JK 2009 Feedback?

[Scott]

A good weekend - glorious weather, and I enjoyed the areas much more than I was expecting. Thanks to all involved. The sprint (especially the hectic/high-paced bit through the park) was one of the best I'd done, and the middle on Kyloe was great fun - I reckon I was only on tracks for about 50m in 5km. It's a shame the same can't be said for Detchant (et al.): once I'd made my route choice, I found executing the 2km track-run leg a bit tedious.

Organisationally (relays aside) everything seemed to go pretty smoothly, although I did think that the decision not to provide a urinal unit at the Sprint (there was one at all the other days) was a bit odd, and undoubtedly increased the length of the toilet queue - Newcastle was the one area where popping into the bushes wasn't really an option...

[Scott]

It's pretty simple as Oxford University excellently showed at BUSA this year. Map boards/trees.

I'm planning on raising the possibility of map boards with the JK2010 team at the next SWOA committee meeting, although I'm anticipating the usual objections of "the JK is too big an event" - unlike, say, Jukola - and "map boards are too expensive/time consuming to make/too bulky to store/transport", in which there is some truth - perhaps BOF should invest in a decent sturdy set and hire them out for a nominal fee to whoever wants them. I actually tried to track down the map trees from the 2005 World Cup for BUSA this year, but they appear to have vanished into the ether.

Actually, an additional comment on this year's JK relays... If you're going to hand out rolled maps to runners entering the changeover pen, you need to roll them in such a way that the control descriptions aren't visible by looking down the centre of the tube. There was lot of comparing-of-gaffles going on amongst waiting runners.

[LostAgain]

Thoroughly enjoyed the JK, thanks to all involved.

Like others have mentioned, pleasantly surprised by the the areas, better than last time I ran there. Good planning kept us out of the roughest areas.

The only organisational hitch we experienced was the bus at the relays which was essentially corrected by the delay in starts by 1 hour.

I thought that the people who felt it necessary to abuse the helpers who organised the queue for the busses should be ashamed of themselves. Those who deemed themselves too important to abide by the request for 1st leg runners to have priority and insisted on going on the bus should also feel ashamed. You get tossers in every walk of life and clearly those in orienteering showed themselves on this occasion.

[Becks]

Thanks to all, I also had a fantastic weekend. My only down point was the long leg on the girls/M120+ relay long legs, where the ride straight option looked like the best on the map (especially as earlier rides had been highly runnable and quick) but in reality was anything but. But that is really a tiny comment on what was an excellent weekend all round.

My other comment has nothing to do with this year's JK as such, but it an old story - why did I get a trophy/nice prize for winning W21L? Both myself and Victoria who won W20L were pretty embarrassed - congratulations, you're the fittest person to have chickened out of the elite. Can we just stop giving it out for these courses? Junior B courses yes, adults who just want to run a course that isn't going to kill them on a holiday weekend, no.

[RJ]

Awesome weather. It always helps to smooth the rough corners!

A lot of orienteers put in a lot of hard work to make the event work. Thank you. We all offer our help and volunteer, to repay for the time and effort other people give to stage the events we get to run. The sport won't work if we don't.

Sometimes things don't go exactly right, and mistakes are made..... but that really was a great set of events and most enjoyable. Thanks.

[Becks]

RJ, I'm surprised you're still alive after the large amount of anger your first leg runner was displaying in the pen yesterday!

[Freefall]

Officials' comments have started to appear on the main JK website (from Results page) and now include Alan Cranke's planning comments from Day 2 and my organisers comments from Day 3. There are also a few nice pics that I took on the day.

Also in response to an earlier question ...we did lose Relay parking due to too many woolly locusts in the fields surrounding Dipton and we had to find coaches very late on. The coaches were ready at 0730 but no competitors turned up despite being asked to arrive early.

[Harley]

why did I get a trophy/nice prize for winning W21L? Both myself and Victoria who won W20L were pretty embarrassed - congratulations, you're the fittest person to have chickened out of the elite

This attitude saddens me deeply and does nothing to encourage participation within our sport.

