Manchester Chasing Sprint

[Wendles]

Thankyou to everyone involved in today's event which was most enjoyable. The contrast between park and campus provided two very different challenges and I am still kicking myself for going the wrong way into control 5 on the chase and losing my placing! Won't make that mistake again, hopefully!

[awk]

Yes, great event. My thanks to all involved too. Didn't get number 5 in the final wrong, but did join the number 7 club in the preliminary round (but at least went back to punch it!). Lesson well learned I hope, and at least it set up an exciting chase for me in the final!

[ADTongue]

Thanks for all the postive comments (including those on the day), the event was a pleasure to plan. Id like to express my thanks to all the marshals and helpers for helping the event to go ahead. As my first attempt at planning the courses, I can safely say that I will be planning again in the future. The process was very enjoyable.

To those who ran the long course, what are their opinons on the 'cluster' (controls 2-3-4-5) on the southern part of Platts Fields? Im currently writing the notes to pass onto next years event planner. Enjoy it? Hate it? Let me know! Any other areas of the courses that people enjoyed/disliked?

Awk: Its surprising that leg caught out a few people! I should have really made it clear by putting the number 7 in the pond (not the control, just the number).

Maybe a score next year in Platts fields, with a 100 point control on the hill in the "pond"

Special thanks to the organiser and controller for making this event go so smoothly and correcting my courses.

Routegadget and results are up at http://www.mdoc.org.uk . Check out http://www.umoc.org.uk for the university team!

Andrew Tongue
Event Planner 07-08
Captain 06-08

[Wendles]

We both enjoyed the quick turnabout of controls in the Park. I was a bit dischuffed about the control over the fence (no.12), my better half could reach it through the fence whereas I couldn't and went round which must have taken more time. A friend said he vaulted the fence. Would it have been better placed on one of the trees away from the fence if you wanted us to go into that area?? Not whingeing though, well worth the two trains, taxi and bus to get there!

[awk]

In answer to your question Andrew, the cluster was the best bit in the prelims! In fact, it would have been good, if manageable, to have had a second cluster near the end. Given how easy the terrain was, the only way you were really going to up the technicality was to require frequent changes of pace and direction, and a couple of clusters would really make that work - this is pretty much what we were given at the World Cup race at Battersea. The dullest bit was leg 12 for exactly the same reasons. My only other comments are that strictly speaking, I think control 7 couldn't be legally approached according to the map (not the first time that has happened in recent races), and leg 14 encouraged people to run out of bounds, cutting across the olive (only a second or two, but adds up!).

Hope that helps.

[EddieH]

I hate to critical of an event that I was not at, and would, I am sure, have loved. However looking at Routegadget, I cannot understand how a control can be allowed in an Out of Bounds area. What are the competitors supposed to think? Obviously you are expected to go out of bounds otherwise you couldn't punch. Thus you can hardly blame the majority that according to Routegadget have ignored the Out of Bounds later on the course.

The worst about this is that it makes tese people less likely to keep out of marked private land next time, and maybe that will be the time that gets use of an area taken away, or just bad publicity...

[ADTongue]

We had altered the description of that particular green colour to "settlement and garden" from the orginal "settlement". The area is completely part of the park and so hence would satisfy the "garden". For future use we may well change it.

Blank maps of the areas were on display in the registration area with the full legend on it.

[Ed]

I wasn't there either, but the description of the symbol in the map legend is irrelevant*: according to the ISSOM, the olive green colour designates an area not to be crossed. Gardens could perhaps have been better mapped using the two yellow colours (open land for grass, rough open land for bare soil etc.?).

*anyone who was at my training day in the Lakes a few years ago will have a map with "tagliatelle", "spaghetti" and "black dots; large, small" in the legend. Those looking for a plate of pasta will have been disappointed.

[DJM]

Ed is absolutely correct about this! You must never redefine any map symbol in the legend as this will only cause tears later on ...

... especially with ISSOM (Sprint) symbols as it is crucial for all to know what's impassable or not to be entered and what's not. So if one symbol means you can cross/enter at one event and the same symbol means that you can't at the next event - well, you can see the consequences.

As Ed says, the only solution is to change the symbol used and not the definition of the symbol.

[Blanka]

I am guessing we are talking about control 7 on the long prologue? Surely if there were paths drawn through the olive green then you are allowed to go through it when you stay on the path?

[Nottinghamshire outlaw]

Congratulations to the students of University of Manchester who are so keen on orienteering that they have put on these sprint races - especially as they are probably newcomers to the sport. Their captain certainly came into orienteering through his school team!

[awk]

I think the thing is to learn from this. As I said in my post that pointed this out, it isn't the first time I've encountered this. There is a whole range of things that are different with ISSOM maps that we are all having to learn about. Yes, it happened, but nobody lost out as it was obvious what the intention was - just something worth taking on board for next time. The main thing to take away from this Saturday is that a really great event was carved out of two otherwise somewhat unprepossessing areas, showing what can be done with terrain that would have been completely ignored a few years ago, and providing, for instance, much better competition than most regional events over the past year or so. As Nottingham Outlaw says, congratulations to UMOC; I hope something similar will happen again next year.

[swat]

Thanks to all involved in putting on this excellent event, I also thoroughly enjoyed it.

Control 'clusters' - good. I also liked the close proximity (though on clearly different features) of long and short course controls in the final - something extra to think about under pressure (even though it cost me two places!)

[liamcorner]

Unless the park map has changed since last year, I don't think it's an ISSOM map. Which means the olive green is crossable - unless it's the sprint race rather than symbols which change the crossability rules Really enjoyed last year - only injury kept me away this time. In fact I think there were 3 or 4 controls in the various gardens last time.

[Snail]

... I don't think it's an ISSOM map. Which means the olive green is crossable ...

Is this right - I have always interpreted the olive green (symbol 527?) on non-sprint maps as being out-of-bounds - whether or not it has a purple / black o-o-b screen? ISOM2000 seems a bit ambiguous... I agree it doesn't say that 527 is permanently out-of-bounds, but it permits a alternative black line screen in certain circumstances which most people would interpret that way.

Not that I intend to try it out by running through the next house / garden mapped just in olive