frog wrote:Why Graeme would someone who took a shorter OOB route still gain a significant advantage if that leg was voided?
As I see it, they gain an advantage in two different ways:
1. They made a navigational mistake, which should have cost them time, time which would have put them behind others who didn't make that mistake. Instead, by their actions, the leg is voided, thus giving them the significant advantage of not having to count their mistake.
2. I spent some time on the longer leg to 18 making sure of my route to 19. This cost me running speed, a decision I took because I calculated that getting 18-19 right was worth that time. If the leg is voided, those who didn't take that time gain an advantage from my slower running.
This is why, in general terms, I'm in the camp that doesn't like voiding legs: orienteering is not a series of discrete legs with no interaction. It's a continuous course, and needs to be treated as such.
BTW, those who were caught out by the mapping issue at Skipton lost time by taking the route they did, so Graeme is right about the the fact that there was no significant advantage - rather the opposite in fact!