Level 1 Regional Championships (trophies and titles)

[Barny of Blandford]

The South West Middle Distance Orienteering Championships to be held at Gore Heath, Dorset on Sunday 15th February 2009 ( was used for British Schools selection race for World Schools in 2007) will be an open event - in other words anyone may enter.

However the South West Trophies for the winner on each course (not age group except for juniors) will only be presented to the first South West finisher (as happens in the Caddihoe at present)

We probably will also be generous and present something such as a small edible prize to the winner - so it is possible that some winners who are also South West members may win two prizes

In recent months we have been to the Irish Championships and the South-East relays and although we competed and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves we quite rightly did not expect to qualify for the prizes. It is their championships not mine. That I think is the correct way to run it

[PG]

Trophies don't have to be expensive

I don't think a trophy for the course winner is necessary, just recognition, preferably with an (edible?) token prize. If the course winner is not a closed trophy winner then have both on the podium. Then you don't have to explain to the local press photographer that you have managed to get to the event, who is already baffled by the number of classes, that the people on the podium may or may not have been winners of their classes.

[roadrunner]

Trophies don't have to be expensive

I don't think a trophy for the course winner is necessary, just recognition, preferably with an (edible?) token prize. If the course winner is not a closed trophy winner then have both on the podium. Then you don't have to explain to the local press photographer that you have managed to get to the event, who is already baffled by the number of classes, that the people on the podium may or may not have been winners of their classes.

I can't see that the press should be too confused: at many road races, it's quite normal to hand out prizes to the first few on the course (in the relevant age classes), followed by county championship medals, prizes for the fastest local resident and so on.

[distracted]

From a development point of view - how do restrictions, in general, encourage participation?

[Clive Coles]

I am finding this thread quite revealing ~ the stats bar indicating that opinion is divided right down the middle.

This for me indicates a failure in communication ~ what are the new Regional Championships intended to be ?

Are they to identify and recognise the best orienteer in the age class in the stated region or are they a National Championship by another name.

I voted at the beginning for Regional Championships to be the former ~ trophys only being awarded to club members in the region concerned. I was though concerned that a region has no identity ~ we organise by Associations.

It strikes me, having looked at some recent results of our own Midland Championships there is a lot to be done to rekindle enthusiasm for this level of competition. Far to many classes have 3 or less competitors. What is the point of travelling the length and bredth of the country to find you have championed over nobody but yourself.

The classes attracting the better competition tend to be the veteran classes ~ our younger members a probably more attracted by the more recent innovations such as the Urban City race league ( well done Nopesport ).

We all have a finite amount of money to spend on travel costs ~ for me who lives on the coast of East Anglia it would be a round trip of over 400 miles to attend a Midland Championship in Shropshire. I am sure Ludlow based orinteers would have similar objections to a championship in East Suffolk.

Are we flogging a dead horse by kidding ourselves that folk want more national style competitions ? I am not convinced that by making the championships open you will attract significantly more club orienteers to attend.

If we go national however we will keep those orienteers happy who like the opportunity to compete against their class leaders on a more regular basis.

But we do need some clarity from either the BOF Board, the Rules group or the Events restructuring committee as to what we should be staging. We don't really want some regions putting on open championships and others closed championships. I don't really care which of these committees issues the authoritative statement but one of these bodies needs to make up their mind.

If the stats bar at the head of this thread is representative of opinion what ever they decide 50% of the more vocal orienteers are likely to disagree with the decision. This is a dilema of our own making.

[NeilC]

But we do need some clarity from either the BOF Board, the Rules group or the Events restructuring committee as to what we should be staging. We don't really want some regions putting on open championships and others closed championships.

How clear would you like it? Only members of Southern Clubs can win Southern Championships ditto Midlands and Northern.
http://forum.nopesport.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9177&start=0

[Legolost]

Regional champs should be just that.....regional. Prizes and trophies at these events should be eligible only to those regions members. I do not believe that there is any merit in removing layers of competition/structure in our sport by making everything 'open'. The aim should be to promote participation of local club members. I believe that by making these events 'open', this may have a negative effect on junior members. By having a larger number of regional winners at any particular would promote more competition at a national event and and so enhance greater enjoyment at all levels of the sport.

