Orienteering has gone to the dogs i tell you!

[Rockaldo]

But you can save it from oblivion...

ShUOC are putting on the event of the year, possibly the century although it will be difficult to beat Jukola i have to say. The two planners have both represented great britain at junior level and the map has been made by a member of the senior squad. We know what good orienteering is.

ShUOC does a great deal of work in getting students in to the club that are new to orienteering. We need your support. Entry closes soon. http://shuoc.union.shef.ac.uk/csprint09.htm

[Mrs H]

ShUOC does a great deal of work in getting students in to the club that are new to orienteering.

yes and it is particularly impressive that they are not just here for the beer as they seem to be getting stuck into club committee work and joining the local club I hear - well done - proper sports development and without an RDO in sight!

It looks like this year's race is very public transport friendly with the assembly being just round the corner from the station - we will be on the early train from Hope (which will be about as much hope as we have even if it is all down hill as Dave says)

[besty]

You hear quite well, Mrs H, but your sight is poor as the RDO has been at the heart of club development in SYO and in creating the kind of club which ShUOC members would want to join.

[Mrs H]

I was applauding the recruitment by Shuoc - not SYO!

[Blanka]

I was applauding the recruitment at Shuoc - not SYO!

No, Mrs H, but SYO are very instrumental in letting ShUOC put on the events they put on. Neither the Chasing Start events not BUSA would have happened without lots of expertise from SYO (I'm not saying ShUOC weren't the main organisers but there was an awful lot of input from SYO in terms of kit, mapping, computing, etc. etc.)

>> besty:

I wonder if SYO now offer junior rate for ShUOC members to join the club, letting them compete (perhaps) in things like the YBT or even club relays? When I first became a student at Sheffield Uni I enquired about this, and was told that if I am over 20 I have to pay senior membership rate (which at the time was more than WAOC and BOF rate together) whether or not I was a student so I didn't bother to join SYO. As a postgrad and thus someone who was around a lot more than the undergrads I could have easily got involved in planning/organising events, but this way I didn't (and I didn't plan/organise any WAOC events because I was too far away being a student based in Sheffield). Maybe this something worth considering as both SYO and ShUOC could potentially benefit?

[Mrs H]

Oh I know SYO to be an excellent and supportive club - although I doubt the rookies are aware of that when they sign up for Shuoc which is closer to the point I was making and I think it is great that it is a mutually beneficial arrangement - I hear there were quite a few Shuocers lending a hand at yesterday's CATI (although I didn't see it ).

I believe universities now have their own RDO - it will be interesting to see what benefit this brings in the next couple of years.

[besty]

I know you were talking about recruitment at ShUOC rather than SYO and what ShUOC are doing is excellent - looking for recruits beyond the existing orienteers who have come to Sheffield for its orienteering and seeking to recruit members new to orienteering.

However your throwaway line about there not being an RDO in sight is quite wrong

Firstly, the RDO supported ShUOC in applying for funding to BOF to use BUSA as a springboard for their outreach work.

Secondly, part of SYO's development stategy over the last two years has been to positively support ShUOC. SYO have always supported ShUOC - they have lent equipment and offered support and also put on Park races and a series of events on their best areas in the summer to deliberately offer opportunities to students s well as their own members. But more recently SYO have provided opportunities for new students by offering lots of opportunities to come and try it and have put on lots of local events from which novice student orienteers have benefitted.

SYO's strategy has not only ben successful in, for example, recruiting 22 new members since September 2009 but it has also been a contributory factor to ShUOC's success in attracting students new to orienteering and the formulation of this strategy has been influenced by their RDO.

So to say not an RDO in sight is quite wrong and misleading.

[Spookster]

I hear there were quite a few Shuocers lending a hand at yesterday's CATI (although I didn't see it ).

Since SYO has now appointed 2 ShUOC members in paid coaching roles, they may have been doing a bit more than just lending a hand. It's all good.

[Mrs H]

My apologies to Besty - I never questioned SYO involvement or support and I would hate the students to take some credit when they weren't entitled to it.

BTW the closing date for the Shuoc sprint is tonight

[Blanka]

BTW the closing date for the Shuoc sprint is tonight

Do people think it's excessive to have the closing date a whole two weeks before the event? Especially since ShUOC are not taking entries on the day*, a closing date next weekend would still leave a whole week to print an exact number of maps and allow for a few more people to decide whether their shcedules/injuries/etc. allowed them to enter? (Before you shoot me down for the comment, I was amongst the first people to enter the event! Just interested what the reasoning is behind the early closing date).

* BTW, to any ShUOCers reading this, the website still says "There will be very limited EOD if and only if Maps are available." so you might want to change this if you are definitely not taking entries as I have read elsewhere.

[madmike]

no I Don't think closing "a whole" 2 weeks beforehand is excessive - entirely reasonable

how do you know they can get the maps printed and to them in a week?

Bunch of students with no cars and militant postmen around...............

Completely agree that you can't send mixed messages abot EOD though. Particularly as I once drove to Forest of Dean when another club did the same. Fortunately a M75 didn't turn up and they let me run with his map.

And well done for entering early - if only you weren't part of such a small minority

[Rockaldo]

2 weeks before to ensure there are no problems. As has already been said there is no point taking any risks as regards printing and posting. I don't think people should need persuading to run this event, i would run it injured.