Orienteering is dead

[Arnold]

Well, at least it's dead as we know it.

When I started Orienteering in the UK (in 94) the calendar was full of Badge and Colour Coded events, which typically attracted 500-1500 for the former and 200-800 for the latter, depending on area, time of year and part of the country.

Now the calendar is still full of Badge (Regional) and Colour Coded (Local) events, but the former struggle to attract a few hundred, and the latter often have less. A few recent examples from the Fabian4 list:
- Caddihoe Chase 450
- Welsh Champs 275
- Dales Weekend 430
- Haslingden Grane 160
- Dorset Delight 250

And they're all Regionals. With more time I could get better statistics but the trend will be the same.

Now the good news is that a few events are bucking the trend:
- High quality events like JK and Scottish keep attracting 2500+ (less so the British). Also very established Regionals like the November Classic which still have 1,000+
- City races: 500 each for Oxford and London and increasing fast
- Some low-key local races (street, evening) which can attract 100+ for not a lot of effort

But the calendar is still full of the same Regionals and Colour Codeds of 20 years ago, with the same (large) amount of work needed just a lot fewer people attending. In simple economic terms, demand has shrunk by two thirds but supply is practically the same. With volunteer numbers declining in line with competitor numbers, that just isn't sustainable in the long run as ever more demands are being put on ever fewer volunteers. Which is why Orienteering is dead or will soon be, at least as we know it.

It needs to re-emerge as a slimmed-down calendar with very few but excellent quality Regional+ events, plus quite a few real local events (ie, 3 courses not 10, and no frills). And at least 50% fewer small Regional / Colour Coded events. Possibly 75% fewer.

Amazingly enough BOF have actually figured this out (despite all the BOF-bashing going on) and that's precisely what they are trying to push with their new events structure. But there are some extremely powerful forces at club level impeding progress - most notably by insisting that this year's event structure is the same as last year's - a Regional event and two Colour Codeds in many cases.

The good news is there are a lot of experiments happening and they're often working (City races, evening races) but looking at the whole calendar there is a step-change reduction in supply that needs to happen at some point, and we'll probably have to accept it. Personally I hope it will happen soon because it's not going to get easier if we delay it.

[Mrs H]

Arnold - do you read my column ever in Compsssport. I have written much the same as this on a couple of occasions but you'd be surprised how strong the wave of denial is on the subject - almost aggressive - particularly in a certain age band. I understand their point of view - they've been putting all the effort in all these years and now they're not getting a fair return on it - but i honestly don't see a way out for orienteering in its present incarnation.

I think the thing which is making more of a difference to numbers at events at regional level in the last year or so is fuel prices. They're not going to drop are they?

ps 180 entered our local league event at Founhope on sunday - only 155 have entered our regional event at Titterstone by the cheap closing date

[EddieH]

At the Scottish Sprint Championships weekend (new format) with facilitis laid on and a top quality new area we got 105. The next day at a conventional C4 INVOC got over 200 - a number not seen at any such event in the north for decades.
On Sunday they got 88 to a far north C4 in appalling weather (a reasonable guestimate of the numbers that you'd expect in such weather at that venue a year or 2 ago is 25).

SunlitForres made a point on another thread that Moravian's regular events are very important in building up a membership wishing to commit to the sport, but that the aim is that then people will wish to travel further afield to experience other venues - as indeed I believe has been happening in the excellent examples of MAROC and GRAMP.

IMO if orienteering becomes purely a local matter (particularly in many dullish English areas) the sport will fail as those that really love the challenge will simply decide that the same area again is not interesting enough to bother with.

Both are important. If regional events in England are in major trouble maybe it is because the officials put in no more effort than for a local event, so if the courses are not likely to be different from last time why bother?

The sport is definitely not dead up here - C4 numbers seem to me to be up significantly year on year over the past 3 years. Maybe you want to look at what the clubs up here are doing, but maybe that's not it at all - perhaps we simply have the most fabulous terrain that constantly provides a challenge - I don't know.

I certainly get the feeling that the South East also has a thriving O scene at least SO appear to have a winning formula. However again it is possible that their terrain is generally very enjoyable to run in thus attracting regular usage.

[Gnitworp]

.....and there's also plenty of it, Surrey being the most densely wooded county in the UK.