Well done Becks for winning W21L, but if you are embarrassed at not having run the Elite course, then you should keep that to yourself and put in more effort. HOW DARE YOU suggest that non-elite runners are somehow inferior and not trying their hardest.
People run the course that they wish given where they are in their lives.
If you are still orienteering when you are 34 you may actually feel grateful that you still have a course available where you can have a competitive run and not feel shamed by having to compare yourself against a new generation of much younger and much fitter elites.

[Scott]

The coaches were ready at 0730 but no competitors turned up despite being asked to arrive early.

Where was the request to turn up early? I somehow managed to miss it . The information in the programme ("The first bus will leave at 07.30 and then every 10 minutes (or as soon as full) until 11.00. Allow 20 minutes travelling time.") does make it sound like the journey from car park to assembly would take no more than 30mins, which makes it pretty likely that everyone is going to turn up between 8.45 and 9.15.

[LostAgain]

The coaches were ready at 0730 but no competitors turned up despite being asked to arrive early.

I have to say I missed anything that said turn up early as it will take 1.5hrs to 2 hrs to get from parking.

I only noticed buses would run from 7.30 and at 10 minute intervals unless filled quicker. Journey time 20 minutes.

I sense someone trying to rewrite history......

Glad the weather was nice, would have been murder otherwise.

[Freefall]

I was not involved in the detail for the Relay Day but yes it looks like the sums were not right. Apart from the obvious inconvenience (I hate waiting for public transport) does anyone know if the queues actually caused any runner to miss their run? It was a minor glitch in what was otherwise a well organised weekend. Factors outside our control e.g. horses on the A1, University bringing forward their £multi-million rebuild, cattle loose on Day 3 approach road and Highways Agency removing our signs for Day 2 were all dealt with appropriately and efficiently. Let's focus on all the good things but we can all learn by our mistakes - after all some of you might be organising JKs in the future and your organisation will be perfect

Colin Matheson Day 3 Organiser

[Gnitworp]

I actually tried to track down the map trees from the 2005 World Cup for BUSA this year, but they appear to have vanished into the ether.

The original 'trees' (invented by me ) were made for the 1991 Harvester and have been used at many subsequent Harvesters. They are very easy to make out of a triangular section of 75 x 75mm softwood (aris rail) 'sharpened' at one end with an axe, with 25 x 19mm softwood 'arms' nailed to one of the short faces to point slightly upwards for the rolled up maps, and a 'Correx' or similar plastic board showing the team number fixed to the top of the aris rail. We made them for 120 teams.

[DanH]

why did I get a trophy/nice prize for winning W21L? Both myself and Victoria who won W20L were pretty embarrassed - congratulations, you're the fittest person to have chickened out of the elite

This attitude saddens me deeply and does nothing to encourage participation within our sport.

Well done Becks for winning W21L, but if you are embarrassed at not having run the Elite course, then you should keep that to yourself and put in more effort. HOW DARE YOU suggest that non-elite runners are somehow inferior and not trying their hardest.
People run the course that they wish given where they are in their lives.
If you are still orienteering when you are 34 you may actually feel grateful that you still have a course available where you can have a competitive run and not feel shamed by having to compare yourself against a new generation of much younger and much fitter elites.

I don't think Becks is saying that there shouldn't be a 21L/S/N but that you shouldn't get prizes for winning it.

I am all for giving prizes to the B classes in the juniors to encourage participation (although I would still only give top 3 to M/W10B and winner to the rest) but it seems a waste of money/everyones time at the painfully long prizegiving to give prizes to the third best M55S (no offence whoever that was!) who would probably get beaten by the majority of M55L runners. You can still have "competitive" runs but I don't see why you should be rewarded with a prize.

[bedders]

There was lot of comparing-of-gaffles going on amongst waiting runners.

Really? Surely anyone who did such a thing ought to be shot.

[Scott]

Really? Surely anyone who did such a thing ought to be shot.

Death would be too good for them.