 nick
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Posted: 26 August 2005, 6:33 AM
Thoughts from a relative newcomer:
1. current structure of the sport lacks coherence;
2. competion should be structured to build our best athletes towards winning at WOC/JWOC/WMOC. Any other goal is pointing the sport towards a backwater.
3. WOC is July/August, so our premier comp (Nationals) should be slightly earlier eg: QB Weekend. Good call Chris;
4. Consequence - our main season moves to summer/autumn. So be it;
5. Wayne's "zone competition" concept is worthy of further consideration;
6. Nat's at QB allows even spread of "major" events - Lab weekend, Summer Carnival, Easter, QB-Nat's... we can capitalise on this.
7. Allow a month or two of downtime in the worst of winter (or not - I'm keen to O all year) and use spring as an opportunity to experiment with new event formats in order to grow the sport.
and one last observation:
Good on all you young fullas for putting your ideas forward without turning it into a nasty tit for tat about Easter vs Labour weekend, Everyone else vs Auckland, etc...
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darren
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Posted: 26 August 2005, 6:48 AM
It makes perfect sense -
Start the season in Spring - Promo events, OY series + an A grade event at Labour weekend. This would be a good time to attract new people to the sport with the start of daylight savings, the desire to 'get in shape for summer' and the need to get out after hibernating in winter, good for students.
The OY series has courses to cater for the keen beginner and the Labour weekend event would kick off the Super Series.
Go through until mid December(ish)
January have an international event (if someone can be found to organise it) or hold some training camps (junior, senior, vets) or do nothing, call it a mid season break.
From Feb - the business end of the season.
It doesn't matter when you are born as you start the championship half of the season in your age grade for that year. Realistically, this affects only very few people who would actually care.
Feb - mid March - maybe a regional summer series (4 races?)
Mid March - Mid May/Early June - the regional champs followed by Nationals at the end.
Personally I don't mind if the Nats are at Easter, QB or a weekend in mid May (just middle and long, sprint can be any time as can relay) However if I was forced to choose I would say QB.
June - August - nothing, club training, rogaines, JWOC, WOC, do another sport, whatever.
Its not that hard. Start thinking - THE END OF THE YEAR IS AT THE END OF THE SEASON, not THE END OF THE SEASON IS AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
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Jamie
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Posted: 26 August 2005, 6:53 AM
Heres to that...well put Dazza
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addison
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Posted: 26 August 2005, 6:56 AM
Also if we want to entice people of international calibre to our shores to boost competition in our elite grades then a spring -> autumn seasons does just that.
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MASH
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Posted: 26 August 2005, 7:13 AM
Something to bear in mind about QB,the weather. Some years ago we had a bad experience at a CD Nationals event on the central plateau.
My two young boys and other children came in suffering from hypotheria it was not a good scene and could have been tragic.
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MASH
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Posted: 26 August 2005, 11:15 AM
I am sure everyone agrees the O season should culminate with our premier event the Nationals. (common sense really)
I am also sure everyone would agree a properly structured season of events leading up to the Nationals is a must. (also common sense)
The Auckland region did have what I thought was a well structured season of events
progressively leading up to the Nationals when they were at Labour Weekend.
However, I feel, since the Nationals reverted to Easter, Auckland, for what ever reason, has been reluctant to embrace Easter, hence, we dont have the same or similar seasonal event lead up structure.
Hmm, I wonder why?
This message was edited by MASH on 26 August 2005, 7:43 PM
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MASH
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Posted: 26 August 2005, 11:35 AM
Darren, I agree with everything you put forward except for QB. (ie the weather)
Simon, I also agree with what you say. Overseas competitors coming to NZ must be good for the sport long term.
This message was edited by MASH on 26 August 2005, 7:49 PM
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old codger
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Posted: 26 August 2005, 1:04 PM
I have redrafted the july Auck mag article and the update will be in the Aug NZ Orienteer. Focus should not be totaly on the NZ Champs date. The basic proposal is a 3ZONE competition finishing with the NZ champs with a Think Tank committee looking at the whole structure of the season and making a recommendation to the NZOF and to the NZ orienteers.Like James you need to look at the article point by point before making comment.I'm personaly starting to lean to an Autumn season finishing at QB.Great lead up to woc, jwoc& WM. Solong as the nz champs is not an isolated event as it is now.
