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Changes to Events in 2009

As you are aware, the new three tier event structure will be introduced on 1st January 2009. Hopefully most of your questions about the practical implications of the new structure should be answered in this article.

Only now, after a great deal of work behind the scenes, are we in a position to release information about the new scheme. Most of the issues have been addressed and we are now able to clarify the situation.

If you have queries after reading this article, please contact info@britishorienteering.org.uk

One of the main reasons for changing the structure was to try to simplify events so that the workload on clubs and event officials could be reduced. The second major reason for change is to free clubs to stage events and courses that meet the needs of participants; events and courses should fit into the general framework which should encourage clubs to put on what their participants want.

Changes to the 2009 Fixtures

Whilst 2009 will be a year of transition into the new competition structure there are changes which need to be made in the run up to 2009. Changes have already commenced, the first of the visible changes being the changes to the fixture list that occurred in late November.

The Competitions Structure will, from 1 Jan 2009, be a 3 level structure of Local, Regional and National events. In order to reflect this within the Fixture list we have adopted a two staged process that can best be shown diagrammatically.

Note: There are no changes to 2008 events.

The biggest change for most participants will be that the current Level 4 District Events will become Local Events in 2009. In order to make this change all of the Level 4 District Events being staged in 2009 and onward that have already been registered in the Fixture list have been re-labelled as Level 5 Local Events. This is purely a name change and should make no difference to the actual staging of the event. Clubs can apply to upgrade them into a Regional Event by approaching their Association Fixtures Secretary in the normal manner.

Course Framework for 2009

Currently British Orienteering has courses that can be confusing to newcomers and difficult to explain. Courses are defined using a variety of parameters, technical difficulty, adjusted distance (adjusted to take into account climb), physical difficulty and expected finish times. A series of courses that follow the colour coded incentive scheme are offered primarily at district events while regional events have courses based on age classes, which the event structure review group considered were a barrier to progression of adult novices. We must make it easy for new participants to make the step from club activities and local events into regional events – it is vital to the future of our sport and a key phase in the ‘participation pathway’. At the same time, courses offered need to meet the needs of current orienteers.

An expanded colour-coded structure was recommended for both regional and local events in the new structure. Feedback suggests that this was confusing to existing orienteers and no more user friendly for newcomers. The fact that courses are described as colours creates a situation where clubs and event volunteers are encouraged to stage these specific courses. In reality there is little flexibility in the courses offered. To meet the needs of experienced orienteers and newcomers alike, event organisers should have the option and be encouraged to put on courses that can be tailored to suit their participation base.

So, how can the courses offered within the new, 2009 competition structure be made more user friendly and provide a framework that encourages clubs and event volunteers to put on courses that meet the needs of participants, both experienced and less experienced? At the Club Conference, held in conjunction with the EGM in October 2007, the Event Review recommendations were discussed and two of the groups suggested adopting a course framework similar to the grid shown below

Very Easy (TD1) courses are very easy with all controls on paths; they are mainly used by 6-10 year olds and family groups.

Easy (TD2) courses use paths, walls and streams; they are mainly used by under 12’s, families and runners wanting a run with few navigational challenges.

Medium (TD3) courses require the basic use of compass and have basic route choices; they are ideal for adult beginners.

Hard (TD4) courses are more technically difficult and use contour and ‘point’ features such as ponds, small buildings, boulders, small hills, etc; they are used by people with some experience.

Very Hard (TD5) courses are technically more difficult and require route choices to be made; they are designed for experienced orienteers wanting a challenge and a few course legs will offer route choices

This Course Framework appears to have many advantages including:

A wide variety of courses can be staged whilst maintaining a consistent naming method – clubs can now stage courses that meet the needs of the anticipated participants from within the Framework. If additional courses need to be staged to allow greater entry numbers then an ‘A’ and ‘B’ course can be added.
There is a clear link between navigational difficulty and adjusted distance with easily followed nomenclature. The descriptors are easy to explain to newcomers.
The framework allows newcomers and experienced participants to develop at their own pace i.e. there is a pathway for people wishing to take greater navigational challenges whilst only running shorter courses, equally there is opportunity for runners wishing to run greater distances whilst being less challenged navigationally.
The courses offered from within the Framework can still be the same courses that are currently offered to participants i.e. no change in the course offered is necessary there are just a few naming changes.

Courses offered at an event could be displayed as follows with descriptors to explain the nomenclature.

The course descriptors could be on a billboard. British Orienteering could develop these for clubs to use

The current courses link to the colour-coded incentive scheme can be ‘mapped’ onto the framework.

Similarly clubs could mark the ‘mapping’ of age class, making it obvious to experienced orienteers which course they should select to compete against their own age class.

