the event.

[Becks]

No! Score is a pile of c**p.

[Gnitworp]

Maybe they should have speed gold - who can get their ball down the whole the quickest.

Or speed typing - quickest with least typos