[frog]

The conventional C4 was at Anagach though, which is an excellent area. TAY had our training weekend at Aviemore that weekend and 1 reason I chose that weekend was to go to Anagach on the Sunday (the sprint champs weren't in the calendar at that point).
Our numbers for events aren't dwindling, although some folk are fussy about what they'll attend, yet you still need low key local events to attract beginners.
I think the SI/ OCAD/ Condes has made the prospect of organising and planning events a bit daunting for some folk.
We currently have a landowner not keen to let us map his wood because he's concerned that he sees orienteering as a growing sport and sees his wood being overrun with thousands of us. ? a negative effect of a successful 6 days.

[SeanC]

I wouldn't say orienteering is dead, but any sport where membership and participation is declining has a life expectancy unless the trend is reversed.

The local event vs district/regional event will rumble on for ever. I would probably go for more locals vs less regionals/districts than others, but compromises are needed - if people's voices are ignored, good people feel disenfrancised and go elsewhere.

One way to square the circle IMHO is publicity. Whatever your club's event structure, are you doing everything to tell people about the events? Judging by the number of clubs that don't have a publicity officer the answer is likely to be no in many cases. Perhaps rather than dropping a regional or district for three local events, drop a regional or district to give time for publicity? If we can get gently increasing numbers through successful publicity initiatives, then we can avoid this event structure argument - keep the existing regionals and districts, maybe even add a few, but add lots more (well publicised) local events as membership and participation increases.

[campervan]

Eddie, the Sprints in Forres were unfortunate in that they clashed with several other events in the north- a huge cycle sportif around Applecross and a multi sport event at Loch Morlich come to mind. ( I was entered in Lossie but ended up picking folk up from Morlich. All 8 of our group ended up competing at Anagach.) Perhaps this is ironic, because Moravian have been so good at recognising that people like doing lots of different sports nowadays, rather than primarily one, and Moravian have been successful in recruiting from these other disciplines.
I also note a point Terry O'Brien has made elsewhere, that it is a fair bit easier organising an event if there are no Juniors and no loo's. IMO the distinct advantage that O has over other sports is the participation at different levels- age 8 to 80. Its certainly what attracted us to the sport and I still look back fondly to that cold day at Dallaschyle when Granma and Grandpa were out on the courses at the same time as their grandkids. Loo's i dont mind, but the TD 1, 2 and 3 are really important to us, and I suspect to the future of the sport.
Perhaps its different up here in the north, so much to do....

[awk]

Now the calendar is still full of Badge (Regional) and Colour Coded (Local) events, but the former struggle to attract a few hundred, and the latter often have less. A few recent examples from the Fabian4 list:
- Caddihoe Chase 450
- Welsh Champs 275
- Dales Weekend 430
- Haslingden Grane 160
- Dorset Delight 250

Without wanting to detract from much of what you are saying, just to slip in a wee note of caution. Whilst this was one of the smallest Dales Trophy weekends in years, the event was somewhat affected by the coincidence on the same weekend of the City of London Race and the Junior Inter-Regionals. Looking at entries to these, I reckon approximately 120-150 lost entries due to these races.

Having said that, we've been gratified by the success of local races such as our summer sprints - which ties in with some of what you are saying.

[roadrunner]

I think one of the reasons why there are still lots of Regional events (albeit with a smaller turnout than previously) - and it's been said before - is that clubs can charge more for these (i.e. people are prepared to pay more), and that's perhaps the only way they can cover the cost of professional mapping.

It's true that the same mapped area could be used for several local events (as opposed to one regional event) before needing re-mapping, but I still think clubs would find it harder to make the books balance that way. I'm sure that many of them map an area for a regional event, then re-use the map for local events and training until it becomes too out-of-date.

[Sunlit Forres]

I can understand where you're coming from Arnold but I think you're wrong.

I can only really speak for my area of the country (North East Scotland) but up here the sport of orienteering is positively booming. There are more events than ever before, and our own club's membership (Moravian) is better that I can remember. From looking at GRAMP, MAROC and INVOCs websites they seem to be enjoying a similar results.

Why is this? Quite simply it's because there are more, and better publicised, local events. Our club holds at least one Saturday morning event per month, and we regularly get 50-60 competitors (and hence pay no BOF levy and make a profit!). We hold fewer 'district' events, but those we do hold are considered to be something special, and are highlights of our season, hence they attract many more than in the past.

Smaller, more manageable events are a good thing. In particular they are easier to organise with less car parking space required, and they give scope for blooding new organisers/planners. They are also essential in order to give newcomers the chance to get to grips with the sport without having to travel for miles to orienteer on a regular basis. I do admit that the large number of local events acts as a disincentive for people to travel longer distances (I include myself in that category) so maybe this is a hint to clubs that they should hold fewer 'district' events and above, concentrating instead on smaller local events and work to make their 'big' events really special, using their best areas (or even new maps).

