World Cup

[Arnold]

It's not really the location is it, it's more the fact that to be in the national squad, you HAVE TO move to a certain location. Pretty draconian but I guess it worked!

[Lard]

10% of what Scott?

How about if BO paid into a unique pot £1000 for every photo used of a "performance athlete". It would soon be a large enough pot and then we'd all realise that WE NEED the performance side of our sport in order to exist as a SPORT.

[maprun]

The location also has to be suitable for jobs/education. Aarhus is a university town with population of 260,000, part of an urban area of 845,000 (Wiki) at the centre of the country. The prime Silkeborg terrain is not far away either.

[graeme]

The key difference is this...

– We decided that we would only support athletes who we believed had the potential to become World Champions. Other athletes were no longer supported by the national team.

The GB squad has 57 members.

[housewife]

I thought that squad size is dictated by sport England. The funding dictates that we have to have a talent pool of a certain size in the funded squads, regardless of the number of talents athletes there are in each bracket. It is hard to develop orienteers in the optimum way with such constraints.

[Scott]

10% of what Scott?

Last year the spend on performance was about £30k out of a "disposable income" of around £330k. That £30k won't include any money paid to coaches, phyisos, team managers etc - there is no breakdown of the £220k of disposable income spent on salaries.

They could always stay at the BOF Centre in the Lakes which was specifically built for BOF using the 'ringfenced' profits from WOC 1976

Ohhhh.... that was a dream, BOF spent the money on something else... probably keeping someone in a non-orienteering job for a while

I believe half of that money has been spent on additional coaching for athletes in preparation for WOC2015, and the other half absorbed into BOF's general funds.

Unfortunately I think we left it rather too late to try to purchase a training centre: the interest on the fund has lagged a long way behind the inflation in property prices since the 70s, and it wouldn't even have covered the deposit for the mortgage on some land in the Lakes now.

[Gross]

Unfortunately I think we left it rather too late to try to purchase a training centre

A lot of effort went into looking for a suitable location in the late '90's.... but BOF weren't particularly interested then either

[Kitch]

Arnold,

its not about location, nor necessarily about moving to a particular location.
It is about commitment.

Athletes who fully commit themselves achieve the best results.
It is easier for an athlete to fully commit if their sports governing body is able to commits to fully supporting them in their endeavours.

When athlete and federation are both able and confident in that commitment then things really start to happen.

For the Danes moving to Arhus represents part of their commitment
I imagine it also allows their best resources to be applied most effectively by being in one place.
So the converstaion goes something like this
"We, DOF, want to support you as best we can. We can do this best and you can best help yourselves and each other if you are all in one place. If you can commit to basing yourself in Arhus and to working as part of our elite team then we will commit to support you in every way we can to being the best"

[afterthought]

The final is this weekend.

http://news.worldofo.com/2015/09/30/world-cup-final-2015-all-you-need-to-know/ describes what is going on. Live Web-TV: Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

Really nice to see, as a result of their runs in the World Champs, Cat and Hector listed in

18 of the top 30 men and 22 of the top 30 women

[greywolf]

Brilliant run by Cat !

And a map-issuing error for Tove A ?

[Spookster]

Brilliant run by Cat !

Yes! That looks like a win!!

[andy]

Brilliant run by Cat !

And a map-issuing error for Tove A ?

Cat made the trip.... And won against a VERY strong field, much kudos!

Tove was given the men's map and went back after finding the first control (presumably when she saw the control descriptions didn't match?)

[Spookster]

Picture on the BOF website.

[andypat]

Great result for Cat!

[afterthought]

Tribute to Cat's work ethic on the IOF site. And with the Swedish Relay win as well it has been a fantastic last few months:
http://orienteering.org/catherine-taylor-a-hard-working-talent/