Letters

Junior Competition Structure

The proposed changes detailed in the last issue of Points East may or may not be the correct thing to do - but who knows? How many juniors have been involved or asked their views before this proposal was put forward? Have ANY juniors been consulted?

There is great danger that attention will be diverted from determining the underlying problem due to concentrating on proposals which may have no bearing on the real issues.

Also the proposed changes could result in less junior (and senior) attendance at badge events if they do not provide the competitive structure which juniors want.

There are many other reasons for lack of juniors - some of which I list below :-

1. Shopping - we have become a nation obsessed with shopping on Sundays - the likes of complexes such as Lakeside - and boot sales everywhere - are packed on a Sunday.
2. Travel costs - thanks to Governments who find the motorist a soft target - it now costs around £10 just to pay for petrol to attend an event only 50 miles away.
3. No transport - few parents are willing or able to take their offspring to events especially if the parents are non orienteers.
4. Orienteering is seen as an 'old people's' sport - the age profile is moving higher each year . The courses for M50's often attract the highest or almost the highest number of competitors - just look at the last EA Championships - there were 33 M50 competitors compared with 37 M21's (and the age range for M21 is 14 years compared with 5 for M50!) as well as 26 M35's , 26 M40's and 28 M45's. How many M50's have juniors to bring to events ? The ladies show an even greater age bias (although a group younger) - there were just 16 W21's compared with 17 W45's!
5. Competitor numbers are down for all ages - the average badge event in the South attracts little more than half the number of competitors that attended a few years ago.

As for the changes to colour coded courses - Andrew Kelly is not alone in misunderstanding the reason for the Light Green course. It IS meant to be easier than the Green course - being introduced to provide the transition from Orange to Green. However being easier does not necessarily mean to say that it has to be shorter (conversely that Green has to be longer). The guidelines state that Green should be Technical Difficulty 5 whereas Light Green is Technical Difficulty 4. The distance range gives a top of 3.5 for the Light green and a starting point of 3.5 for the Green.

Renaming all the courses seems to me to be a complete waste of time and resources - can anyone show how many more competitors there will be if this is done?

If there is some dislike of the name - Light Green - then perhaps Lime or some other name can be substituted. If all the courses are renamed what will be done about the existing badge holders?

Andrew Kelly's proposal is headed ... integrated JUNIOR competition ... but the changes proposed to colour coded events will affect ALL orienteers and must be considered by all.

Unless the RIGHT changes are made - and made very soon - Orienteering will die out in this country . More competitors need to be introduced or reintroduced to the sport especially at the younger end of the seniors as well in the junior ranks.

We should only try to make changes when we understand what the real problems are.

Tony Biggs (M50 HAVOC)
email - tony@biggs27.freeserve.co.uk