BOF Vision for orienteering

[Mrs H.]

With a massive focus on attracting newcomers there is a danger of losing existing members

I certainly agree we must look after our existing members but there is no reason why you can't do both. Attacting new people does not have to be - and in my estimation is better off not being - running around parks for 15 minutes. A Saturday C5 with yellow, orange, green and blue course can provide a great intro to the sport and give a really good extra outing for the regulars - we have members of the GB squad come to MADO - and yes it's great for the beginners to be mixing with them and feeling part of the real orientering scene. It also provides a great opportunity for burgeoning officials to cut their teeth.

[awk]

Nothing wrong with clubs doing things for their existing members. With a massive focus on attracting newcomers there is a danger of losing existing members (and hence planners/organisers/controllers) who don't want to run round a park for 15 minutes.

Yes there is, if that's all they do, and obviously many don't even do that if the widespread decline in club membership numbers in recent years is anything to go by.

But, that's not to decry the night league: one of the many things needed is a judicious mix of events that will keep the longer term orienteers on board, and attract newer ones. You may not want the 15 minute sprints, others may not enjoy urban races, but for someone like me (I've been orienteering 36 years now) they have been like a breath of fresh air that has helped revitalise a flagging interest. One of the great joys recently has been the growing variety: sprint races, urban races, long-Os etc. along with the more conventional races (and I'm looking forward to the night races too).

[PKJ]

While increasing participation is clearly the most important strategic goal, should it be the core of a long term vision? I can see advantages in the vision being more flexible and wide-ranging (along the lines of that proposed for the consultation) but supported by specific strategic goals.

Looking through the consultation proposal, 2 dimensions which I think could figure more prominently are -
- An environmentally responsible sport. Have to show that environmental concerns (transport, land access etc) are taken seriously, while countering unreasonable restrictions.
- An innovative and varied sport. Orienteering understood for the basic concepts, not limited to a specific format; doesn't matter if it's 3km, 30km, traditional, O-trail, trail-O, forest, mountain, city, park, foot, MTB, roller-blades...

[roadrunner]

one of the many things needed is a judicious mix of events that will keep the longer term orienteers on board, and attract newer ones. You may not want the 15 minute sprints, others may not enjoy urban races, but for someone like me (I've been orienteering 36 years now) they have been like a breath of fresh air that has helped revitalise a flagging interest. One of the great joys recently has been the growing variety: sprint races, urban races, long-Os etc. along with the more conventional races (and I'm looking forward to the night races too).

I agree completely - and having more variety might counter the criticism that we have too many regional events some of which aren't all that good, which I've read before on NopeSport.

As for the vision, increasing participation and public understanding of the sport are key, in my opinion. I don't think international success alone will do much for the latter - what we need is some TV coverage, and international success could perhaps help us to get it. OK, orienteering isn't the best sport for TV, but then again some other improbable ones have succeeded: darts, marathon running, even snooker in the days of black-and-white TV. ("For those of you watching in black and white, the blue is behind the pink.") With some of the modern techniques I've seen on recent athletics coverage, it should be possible to show a standard event as if it was a head-to-head race, which would make it more exciting to watch.

[John Morris]

With all due respect to previous contributors to this thread, I think the emphasis on glamour, on looking good on the tele and on park-sprint novelties is misguided.

I spent this morning in West Friston Forest near Eastbourne, running (some of the time) a brilliantly planned, consistently challenging Blue course in a Southdowns Galoppen event (C5). The area is not among the finest, there were no fancy banners or Finish follies but this was genuine core orienteering - "cunning running" for those of you old enough to remember one of our better slogans.

While I'm sure those with a chance of winning enjoyed the thrill of that, the success of this event, the it-factor that will bring us all back for event after event, was the nicely-judged challenge to all of us, a bonus for the potential winners but ESSENTIAL for those of us who - limping, stumbling and ripped to shreds - bring up the rear.

Orienteering, as a mass sport, is NOT about being an elite athlete at the peak of your powers, it's about the modest but essential weekly adrenaline/achievement fix for the rest of us. For us, orienteering is MAGIC, a weekly visit to a different world.


Moreover...

Orienteering is not a televisual spectacle - showing "head-to-head" matched film footage (car rally style) would neatly blind the viewer to what makes orienteering different from cross-country. What the close-up camera can't show you is the orienteer's mind-map: the strategic plan, the tactical amendments, the continuous search for and evaluation of incoming information. So, to a casual watcher, orienteering will be meaningless, just as cricket was until intensive, illustrated analytical commentary was introduced by Channel 4.

