Orienteering on radio?

[Mrs H]

The Younger of the Misses H. reported to me that she heard on the radio today a phone-in where people were invited to nominate Olympic sports and someone called and said "Orienteering"! Was it one of you? well if it was well done - that is exactly the sort of opportunism i meant in the WOC relay thread which raises general awareness - a wave which needs to precede greater participation.

[Stodgetta]

If it was the same mention I heard on the Christian O'Connell breakfast show on Virgin, it wasn't exactly orienteering promotion - they were looking for "alternative" sports to add in to the Olympics, and "canoe orienteering" was mentioned as a possibility, where one member of a pair canoed out somewhere & their partner had to go & find them....very much tongue in cheek, but got used in trailers through the day...it's not a serious show

[Mrs H]

Ha ha! no such things as bad publicity eh?

[SYO Member]

I heard something about orienteering being an Olympic sport but linked with sailing, at about 9:30 this morning on Christian O'Connell's show.

However, if it was also linked with canoeing, this reminds me of a 'Know the Game - Orienteering" book printed in the 1960's which I've still got somewhere.

One thing I have always remembered about this book was that it stated that 2 of the variations of Orienteering were Canoe-O and Horseriding-O and over the years I have always reflected on how wrong they were about these. Maybe they were only half wrong!

[Angry Haggis]

Canoe-O: http://sherpesblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/canoe-o.html

[geomorph]

Until I saw Angry Haggis' link to an actual event, I though the canoe bit was a wind up.

Not the unrelenting type so beloved of several Nopesport correspondents, but none the less an entertaining recreation, that with some clever control sitings can introduce limited elements of granularity skill.

There are few lakes in the uk for this sort of thing, but in the glacial lakes areas of NA and Baltic, with minimal shore disturbance to remove vegetative overhang, a lot of fun. In many areas you could use several lakes and introduce portages with their own controls. Portage could also be a route choice in a single lake.

Then of course you could combine canoe foot and horse and call it Triath-O and get £6m in UK-Sport funding - no, more cos its got two of the most heavily funded sports within it, so more like £12m.

[Mrs H]

Horseriding-O and over the years I have always reflected on how wrong they were about these. Maybe they were only half wrong!

Maybe they weren't wrong at all! I believe there is a horse riding varient which goes by the name of Le Trek

[Tatty]

Many years ago 2 memebrs of SOC organised a Sail-O on the Solent. They were both sailors, one of them competing for Ireland in the Olympics

[EddieH]

As a student I did a Sail-O on Lake Windemere - great fun until the wind died down.

[RJ]

Quite a few years ago (early nineties?) WCOC used to have a canoe-O as part of their summer evening event series. It was included for about four years, but unpredictable weather and canoe logistics nade it very difficult to continue with. We used Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwentwater.... and it was great fun!

Pony-O was also a feature of the WCOC calendar, way way back.... early eighties! Just a few informal events. A few youngsters at the time had horses!

[SYO Member]

So it looks like all those years ago "Know the Game" really did know the game.

I also recall a story about an event in Sweden in the 70's reported in The Orienteer, where one of our top ladies (Carol McNeill?) swam across a lake between controls rather than running round the edge. I've always wondered if it was true. Anybody else remember this?

[EddieH]

That was the norwegian KIMM, only run 2 or 3 times. It was the last leg - a lengthy swim or one hell of a long way roun. I believe that the runners had been notified that there would be a swimming option and that there was a safety boat. I also believe that the majority of competitors chose the swim.

[ifor]

I swam on a Capricorn in galloway the year they had a drought there. I did two accross the a loch routes but one was only a paddle the other was about 20 meaters of swim for about 200-300 metres less running. I swam a stroke or two on the Omm there but that was nothing to do with choice... and the same 10 years earlier for the kimm again in galloway nothing to do with choice normal galloway weather.

Ifor

[King Penguin]

I heard somewhere of an annual canoe-O in Lancashire - Ribble or Wyre estuary I think. Anyone know more ?

[Kitch]

I think the horse o' variant actually held a world champs last year in Toulouse