CompassSport Cup Final

[DanH]

On a slightly different note: start lists are now up and on the brown course SYO have 4 of the last 8 starts (and 7 out of last 21). Fair enough if it was seeded on quality of runner but isn't there some rule that splits runners from the same club up a bit, at the moment Rob Baker, Oli and Craney are all within 5 mins! (although I've got a nice start time bang in the middle)

[RJ]

"Event Guideline".....Competitors from the same club should be separated as far as is practical, and not on adjacent time slots.....

Depends on whether you see the 'current start list' as being in the spirit of the competition..... but it meets the letter of the rules! The SYO Brown runners are probably going to be at the top of the results anyway regardless of when they start. But it doesn't look good does it?

[Snail]

Not sure that it does meet the letter, and it certainly isn't in the spirit, of the rules.

Event Guideline states:

Competing clubs should initially be pre-allocated an equal number of start times, in rotation, through the start period.
...
Where it is necessary to allocate additional start times to a club these can be taken from vacant start slots not required by other clubs. Runners from the same club should be separated as far as practical and not on adjacent start times...
...
A club wil only be allocated additional start times if they have nominated runners to all their original allocation...

That doesn't look to have happened. The original start interval on Brown looks to have been about 20 minutes (although there are 22 eligible clubs?), which over 3 hours only permits 9 runners per club, so clearly SYO had a number of additional runners needing to be slotted in. But there are plenty of gaps earlier in the start list where those runners currently after about 13:20 could have been slotted in that would far better meet the "separated as far as practical" requirement.

If I was the SYO team captain I would be feeling a bit embarrassed.

[Homer]

If I was the SYO team captain I would be feeling a bit embarrassed.

How do you know it is down to him? Surely more likely the entries secretary is the one at fault?

[King Penguin]

Suggestion for future - ask qualifying clubs to estimate the number of runners they are likely to have per course before the initial allocation of start times. They will not be 100% accurate, but they will be more accurate than the organisers assigning the same number of start slots to all clubs.
I knew as soon as the slots were circulated we would be about 5 short on Brown and Blue men, and had spare slots we would not be able to fill on Orange and Vets Short Green.
I advised the organisers of this immediately, but was told more slots could not be allocated until all entries were in.
I suspect the bunching has only occurred where extra starts have been added. The original spread was probably even, but we were allocated 10 Brown starts and with 3 extras added we now have 2 runners starting just 2 mins apart. Neither will mind me saying that they are not our best and will not challenge the course winners, but in other circumstances it could make a difference. For example, we have an ex-member (one of several lost by BOF withdrawal of local membership, but that's a different thread) who is a very good MM runner but poor navigator. Were he taking part and starting 2 mins before one of our best Brown runners he could easily get caught early and towed round.
By my counting SYO have 19 runners on Brown. Assumining they were initially allocated 10 starts like us, the only way to accommodate the 9 extra without rejuggling all slots for all clubs will have been to add them to the end, which is what seems to have happened.

[Spookster]

If I was the SYO team captain I would be feeling a bit embarrassed.

Actually, I think Tim will be feeling confident. But no more or less so as a result of the rather uneven start time allocation by LEI - it won't effect the result on that course.

p.s. I'm one of the 19 SYO on Brown. I won't score, but I'm going anyway because I support my club. And who knows, the sun might shine and the forest might be nice...

[Snail]

Sorry - didn't mean to imply that it was SYO's fault - just that they appear to be an unexpected beneficiary of a faulty allocation.

On current evidence there is no way that the extra runners needed to be added at the end of the start block. With a nominal split between adjacent runners from the same club of around 20 minutes, there are lots of gaps in the Brown course start list that are more than 2 minutes from an existing SYO runner: 10:52, 10:56, 11:29, 11:43, 12:06, etc

[DanH]

it won't effect the result on that course.

True, but potentially could if it was the same on other courses, I don't know names of people well enough to know if something similar has happened on them.

[Mrs H]

Errr - excuse the diversion - SYO type people - young Neville now needs a lift back to Sheffield - any chance someone could oblige

[geomorph]

it's in NORTHANTS not Leicestershire.

LEI covers most of Northants north of Northampton and east of the M1. OD is around Daventry and SMOC south of Northampton.

As to LEI's costs - I'm sure that they will publish, as with the BMDOC, the accounts after the event, and these will show that their profit is in the range +5%-5% of total income.
Not unreasonable.

What maybe needs to be considered is is it worth using areas that have such high usage costs (land access, facilities etc) unless the quality of the experience is high. Whilst I agree in part with Gross that it's the people present who make the competition, for those of us who go to support the club and don't contribute points to the total, part of the experience is the area itself.

LEI put on a really good organisation show for BMDOC. I'm sure they will do that again and the weather looks to be bright and dry, which will make for good running even in the brambles/thorn bush

[MAPS]

Mrs H, room in our car for Neville, ask for Paul or Marcia at SYO tent if still needed.

[Spookster]

Well, the sun did shine, and I thought the planner did a good job of using the nice bits, and not forcing us to go into the grotty bits. It was a track run in places, but it was probably as good a course as was possible on that area.

I missed the prizegiving unfortunately. Had to go and collect Lesley from Kettering A&E after St Johns got a bit concerned about the all-over rash she came out in, after being bitten by something. Anyway, she's fine.

And I hear SYO won

And I was just about to ask who won the Golden Boot and in what time, when a club mate knocked on the door and gave me... the Golden Boot!! Not sure what you young lads were doing on the run in...

[jjjl]

Had to leave early, anyone know who won the trophy?

[JennyJ]

FVO

[besty]

Are there any results posted yet?