Orienteering Association of South Australia

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Please send any constructive comments or feedback on this page to Robin Uppill at aruppill@chariot.net.au

With respect to request for split start times, at events covered by OFA rules eg State Championships and Badge events, the only valid requests
for split start times are

1. For helpers who may start up to 1.5 hours before designated first start 
2. For the purposes of child minding, where both parents cannot run at the same time.

At recent events requests have included some from parents who wish to shadow their children on the child's course before they compete in their own course.  Apart from not falling in neither of the above categories this is also against both the rules and the spirit of orienteering as it results in an orienteer being in an out of bounds area (ie on the map) before they have done their own course.

Hence parents who wish to shadow their children can only do it after they have finished their own course.  This should be followed at the upcoming SA champs (Wallaringa please note). At badge events, especially on a pre-existing map it is less of an issue.

A second issue is whether children who are being shadowed can be competitive or should just do enter on the day courses.

Could all clubs please advise the above with respect to requests for split start times to their OASA delegates as it will be raised at the next OASA meeting, and also inform their club members.  More specifically at the next OASA meeting specific items to be discussed will be

1. OFA rules with respect to split start times are to be followed at SA Champs

2. ?Whether these should also apply at badge events

3. ?Whether children who are shadowed should be non-competitve but still do the designated course for their age, or do enter on the day only

Robin Uppill
OASA Technical Officer

The orienteering course comprises the start, the legs, control sites and the finish. Often the temptation is to look at the more complex or detailed areas of the map and think that they contain good control sites, and then just join these areas with the legs, or to look for the tricky control sites when doing the field check. 

However the legs are the most important part of the course and the quality of the course is largely determined by the quality of the legs. Hence plan the legs before considering the control site at the end of it, just circle a general area in which you want each leg to end. The following points are relevant to planning good legs 

Emphasis is to have several legs with route choice, eg by presenting some obstacles on the leg such as climb, rocky areas, greener areas, complex areas, or simply by length which opens up larger areas of the map to the competitor thus creating more potential route choices 

Good legs offer competitors interesting map reading problems, allow for alternative individual routes, and hence tend to separate competitors 

Try to plan the main legs where the map is rich in detail, changeable in character and demanding in map reading ability 

Different types of legs should be offered on a course so that different skills are tested, eg range from intense map reading to sections in which rough orienteering is possible 

Variations with respect to length and difficulty to force competitors to use a range of techniques eg a couple of short intense legs before a longer leg with major route choice decisions 

The course should give changes in directions for consecutive legs as this forces competitors to reorient themselves frequently 

Preferable for a course to have a few very good legs joined by short links to enhance the better legs rather than a larger number of even but lesser quality legs 

Good legs with several route choice possibilities tend to split up the field thus reducing "following" 

# Use short linking legs to eliminate dog legs 

# Don’t ruin a good leg by having a ‘bingo’ control at the end of it. 

# Thoughtful planning of legs with route choice can make good courses on some of our more average maps 

However as with looking for that tricky control site, don’t fall into a similar trap by setting a leg which crosses the steepest, thickest and most complex parts of the map in order to place obstacles on your course. 

For examples of "Good Legs" refer to a series of articles which have appeared in the last few issues of the "Australian Orienteer". Also look back at some of your recent orienteering courses for examples of legs which may have presented you with route choice problems and think about which ones gave you with the most "enjoyable" challenge. Some may have presented a challenge but was it enjoyable (eg just steep and green).

Moderate Courses

Courses should have route choice 
There should be big attack points near controls 
Catching features should be present <100 m behind controls 
Control sites can be fairly small point features but not in areas of complex detail 
Control flags not necessarily visible from the attack point 
Control flags not necessarily visible from direction of approach 
Preferably avoid areas of complex contour detail 
Aim is to provide a technical challenge without allowing serious errors to occur 

Hard Courses

Navigation should be as difficult as possible (but this should not override basic principles of running navigation above) 
Controls on small contour and point features 
No large attack points or handrails nearby 
Route choice should be an element of most legs 
Have variety in the types of navigational and route choice problems set 

As not all potential course planners were able to attend the course planing workshop, notes on some topics covered will be included in newsletters, in this issues some aspects of course checking & control placement are covered. 

Field Checking Courses and Controls

Once courses are planned on paper, a field check is required. An integral part of this is to check all control sites, and to note all relevant information about the control site to fully complete the course control descriptions. In particular the following should be noted -Field check courses & control sites, mark all control sites with survey tape or some other marker, preferably labelled with control number & description, with tape or marker at proposed site of control. This ensures that either course planner or any other another person putting out controls places them at the intended location. During the field check, also need to consider that description of control is correct & complete (take a blank sheet with clue description layout and fill in all relevant information about control site eg which feature, size of feature, where control will be in relation to feature etc),check that the map accurately portrays the ground in the vicinity of the control & that direction and distances from all possible angles of approach & attack points, are correct. Check that there are no major hazards likely to be encountered by competitors on any leg (eg dangerous cliffs, areas of mine shafts etc), if so arrange for this to be flagged & or taped off If you are having trouble finding a control feature or have doubts about its mapped accuracy, then it is better not to use the feature 

Note any relevant map corrections whilst field checking controls 

Check the need to mark any hazardous areas during the field check. 

