Navigate to finish?

[Homer]

Another good example (should that be bad?) from today.

The yellow (and JM2/JW2) course at Arncliffe Northern Champs finished with 'Navigate 210m to Finish'
There were tapes from the penultimate control to the last control which was on a boulder in the middle of a block of forest (and the first control on M40L!). Competitors were then expected to navigate out of this block of forest to a un-manned finish in the middle of a straight stretch of forest road.
I know of at least one competitor who had trouble, taking over half an hour from the last control to the finish! Is this any kind of record?!!

[EddieH]

I noticed a very long (minutes) split on the last day of Portugal O Meet. Maybe it was because the finish circles were some distance from the last control, but in reality it was about 3 seconds. My mother was not alone in running past the finish by some distance.

[Glucosamine]

I once lost about 15 seconds on a 'navigate to finish' because I didn't know where the control units were relative to the Finish Banner. Cost me a place.

What goes around, comes around five years on ... Runin this morning on Blue and Brown crossed some rather grotty vegetation, so it was a relief to see the finish banner in open forest and have the chance to push the final few metres to the banner without having to worry about saving oxygen to think. But where were the finish units as vision started to blur? In true pantomime fashion a call of 'behind you' saved my bacon. Apparently I wasn't the only one to be caught out. Reportedly the units may have been moved from their initial placement to make them more obvious to shorter courses approaching from a different direction, but where there is a banner can the units PLEASE be kept adjacent?

Took the gloss off what was otherwise an enjoyable event, despite the mud and prickly bits.

[Red Adder]

It least it had a banner - at an event I went two 2-3 ago there was no banner - or flag - just a couple of unmarked finish units beside a path (presumably in the centre of the double circle). Apart from very simple cat D / level 5 events I'd never ever been to an event - let alone a Cat B / L2 one, where such a thing happened. Ok it was the same for all but it never ceases to amaze me how controllers, who can be most pedantic about lots of things, can let things like this by them.

[Gnitworp]

I think, since 2008, finishes have thankfully become more obvious, but please, please continue to make them unmissable, because, remember, they don't have a description.

I've just planned an event that had a 40m taped route to the Finish, but the Council plonked a new football pitch on top of my Finish a week before the event, so I reduced it to 8m taped (fastest split 4 sec). Worked like a dream.

[SIman]

Take care with very short legs. The new SI Card 11 flash for about 5 seconds after leaving a unit and cant be used in another unit during that time.
We had a problem last week when the check and start were too close together.

[Gnitworp]

Emit- no probs.

[NeilC]

Emit- no probs.

Southampton City Race?

[EddieH]

Where were you planning Gnitworp?

"so I reduced it to 8m taped (fastest split 4 sec). Worked like a dream."

fastest split to the finish 8.3 mins/k

[Sunlit Forres]

The rule book says..

3.5.1
It is important to ensure that the Finish is easily located. "Navigate to Finish" should
not be used except (sometimes) for score events where the Finish will normally be next to the start. In other cases, there should be an ordinary last control (with description) and then a taped route, which can be just a few metres, to the Finish.
3.5.2
As a minimum the Finish should consist of a punch unit and control flag, preferably
with a prominent Finish banner. There should be no possibility of a competitor being unable to find the Finish after they have visited the last control.
3.5.3
The Finish should be manned as it may often be the first place where a competitor can
report that an injured competitor needs urgent assistance or a problem with the course.

It shouldn't happen in an event with a qualified controller. Those of us who know about these things need to take the time to point it out to whoever's in charge at the event. But remember to thank them first for everything else they've done right.

My own view is that there should always be a decent-length run in. Fastest run-in competitons are popular with a lot of folk, especially the kids. I got some stick from some club members once for running a club fastest finish comp at a 6 Days. It put too much pressure on those who didn't want to run fast. Sometimes you just can't win.

[Ali Wood]

Since the introduction of e-punching why do MOST events not place a flag at the unit - particularly as finish banners are rarely placed over the unit?

Valley of Desolation last week did not fall into this terrifying trap. As the planner I felt so proud at having placed a kite here accurately and confidently. It gave me a warm feeling compared to 20 other sites where I was expecting complaints... (and did get 1)

[Gnitworp]

:shock: Where were you planning Gnitworp?

"so I reduced it to 8m taped (fastest split 4 sec). Worked like a dream."

fastest split to the finish 8.3 mins/k

Fastest split for a 0.5m run in would have been at least 1 sec - 33.3 mins/k

[Nimby]

Does anyone make generic, off-the-shelf "Start" and "Finish" feather flags for (say) £50 or less?
We have the classic banners but they need tress or guyed stakes to tie to and that's not always possible or convenient. Bespoke feather flags are very expensive, but can go anywhere.

[andypat]

There seem to have been an unusually large number of people who missed punching the last control at yesterday's SOL. Seems relevant to the discussion above but cant work out why that would be. Anyone any ideas? Was it simply an outbreak of "finish fever"?

[Gnitworp]

"finish fever"?

Suomi the way to go home?