Let's not forget that many of the new orienteers we're likely to attract are also very active in other sports (not to mention other interests/hobbies). In our club we have national standard junior swimmers, ice skaters, a 1:06 half marathon runner, junior rugby players and even a season ticket holder at Inverness Caley. The fact that we've been able to retain (and develop) people like this is that the sport's been so accessible to them - they might not make it to every event but there are always some they can get to.

BOF have done some excellent work and deserve plaudits for stimulating this drive for 'more local more often'. They need us all to embrace that concept , and all of us in the sport should work together to support the concept rather than constantly bleating about how things should have been done differently. When BOF publish the participation levels I think we'll be in a better position to draw conclusions.

[Arnold]

Interesting to note to apparent difference between Scotland and Southern England. In Scotland it sounds like you didn't have a lot of events before and now having more local events with 100 ish people is a good balance.

In Southern England many people would be able to go orienteering 40 weekends a year if they're prepared to drive an hour or two. But many no longer are, at least not 40 weekends a year.

Feels like one day we'll meet in the middle. It's just the way down is more painful than the way up.

[distracted]

I think one of the reasons why there are still lots of Regional events (albeit with a smaller turnout than previously) - and it's been said before - is that clubs can charge more for these (i.e. people are prepared to pay more), and that's perhaps the only way they can cover the cost of professional mapping.

The model for area use of many of the clubs in Southern England seemed to be based on the following principles:

- we can only use our best areas once every n years for our big regional event
- we get fixtures protection across the south for said big regional event so everyone has to turn up if they want to go orienteering that weekend
- therefore we make big profit from our one regional event each year
- oh, and we can't use our good areas for regional events, so our colour-coded/local events will all be on the smaller, lower quality, frequently used areas...

So maybe people are realising that the regional events aren't offering anything extra over a local event, yet they're being charged twice as much? And that events at the lower levels are going to be on the same old crappy bits of terrain that everyone knows too well, so they don't bother turning up? Perhaps the club would get a better turnout if they used part of the 'good area' for a smaller colour-coded the year following the 'big event', rather than using the local bramble patch yet again?

Also, it seems a bit pointless to get an area "professionally remapped" to then have it sit dormant for 3 or 4 years before the next event, and then need another complete remap, as some clubs seem to do. Surely that's making a rod for your own back, and perhaps spending a lot of money that you didn't need to!

[RJ]

Also, it seems a bit pointless to get an area "professionally remapped" to then have it sit dormant for 3 or 4 years before the next event, and then need another complete remap, as some clubs seem to do. Surely that's making a rod for your own back, and perhaps spending a lot of money that you didn't need to!

One way of dealing with the 'nice big map' is to split it into two/three/four sections. Quite often the large areas conveniently break into logical smaller sections. Use OCAD to create whatever number of maps and then only give one of those maps to the planner of the next colour coded event. Yes the Brown has to go round twice, have second 'master maps' (back to back etc), but the rest of the courses work fine on the smaller area.

That way the 'larger area' doesn't get used to the point of familiarity, planners are obliged to be more inventive, and the area/map gets paid off more quickly. Also, each of the smaller bits can be updated more easily just before they are used.

[SeanC]

Most clubs in the south now put on local Saturday or evening events, a big improvement since the days Arnold describes. I think there is a consensus that the way forward is many more of these - towards the 40 or so Southdowns put on a year. But for most clubs being like SO is a tall order in the short term. They are a big club with many more resources than most southern clubs.

Different clubs have different problems: land access, mapping, too many areas, too few areas, club spirit, money, getting enough volunteers, event structure, publicity, coaching..... Examples of good practise on websites are helpful but can seem abstract compared to an individual club's issues and don't usually add up to the answer. If those that need to do the change at club level feel isolated, change can be slow as individual clubs struggle to find the way forward working on their own.

I would like to see more on the ground help for individual clubs. Perhaps some serious reviews of club development strategies by RDO's and/or the great and the good of British Orienteering? - some of you reading this maybe?

[Mark T]

I've said it before and I will say it again, entries are far too expensive. Our family will no longer pay to run on rubbish areas that are over priced. I would rather spend the money on petrol to get to Scotland or the Lakes to run on quality terrain. Take the CSC Final for example, a rubbish area and very high entry fees so we didn't go. If orienteering is to continue then clubs need to drop entry fees and not just by 50p! Colour coded events shouldn't need to be more than £3 or £4 for a senior and badge events £5! Juniors no more than £2. Clubs may find numbers increase and they make more money but even if they don't surely it would be better to get 1,000 people to an event rather than 200!