Is Orienteering a sport?

[SeanC]

I sent a press release promoting our local league to the sports reporter of a local newspaper and got the following response:


"Hi Sean,

This isn’t something I would deal with as there is a major question mark as to whether orienteering is even a sport.

I personally don’t believe it is but I have forwarded your email to our news team and they may well do something on it.

Cheers"


I'm tempted to be smart in response and say that there is a major question mark as to whether his newspaper produces any news, but maybe should try and educate this journalist.

Any response probably has 3 seconds to get his attention. What would you write? Any articles, video clips to recommend?

[andy]

response (or similar):

Yes it is a sport, perhaps you'd like to define your notion of a sport?

Here's what orienteering is:

Cross country running with the added navigational challenge, fastest time from start to finish (through the points marked on the map in between) wins.

If you want to find out more, we can give you a free entry to our next race: race details

[Mrs H]

Have to say I'm quite shocked as I've never heard of this happening before. If you don't get the coverage you want (and it has to be said that general news pages actually are more widely read) then I think you should complain to the general editor about the response which is plainly ignorant (but then sports reporters were seldom the brightest of the bunch) and the newspapers failure to represent community interests.

STOP PRESS
Covert message from Porkyfatboy

Sean should offer the hack an exclusive scoop on how government sports bodies are wasting public funds by supporting activities that are not sports (shock!)

he he he

[AlanB]

Actually, I've noticed that our local paper often puts orienteering stories in the general pages, or even the centre, feature sections. I'm sure the articles get more generally read there rather than in the sport section but I wouldn't like to think that we were 'banned' from the sports pages.

What ignorance that 'sports' editor is showing. I wonder whether he would change his mind if orienteering gained acceptance into the Olympics?

If you do reply then I would like to how he defines a sport and why orienteering does not meet his definition.

There has been a lot of whining recently from print journalism about the traditional newspaper sector being under threat from free news sources on the web. It is not the internet that is the problem but the low quality of print journalism!

[RJ]

SeanC, you are likely to be sending material to this person in the future once you have ironed out his preconception. So think carefully about how you reply.

Perhaps say that last weekend there were about fifteen competitions around the country with several thousand competitors taking part. Thirty members from our club competed at ..??... British Orienteering boasts about eleven thousand members, who regularly race most weekends.

A minority sport, yes, but I'm surprised you haven't heard of it before now.

[Red Adder]

Perhaps the newspaper man isn't the brighest spanner - or m,aybe his experience of O was with the scouts who often say they do orienteering but actuually mean map and compass navigation exercises rather than the sport as we understand it.

There is a good chance of him coming round with a bit of further explanation and offer of lots of free copy (ie doing his job for him).

[Adrian]

I sent a press release promoting our local league to the sports reporter of a local newspaper and got the following response:


"Hi Sean,

This isn’t something I would deal with as there is a major question mark as to whether orienteering is even a sport.

I personally don’t believe it is but I have forwarded your email to our news team and they may well do something on it.

Cheers"

Maybe he was confusing orienteering with chess?

[Becks]

This is awful! "I clearly have no knowledge whatsoever as your sport, so I am going to say it's not one."

It makes me despair! Why not respond - "I wasn't aware that orienteering was a competitive sport - care to enlighten me?!"

Offensive and idiotic, really.

[HOCOLITE]

Thankfully our local rag is happy to put our league reports in the sports section. We do report on league positions and emphasis that the competition is hotting up However I'm have to say cribbage and bridge also appear in the sports pages, no insult meant to the players of these games who are very skilful but I 'm not sure I'd classify them as sport but I have just called them games so where should they go

[mappingmum]

Sean,

You Must Reply to this journalist, else s/he will continue to think orienteering is rambling/map reading which I assume is what they are thinking. But you mustn't be rude or patronising as you may need them in the future.

My first thought when read the post title was that it was about snooker so . . . .

"Is it really a sport?" is a question often linked with the gentile game played with x balls on green baize not the fast paced, running whilst map reading sport of orienteering.

Perhaps you could attach a link to one of those fast and furious follow-me youtube videos?

You could politely point out that as his remit was a "sports" reporter it does include map running.

I think an invite to your next event is in order. Tell him to bring his photographer and someone who is prepared to have a go.

[cbg]

As I frequently have to tell various Army fund protectors, sorry managers, "No it isn't"! It is a valuable medium for the development of basic essential individual military skills (navigation, obviously, terrain and map understanding, fitness, self-reliance, even robustness), so we conduct it as Military Training, particularly on Wednesday afternoons. And with Afghanistan village mapping appearing at 1:5,000 scale, even urban orienteering has its place ...

Sorry, too tempting ....

[mharky]

Maybe show him a youtube clip showing the start of this years Jukola...

[DaveK]

Sean - Your 'local' newspaper might be different to the Kent/East Sussex ones I used to deal with when our club's publicity person'; as I used to have some occasional success with a good local story. Don't know what you gave them, but I think the answer is to provide some copy that they can use virtually as drafted, leaving them just to change the odd word here and there for professional 'pride'. They seemed not to be bothered with general 'Press releases' - too much like hard work - though with attitude you encountered this would probably not be enough anyway.

Did get a centre spread once locally on the sport, but they used a library photo of an overweight elderly scoutmaster with a map in a map bag hanging round his neck (and not the lovely one of the two juniors racing across a stream (with parental written consent) which I provided. Could have cried . Local editions of the Kent Messenger have been fruitful in the past. Good luck!

Dave

[SeanC]

Well I responded to the journalist in a pleasant enough way. Sent him a YouTube video from the 2006 WOC as well. Will report if he responds.

Yes I think it would be more read in the general section of the newspaper, but I figure that they wont publish an article on every event in the general section as it needs to be "news" and news = something different/some different angle, as Dave describes. If it goes in sport then they might report after every event in our new local league, though probably just on their website and not in the printed edition.

Makes me think though that maybe orienteering publicity (including stuff I've done) makes too much of it being "for anyone, run or walk at the speed you want" which just plays into the mis-perceptions of the Orienteering brand has with some people. Maybe "there's some easy courses for juniors and beginners - but this is a tough sport for hard people" would be better.

[Electrocuted]

I just googled 'orienteering pictures' and this came up at the top:-

http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images ... ering.html