Shock! Horror!

[graeme]

The Green and Blue will probably be the largest classes...

Top quality new map on a new area. Championship standard planning and controlling. Level-A standard organisation and facilities. All for £7 !?!?!.

Clearly BOC is providing the bargain of the year

...but it's worth another £18 to run against you, Homer

[LostAgain]

The Green and Blue will probably be the largest classes...

Top quality new map on a new area. Championship standard planning and controlling. Level-A standard organisation and facilities. All for £7 !?!?!.

Clearly BOC is providing the bargain of the year

...but it's worth another £18 to run against you, Homer

Not for me... I get a thrashing from him at least twice per month! for a similar £7.

Blue for me.

[Dave]

Absolute nonsense. Whatever prizes there are are almost certainly sponsored and the only cost to the organisers is a few not-exactly-expensive medals

You really expect to get a British Long Distance Championships medal for running a short course, without competing against the best in your age group?
Surely the question should be why are there short courses?
Doesn't it make more sense to plan the A class for every age group and those who can't/don't want to run their course run n/c on a different course as they would at any local/badge/regional event..?

[SeanC]

For those that are feeling bad about parting with their BOC fees for last year, SEOA generates much of its income from big events like BOC and JK. That money goes to fund the junior squad, organise SEOA competitions, put on more big events etc. I don't know if NEOA are doing the same but I'm sure they could use the money.

It's easy to slate the more remove BOF and say that all the money is wasted, but would the sport really be better off with a BOF further starved of funds?

It's worth reading the summary of the 2013 BOC finances in the SEOA minutes here: http://www.moorenet.co.uk/seoa/minutes/ ... 2dec13.pdf. SEOA received just over £4000 for BOC, I don't know if or how much individual clubs got. Maybe it should be more for all that hard work? There is plenty of development work the extra money could help with in SEOA.

For those running green/blue instead of championship course, fair enough if you're short of cash, but if you can afford to run the championship course, is it really in the best interest of our sport to do green or blue? That T-shirt someone suggested.. it could read "cutting off my nose" (front) "to spite my face" (back).

[Sloop]

Hear hear. That's what I was trying to say.

[Sunlit Forres]

I entered Green at the Scottish 6 Days 'cos I wasn't good enough or fit enough to do the M50 course (aka the M50L). Short courses have never appealed; I've always felt faintly embarrassed whenever I've finished in the top few and get congratulated whilst folk coming 20th on M50L go un-noticed. But it still proved my most expensive run ever as my back went just before the finish straight on Day1 meaning no more orienteering for 6 weeks!

[aiming off]

It's worth reading the summary of the 2013 BOC finances in the SEOA minutes here: http://www.moorenet.co.uk/seoa/minutes/ ... 2dec13.pdf. SEOA received just over £4000 for BOC, I don't know if or how much individual clubs got. Maybe it should be more for all that hard work? There is plenty of development work the extra money could help with in SEOA.

And the key point from these SEOA minutes was.

"However, we were required to produce a budget that indicated a surplus of £15,000, and BOF should consider the possibility that this produced an entry fee so high that people are discouraged from entering."

[awk]

Yes, I will gulp when I sign away £50 for two entries, but I will feel more relaxed when I put it into the overall context as above, or compare it with buying two theatre tickets or two restaurant meals.

You live in the wrong part of the country DJM! We've just bought two tickets to see Of Mice and Men at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds: £12 each (and no, we're not buried away in the gods - they don't exist at the WYP. The seats are the cheapest, but excellent). Top price tickets are £17 each.

And going to the theatre doesn't involve all the extra expense of the accommodation and the travel. As for those meals out? Well, most of them have gone already as we're saving up for our orienteering holidays!

[drobin]

Well Mrs Smith has just spent £49.50 for a ticket to see 'Strictly', so going to the BOC is the cheap option!

[Sunlit Forres]

I just asked the missus (who does the occasional local event when the weather's nice) how much she'd expect to pay to enter the British Orienteering Championships.

[Mrs H]

.......and what did she say? I also have tickets to see Strictly on sunday - but they were presents from my children

[Sunlit Forres]

and what did she say

Just sayin'. She ignored me completely. She was trying to follow the plot of Silent Witness. Just thought that people might be interested in my efforts at Friday night conversation.

[DJM]

Top price tickets are £17 each.

Or £28 if you look at the website ...

Looks like your £12 is a bit like the BOC Blue course (only more expensive) and £28 is the British Champs course equivalent (only more expensive).

I rest my case!

[DeerTick]

Initial thoughts .... wow, steep.

But then, two NFL games at Wembley last year @ £80 a pop, and well worth it. Transport was much more the issue.

So, for me, entry fee is virtually irrelevant when set against travel and accommodation costs.

AP

[Mrs H]

I'm guessing the logic behind the extended range of colour coded courses is the fact that the organisers think a lot of the short course runners (like me)will think it's too expensive for a non-championship course and so won't go which may also affect other long course runners in the same family unit and would also impact on the number of relay teams.....

......but if that was the case perhaps they'd have been better to offer a short green instead of a blue.