Orienteer in Wales - please
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Orienteer in Wales - please
I was the planner for yesterday's District event at Pen Rhiw Wen, just outside Swansea. We had 66 competitors. The areas was used for the infamous National Event in 2000 (that I organised), it is a TD5 area and ranls as one of the best in Britain, open moorland, huge pits, wealth of rock etc. It was a perfect day (weather wise) but nobody came. What's wrong with Wales, we have some of the best areas in Britian but nobody comes to our events. Wales is down to host BOC 2007, we have 3 areas that can support the British easily but lack the volunteers to host it (less than 400 members in Wales). I appeal to you, come to Wales it's not all sheep and mines. Not sure how I can do it but I can post a portion of the map and course (if somebody can tell me how to attach an ocad file).
Cymru am Byth!
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freaky_phil - orange
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Ha Ha I reckon a lot of people are wishing they'd been to Wales yesterday rather than Wharncliffe - sorry Phil - it's just this overloaded fixtures list which is to blame - we are still chronically short of entries for Haugh Wood regional event on Sunday - what's the answer? West is best - North - wear a vest!
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Mrs H. - nope godmother
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just a few thoughts on why people don't come to welsh events... feel free to comeback at me cos its off the top of my head...
1. moorland... for me, its not all that inspiring. again, correct me if i'm wrong but wales has only really got 2 good forest orienteering areas - pembrey and newborough. open are okay, but give me a forest any day. i'm not a big fan of those really short grass moorland areas in wales either - and its not because i've had bad runs on them! as a junior i won a national event and M20 at the SHI's on those areas.. they're just a bit boring, and you can see your competitors from miles away which puts paid to the technical difficulty.
2. transport. the M5 is crap. so is the M4. and people hate driving on congested british motorways. when you consider that the vast proportion of the British orienteering population live at least two hours drive (one way!) from Swansea, well, would you bother? 4 hours driving for a small event with no selection issues involved? i'd rather grab an old map out of the cupboard and drive to a local quality area and train on my own.
its unfortunate, and the the truth hurts. but people are only ever going to make the effort to drive to wales for a big event or if there is a decent weekend of races. i shouldn't worry too much about BOC in 07, i'm sure you'll get plenty of people.
1. moorland... for me, its not all that inspiring. again, correct me if i'm wrong but wales has only really got 2 good forest orienteering areas - pembrey and newborough. open are okay, but give me a forest any day. i'm not a big fan of those really short grass moorland areas in wales either - and its not because i've had bad runs on them! as a junior i won a national event and M20 at the SHI's on those areas.. they're just a bit boring, and you can see your competitors from miles away which puts paid to the technical difficulty.
2. transport. the M5 is crap. so is the M4. and people hate driving on congested british motorways. when you consider that the vast proportion of the British orienteering population live at least two hours drive (one way!) from Swansea, well, would you bother? 4 hours driving for a small event with no selection issues involved? i'd rather grab an old map out of the cupboard and drive to a local quality area and train on my own.
its unfortunate, and the the truth hurts. but people are only ever going to make the effort to drive to wales for a big event or if there is a decent weekend of races. i shouldn't worry too much about BOC in 07, i'm sure you'll get plenty of people.
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bendover - addict
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Well I went on sunday and really enjoyed the terrain. I agree that there are some great areas in Wales. The problem is that it probably takes over 2.0 hours for anyone to get to the event who is not from Wales. It took me 1.5 from Cardiff.
No matter how good the terrain most people will take the least travel option
No matter how good the terrain most people will take the least travel option
- redkite
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If it'd been a Badge sorry Regional I'd have made the trip from Cardiff. It's no so much the status but the course lengths - 1.5 hours driving for a Brown is on the verge of sense for me, but I'd do it for a 21L. Petrol prices to blame? I went to the National there, enjoyed it especially with all the fog turning it into a pseudo-forest. I would've gone if I hadn't gone to FOD on Sat (45 mins drive). So perhaps it is overloaded fixtures as well.
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FatBoy - addict
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Mid Wales was for many years(up to 1987) my back yard, and boy was I frustrated with always having to travel east to bramble sancturies near Brum.
There was a flurry of activity in the 1990's when I got to run on some great areas, OK mostly moors but at least they had "spagetti" all over the map..
Sadly there is not the population to support the sport and they soon died off, I was only too aware of the lack of fellow competitors.
I am particularly fond of the southern Limestone, and would have gone to Pen Rhiw -wen if I were still WM based.. No way would I have trusted my fragile ankles to that boulder field outside Sheffield. JK78 memories have yet to fade. Also I had the pleasure of putting the mapper up when he was working on the map.
The hardest event I have attended, so hard it was meaningless was at Llangynidr, a night event during a storm. No line features, thick mist and driving rain.- it was at least a score event. Unforgetable.