Summary

The Course Framework outlined above should resolve some of the underlying issues and arguments about colour-coded versus age-class, namely:

Both age-class and colour coded incentives are catered for.
It provides a framework of courses and course descriptors that will be easier to explain to newcomers– hence supporting the vision of increasing participation in orienteering.
It provides a framework of courses and course descriptors from which a club will be free to select courses to include in an event to meet the needs of participants
The Guideline should now define the quality an event should be required to meet rather than the courses offered.
It provides clarity that it is the club that has responsibility to meet the needs of the majority of their participants to the best of their ability.

New Competition Structure

The last few weeks have seen a sudden increase in the number of phone calls and emails raising queries about the implementation of the new competition structure. The attached draft guidelines and FAQs will address some of these queries and provide more information about the implementation.

Firstly, although the transition to the new structure commences in January 2009, all the events in the current fixture list for 2009 will continue as they are and will not instantly change to the new three level structure. It was never intended that late changes to what is already being organised and planned would be made.

2009 is a transition year and the new structure will commence in its entirety from January 2010.

Attached are 3 documents for further information:

a) An overview of the new structure
b) A draft Event Guideline for Regional and Local Cross Country Events

c) Competition Structure FAQs

Whole Sport Plan – Update by Mike Hamilton

Using the Vision for Orienteering agreed last year and the information many of our clubs provided we have been able to draft ideas about how orienteering should be trying to develop over the next few years. We’ve been trying out some of these ideas with initiatives such as ‘Increasing Participation’ led by Steve Vernon. We are now at the stage in developing the plan where we want you to tell us if the main ideas in the plan are ok or if we need to change them.

Why do we need a plan – Why can’t we continue as we are?

Firstly we can continue as we! However the plan will help coordinate and prioritise the efforts of volunteers and staff and enable more effective use of our resources. We need to change our focus, mainly due to the age profile of orienteering becoming older – if we can’t make the sport attractive to young people and keep them participating in the sport, there may be a serious risk to the future of orienteering in the UK.

The conundrum is that without more volunteers we struggle to increase participation and without increased participation there will less opportunity to increase the number of volunteers! The plan tries to find a way through this thorny issue.

Members, as always, are the people that turn ideas into actions. The programmes outlined below should provide the focus to coordinate our efforts.

Recognising the resources available to orienteering are limited, we believe it is realistic to work with a small number of ‘focus’ clubs, probably less than 10, for a couple of years and then move on to work with another batch of clubs whilst continuing to support the first batch but at a lower level of support. This means we can focus our resources and be more effective. It also means that if your club wants to continue on its own path it can do so – no pressure from us! Interested clubs will be able to talk to national staff about becoming a ‘Focus’ club, however we will be limiting the number of clubs we work with in the first few years of the plan.

British Orienteering is in the process of agreeing the way forward across the funding regions; inevitably the funding available to support the plan may well come from different funding agencies. We know that funding is already agreed in Northern Ireland and a Development Officer is in place, we are currently negotiating with Sport England regarding their support for the next 4 years, SOA will be seeking support from Sport Scotland in the coming months against their agenda for increasing participation and, unfortunately, we have not yet been able to agree funding with Sport Wales to support our plan – but we will continue to try. UK Sport does not provide funds for such plans at the moment as it is focusing almost exclusively on London 2012. However British Orienteering does have access to other funds such as the multi day fund which will be used to support this plan.

The ‘Vision for Orienteering’ is More People, More Places, More Podiums –What does this mean?

Orienteering wants to get more people involved, give them a great experience that motivates them to stay involved and help participants achieve their potential in the sport.

How will we try to help our ‘focus’ clubs develop? By:

Promoting ‘local activities’ in population centres, using weekly sessions based around a single venue that offers a social or café environment;
Supporting clubs to stage local events that are simpler to organise and more frequent – meeting members’ needs at a local level;
Developing volunteers at club level using home learning and apprenticeships/mentoring schemes; we think this needs coordinating within the club by a ‘Volunteer Coordinator’; clubs overwhelmingly told us that finding and developing volunteers is the key ingredient required for the sport to develop;
Establishing ‘link programmes’ with schools and higher education; focusing on quality rather than quantity;
Providing quality coaching on a regular basis to a club ‘talent group’.

These ideas came from clubs and members and we believe they are the focus areas that orienteering needs to achieve its vision. The plan includes ideas about how these programmes will be delivered but at this stage we are trying to make sure our ideas meet with general agreement.

Benefits to clubs that are not identified as ‘focus’ clubs will include resources such as the ‘Club Activity Guide’ produced by Steve Vernon.

Members of clubs not in the first batch of ‘Focus’ clubs will be able to watch developments, assess the success and then decide if they want to try to become a ‘Focus’ club at a later stage or just use some of the ideas that are suitable for their club.

We believe these programmes are right for orienteering and will be working with our funding partners to see which aspects of our plan they are able and willing to support.

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