You can orienteer under continuous camera watch, of course, but only in the kind of area usually mapped for primary schools. And, in making that concession, you empty the baby out with the bathwater. (imho...)

So - if you want to run round a park under lights, or watch other people doing it, why not try the 400 metres?


And finally, just to ensure that my street cred sinks to zero...

We had 107 entrants at West Friston, most of whom will be out again in Tilgate Forest next week, and somewhere else the week after that; each one of them - no matter what their proficiency - is as important to BOr as the best of our elite stars.

Sport for All, please!

[tendon]

In many ways, BOng is similar to RYA, with an elite group at the top of the pile, and a wide membership/participation that is not solely focused on Olympic or World Championship success (in many cases totally ambivalent to such success)

Not surprisingly, many of the issues they have are the same as ours - participation, representation, performance, training, widening access, membership, volunteering etc.

http://www.rya.org.uk/AboutRYA/policiesobjectives/

They are not banking on Ben Ainslie or Shirley Robertson delivering their future, but are looking to use them as role models for future success and profile raising, and rightly so.

Who else?

British Cycling's Vision to increase participation in cycling as a Sport, as Active Recreation and as Active Living, Again, a broad remit that isn't simply focusing on international success, offering a wide spectrum of activities the range for World Cup downhill to true leisure participation, with an Activity Sport image that Mrs H would be only too pleased to translate to orienteering

I doubt BrOnte would turn down the profile and membership of either. Can we learn from them?

[ER]

The experience described by John Morris above of pure enjoyment from challenge is one I experienced last week in the Oxford race. To me the Oxford race was perfection as it offered me what I wanted from orienteering. I will still run in the forest or on the heath in different events, but one type of orienteering race or event is not "better" than another. Let's do it all as a sport.

But I also want the grandstand, the coverage, the glory for those who excel at our sport because they deserve to be seen and our incredible sport also deserves to be seen and recognised for what it is by the public.

[roadrunner]

As an orienteer myself, I can well understand how John enjoyed his event this morning. But, if we're interested in attracting new people to the sport, first of all they have to be aware that it exists, and what it's all about. So I think we've got to find a way to get some publicity, and even if the events which are publicised aren't the type that some of us prefer, is that necessarily a bad thing if it encourages people to give orienteering a try?

The recent TV coverage of the Edinburgh Rat Race was, in my opinion, very good - maybe we could somehow get similar coverage of an orienteering event?

[John Morris]

I don't disagree with Roadrunner at all - although I would point out that Street-O and its offshoots (which I personally enjoy) will not necessarily appeal to parents looking for a day out of the domestic prison with the children - at least, not if they've read Ian Rankin...


I think we should think of ourselves as colonisers rather than promoters. We need to look at our successful existing operations and expand from these. In Sussex and Worcestershire family-oriented clubs are thriving by doing more of what they do well; in university cities like Oxford and Edinburgh there may be other growth points and other dialects.

The colonisation idea also reminds us that colonists must rely on themselves for survival and growth (there will be few if any supply ships from home...), adapting to and engaging with the local situation.


If we sit back and wait for TV to drive converts to our doors, we may spend a long, long time waiting. And are the devotees of the ghost-tank really the right target market?

Publicity? Well yes, certainly, but one of the best forms - when seeking to influence independent decision-makers (proto-orienteers, all of them...) - and one we're well-placed to make good use of, is viral marketing.

Use your imagination! Use your influence! Seduce a friend today!


I was up in Darley Dale on Friday last, and I took the opportunity to do a thorough search of National Office. I can exclusively(?) reveal that Mike and Neil do NOT have a cupboard stocked with magic solutions. If we want Orienteering - of any kind - to grow, WE - all of us - have to get out there and MAKE it so.

[johnloguk]

John, apologies if I've got this wrong, but are you falling into the same old trap here?

Whenever there is a thread like this many of us start to promote the merits of City Races etc as a good way to get orienteering into the media, reaching new audiences etc. Then someone suggests that it isn't traditional orienteering, or that City Races are going to replace traditional O, or that we shouldn't put all our eggs in the City Race basket etc.

But no one has ever suggested that we do go down the City Race route at the expense of forests and moors. All I've seen is lots of us saying how brilliant we've found the City Races to be, and often after admitting initial scepticism. They are simply another string to our bow, but a string that offers so many advantages in the battle to raise the profile of the best sport on the planet.

