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NZSSC 2003 - What a cack

BJ Posted: 13 July 2003, 1:25 PM   well heres my ten bobs worth, i think you guys should regard yourself as state of australia. Use the school series to pick a team that comes to AUS to run our school champs. A trip to aus makes a hell of an incintive to runners that are just starting the sport. As for who can run, yeah you should have open classes with no size limits, but then maybe count the best 4 or 6 or something towards a regional series. ie the auckland area comes with 10 runners, but only their best 4 scores count, gives the other runners a incintive to try and beat their fellow team mates into having their scores counted. As for you guys all whining about numbers you have, well do something about. When i look at New Zealand my first thoughts are that it is the multi sport capital of the world, surely this somehow fits in with orienteering. Check out what switzerland has just done with sCool, they had 202,000 school children orienteering on one day, sure they have more money etc to organise these things but it just shows what can be done. i dont see any point in getting 1 new orienteer from here and one from there. it has to be got into the school system and im not sure how this is done. When i first started orienteering, i didnt like it cos of all the retarded kids doing it cos they could make any team sports, but as i got better and went to nationals most of these kids were left at home cos the couldnt run or do shit, they were just little four eyed freaks, to wound up in their computers to worry about getting fit. It was once i got rid of this kids that i actually enjoyed the company of the other runners more. New orienteers have to be shown that it is fun, and their is a good bunch of people in the sport, but i think lots have the idea about the retards that i first have, they dont want to be associated with them. No offence to any retards reading this, but i am sure you know exactly what i mean, and im sorry if you somehow slipped thru the system. I think it is a good idea to try and maybe go thru athletic clubs aswell, get the kids who are already runners (you can learn to orienteer but you cant learn to run!!!), there theones that if you teach to orienteer are going to get the results anyway, and their going to know in their heads that they have a good chance of succeding in their new sport. sorry if i have mocked any of you retards out there, but these are just my thoughts BJ   maskofsomething Posted: 13 July 2003, 1:27 PM   Well I think thats a good idea getting out into the community and trying to get accross what we actually do. I think too many people grew up in over protective kindergartens or something where they did orinteering once and it involved going 43 paces at 123 degrees and they got it wrong. I think it was Mick Finn who once said that he never mentioned compasses or anything in his talks and coaching sessions. I have one problem though. Refer to the lil blurb on most maps saying what it is, "finding your way across unfamiliar terrain with a map and compass" or something like that. This really bugs me because half the vents dont even require a compass especially park o's or street events. We actually do have a map of the college at the moment and I have contemplated running your so called workshop courses but the only ones interested are myself and a few other who have been at it for a while not NEWBIES. Thats what the sport needs isnt it. NEWBIES people who dont have an idea about the sport yet want to be involved because they see it as something exciting to do that they like. I dont think it helps though that the dominion post the other day had a few results from JWOC and it didnt even incude an article or anything to say what they were actually doing etc. The wanganui tribunle I think it was ran an article on claire and Bryn. Top notch to them. Why cant orienteering feature in any of these articles and even have a photo, even if very small? We need to change peoples focus from the old school go this way for this long thing into something thats fun, exciting, energetic and attractive to young teenagers, give them something to look forward to and provide an arena for serious competition instead of seeing trips as only trips away not going somewhere to race.   maskofsomething Posted: 13 July 2003, 1:30 PM   Thanks BJ and thats excatly what I eman. Sorry I just read it but I agree with the series idea, top 6 or something count towards a series points. It gives other runners the incentive to do better doesnt it.   