BOC

[Angry Haggis]

Someone asked if you can find out the actual distance run compared to the pixel length.

You can work it out by checking how many pixels to the 1km on the map. crop the map image to a know distance like the scale bar or grid lines then see how many pixels wide the image is. This gives you the pixels per km, then divide the route pixels by the number and you should get your answer.

I just did a quick test and got 370 pixels per 1km for day 1 and 390 pixels per 1km for the relay. You can check it by looking at a top performer and using their pixel count to compare to the stated course length.
Course 14, 10.2km, Paul Addison, 6th, 4178 pixels divide by 370 = 11.29km

I've used a slightly different technique in the past - picking a random runner that is unlikely to enter their splits in, and making them have a "perfect run" by joining the controls directly with straight lines. Dividing my pixel length by theirs, and then multiplying by the course distance, reveals how far I actually ran. No pixel measuring or scale bar squinting involved.

Only drawback is if said runner does subsequently want to enter their route and finds some random person has already done it for them...

[graeme]

Thoroughly enjoyed it . Since we're still in the Cross Country season, a cross country race was just the ticket . Interesting challenge to see just how far into oxygen debt one can be and still hold it together.

[Roger]

I was disappointed for the children in the M/W 10-16 B classes who were not given prizes. It means so much to these children and often encourages them on to greater things.

The more junior prizes (especially at 10-12), the more publicity: prizes (and even better, certificates) can be re-presented in school. We built a school club on the back of a prize being re-presented in assembly.
... M/W10B after all is effectively the M/W8 class.

Yes, prizes are a great motivator. My son won M10B British Champs one year, when M8. The following year's event clashed with a county chess match. Initially, in search of glory, he said that he wanted to go to the orienteering, but when I explained that because he was perfectly competent on yellow it would be unfair to run 10B again and he ought to move up to 10A, the chess won out.

Have just asked what's the greatest motivator:
* having name read out and being presented with something at the event;
* having name read out and being re-presented with something at school;
* acquiring something useful (chess score-book or coaching book, buff, socks etc);
* acquiring a trophy.
Being re-presented with something in assembly at school came out top, and glittery trophies beat useful stuff.

Although I sympathise with the desire to award more prizes, I'm not at all sure about giving more prizes to 10-year olds on 10B courses. They are largely self-selected (or parent-selected) to be 'top of the B'. Instead, how about awarding prizes to the top three M/W9 competitors on 10A (as well as the M/W10s)? And M/W11 on 12A? And M/W8 on 10B??

The drawbacks of course are cost and the increased length of the prize-giving. Personally, I wouldn't extend this beyond 11.

[HOCOLITE]

Another satisfied family here. We haven't done anything in the New Forest before so found it different to the steeper hills and tussocks we are used to. Agree with the comments about caterers, I was deterred by the long queue.

HOCOLITE; regarding course numbers, how about writing course number and start time on the back of the hand of juniors? Helps them get the right map, and the ink soon washes off in the uncrossable marshes.

Said junior had no. on hand but it was wrong no. that of male course and could not have found out when picking map up that this was wrong.

[djc]

On the food front I can confirm that Wilfs declined to come down just for the one day. The organisers looked long and hard to find a second local (less meaty!) caterer for Saturday. One was located but they then dropped out. Sorry folks...

[LostAgain]

Said junior had no. on hand but it was wrong no. that of male course and could not have found out when picking map up that this was wrong.[/quote]

I'm not sure that this situation can be catered for. I'm sure that if I wrote the wrong course number on my kids hands they would pick up that map and try to complete the course, never questioning whether said parent had got it right. They would certainly give me earache when they found out at download

[Freefall]

The co-ordinator of this year's JK ran off with course 11 instead of 15 (sorry to mention this Boris) so it stressed the importance of having extra maps just in case.

[Nimby]

Charles Bromley-Gardner asks in his (day 1) planner's comments how to get more than 3 classes into the control descriptions using OCAD.

I don't know, but would point out that CONDES has no such problem.

[NeilC]

Several ways that I've used in OCAD although none particularly elegant and all involve exporting the individual courses and manually editing each one to:
1) Reduce the font size of the classes
2) Increase the size of the box
3) Type in the classes elsewhere on the map

[PhilJ]

Charles Bromley-Gardner asks in his (day 1) planner's comments how to get more than 3 classes into the control descriptions using OCAD.

I too had this problem at a Regional event I was planning, I contacted OCAD and their reply was that only 3 could be shown and that they would have a fix for it some time - that was December 2007! I ended up just having the course number in the control descriptions and classes on another part of the map, with boards in the start lane confirming what course number related to which classes.

[PhilJ]

DM

HOCOLITE; regarding course numbers, how about writing course number and start time on the back of the hand of juniors? Helps them get the right map, and the ink soon washes off in the uncrossable marshes.

At a BOC a few years ago I did just that, my lad (8 at the time) had his course number (say 25) written on his hand to do M10B, but when he got to the start line the offical told him his course was 23, he did not question it. So instead of doing a M10B he ended up doing a M12A. My wife found him deep in the woods while she was on her course and he was going for his number 3. She picked up that he should be doing a White and only on paths and when she checked his course he was on a Light Green standard course !. So she could either a) let him carry on a course he had never done before in the hope he finished b) point him back towards the start or finish c) abandon her run and take him back to the start d) take him around her course.

She opted for d) and they both completed the W40L course and enjoyed it, the lad had never experienced orienteering like that before and my wife was happy that she could still carry on her course.

So from experience no matter what you tell your child if an official tells them different they will do it - well up to a certain age anyway <13.

[drobin]

At last years SOC CLassic in OCAD, I managed to display multiple classes over several lines by using text boxes.

ocad.doc

(51 KiB) Downloaded 210 times

[Scott]

All the cool kids use Purple Pen, innit. (Except when doing map exchanges, relays, or anything silly of that sort.)

From the new features list of the new version that came out on Wednesday: "The event title, and the class list/secondary title, can have multiple lines in them. This is especially useful for courses with many classes in them."

[Simon E]

A few photos here including one showing how hard Charlie had to work to keep ahead of Clive to win the M40 Relay.

Many of you will have had control 62, marsh, SE edge in the relays. When I got home I dug out a map of Hill Top and Dibden Bottom from an SOC Gallopen on 29th January 1978. Control 2 on Course C was XH, Marsh end, in exactly the same place. "Did you remember it?" asked my son James when I showed him.

Any advance on 31 years between visiting the same control site?