JK Results

[Spookster]

Pictures from the run-in, and prizegiving (for the Sprint), today.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/organize/? ... 9398300702

[Paul Frost]

Day 2 , Dunalastair RouteGadget now available.

[PG]

If we were able to change any of those four, it would not affect the prizewinners.

However, it would have affected the prizewinners if Sarah Brown (W60) had not been honest enough to admit that her 16 second split to no 1 was unreasonable and thus volunteering to be disqualified. She was disqulified and a minute was added to her split time: surely just the adjustment would have been enough?

I and the two people beside me only started at the right time because a start official moved us back a box. The tape layout was confusing and everyone was busy peering down the lane to try to read the handwritten lane markings on the map boxes, as there were no markers to indicate which lane was which. It is not surprising that people ended up on the wrong line.

[mappingmum]

The tape layout was confusing . . . . .

Sorry, but I totally disagree. A grid laid out with the number of courses on the horizontal, and sequentially ordered. Rows ordered by time.

Start time audibly declared by Mrs Graeme (to mitigate against competitor error) when I was there.

All the arrangements in place seemed perfectly fit-for-purpose.

[NeilC]

One problem was that the control descriptions were not presented in the same order as the start lanes. Competitors were wandering around looking for their descriptions and then because of that confusion were then uncertain which box they should be in. I certainly had to double check with the start clock - it wasn't 100% obvious and at my start time there were at least two people having to move forwards/backwards within the system.

Personally I feel that a time adjustment not a DSQ would be appropriate. Yesterday the officials were confirming that start time at the start line "You should all be 11:37".

Once started the courses were excellent.

[Tatty]

There were no numbers on the lanes until you were in sight of the map bags! There was a lot of confusion until you were on the front line. Agree with Neil - once started the courses were good.

[RS]

I agree with Neil and Tatty. I and most of my row had to move back as the people in front were wrong. Never had time to look at the map in the lane. Talking to others the scenario was repeated over and over again.

[Paul Frost]

Day 3, Craig a Barns RouteGadget now available.

[Duncan]

JK results now added to the UK Cup (http://www.ukcup.org.uk/). Current standings below. However, there is a still a long way to go, with best 9 out of 16 races plus the final to count. With the JK we've still only done 8 races, and hardly any runners have done all of them.

WOMEN:

1Rachael ROTHMAN SHUOC 390
2 Sarah ROLLINS BAOC 309
3 Helen BRIDLE ESOC 284
4 Tess HILL HOC 276
5 Claire WARD ESOC 268

MEN:

1 Anthony SQUIRE NOC 305
2 Oli JOHNSON SYO 262
3 Murray STRAIN INT 252
4 Richard ROBINSON NOC 232
5 Dave SCHORAH SHUOC 226

[AlanB]

I agree with Neil and Tatty. I and most of my row had to move back as the people in front were wrong. Never had time to look at the map in the lane. Talking to others the scenario was repeated over and over again.

I ended up on the front row a minute early; don't know how I managed it, and fully accept that it was my fault, but it is interesting to see that other competitors made the same mistake. I was about to ask about it when the official said I should be one box further back.

What disturbed me was the positioning of the competition maps: just in front of the last row of boxes with a map pulled out of the packet, face-up. Some competitors were openly looking at their map, even crouching down to get a better view. Surely an infringement?

[dorien]

So I've always wondered - what is the benefit of timed starts?

Seems to be pure downside: puts more pressure on both competitors and officials, latecomers change from moderate nuisance to major headache, race to the map becomes an elbowing rush rather than a polite arrangement on who goes first... and appears to be more prone to errors.

I must be missing something. Do we have competitors who deliberately miss an early time in the hope of better elephant tracks?

[graeme]

Do we have competitors who deliberately miss an early time in the hope of better elephant tracks?

No. At the JK you can choose your start block early/late.

We the organisers asked the question, and the given answer was "commentary": commentators need to know exactly when people started to tell you what's going on.

[Becks]

I've never heard of it happen in the UK, but here in the US starts are punching starts even for their biggest events, with no penalty for missing starts. This resulted in someone who wasn't happy with his position in the start list over a three day event "forgetting" his compass and starting just after the seeded block of people he was supposed to start just in front of. I think the JK is important enough to keep things fixed.

[andy]

So I've always wondered - what is the benefit of timed starts?

Commentary gets a bit more fiddly without, you can't tell how long someone has been out for sure, and technically it's harder to get start punch data back to the commentary team unless it's only a few classes in their own lane due to the number of people going through

it also helps keep things more structured / formal, which is great for big events like the JK, British, Scottish (and equivalents). Anything lower than this is fine with punching

[Big Jon]

FYI - the Scottish this year will use timed starts on the individual day.