Discussion: Feedback
in: Buffalo Orienteering Festival (May 16–17, 2009 - Buffalo, NY)
May 22, 2009 4:14 PM
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I'd like to hear some constructive criticism about our Buffalo Orienteering Festival. Sometimes I think orienteers are reluctant to offer feedback because they are afraid the organizers will get discouraged if they hear too much about what could have been improved. Don't worry about that. I've got a thick skin. Some of the comments I have heard so far (other than the kerfuffle about the start list) were that the Sunday area was perhaps too small for a long and that the advanced courses might have involved too much trail running.
If you want to include a mention of a thing or two that you really liked, that would be OK too.
Please send your comments privately to me at davidcady (at) gmail.com with "BOF feedback" in the subject line. Thanks for your time.
If you want to include a mention of a thing or two that you really liked, that would be OK too.
Please send your comments privately to me at davidcady (at) gmail.com with "BOF feedback" in the subject line. Thanks for your time.
May 22, 2009 5:13 PM
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Nick:
couple of legs on the blue long were a bit too 'dog legs'..i enjoyed the course setting on Sunday, maybe except that mentioned above.. obviously the weather could be a bit warmer ( especially in the morning )..he..he
May 22, 2009 5:28 PM
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The wait-for-start weather was too cold but the rest was perfect.
Sprint was a great area and venue
Middle could have been a little more technical.
Thanks for all the work putting this event on!
Sprint was a great area and venue
Middle could have been a little more technical.
Thanks for all the work putting this event on!
May 23, 2009 2:46 AM
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May 23, 2009 12:27 PM
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I greatly enjoyed the weekend (especially the short commute to Buffalo from Hamilton). I don't agree that the areas were too small.
We have had some very successful races on much smaller areas here in southern Ontario
While I didn't run the sprint it appeared a little bit too straight forward. More checkpoints, more direction change and more traps/route choices would have made for a more interesting course. However, I know the organizers had to work around the frisbee golf course. The radio control and announcer and great venue were great for a spectator like me.
The long was a very nice area and generally a very nice course. I think the average North American is still stuck in the old classic course rut. So I don't buy the 'too much trail running' comment. It is OK to have long legs with trail running and route choice. A long is not just the same as a middle but longer and the course planner(s) did a great job mixing up the variety on this weekend. Yes there was the odd dog leg late on blue and perhaps 9-10 could have been broken up with another checkpoint like red. BUT, most of the elites still made mistakes and some lost time on route choices. That is good right? I think that the blue course could have benefited with a map change near checkpoint #20 and some extra distance. I understand that for safety reasons it was thought best not to cross the creek near the campground to the bridge. Again, a challenge for the organizers and the ending made for some fast running which is OK to have as well. But a map change with the course re-crossing the river again onto that nice open hillside and passed near the start and in to the finish from the north would have made the course longer (likely needed another 1.5km) and some more technical woods running.
Yeah the weather was cold for May but that is because it was held so close to the largest unserved North American Hockey market - Hamilton. :-) What did the local TV station say about the weather? "Cold north winds blowing in from Canada"
We have had some very successful races on much smaller areas here in southern Ontario
While I didn't run the sprint it appeared a little bit too straight forward. More checkpoints, more direction change and more traps/route choices would have made for a more interesting course. However, I know the organizers had to work around the frisbee golf course. The radio control and announcer and great venue were great for a spectator like me.
The long was a very nice area and generally a very nice course. I think the average North American is still stuck in the old classic course rut. So I don't buy the 'too much trail running' comment. It is OK to have long legs with trail running and route choice. A long is not just the same as a middle but longer and the course planner(s) did a great job mixing up the variety on this weekend. Yes there was the odd dog leg late on blue and perhaps 9-10 could have been broken up with another checkpoint like red. BUT, most of the elites still made mistakes and some lost time on route choices. That is good right? I think that the blue course could have benefited with a map change near checkpoint #20 and some extra distance. I understand that for safety reasons it was thought best not to cross the creek near the campground to the bridge. Again, a challenge for the organizers and the ending made for some fast running which is OK to have as well. But a map change with the course re-crossing the river again onto that nice open hillside and passed near the start and in to the finish from the north would have made the course longer (likely needed another 1.5km) and some more technical woods running.
Yeah the weather was cold for May but that is because it was held so close to the largest unserved North American Hockey market - Hamilton. :-) What did the local TV station say about the weather? "Cold north winds blowing in from Canada"
May 24, 2009 6:45 PM
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Dave,
I agree that the weather was probably the fault of the Canadians but everything about the courses was very well done. I had a hard time reading the map in places (ok...I'll get some glasses...) and found that even I made a couple of errors...those trails were confusing...and I will someday learn to look left AND right once I get into the circle. The food and facilities were great (woo-hoo indoor bathrooms) as well as having a place to watch the sprint that was out of the rain. Life doesn't get much better than that! When is your next event?
I agree that the weather was probably the fault of the Canadians but everything about the courses was very well done. I had a hard time reading the map in places (ok...I'll get some glasses...) and found that even I made a couple of errors...those trails were confusing...and I will someday learn to look left AND right once I get into the circle. The food and facilities were great (woo-hoo indoor bathrooms) as well as having a place to watch the sprint that was out of the rain. Life doesn't get much better than that! When is your next event?
May 24, 2009 8:04 PM
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We're thinking of Fall 2011 in the vicinity of Ellicottville. We have aerial photos but we need to take a closer look at the terrain.
May 25, 2009 12:20 AM
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If the terrain is as good as what you offered us this year, I will be marking my calendar now!
May 26, 2009 8:28 PM
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Dave,
An excellent weekend well organized. I really enjoyed the middle distance course in particular. It took me a few legs to get into the map and there was variety. The sprint was fun and the radio control added to it. Sunday's long course was good for the first 2/3, but the final 1/3 the controls were only yellow/orange difficulty at best with head to the road /trail run like crazy to the attackpoint and there you were. Some mix up in the open area even with easy controls would have forced one to read the map more carefully. When I plan a leg I always think which and how many of the 5 basic orienteering skills are being tested.
Had a great w/e and the barneque was amazing - a half chicken each!! Thank-you for an excellent w/e and we'll be back. I'll also that the cold Sunday weather anyday over the nasty sticky summer weather in Philly
An excellent weekend well organized. I really enjoyed the middle distance course in particular. It took me a few legs to get into the map and there was variety. The sprint was fun and the radio control added to it. Sunday's long course was good for the first 2/3, but the final 1/3 the controls were only yellow/orange difficulty at best with head to the road /trail run like crazy to the attackpoint and there you were. Some mix up in the open area even with easy controls would have forced one to read the map more carefully. When I plan a leg I always think which and how many of the 5 basic orienteering skills are being tested.
Had a great w/e and the barneque was amazing - a half chicken each!! Thank-you for an excellent w/e and we'll be back. I'll also that the cold Sunday weather anyday over the nasty sticky summer weather in Philly
This discussion thread is closed.