HeadHoncho Posted: 14 July 2003, 12:44 AM   BJ - always good to hear from an Aussie, but when it comes to promoting Orienteering, I switch off. Comparison of 2002 figures between NZ and Aussie reveal the following: Population base estimate (based on 4 million vs. 18 million): NZ 22.2% Membership: 1613 vs 5142: NZ 31.4% Events held: 324 vs 855: NZ 37.9% Gross participation: NZ 26,271 versus Aus 75,453: NZ 34.8% Oh yeah, one other thing: Government funding (2001/02): NZ $15,000 vs Aus $150,000+ Despite getting stuff all support from government, our membership/participation figures re 10-12% ahead of Aussie. We're doing OK.   Greg Posted: 14 July 2003, 1:33 AM   We are ahead of Australia?? The numbers of people doing events in comparison to Oz is shit if we are not producing the elites out like Australia at the moment, don't ya wish we could produce people from ss level that can get 4th in the european sprint champs and then 6th in the nordic sprint champs but isn't good enough for the Australian Sprint team for WOC? Edited by - greg on 14/07/2003 09:34:40   mark Posted: 14 July 2003, 1:35 AM   What's that saying. Something like There's lies, damn lies and then there is statistics.   BJ Posted: 14 July 2003, 1:49 AM   well at least greg seems to love me. Crackers, whining about numbers doesnt matter, who gives a fuck. If i go back to the sCool project in switzerland, they get all these kids running, but what do you reckon their particpation numbers are like compared to sweden, crap, but they put thier minds together and showed what a federation is capable of. New runners can be found, but you just have to find the right way, for you federations capacity. And to what greg said, yeah we have 6 world class guys, and we have four times as many runners as you. Do you guys have any world class runners? yeah jessop was in awesome form in the summer, but it certainly helped that carsten was there to give him WR points, will he perform at WOC, am not so sure? there is a hell of a difference between running around your local map, to competing against the likes of the best of the best. I think aussies guys have done one thing right though, 5 of us live over here permenently, and walters spends a hell of a lot of time here. Sure you have Al and Barbour over here but there old men now, Al will never be in the same form that got him his WC win back in 1994. Where are you runners, they live in NZ, where the competition just isnt good enough, here you can run against hot shit at your local wed night event. And as to my retards comment, i was just trying to say that these were the wrong people to focus on, cos they not going to go anywhere, and i think it keeps others away. Just think when you were at school how much shit you got for doing orienteering cos it was a retards sport.   HeadHoncho Posted: 14 July 2003, 4:02 AM   Greg, My point was regarding membership and participation, not elite performance. I wouldn't suggest for one minute that our elite performance is on a par with Aussie, we all know (esp. in the mens) its someway behind. Now that you class yourself as an elite, I look forward to you turning that around.   mark Posted: 14 July 2003, 4:07 AM   What's your caper faggy_michael?   addison Posted: 14 July 2003, 4:59 AM   Well said Mark. And to Rob. You seem to be trying to show off NZ Orienteering with your stats. Any good administrator would not do so, they would be continually looking at improving them. Perhaps you can email Geoff Morrison and talk about how he does this in the Hawkes Bay. If you would like his email address, feel free to ask.   3 monkeys on fire Posted: 14 July 2003, 6:15 AM   this is a bit late but... GO NELSON and another thing, GO NELSON and somfing else i fogot to say is GO NELSON   HeadHoncho Posted: 14 July 2003, 7:33 AM   Just like that other saying ... there's elites, damn elites and then there is Mark Hudson   stu barr Posted: 14 July 2003, 4:18 PM   I just had an idea.... Instead of trying to target secondary school students, why don't we try and target 1 teacher from every secondary school? Try and nurture the next generation of Mike Grayburns throughout the country. Instead of aiming to get an extra 100 students at the nationals, we aim to get 50 keen teachers. They each bring 10 keen students, and they each bring 3 family members, and they each bring...... I have a plan. Watch this space. Edited by - stu barr on 15/07/2003 00:21:27   Malcolm Posted: 15 July 2003, 1:05 AM   Who?   maskofsomething Posted: 15 July 2003, 2:07 AM   Since I have been sitting here for a while now who has any ideas on keeping the schools teachers involved. I agree that you shouldnt target those pe teachers but rather go for someone like ours, a geo teacher. They like outdoors and generally like "fieldtrips". I cant wait to see your plan.