DRAFT DESCRIPTION
Updates
7 Jan 03 Changes resulting from Jan NOS Training Camp. Look at "Events", "Scoring".
20 Dec 02 Otago Champs removed from consideration
14 Dec 02 Southland Champs removed from consideration; all of Anzac event to count (one result at double rates); Michael's scoring scheme refined a bit; only NOS members to get any travel help.
9 Dec 02 Added Derek Morrison's points system, which he has developed independently
6 Dec 02 Added section on ideas NOT included, and why; regional competition added
5 Dec 02 Initial version

Background

Orienteering is a small sport without gate takings or TV charisma, so the national body's only resources come from taxing "mum-and-dad" orienteers. Funding from the Sports Foundation has been lost, with that body's concentration on a few medal-winning sports. The biggest funder of high performance orienteering in New Zealand is the pockets of the top orienteers themselves! And these are not deep pockets, with most orienteers current or recent tertiary students, in many cases with student loans.

And considerable funds are required, with the majority of international competitions being held in Europe and Scandinavia. The World Championship move from a 2-yearly to an annual basis has forced a relook at strategy. New Zealand orienteering has concluded that it should no longer assume it will contest every World Championship. It must use competition in Australia to a greater extent, and build up stronger domestic competition.

In 2002, a trial NZ orienteering league was formed to do the latter. Elite classes at 16 events in the North and South Islands formed a series, and a scoring system found the best male and female orienteer. For events and results see www.maptalk.co.nz.

Changes Required

Features that need changing were:

• Management. Enthusiastic designers of the superseries were less interested in running it. The high profile they envisaged didn't eventuate.
• Attendance. The honour and glory alone of winning the series did not increase fields significantly. The exception was the final two events where local organisers obtained a grant to provide partial travel help.
• Scoring System. The time-based system was too complex, preventing the new scores from being immediately apparent at events.

Events 2003

(Aside: This means that events with capable planners and controllers on small areas of challenging terrain may be suitable for inclusion; it is not essential that each event provide a 105-minute M21E course. The relay discipline should be considered in the future. However this will require additional events beyond those run at present.)

Suitable major competitions generally take place March-Easter-Queens Birthday, and September-Labour Weekend-November. There is often a major event in January, eg Aust-NZ Challenge every three years, 2004 Proposed Otago/Southland events; and when NZ does send an elite team overseas, many of its members leave in June. The series should therefore run between September and Queens Birthday weekend.

A mini-series will therefore be run to fill the gap between the 2002 series and the 2003-4 series. It will include 9 races as follows:

• Canty Champs (Craigmore) and SI Challenge (Tekapo) Apr 5/6
• NZ Long-distance Championship (formerly called the classic) Woodhill Forest 19 Apr
• NZ Middle-distance Championship (formerly called the short) Woodhill Forest 20 Apr
• NZ Park-orienteering Championship (similar to the sprint distance) Auckland City 20 Apr
• Anzac Event Day 1 Woodhill Forest Apr 24
• Anzac Multi-day Event Woodhill Forest 24-27 Apr (overall result)
• QB Park-orienteering Event, Masterton 31 May
• Winter Classic (extra-long multi-loop event) Wairarapa 1 June

• Auckland Champs, 11-12 Oct
• Central Districts Champs, 25-27 Oct
• Wellington Champs, 8-9 Nov
• South Island Champs, 22-23 Nov
• Events from the Southern Six-Day, Otago/Southland, 3-11 Jan 04
• Events from the NZ Championships, Manawatu, 9-12 Apr
• Events from the Queens Birthday Multiday, to be allocated, 5-7 Jun
• Another two-day event to be selected

Scoring System

• In principle competitors will count their best 80% of results. The actual number will be chosen from year to year, and for the 2003 mini-series competitors will drop the worst 2 out of the 9 results.
• The points scale will be related to placing. The scale needs to relate to typical field sizes and will therefore be a compromise between men and women. For 2003 it will be 15, 12, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 for all other finishers. Fine print: in the case of a tie both competitors get the higher points.
• In the interest of simplicity there will be no bonus points for field size, closeness to the winner's time, or "insurance points".
• There will be a concurrent regional competition, based on the points of the top 4 men and the top 2 women from each region in each race. The regions for this purpose will be Auckland, Wellington, South Island. The divide between Auckland and Wellington will be an E/W line through the middle of Lake Taupo.

Eligibility

(Extension to a junior section will be considered for a future series. The proposed spectator game "The Ultimate Manager" will be considered for a future series.)

Travel Assistance

(Travel assistance is by no means certain, and may cover some events and not others. Participants must cover all other costs of their participation, including entry fees, accommodation and car travel to event location. They are free to seek personal sponsorship where this does not conflict with any series or NZOF sponsorship.)

Management

• Keep the score table
• Provide topical score, news and competitor information to competitors and supporters, via web, NZO, email bulletins
• Provide information to the NZOF Media Officer for national media
• Manage travel support, sponsorship and awards.
• Liaise with event organisers to showcase superseries competitors, eg commentator, even centre layout
• Liaise with NOS Coach, Manager and competitor representatives
• Attend events where possible
• Arrange a final award ceremony
• Review the series for the future

Ideas NOT included, and why

Bonus points for field size or closeness to the winner discarded in the interest of simplicity.

Counting all events. Participants may be involved in planning some events. Insurance points abandoned now that the worst results are discarded.

Excluding the nationals. Disparate views here, some feel they should stand alone, others that they are worth greater weight in the series! It is possible that the desire to keep future series to 10-12 events may see the nationals excluded in future.

Include leg 1 of the NZ relays. Because of splits the courses are not the same. Elites race all three legs of the NZ relays. I don't think this would be acceptable to the rest of orienteering, who would see the elites as not contributing to their club ambitions, rather than making another "team" for their club.

Special requirements on event organisers such as commentary. We cannot ask NZ organisers to do more, they are not exactly falling over themselves to run major events, hadn't you noticed? Some events will have organisers who are interested in these extras but we cannot REQUIRE it at this stage.

Sunday after NI night relays. The SI night relays are now on the same date and as they have had to move to avoid the (unaffiliated) NZRA 24hr rogaine it would be unfair to drag SI elites away.

Weekends with only one event counting. Its going to be hard enough getting travel money as it is, and I think that we should look for weekends with at least TWO suitable events.

Southland Champs and SI Challenge at Overton Forest 22/23 Feb. The planners and controllers haven't been sorted out as at 13 Dec so we can't have confidence in the quality of this event. And prospective participants esp in the NI need more than 2 months notice to attend.

Otago Champs and SI Challenge 17/18 May. The planner for the Otago Champs hasn't been confirmed yet, and more importantly NOS is hoping that members will take part in the Australian WOC trials in May.

Comments to Michael Wood Ph (04) 566 2645.