[roadrunner]

If we go national however we will keep those orienteers happy who like the opportunity to compete against their class leaders on a more regular basis.

But aren't most contributors saying that it's only the championships that are (or should be) closed - the events themselves are open to all to participate. If you're from outside the region, you could win your class, but you can't be regional champion. So if someone wants to compete against their class leader at all these events, they'll be able to (as long as the class leader enters them all as well ).

[EddieH]

Wel quite aside from my already expressed belief, if these events are to remain closed local affairs what the heck is the point of deciding that these will be the 4 extra level 1 events each year? I fear a potential price hike with large numbers deciding they won't bother to go there - then a repeat of what we've seen with the devaluation of National events even to the extent of what has happened to many regionals in parts of the country.

The Scottish Champs means less to me now Ias an eligible competitor for this parochial event than it did when I was not an SOA member but it had real status and higher quality fields.

Why are people concerned about more than 1 or 2 national meetings? BOC is THE championships, JK and potentially these events give another opportunity to compete on a nationwide basis. It's just like WOC is the World Championships, but the World Cup still gives major international competition.

[NeilC]

I expect that a lot of other things will get hung on these championships such as selection races / FCC / UK Cup etc so that they won't be that "local".

Unfortunately I suspect that National Events will never be as popular as they once were. I see this as an attempt to try and resusitate them, the alternative must have been to drop them completely.

I have no idea whether allowing outsiders to be crowned champions will make them more or less popular. There are valid arguments on both sides, I suggest though that it won't be a major factor for most competitors.

EddieH suggests that BOC is THE Championship. My experience, particularly at junior level, is that the JK provides the greater level of competition and is the harder one to win.

Decent competition does seem to be an important reason why people go to a specific event. The November Classic in the New Forest for example regularly has a very high entry with out offering anything particularly special, and certainly not offering any trophies or championships. What is has is a brand identity. We can only hope that these new championships can also gain this.

[distracted]

I would hope by the very nature of these events that people will want to travel to them, and hence they will provide the best competition outside of the British Champs/JK, i.e. as the review intended them to be.

So the Regional Championships should offer everything that you would expect from a top-quality championship event. The best areas the UK has to offer, quality maps and planning, age-class and elite courses, well set-up assembly areas with a good social atmosphere, radio and spectator controls, commentary, a decent prizegiving ceremony for the winners of courses as well as the trophies for the regional winners, articles and reports on the British Orienteering website, etc etc. They should be made the spectacle that a national-level event should be, and hence be worthy of the UK Cup/FCC/World Ranking tags that they will likely gain.

[HOCOLITE]

Re Distracted's posting who pays for this. I can tell you that providing this means the clubs are out of pocket, BO wont support it, and surprise surprise the members don't want to pay more.

[Gnitworp]

Re Distracted's posting who pays for this.

More punters?

There was a time in the dim distance Elysian past when we used to get commercial sponsors for championship events

[Adrian]

1. There should be a greater number of regional and county champions decided annually. And there should be recognition of two types of champions: those who win a one-off championship race, and those who have the best aggregate performance over the season. (cf. the FA Cup and the Premier League)

2. Regional and county championships should be open, with the prize going to whoever wins, wherever they're from. However, the title of regional/county champion belongs to the highest-ranked competitor from the region/county.

3. BOF should be flexible with members who live on the edge of regions and choose to belong to a club over the border. Those members should be given the choice (annually) of which region they are registered under.

[graeme]

From a development point of view - how do restrictions, in general, encourage participation?

By giving a wider range of people the chance to get excited about an event where they have a chance of winning. Like the Varsity Match for example

Unfortunately I suspect that National Events will never be as popular as they once were. I see this as an attempt to try and resusitate them, the alternative must have been to drop them completely.

I think this pretty well sums up the Working Party view. From a Scottish point of view, we've managed to establish the Scottish Champs as the third big race of the year (with BOC and JK). It's up to other regions to decide if they can also be bothered (I'm not holding my breath...).