Siting Of, and Visibility of Control Flags

The control flag should be placed at the feature in accordance with the control description, it should be visible to the competitor when they can see the described position (orienteering is not a treasure hunt). If this is not the case, then the map is of no further use to the competitor & the only solution is to hunt around until the flag is found resulting in success becoming a matter of luck & not orienteering skill. The value of good legs may be lost if a control site at the end of it leads to an significant time loss due to flag being hidden, location or description ambiguous, or even worse misplaced. 

* If the control is on a linear feature eg watercourse, the control flag should be visible in either direction, from a distance which is between 5-10% of the distance from the nearest attack point, with a minimum of 5m. So don't hide the control behind a bush, especially if this results in the control being more visible from one side than the other. 

* For broader features eg spur, gully, the control flag should be visible in any direction from a distance that is between 5-10 % from the nearest attack point, with a minimum of 10 m. 

* Controls on point features must be visible when the competitor is standing at the feature as described on the control description. 

* Siting of controls on the same type of feature in close proximity is not recommended eg adjacent gullies both with controls. Although there are no rules specifying the separation required in OFA Rules, 100m is generally used & is specified in IOF "Principles of Course Planning". When siting nearby controls on the same or similar features (eg boulder and boulder cluster) use control flags with significantly different number codes. Also controls placed too close on different courses can mislead runners who have correctly navigated to the control site, so ensure that close spaced controls are significantly different in both their terrain location & type of feature, otherwise the element of luck returns. 

Placing controls in a maze of illegible detail, in dark green, or on isolated point features in otherwise featureless terrain should be avoided, these generally become the "bingo controls". Controls are not technically difficult because they are hidden. Controls, which are in greener areas, should have good attack points or other features that assist in defining the location of the control due to the reduced visibility. 

Robin and Adrian Uppill

Taking your dog for a run with you on your orienteering course may seem like a good way to exercise the dog as well as yourself, unfortunately this is not permitted in most circumstances under the current OASA regulations which include the following 

1. Dogs are not to be brought out of vehicles unless specifically invited. If they are brought to an event, the organiser has the responsibility to ask the people concerned to comply or leave. 

2. When dogs are allowed they are only to be taken on the easy and very easy courses. 

Organisers should include, if possible, information regarding dogs at their events in any pre-event information included in "The SA Orienteer" and with the registration information at the event. Participants should abide by any such information where it differs from the regulations above. 

We should also take note of rules regarding pets at conservation and national parks, some prohibit pets, at other parks dogs are permitted on a lead only eg Belair
NP. Rangers at some events in SA Forestry areas have asked that dogs not be present. Where orienteering maps are on private property, this is commonly sheep grazing land, so we should assume that landowners do not want dogs wandering across it. 

However we should all use our common sense in this area, and not infringe on other orienteers who do not wish to be bothered by dogs on their course or
elsewhere. Although one of the advantages of orienteering is that it caters for both the serious competitors as well the recreational orienteers, dogs on courses are not really compatible with the former. In addition the presence of dogs may create problems with property owners leading to restrictions on access to areas we currently
use for orienteering. 

There have been articles on this topic in recent newsletters & it was also discussed at the recent Course Planning Workshop. My personal [Robin] solution for this issue is to carry my own water in a 500ml drink bottle in a pouch on a belt, & I have been doing this for several years. Having lived in warmer climates this also was often an essential item on longer training runs. By carrying your own water several eventualities are covered eg other competitors having drunk all the water before you reach a water control, being able to have a drink when you need it & not when the course planner perceived that you might, or becoming lost & never finding the water control. 

Other alternatives to carrying your own water is to use a couple of the 250 ml pop-top bottles in which fruit juices are now sold in some supermarkets, & fitting them into pockets sown on the back of your "O" pants or a belt. Collapsible cups, either made of cardboard fruit juice containers or commercially available ones, are an alternative to carrying your own water, but these don't cover many of the scenarios above & leave you at the mercy of the course planner & your fellow competitors to a greater degree than carrying your own water. This issue is perhaps one for which we should take some responsibility ourselves, rather than imposing solutions eg having enough plastics cups or individual bottles at drink controls for everybody to have their own, which require extra workload for course planners and organisers. 

In addition, we should all ensure drinking adequately hydrates us before we start on a course [drink around about 30 min beforehand]. 

A selection of water bottles & pouches are available from both "Southern Orienteering Supplies" & "Paddy Pallin".

Robyn Uppill