Prizes; Spot the difference

[mharky]

I don't personally understand the prizes for first leg thing, what is so special about 1st leg that they deserve a prize but others don't? Plus it also encourages people to run first leg to try and get money rather than run last leg to get the best position for the team. I personally wouldn't want my first leg running first leg trying to get some money, I want them running to get the team in a good position. In the leading pack is fine, but the money leads to unecessary risk taking on 1st leg...

[Supersaint]

Prizes for 1st leg of a relay is stupid, many a relay has seen a faster time posted on one of the later legs - if there were to be an individual prize in the relay (which sounds just silly - it's a relay, a team event, not an individual) it should go to the fastest of the day, not the fastest of the first leg.

As for prizes on the short classes, i think there should at least be some kind of memento. The winners of the A&L classes get a trophy, and i think should get better (maybe not the right word) prizes than that of the short class winner as they are the better orienteer (i.e. at navigating AND running). I must admit i enjoyed my tub of clotted cream and print from the British last year as well, but having only won the Long class (when there was an elite) i didn't feel like i'd won as there were much better people than me there.

Juniors should definitely get prizes on A&B as they are the elites of the future, so any incentive would help.

[Dave]

So you would rather they didn't go out to win the money even if they would bring your team back in 1st?

[harry]

Agree with Mharky. A relay is not an individual race. The result only matters on last leg and everyone in the team is equally important. Prizes should be given to leading TEAMS not individuals.

Also bringing the team back in first after first leg is not always necessarily the best tactic for the best outcome for end result.

[Klebe]

Not all teams run the same first leg anyway, do they?
So how would you decide who is the first leg winner?

[mharky]

Dave, obviously different teams will have different tactics for different relays, and those should be the aims of the runner. If the aim is to come back in the lead group, then being at the back of if 15s is not a problem, but if they wanted to get the 1000kr and so started speeding up and taking risks at the end then they greatly increase the likely hood of making a mistake and getting dropped by the lead group... this could ruin the teams relay because the runner wanted money.

I had a plan at BUSA, I had to finish with or as far infront of ShUOC1 as I could, and you could say that coming in first is the best way to do this, but not if it means making silly risks. There were times when I could have taken a more risky route, but it wasn't worth it. I could see Jan up ahead, but he was essentially irrelevant. And just for some cheese, you don't win the relay on 1st leg, but you can certainly lose it... don't lose it becuase of money.

[rocky]

i'm waiting for graeme to come on and formulate this as an optimisation problem... actually i've already done it in my head... solution coming soon

[HOCOLITE]

The most important award is the M/W10B. There certainly used to only be a trophy for the W10B at the JK, not the M10B. This is a great encouragement and usually the winner is not a 10 year old. Something for all junior B courses is great. My eldest was over the moon to get a small map puzzle at a British one year for a B course run. This was his only ever prize for O and kept him interested for another year or so. My other offspring desperately wanted some clotted cream last year and was a tad disappointed when the relay winners didn't get it.
I think the seniors and vets on L ans S should get a prize not necessarily a trophy as those that win regularly don't value them. Most seniors would be more than happy with a bottle of wine. Those who get them on the S course get far more pleasure out of the recipt of a trophy. Sponsors are more likely to offer produce as prizes it's more tax efficient and is better marketing than money.

[DIDSCO]

Mharky, Supersaint, Harry > Don't agree one little bit with what you say against a prize for 1st in on 1st leg.

We need to make our sport more exciting. When the 1000kr prize for 1st leg was introduced at Spring Cup a few years ago it was a great way of adding to the excitement. There was loads of banter about it before the race, and it simply made the race more interesting and fun.

Our sport needs to change with the times, and I think its quite sad when young elites like the nixons bro's and Harry don't see this need. Don't live in the past, move forward, dare to be different, dare to make changes, you might be amazed by what might happen

[Mrs H.]

There is also a very good marketing reason for acknowledging Short 1st, 2nd,3rds as well as Long. It doubles your potential newsworthiness.

Most people are far too modest to tell their local paper they've won anything - but of course I'm not - espeicially when I have a high profile development initiative to publicise - so there was duly a picture of me and the younger Miss H. (1st W14B) in the Gazette with our framed prints (clotted cream long gone) publicising our next event.

If the BOF press bod had herself a proper circulation list of local newspapers plus a well drafted easily adapted press release which she put out - irrespective of people's modesty - the number of column inches generated after each BOC/JK would paper her office at the new BOF HQ and almost at the press of a button once it was set up. Believe me I know - I've been on the receiving end of 1000s of them in my time - only too happy to use something local, pertinent and not requiring to be typed out! (it's all done by e-mail now.)

It would probably be a far better use of her time than preparing all these glossies about elite achievement. The mums in the playground look at me and think:"She's old and dumpy.... if she can do it then I must be able to" They won't think that looking at Helen Winskill

...and before someone comes back and says that's the club press officers job - It would be a lot more impressive coming from BOF and giving the club press officer's details for further information if required (which is where the club hangs your next event on it) forcing iopen the chanels of communication between local paper and local clubs.

[mat-d]

It is good having these discussions but if no one from BOF acknowledges any of these ideas then its not going to happen...

and to be honest, if the money aint there, 'we' as the competitors, are going the have to be willing to fund such ideas.

[mat-d]

A relay is not an individual race.

and as the recent discussion has shown...giving prizes may involve the eventual winner (and money collector) following other athletes... which is highly controversial...but then so is climbing uncrossable fences. hey ho.

[Stodgetta]

It's not that difficult to find minor sponsors for small prizes.

Chasers are putting on a Chase Challenge weekend in the summer (MTBO/trailquest day 1, long-O day 2) and everybody we've approached has been more than willing to sponsor a prize in return for advertising.

The more prizes the better, especially at a major event...it just gives it a bit more

[John Morris]

Mat D wrote:-

"It is good having these discussions but if no one from BOF acknowledges any of these ideas then its not going to happen... "

Point 1: YOU are "someone from BOF" and probably quite as capable as any of us of gathering a group and putting together a proposal for (i) a Prizes policy; (ii) a Strategy for extending it to (and beyond?) BOF Major Events and (iii) a feasible Funding plan.

Point 2: If Point 1 hasn't turned you off already, you'll find that Neil Cameron and Mike Hamilton will be delighted not merely to acknowledge your ideas but to listen to them, to suggest how you might progress them and, once there's something significant to show, to help you promote them and persuade the rest of BOF to help make it happen.

Hard work? Yes. Payment? No. Worth doing for BOF? Up to you, really...

[Jon Brooke]

Suppose a sponsor came along and said "I've got X prizes (where X is the number of age categories at an event) to give away, how about I give them to all the long course winners?

The organiser, knowing that there were currently no similar offers in the pipeline for other categories, then has to decide whether to take the prizes and give them to the long course winners, or to turn the offer down and not give them to any category so as not to be unfair.

It could happen.

In which case, what should he/she do?