Start Kite

[eddie]

Peter Hodkinson is getting angry. Do you have to visit the start kite?

[distracted]

From what I remember:

BOF rules - no - unless there is a compulsory route to it.

IOF rules - yes.

[eddie]

So BOF event - do want you want

IOF event (WOC/WREs etc) - make that visit

[King Penguin]

How do you prove you have been there, unless there is an SI until there ?
Seems inconsistent if observation / verbal reports from third parties are acceptable evidence of visit for the start kite but not for any other control site.

[andypat]

One for whoever is taking over from that beardy Kerno bloke on Compasssport...

[Arnold]

Good planning should mean that you can't avoid it

[Freefall]

IOF Rules include the following statement "The point from which orienteering on the first leg begins is marked in the terrain by a control flag with no marking device and on the map by a triangle". That would imply that it should be "visited" but doesn't quite state it categorically. I am sure Mr Rosen will put us right (but he doesn't have a beard)

[DJM]

BOF Rule 21.3 The starting point of the course must be marked by an equilateral triangle of side 7mm which points towards the first control. The centre of the triangle shows the precise position of the start point.

Successful completion of a course means that you must start it properly, finish it properly and visit the controls in between properly too. Thus the start point is part of the course and must be visited.

The issue then is how to confirm that competitors have "visited" the start flag. In many cases, course planning is such that they inevitably pass by it anyway. In others, taped routes can be used to channel runners past the flag. One way or another, planners should place the start flag so that it is not possible for runners to get an unfair advantage by not visiting it.

[andypat]

BOF Rule 21.3 The starting point of the course must be marked by an equilateral triangle of side 7mm which points towards the first control. The centre of the triangle shows the precise position of the start point.

That doesnt really help though.

Successful completion of a course means that you must start it properly, finish it properly and visit the controls in between properly too. Thus the start point is part of the course and must be visited.

That your opinion or a rule DJM? My understanding of orienteering was that you start when you punch the start! Its something worth clarifying as sometimes the distance from pre-start to start kite can be considerable, and often (TD1/2 courses excepted) its not on the optimum route to control 1.

The whole start issue is a bit of a dogs breakfast IMO. My experience of starting O at school was that it took me several years to understand that the start triangle didnt actually denote the "start" but some apparently (to me at that time at least) pointless flag round the corner that didnt even have a punch.

[NeilC]

This crops up at regular intervals. After some moans at a SE sprint event that I planned I had a good look at the rules and talked to a few people. What I concluded was:

IOF believe that competitors have to visit the start control and that their rules state this.
BOF never really specified this - always preferring to allow flexibility and not having an unenforceable rule.

In reality the IOF rules do not state this clearly enough and within BOF the situation is confused with different factions believing that their interpretation of the rules is correct.

As others have mentioned I just try and ensure that either it is clear that it has to be visited (ie taped route) or there is no advantage in not doing so.

[Gnitworp]

The fundamental purpose of the start kite is to identify the center of the start triangle on the ground, so personally I always position my start lanes/boxes so that the start kite is very close on a definite feature without tapes to it that can be pointed out by the start official. If I had to have a taped route to close to the start kite (which I never have) it would never be advantageous not to use it. End of story.

I plan my courses to eliminate problems not introduce them.

[EddieH]

Following tapes is not even really clear. I remember tapes to the start kite in a Scottish relay running along the right side of an earthwall - the left side had a road. I got shouted at in the mass start because I jumped the bank and ran along the road. It was not my opinion that I was any significant distance from the tapes - I still think i was thinking clearly definitely not cheating.

At WMOC in Norway the first controls were backward from the start, but solid barriers all the way to the start kite were unequivocal. not that sold barriers are appropriate for most events.

[Lard]

If in doubt, if a rule is ambiguous, do the right thing.
Better to do this than risk jeapordising a good performance. Shame, it would have saved a load on the run-out at Jukola!

[JK]

Even if you have decided that the rules say you have to "visit" the start kite, then how close is that?
Also , for any taped route (including that to the start or to the Finish): if it is marked with a single tape, then how close do you have to be to that tape? 1 foot either side, within 1m, within 10m? If the taped route is bounded on both sides (finish lanes at major events or a "channel" across a march, farmers field, glacier [yes I've done the Swiss enough times for that] then common sense suggests you are not allowed to leave that channel.
If you descriptions say "follow tapes to triangle" then I'm fairly certaint you must follow them (subject to the tolerances hinted above), they should take you to within a few metres of the start kite.
It is generally considered bad planning for most* O events not to have any possibility of running back through the start. A reasonable exception might be a mass start score event.
I heard that in NZ the rule used to be that you always had to run close enough to the start kite that you would be able to touch it if you wished.
Personally I tend to take the same view as I did in Mountain Marathons when you considered how close your non-dibbing runner had to get to the kite - you ensure you go to the feature the kite is on even if you don't close to within 1m of it. So if it is on the top of a small hill you run past the bottom of the hill but don't have to run over it.

[graeme]

the rule used to be that you always had to run close enough to the start kite that you would be able to touch it if you wished.

...

the run-out at Jukola!

Good luck with that one!