Start times at European Events

[HOCOLITE]

Is there a different protocol in Europe? Both last year in Denmark and this year in France we've entered as a family group /club and been given start times that vary at times bu 45 minutes. When we do start times in UK we try to put family members close together.
Is it due to course combinations? I think in Denmark where our course was the same as W18 they all ran together in one batch and them all the older ladies ran together

[Gross]

I think you'll find that in most orienteering countries they treat the competition as a competition & therefore start all classes within the same block.... so asking for 'family' start times won't work

[King Penguin]

45 minutes is nothing. In Switzerland last year we were separated on a couple of days by well over 2 hours.

[Tatty]

Each class is given a Start block and nothing detracts from that! Many years ago at the Danish 3 days we requested split start and were given times just a few minutes apart. Our 13 year old was split away from us so he had to be responsible for his 2 younger brothers . When we tried to get splits it was a no go.

[Ed]

"interestingly" there was some discussion on the German O-Forum about allowing runners to request early/middle/late starts and/or split starts (currently it's always start blocks, for national events at least).

Opinion seemed to be divided between those who thought it would never work because everyone would want the "competitive advantage" of a late start and those who thought that anything that made events more "user-friendly" and might therefore help keep people (young families particularly) within the sport was a good thing.

The German rules group is considering the matter.

[Nails]

Have you not got anything more interesting to moan about?

Maybe you could email the organisers and ask how many people they are going to have manning the car park, or how many portaloos there is going to be?

[rob f]

Have you not got anything more interesting to moan about?

Maybe you could email the organisers and ask how many people they are going to have manning the car park, or how many portaloos there is going to be?

Shut up nails. This may not mean anything for you, but it is important to parents with young juniors, who maybe seperated at age 10 for a few hours in an unfamiliar while there parents run. Otherwise they won't get to run and its unfair on parents if they go to the otherside of europe to orienteer, and find they cant because they are severly seperated from their kids, who are still a little scared about the foreigners who speak strange languages, let alone being left without someone english to speak to.

[DM]

Have you not got anything more interesting to moan about?

Maybe you could email the organisers and ask how many people they are going to have manning the car park, or how many portaloos there is going to be?

Was it a moan? I read it as a simple question.

Split starts/family starts, call them what you like are useful to ALL competitors as it gives us the chance to keep the sprogs under some sort of control and out of YOUR way in start/finish areas and also gives us the chance to keep them safe(ish) and stop them climbing too far up crags/trees or hurling rocks down slopes at passing runners.

[Becks]

Shut up nails. This may not mean anything for you, but it is important to parents with young juniors, who maybe seperated at age 10 for a few hours in an unfamiliar while there parents run. Otherwise they won't get to run and its unfair on parents if they go to the otherside of europe to orienteer, and find they cant because they are severly seperated from their kids, who are still a little scared about the foreigners who speak strange languages, let alone being left without someone english to speak to.

Many of these overseas events have a creche and childcare facilities which seem to be impossible to run here because of red tape.

And it never did you any harm to be left to walk to the start with me at the White Rose when you were a little boy yourself!

[Nails]

yawn

[Adventure Racer]

If you're tired, maybe you should go to bed rather than hang around on Nopesport.

[Nails]

...

[Oldman]

Have you not got anything more interesting to moan about?

Maybe you could email the organisers and ask how many people they are going to have manning the car park, or how many portaloos there is going to be?

yawn


It's people like you Nails who rubbish a perfectly reasonable issue to raise that dissuades many who might have useful views from airing them here on Nopesport. Why not simply read it and if not of interest to you, do something else (like jumping off a crag!)

[graeme]

Is there a different protocol in Europe?

Yes, you use creches and clubmates to look after kids rather than parents with split starts. The kids even have to play with each other and, in my experience, moan about it less.

But you do need to show up early to get sorted out: on day 1 at the last French 5-day we asked for split starts and when we got there found we had 7:36 and 7:45 am, which was not exactly Jane's idea of a late start advantage.

[Nails]

I regularly jump off crags. My problem is that nothing interesting ever gets posted on nope anymore. By starting this thread nothing is actually going to happen with the 'blocking' of start times at european events, period. stop. whatever completion of the sentence you want. stop. If you have a problem like this do something about it -email the organisers i'm sure they'll listen if you put your case over. By posting here nothing is actually going to happen with the 'blocking' of start times at european events, period. stop. whatever completion of the sentence you want. stop.

And since this is a public forum oldman i can air whatever views I want -and my view of this is that it was a complete waste of time and effort posting the original moan as no one on here can do anything about it -unless of course you email the organisers. Which is what i'd have done at the outset instead of posting some moaning message.

Jump out of a plane instead of off a crag -much more fun.