Discussion: LAOC A Meet - Junior Team Fundraiser
in: LAOC Barton Forest Frolic A-meet (Sep 7–8, 2013 - Angelus Oaks, CA, US)
Sep 9, 2013 3:21 AM
#
As part of the Barton Flats Forest Frolic, LAOC hosted an exciting Remember O. The event was sanctioned under an exclusive license from the IOF in connection with LAOC’s bid to host the World Remember O Championships (WROC) in 2025. The first-ever RO was held in Tucson in February of this year, and garnered 6 participants. This, the second-ever RO attracted 25 athletes from across the United States, demonstrating the incredible growth of this particular orienteering discipline in only a few months. Athletes were undaunted by the suggested $5 donation to the US Junior Team.
The map was downloaded by meet officials from the Camp’s website. Unfortunately, Camp staff are not fully familiar with ISOM standards, an occurrence all too familiar in the United States. Map deficiencies included use of crayon, terrain of no particular scale (or many different scales, depending on your point of view). Most features in the terrain were not shown on the map, and some that were shown on the map did not exist, or existed in different places than shown. As an added bonus, no north arrow was displayed. (And North was down).
Start and finish were at Deer Lodge in Camp Alpine Meadows. There were 20 controls, consisting of surveyor's flags with 20 alphabetic letters written on them, scattered throughout the Camp. Athletes were required to navigate to the controls in any order they wished, and remember the letter and also remember specifically which control each letter appeared on. Mass start was at the front door of the Lodge. After visiting as many controls at they wished, athletes raced back through the front door, wrote down as many letters on their control card as they could remember, and then raced out the back door of the Lodge to re-inspect the course for missing information. No pens, pencils, IPhones or other memorization aids were permitted. Athletes could try to provide complete and correct answers as frequently as they wanted, and as many as 9 athletes were present in the Lodge at a time, waiting to be summoned for evaluation by meet officials.
There was jostling, cutting in line and various other forms of cheating among the athletes, as they tried to present their answers. Spectators were treated to at least one athlete crumpling up his map in disgust, and dashing it to the floor of the Lodge, after his answers were determined to be inaccurate. Another athlete rightfully shouted “This is not fair!” after her answers were similarly rejected.
By the time the dinner bell rang, almost 35 minutes after the mass start, 8 competitors had submitted complete and correct answers, 8 more had submitted “complete” answers that were in some respects wrong (most were agonizingly close to being correct), and the remainder were still searching for the truth. Winning time was 21:20, achieved by an athlete on his second tour of the controls. The second fastest time of 26:32 was achieved by an athlete who remembered all 20 letters, and matched them correctly to all 20 controls, on a single tour of the controls.
In addition to donations by the athletes, three spectators found the event so thrilling they donated $20 each. These spectators were experienced orienteers, mind you, and had never seen an orienteering arena so full of excitement, intensity and chicanery.
Thanks to all who participated, and who donated to the US Junior Team.
The Remember O Executive Steering Committee (ROESC) is now formulating recommendations to the IOF for modifications to the discipline that will make the event even more appealing to a television audience.
The map was downloaded by meet officials from the Camp’s website. Unfortunately, Camp staff are not fully familiar with ISOM standards, an occurrence all too familiar in the United States. Map deficiencies included use of crayon, terrain of no particular scale (or many different scales, depending on your point of view). Most features in the terrain were not shown on the map, and some that were shown on the map did not exist, or existed in different places than shown. As an added bonus, no north arrow was displayed. (And North was down).
Start and finish were at Deer Lodge in Camp Alpine Meadows. There were 20 controls, consisting of surveyor's flags with 20 alphabetic letters written on them, scattered throughout the Camp. Athletes were required to navigate to the controls in any order they wished, and remember the letter and also remember specifically which control each letter appeared on. Mass start was at the front door of the Lodge. After visiting as many controls at they wished, athletes raced back through the front door, wrote down as many letters on their control card as they could remember, and then raced out the back door of the Lodge to re-inspect the course for missing information. No pens, pencils, IPhones or other memorization aids were permitted. Athletes could try to provide complete and correct answers as frequently as they wanted, and as many as 9 athletes were present in the Lodge at a time, waiting to be summoned for evaluation by meet officials.
There was jostling, cutting in line and various other forms of cheating among the athletes, as they tried to present their answers. Spectators were treated to at least one athlete crumpling up his map in disgust, and dashing it to the floor of the Lodge, after his answers were determined to be inaccurate. Another athlete rightfully shouted “This is not fair!” after her answers were similarly rejected.
By the time the dinner bell rang, almost 35 minutes after the mass start, 8 competitors had submitted complete and correct answers, 8 more had submitted “complete” answers that were in some respects wrong (most were agonizingly close to being correct), and the remainder were still searching for the truth. Winning time was 21:20, achieved by an athlete on his second tour of the controls. The second fastest time of 26:32 was achieved by an athlete who remembered all 20 letters, and matched them correctly to all 20 controls, on a single tour of the controls.
In addition to donations by the athletes, three spectators found the event so thrilling they donated $20 each. These spectators were experienced orienteers, mind you, and had never seen an orienteering arena so full of excitement, intensity and chicanery.
Thanks to all who participated, and who donated to the US Junior Team.
The Remember O Executive Steering Committee (ROESC) is now formulating recommendations to the IOF for modifications to the discipline that will make the event even more appealing to a television audience.
This discussion thread is closed.