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onemanfanclub
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Posted: 28 August 2005, 3:34 PM
I'm quite happy with Easter. By Queens Birthday the weather has far more potential to be horrid or worse, and sometimes QB fields have suffered from people having begun their northern hemisphere campaigns by then. Also, assuming for a moment a spring to autumn season, yes it should climax with nationals but it's nice having another sort of relaxed wind-down to look forward to after. To make the spring to autumn season really work, it would be nice to see a mid-summer event every year and maybe the regional champs, or some of them at least, moved to Feb-March?
And let's not forget that many major orienteering countires have a "two-peak" season, as by mid summer undergrowth in some European forest types becomes too thick before it dies off again.
Two comments for the Labour Weekend brigade:Â@one, when nationals were at Labour weekend, they were right in the middle of the period that the regionals were, and still are spread. Either they'd need to be later (meaning people would have to take time off to run in all events), or the regionals shifted earlier, to achieve the aim of "nationals have to be at the end of the year". Once you're planning on having major events in September or earlier, you're running into problems for the majority of NZ orienteering where the sport depends on access to FARMLAND.
And those that ask how stupid it is to have nationals at the beginning of the year hopefully aren't cricket fans. Otherwise it must get so confusing for them when the finals of the major domestic competitions are held many months before the first games of the season have been played!
And this is the opinion of someone who would personally benefit from spring nationals as I'm able to train significantly more in winter than in summer. But the way we attempt to structure things now makes much more SENSE!!!
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onemanfanclub
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Posted: 28 August 2005, 3:39 PM
This message was edited by onemanfanclub on 29 August 2005, 10:01 PM
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nick
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Posted: 29 August 2005, 9:25 AM
seriously, what is the point of all this running around in the forest?
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James
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Posted: 30 August 2005, 1:09 PM
Well there seems to be a majority tending towards easter and QB rather than labour weekend. I must say im slightly dissapointed, and often think about the great structure that exists in australia and was kinda hoping we could use them as a model for our season. but majority rules so no point moaning about it! plus stats have shown easter is more favourable, and i do like the fact that there are 4 days available, therefore we can race all 4 WOC disiplines.
I have taken time to hear lots of opinions, but do quite like many of darrens points, but am unsure if this rearrangement will go down well with the majority of the NZ orienteering population (we know not many orienteers seem to like change!)
So ive come up with a slightly altered idea/proposal.
So we start the season in spring with OY's etc....
but, we still keep the area champs in OCT-NOV(keep the anti-change opinion happy, this includes CDOA, WOA, AOA,CANTERBURY and/or OTAGO champs) plus i really enjoy all the area champs during this time for motivation, socialising and getting geared up for lots of training over summer.
Then we get a summer break DEC-early JAN, then JAN hopefully a week long carnival, or training camps, or BOTH! either way lots of running and still enjoy the great NZ summer!
Then this is where it gets a bit different.........
FEB - SOUTH ISLAND champs (i believe thats what happened this year?? and heard awesome feedback from the event)
MARCH - NORTH ISLAND champs ( dont really know why the NI champs dissapeared)
Easter- Nationals
QB- 3 day event
June - August - nothing, club training, rogaines, JWOC, WOC, do another sport, whatever
Now im a little unsure the best place for the OY series..............
Spending this year in auckland, im finding the OY series a great build up to area champs and a good way to keep training through the winter,and would like to see this continue. But i realise that this doesnt fit into the 'season' i have proposed. also not everywhere in NZ has a mild winter like auckland!
But i think that having a couple of big events eg/ SI & NI champs before nationals will give us a good build up for nationals. Plus north islanders also have the awesome weekend in taupo every year that is katoa po, where there has often been some squad training as well, which is great 
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AlanHorn
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Posted: 30 August 2005, 11:14 PM
Here in the Wellington Area not only is the weather usually c**p during July-Sept (though it isnt this year), we simply cant get access to our good maps during most of August and September.
Lambing and Calving is one reason, but the other is Sambar deer hunting - this means the all the nice coastal sand dune forests are off limits during that time.
ergo we dont have anything other than a few club events leading up to Oct/Nov.
So down here we effectivley have two seasons (of quality events) - Autumn and early Summer.
Thus my preference would always be to have Nationals at Easter.
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nick
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Posted: 31 August 2005, 2:25 AM
i was asking a serious question: "what is the point of all this running around in the forest?"
we CAN arrange our sport to suit our regional preferences, keep it a nice low key family affair, pass the compasses down from generation to generation, M50 will always be the biggest class and every now and again we'll produce an orienteer who breaks into the top 20 at WOC... and if this is all we want the sport to be, thats absolutely fine.
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Chris Forne
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Posted: 31 August 2005, 2:30 AM
Actually, Canterbury Champs are usually in March.
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