The Demise of Elite Junior Orienteering Competitions

[King Penguin]

Another never-was vet here (but who chauffeured 2 sons to 6/6 FCC Finals) who is entirely in agreement with mharky - bring back the FCC as a series of spring events with a Final which means something for international selection. The future of the sport lies in attracting and developing juniors, not in the likes of me. I'm sure we could get enough support for a motion at next year's AGM if that is what it takes.

[Gross]

The power to change things is in the hands of the membership. When I decided I needed to be elected to BOF Council many moons ago I simply went to a BUSF social & got the proxy votes there.

Believe enough & you'll get the support.

And I agree with Mharky and I'll also throw in that there are management / employees of BOF who seem to be guiding the events programme who should know better as they came up through the junior system

[mharky]

Here would be my theoretical FCC for 2013, let's call it the Inov9 Junior Cup or something...

23rd Feb - BUCS Long, Sheffield
2nd Mar - Welsh Champs Middle, Newborough
2rd Mar - Welsh Champs Long, Newborough
16th Mar - FVO Middle, Rannoch
17th Mar - FVO Long, Rannoch
29th Mar - JK Sprint, SCOA Reading University
30th Mar - JK Middle, SCOA Hambledon
31st Mar - JK Long, SCOA Coldash

FCC Final
13 Apr - LOC Middle, Lakes Grizedale
14 Apr - LOC Long, Lakes Graythwaite

This leaves BEOC and BOC as separate events in their own right.

Wow, what a season! I'm excited by that and I'm not even a junior and it's not even real! But that is how, in my opinion, the junior elite season should look.

[RS]

Looks very good to me - and a good geographical spread

[mharky]

Yep, I made sure about that... this year I didn't go south of York...

[mharky]

I remember in the past that the qualifiers for the final were announced at the JK, and it was a matter of pride for some people that they made it. The lists were also posted up on the results board and people cared. It's a great way to engage our aging population in the juniors.

[King Penguin]

Need to open up BUCS to those not currently eligible, but I suspect organisers would not object to a few extra runners, providing there is nothing in some BUCS small print somewhere to prevent it (even if they have to be "guests" or course test pre-runners).

[AN-Orienteer]

16th Mar - FVO Middle, Rannoch
17th Mar - FVO Long, Rannoch

I hope they do a better job than at this years JK day 2.

[Mrs H]

I would have travelled to support my children in that series (I assume the BUCS event would have been open to non-students FCC competitors too).

Id just like to stress that while this is an elite series of events aimed at aspiring elite orienteers, the kudos of the series definitely resulted in keeping a large number of non-elites engaged in the sport when they would otherwise have drifted away - I know this to be the case which somewhat refutes Graeme's argument. The key to that was awarding the top 3 competitors in each class at the final automatic selection to JWOC. You can decide for yourselves what their motives for aspiring to that was - it doesn't really matter - we need as many young elites as possible but we also need as many young orienteers as possibly - whatever their level of orienteering prowess.

[mharky]

BUCS/BUSA been an FCC race in the past [2005, Warwick, 20's only - MN], and open to guests as well.

[Lard]

I wholly support Mark's ideas.
I too can't believe how BOF have moved away from a very successful FCC and UK Cup format.

Mark - your programme for next year is excellent! Barring one ommission - Ralph Street is planning to resurrect the Terrain Time Trial on Great Tower - on the morning of the Lakes middle event in April - so a perfect weekend to select a fit JWOC team - TT, middle and then classic race with Sprinters being decided from JK and BEOC Sprint.

Why don't we just run with it - who needs BOF's involvement to make something work? A chat with the selectors may be all it takes for them to see sense.....

A-N-Other, or whoever you are - Slagging of FVO for the JK.... and like the JK was an FVO event? We just got told to stage the day and got very little in recompence for it. Don't blame FVO for the assembly/parking/planning etc that wasn't FVO making them decisions.

[andy]

Why don't we just run with it - who needs BOF's involvement to make something work? A chat with the selectors may be all it takes for them to see sense.....

One of the more sensible suggestions I've seen!

I'd be happy to help with the points calculations.

[Mrs H]

Who are the selectors?

[graeme]

Why are BOF being allowed to destroy junior orienteering in the UK?

I don't believe they are. They're shifting their focus away from elites to people who just want to go orienteering, which is very different and very necessary. I know you don't come to many events, but when you do surely you noticed there's nobody to beat?

As you point out, UK cup and FCC have already collapsed. You can't blame the National O league for that. And it should also now be clear you can't rely on BOF to fix it for elites.

Why don't we just run with it - who needs BOF's involvement to make something work? A chat with the selectors may be all it takes for them to see sense.....

That's exactly what you should do. Master's Cup was nothing more than a spreadsheet and a website, if you have JWOC places on offer you'll have more impact.
Worth noting that in mharky's opinion, in my experience, and in Peel's unilateralism there is clear agreement that working through the BOF committee system is not the way to get anything done.
Lets do it!

[SJC]

Worth noting that in mharky's opinion, in my experience, and in Peel's unilateralism there is clear agreement that working through the BOF committee system is not the way to get anything done.

If the FCC needs a Spring set of events with JWOC selection up as one of the prizes in order to be successful then it is the selectors that need convincing. It was their decision a few years ago to stop using the FCC as a guaranteed way of qualifying for JWOC.