I think that "proper orienteering" is complex navigation at speed (the speed of the individual punter to be specific), and many forms fit that definition. What isn't proper orienteering in my opinion, is paying £10+ to go to a filthy old forest, run hundreds of metres down tracks counting the junctions, then diving into brashings for a kite by a tripod that is visible for miles. Or worse still hunting in waist high brambles for a kite pushed as low as it will go in a pit! Sadly these events exist, and too many people think that they are proper orienteering.

Let's not get divided into "trad versus street-O", which keeps happening, just celebrate the real challenges that are orienteering in all its guises. But let's have quality orienteering, whether it is in the forests, on high moors, in the mountains, City parks, streets or even housing estates.

And yes it is down to all of us, not just Darley Dale, to promote this rich tapestry. But we need a consistent message. "Adventure, physical and mental challenge, variety, quality, for all"?

[Adventure Racer]

Seeing as the Rat Race is being mentioned here it's worth pointing out that they aren't actually "proper" adventure races. However what they are is a lot of fun, one reason I'm planning on doing those next year, despite cutting down on the races I'm doing, and hence doing less "proper" adventure racing. There is quite a good parallel here, as Rat Races are high profile and get a lot of publicity (another reason for wanting to do them again next year ) - whilst they might be very different to traditional (strange word to use in the context of AR!) events, they demonstrably do attract new people into the sport - the Edinburgh event had the most participants at an event in the UK this year, and possibly ever, and at least some of these people do move on to other areas of the sport. More than that, people see this on TV, where it is made to look exciting, and then enter other lower profile events.

The point is I think it's very shortsighted to write off city based events as not being useful for development of the sport. Given suitable publicity, one thing they do is raise the profile, and make people realise that orienteering is an exciting fast sport rather than the widely held perception of people with rucksacks and cagoules. The fact that potential new members might not want to do this sort of event is irrelevant - it is simply a case of "brand awareness". Of course the important thing then is to provide some events suitable for them, and publicise these on the back of reporting of "glamour" events - eg getting an advert in the local press alongside the report. MADO style events are ideal at this stage, and whilst the exact format may not suit every situation, some of the aspects which have made MADO work so well, such as being friendly and low key and having plenty of helpers to demistify the sport and help out newcomers are crucial. In case Mrs H. is too shy to blow her own trumpet, I'd also like to point out that according to the latest survey, Malvern has the highest proportion of orienteers relative to population of anywhere in the country.

Oh, and from a personal point of view I'm definitely all for variety. Given how my background is obviously in ultra-endurance, and I do tend to run long rather than short, it might surprise many to know that one of my favourite events from this year was the British sprints. Meanwhile the only reason I didn't race at Oxford was the clash with another "different" event in the MTBO on the Chase.

[dorien]

Opinions of a very occasional orienteer on how to get more like me, more regularly, bringing our friends and kids:

1. Clone Mrs H. The welcome at MADO is wonderful.
2. Standardise event listings and develop a search facility on the BOF website. runnersworld.co.uk will find me an upcoming 10k road race in 20 seconds. To find an orienteering event takes half an hour going through eight different club and regional websites, each one different.
3. Lose or demistify the jargon. C5? Galoppen? SMILE? R2D2? Baffling and elitist.
4. Fix the BOF website as per parallel thread. Appalling. Like ploughing through a bramble patch.

Things that don't need doing:
1. Trying to slant the event mix to suit newcomers. Most O events already have courses suitable for infants and the totally directionless. The barrier is getting people to dare to turn up.
2. TV. Unworkable.
3. Worrying about diversity. Something about orienteering seems to make it appeal to fit, intelligent, competitive people with cars. If that means we're middle-everything, so be it.

[lincolnsteve]

dorien - May I point you towards this little gem of a fixtures list http://www.oobrien.com/yepsport/maps3/

You put in your postcode (first part) then it gives you a little map with all the events coming up, colour coded to show how many weeks away they are too, its awesome! (I also believe its linked from the BO website although I doubt you could find it very easily)

[PMG]

Try clicking on the fixtures link on the front page of the British Orienteering web site and the post code search facility named above is on the Fixtures page as are links directly to all the fixture lists.

Peter

[dorien]

That postcode search is wonderful. Thank you. It will change my life for the better.

Although whoever hid it on the website was more used to designing browns than whites...