What's happening out there?
When you look at some sports you see more or less the same format all the time. Take football, it’s a game played by 2 teams of 11 for a set amount of time; the pitch dimensions are set; the referee has a set of rules to try and enforce etc. Yes, there are variations like 5-a-side for indoors (not surprising given the climate in the west of Scotland!) and one or two other minor variations.
Orienteering is continually evolving. 20 years ago there was the usual courses at Badge (now Regional) events; colour-coded courses happened at lower key events (now District and Local); there was, and still is, a Relay champs and a Score event.
What’s new? Orienteering is trying to take itself to the spectator – whether to try to get some footage for T.V. or to entertain you while you wait around the Assembly area after you have finished, forms of orienteering are evolving that will show what the competitor is doing in the woods. Technology is at the forefront of this, in the form of GPS tracking units worn by the competitors and linking into digital maps displayed on screens. The system used is called TracTrac. This needs a big investment and, at the moment, the Scandinavian countries are the only ones where this is happening at major events. The last leg runners in the Spring Cup for the 10 leading teams could be seen battling it out in the forest; spectators could view this in a large tent at the finish or from the comfort of their armchair over the Internet! There are problems though; if you think about it, you could be a last leg runner from a slower team and see the course you are about to do being displayed on the screen!
OK, so that is really high-tech and unlikely to be at EckO events in the near future. There are some developments that we could use though.
EckO
maps are produced in a digital format using OCAD software. As well as making it relatively
easy to keep the maps up to date, this also allows for training opportunities and ‘events’ of
different types in a small area. Maps can be produced with just a ‘corridor’ of
the map showing (and plain white outside the corridor); ‘windows’ showing just
the part around the control; brown only; the possibilities are almost limitless. Click
for larger version of the corridor map.
Got your mobile phone? How about ‘Mobile O’? You work as a pair; one person does the course (they have a mobile, a compass but no map) finding the controls as directed by the other person who is at the finish with the map and a phone. When runner 1 has finished the course, they change places and runner 2 does a similar course! For this to take off here, mobile charges will have to come down and coverage improve. Imagine, you are in the forest and pacing 400m through mid-green to a pit, and you lose reception . . . .
Recently, spectator controls have featured quite a lot. At the Scottish relays at the end of May, there was a spectator control for all. I reckon I lose time at these as I spend time preparing myself for the perfect approach and departure from the control! I don’t think Paul is a big fan of them either, or else he just likes people seeing him for a long time around the control area.
At the recent SOL (at Achlean, Strathspey), there was as spectator control just over a bank from the car park. The day was wet and cool so I had started off wearing my usual O suit and a thin waistcoat; by the time I was at the spectator control I had warmed up and was able to leave the waistcoat on a tree and claim it after my run! Someone else I was speaking to wished that they had thought and left a water bottle at the control. It provided a good photo opportunity and the chance to see people on their courses. Anyone got any other uses for a spectator control?
How
about Micr-O? This one really sorts you out! Imagine a ‘normal’ orienteering
course, and then about 2/3rds of the way round there are 7 controls in quick succession
with only a very short distance between them. The first three of these have descriptions
but no codes; the fourth has a description and a code then the last three again only have
descriptions. In the immediate area of the controls with no codes there are about 4 other
controls.
The orienteer has to try to make sure that they punch at the control that is
marked on their map. If they mis-punch at the wrong control then there is a penalty of
either time or having to run round a loop (like the biathlon have to do if they miss in
the shooting). This was used in the middle distance race of the Norwegian Champs this year.
Click the map for a larger image.
Check out control 16 and see how many punched at the wrong control!
Lynne Walker
