Discussion: White courses
in: ebuckley; ebuckley > 2013-03-10
Mar 13, 2013 1:26 AM
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Overall, I'd say they were fine. I think Day 1 was made more difficult by conditions.
Leg 4 on Day 1 was way too long; 400m with 2 junctions en route. A control at either of the intermediate junctions would have been a good thing. The problem was compounded by the fact that I think the map was a bit off leaving #3. The bend where the trail turns north seemed a lot further away than mapped. It freaked Yaya out a bit and then when she went for so long without any confirmation, she lost her nerve and went all the way back to the 3 to confirm her choice. Likewise, Max Ahmed was convinced that he had to go North shortly after leaving 3 and the only way to do that was to head back towards 2 (which he did). While I appreciate the value of having the control at the decision point, I think that having it where the trail turns north would have been less confusing.
The streamering from 8 to 9 on Day 2 was incomplete. Sure, it got them to the other trail, but then what? White course participants have no relocation skills whatsoever. You have to streamer them all the way to a control so they know where they are when they get back to navigating.
Again, I think that the courses were OK. Kids are going to make mistakes that seem insane to experienced navigators even on the best courses. Those are just some things that I'd look at if I was trying to improve on them.
Leg 4 on Day 1 was way too long; 400m with 2 junctions en route. A control at either of the intermediate junctions would have been a good thing. The problem was compounded by the fact that I think the map was a bit off leaving #3. The bend where the trail turns north seemed a lot further away than mapped. It freaked Yaya out a bit and then when she went for so long without any confirmation, she lost her nerve and went all the way back to the 3 to confirm her choice. Likewise, Max Ahmed was convinced that he had to go North shortly after leaving 3 and the only way to do that was to head back towards 2 (which he did). While I appreciate the value of having the control at the decision point, I think that having it where the trail turns north would have been less confusing.
The streamering from 8 to 9 on Day 2 was incomplete. Sure, it got them to the other trail, but then what? White course participants have no relocation skills whatsoever. You have to streamer them all the way to a control so they know where they are when they get back to navigating.
Again, I think that the courses were OK. Kids are going to make mistakes that seem insane to experienced navigators even on the best courses. Those are just some things that I'd look at if I was trying to improve on them.
This discussion thread is closed.