How did recreational sport get so extreme?

[oo_wrong_way]

Despite orienteering not really being an extreme sport I managed to make it so at NWO's West Woods event today. Ho-hum, must train more.

[andy]

http://www.youtube.com/user/ToughMudder?v=vh5HdPM_QuE

Videos like this are why. It's professionally done and looks amazing. I've never seen any O video come remotely close to something that looks as awesome as that

[epocian]

http://www.youtube.com/user/ToughMudder?v=vh5HdPM_QuE

Videos like this are why. It's professionally done and looks amazing. I've never seen any O video come remotely close to something that looks as awesome as that

At £70 a pop for early entry and £90 normal fee I would have thought it's a tad expensive for the average punter

[Paul Frost]

Can you describe the "average punter" please?

[greywolf]

Videos like this are why. It's professionally done and looks amazing

Nope, it looks dumb and even a bit camp, in a Gladiators sort of way

[Clive Coles]

Reminds me of the annual Maldon mudrace ~ a lot cheaper and just as muddy.

http://www.maldonmudrace.com/main.htm


Is that what it takes to make it an adventure sport ?

[andy]

Nope, it looks dumb and even a bit camp, in a Gladiators sort of way

I'm not even talking about the content of the video... It's a sharp image, they've used slow motion really well, it just oozes quality. This is the kind of thing people who sit at home and watch sport in HD will be taken in by (plus, of course, the bonus 'man points' for wallowing in mud, jumping into a lake and crawling under live wires). Our best video seems to be the BOC relay one from the 80s! BOF (or nopesport? ) should hold a 'best 2min O video' competition with a few prizes and see if there's anyone out there with a half decent camera and an eye for editing.

[graeme]

andy,

I'm not going to argue about whether this is appealing to 21s because its subjective and almost by definition, you should right and I should be wrong. But I do find it strange to have a sports video which at no stage addresses questions like "who won" or even "who is in the lead". When I did JK commentary, I had some criticism for concentrating on the race rather than the colour of people's hats and the troublesome enkennelment of their dogs. Must be a generation thing?
Though MrsH would no doubt have been pleased to hear the dog news


Ps - just checked before posting dog enkennelment, but not anymore.

[andy]

That's the point though, a promotional video shouldn't focus on who won whereas commentary probably should (we agree on this!). A video should focus on what the majority will experience in order to catch the attention of a potential newcomer. The (vast) majority of people who take part in any event like this aren't going to win so they are there for the challenge.

[greywolf]

well here's an orienteer with a slo-mo camera:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztagPvs7cII

[Becks]

Tough Mudders here aren't even timed. It's emphatically not competitive.

[SJ]

Exactly Becks - it is not really a (competitive) sport at all is it? In a similar way to like British Military fitness classes, various other gym classes and even interval/hill sessions to an extent, these events integrate sport such as running and plenty of exercise, but above all are fun challenges which do not require years of disciplined training as opposed to races or competitions to see who can get the furthest/highest/shortest time/most goals.

One of the descriptions I noticed (from the link above) was that these events are designed to test strength, stamina, mental wit and camaraderie. As Paul said earlier, no "particular skill" - reinforcing the idea that it's not really competitive sport but unfortunately it may be competiting for similar market share to orienteering. Or is it? Maybe the sorts who go orienteering have a different mindset to those who do these events in general? (I am hypothesising and I know that there certainly are some that do both o and obstacle events.) Or maybe people are looking for something to do to get them outside and these events are better marketed and higher profile and get in there first - and importantly I think, do not require practising on basic, 2km courses first and learning of nav skills and so on (ie, no commitment needed to get good potentially).

I wonder if we will see any more "Orientator" events from "All About Triathlons" - I get regular emails with no mention of O-related events - shame really as I thought they were good fun and the business seems to be doing a lot of events although maybe focusing on those where high entry fees are considered more acceptable like open water swims.

I have little (make that zero) interest in crawling through mud/wires/going up slippery surfaces and so on. They just get in the way. If I'm faced with a route choice down a nice path or through a deep, muddy marsh/up a steep crag, then I'll opt for the most efficient (ha, in theory) - ie the path unless significantly longer. I love running in terrain and up and down hills but like it to have a point - ie, I climb up a crag to get to my control more quickly than to go round the crag. I guess I'm not very tough

[madmike]

Having seen SJ's reaction to being up to her armpits in muddy water during an OMM, I can confirm she has zero interest in that aspect of the sport

[greywolf]

Given a reasonable budget and some decent kit it would be fairly straightforward to produce an impressive orienteering promo: just cut iconic moments like the Jukola mass start, the OMM in driving rain, etc with shots of happy kids sprinting to a white course finish and panoramas from scenic control sites on Scottish hill tops, mix in some staged “live” action shots from a mini helicopter of Murray on the Barbican walkways or XXXX [edit: name removed to avoid embarrassment ] in a croptop blasting through some ultra-runnable forest, then slap on some house or uplifting trance…

The thing is, it might look good…but it wouldn’t be a very accurate representation of the sport, especially for a newbie. We might insist that it’s a running sport, but it’s also a cerebral challenge, and for the majority of us, at most events, the extent of the physical challenge is strictly limited by our navigational incompetence: the reality of mostly middle aged folk pootling about in the forest is not so telegenic (and that’s without considering the hideous kit ).

[Clive Coles]

and that’s without considering the hideous ki

t

We are missing the chance here ~ lets scrap the full body cover and go for skimpy kit. It did wonders for sports like Beach Vollyball.

Then throw in losts of mud and gore and then apply for Olympic status. That should keep the media couch potato's happy,