Then there was the first event at Ogof Ffynon Ddu. Thought I had won my first badge event, staggering around in the mist, only for the sun to come out everything clear and a late starter pipped me by seconds (this is of course a killer argument against using moorland)
I miss Wales...
There was a flurry of activity in the 1990's when I got to run on some great areas, OK mostly moors but at least they had "spagetti" all over the map..
Sadly there is not the population to support the sport and they soon died off, I was only too aware of the lack of fellow competitors.
I am particularly fond of the southern Limestone, and would have gone to Pen Rhiw -wen if I were still WM based.. No way would I have trusted my fragile ankles to that boulder field outside Sheffield. JK78 memories have yet to fade. Also I had the pleasure of putting the mapper up when he was working on the map.
The hardest event I have attended, so hard it was meaningless was at Llangynidr, a night event during a storm. No line features, thick mist and driving rain.- it was at least a score event. Unforgetable.
Then there was the first event at Ogof Ffynon Ddu. Thought I had won my first badge event, staggering around in the mist, only for the sun to come out everything clear and a late starter pipped me by seconds (this is of course a killer argument against using moorland)
I miss Wales...
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ryeland of doom - blue
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I went over on Sunday, realy had to go as it's on the edge of the Kimm area so seeing what the terain is like was only sencible. Combined the trip with some cycling at Affan Argoyd so as to make the best of the traveling. It's 1.5+h over from Bristol at the best, I think there was a Wim south west Gallopen event as well which probobly got most of the other Bristol people out for a fix. There was not anything in the West midlands so you might of expected to get some of them but I suspect the NGOC training event on the Sataday actualy got a biger turnout than your event. Mind you there Blue course took 66 mins whereas your brown took me 52 so that was not so good for encouraging people to travel in the future....
That night event on Llangynidr was a clasic. Would of been very different on a clear moon lit night. As it was it was blowing a gale and pissing down realy chalengeing stuff. We should have at least one a year like that....
That night event on Llangynidr was a clasic. Would of been very different on a clear moon lit night. As it was it was blowing a gale and pissing down realy chalengeing stuff. We should have at least one a year like that....
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ifor - brown
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Phil would have preferred Wales anyday to Wharncliffe. That's why we decided to give it a wide berth. However there comes a time when the travel just means no time to get the details for the next event out or no time to clean the house tidy the garden etc.
Next time maybe
Next time maybe
Diets and fitness are no good if you can't read the map.
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HOCOLITE - addict
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ifor wrote:Mind you there Blue course took 66 mins whereas your brown took me 52 so that was not so good for encouraging people to travel in the future....
Makes me feel better about taking 71 on the blue. It was a tough blue!
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FatBoy - addict
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Thanks for the postings, maybe it's time Wales started to take a leaf out of Mrs. H book and provide some EVO. I must agree also that the fixtures is chocker block with events and any event on the periphery of travel and category (C4 v C3, selection race) are not well attended. Maybe I should have set up a temporary abbatoir and provided each finisher with fresh Welsh lamb chaps their tea (there's lovely !).
I worked out that I spent 20 hours planning 7 course for the event what with armchair planning, checking sites, tagging sites, putting controls out in the dark, collecting them in...the amount of work for an event is the same whether 66 or 270 (Gore Heath/Wimbourne, I counted them) orienteers turn up, it just makes you feel it was worthwhile if you get a good entry.
Bendover wrote
That's just poor planning, my courses were planned ok (a few people said they enjoyed them) so there was no following or giving controls away and also there was no b**ger there, 1 entry on the White cannot follow anybody!
I worked out that I spent 20 hours planning 7 course for the event what with armchair planning, checking sites, tagging sites, putting controls out in the dark, collecting them in...the amount of work for an event is the same whether 66 or 270 (Gore Heath/Wimbourne, I counted them) orienteers turn up, it just makes you feel it was worthwhile if you get a good entry.
Bendover wrote
but give me a forest any day. i'm not a big fan of those really short grass moorland areas in wales either - and its not because i've had bad runs on them! as a junior i won a national event and M20 at the SHI's on those areas.. they're just a bit boring, and you can see your competitors from miles away which puts paid to the technical difficulty.
That's just poor planning, my courses were planned ok (a few people said they enjoyed them) so there was no following or giving controls away and also there was no b**ger there, 1 entry on the White cannot follow anybody!
Cymru am Byth!
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freaky_phil - orange
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freaky_phil wrote:provided each finisher with fresh Welsh chaps !
Blimey - now that's what i call EVO It's a shame more people didn't come to your event Phil - i suppose we'll be feeling like that after sunday too. Incidentally guest (Brave anonymous soul) plenty of club's charge the same as us - although some charge less and as for directions - sorry most people find a grid reference enough to get a map up on streetmap - we assumed you could navigate
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Mrs H. - nope godmother
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each finisher with fresh Welsh lamb chaps their tea (there's lovely !).
oops meant to say chops, but maybe the girlies would prefer chaps
Cymru am Byth!
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freaky_phil - orange
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