Northern (England) Night Champs

[the exile]

Reflective tape is for wimps - what's the point of having night events if we're going to make them as easy as in the daylight?

"but white/orange kites on a white snowy background with snow covering the top of the boxes made it difficult to find the controls event within a few metres"

Why are orange/white markers being used for night events? Reflective markers should always be used for night orienteering - they reduce the random/bingo/unfair element markedly. I am amazed that a major night championships went ahead without proper equipment! What were the planner and controller thinking?

If people don't 'get' Big Jon's argument, then I'm not sure they 'get' orienteering at all.
Orienteering, and thus night orienteering, is a sport ..... not a bloody treasure hunt.

[Fourth]

If you find the feature you find the control. If you cant see the control when you are at the right feature check your descriptions, you are probably on the wrong side. The only case where you wont be able to find the control (assuming you navigated correctly) is if it has been nicked, so no-one will find it, so you carry on and report it at the finish and still get a result.
Hence the only argument for reflective tapes is to assure a competitor they are in the wrong place if they cant find a control. Which sort of defeats the navigational challenge of orienteering as you no longer need to be confident of where you are. Or something along those lines.
In my opinion. I accept that others may differ in their opinion.

[EddieH]

For a point feature, that is valid, but a re-entrant, sput, vague hill ......

Last year's SNC had a hill top which was so flat and vague that the contour marking the hill was about 4 times as big as the control circle. So just how do you navigate to the EXACT centre of the circle?

[SJC]

Last year's SNC had a hill top which was so flat and vague that the contour marking the hill was about 4 times as big as the control circle.

Not a great choice for a control site then ?

[madmike]

Last year's SNC had a hill top which was so flat and vague that the contour marking the hill was about 4 times as big as the control circle.

Not a great choice for a control site then ?

Exactly my thoughts and if you really have to use this type of vague (non-existint in terms of precision) feature - build a tripod!!