In the evening we were passing an Irish bar and what do we see on the telly... a trac-trac graphic of an orienteering map. It turned out to be coverage of the Finnish elite series races earlier in the day. Some great shots of runners battling it out in the forest and on the run-in. Not the average kind of sport on the telly you would normally get in a pub! The entire event was obviously planned for maximum TV-friendliness and likened the coverage of cross-country skiing and biathlon. None of the stilted pictures you often see of orienteers but some real, intense action.
On the same subject, I see that the last leg of the 10-mila may be shortened in order to fit in with the planned live TV broadcast of the finish. Is this a sign of the times, a necessary option to accomodate the wishes of TV companies or is it desecration of a grand orienteering institution?
