Orienteering and TV-time , micro-o

I have add voting/polling - you can tell your opinion about Micro-O Vote - Kerro.

a video of the micro O' portion of the Nordic Champs. Is this the best drama what we can offer ?

Why we are changing every year our sport ? Always we have same answer: TV-time.

Why we are killing motivation of competitors?

How much more we have got TV-time ? None.

• 2 min start interval in long distance 1997 in the WOC (no TV broadcast ...)
• sprint: sprint in the park, in the middle of city, ...
• GPS in Tampere 2001 - used only some seconds
• micro-o
• WOC every year
• ...

If we like to get more TV-time, we must sell our sport - not change it. Normal problem for the technically orienteed persons. It so easy to make changes and then hope that somebody found our products. We need selling, but before that lot of work in the cutting table !!!

First: We must ourself believe that our products are excellent. After that we must only find those things which are maybe interesting for the remote control users. Now we don't believe ourself - normal action - make changes - normal action for nonprofessional salesman - if customer don't buy it, change it and try again. Salesman basic idea, try to find what they are looking, what values are important - and take those values from own products and tell those properties = answer for needs. First you make question, question, question - TV-producers tell answer, answer, answer ... then you make your definition = find those needs from your products, not change it. In the next meeting you can say: We have just those values and then you tell what other person has said in last meeting. After that you need only close the agreement. We must believe that we have good products.

In year 2004 and 2005 we have been about 10 TV broadcasts in Finland. How it has been possible ? Ask from Mr. Mikko Salonen from Finnish Orienteering Federation.

History of TV orienteering:

• 1976 Great-Britain, Finland, other countries ?
• 1978 Norway, Norway, Finland, other countries ?
• 1979 Finland, Finland, other countries ?
• 1989 Sweden, Sweden, Finland, other countries ?
• 1997 Norway, nothing
• 1999 GB, nothing
• 2001 Finland, Finland, other countries ?
• 2003 Switzerland, nothing in Finland, other countries ?
• 2004 Sweden, nothing in Finland, other countries ?
• 2005 NOC, nothing in Finland, other countries ?
• 2005 Japan, nothing in Finland, other countries ?

I have not counted some 10 s news in some sport newsprogram.

I can't see any signals that changes has helped our TV-process (2 min interval, city/park sprint, ...). Every time we have killed motivation.

If we have been TV-broadcast - we have sell our products for broadcast company. Then other countries has possibilities also buy it. That needs selling also.

Our sport must be interesting in our own country - more orienteers, stories in newspaper, ... then we have possibilities to sell our sport to broadcast company.

National: Our sport must be in TV - like Finland now it is. It has been heavy projects (Jukola + about 5 competiotion/year). Then we have better possibilities to get broadcast time ex. WOC and so on.

It's more easier to use commercial tv channel - we can buy our TV-time with our partners - ex. Jukola 2000 was first orienteering broadcast in the commercial TV-channel.

Look your own countries tv-sport - look using outsider eyes - and think big sports which are not in TV or maybe once in year. What does is our possibilities to get TV-time ? Dreamers. Need selling ourself.

How much it helps our competitors to be more professional ?

I believe that our federation job helps much more - 5-6 broadcast in year - visibilities is much more - without any tricks like micro-o/middle of streets/... good cutting after competition then program out from TV on the same evening. No need take care of start interval, can handle TV controls and then finish, not mixed and heavy to follow. Interesting direct broadcast is expansive and very difficult to follow - except relays. Maked easy to follow for normal TV-user = cutting table is our tools. Our sport the most interesting thing is to make mistakes and nice pictures from terrain, heavy uphills, ... , not punching on the wrong point. When we found nice and difficult place (good visibility for TV), then we have possibilities to show also mistakes. We need only 1-2 good TV control/courses, rest of competition is normal - not visible on the TV.

I don't know any competitor who has said: I love this - They have said I hate this - nothing todo in orienteering competition. = IOF council has not any person, who understand what is orienteering = skill needs, methods to run fast, idea of orienteering. Orienteering amateurs make desicion for orienteering professionals. Again IOF has showed that they don't care about competitors. All other things are more important. Why I said amateurs ? If they are orienteering professionals, they don't distroy orienteering. If they are ... they'll development competition environment, take care that competitors still love this sport.

After we have TV-time in many, many countries, I understand that we look WOC, Wcup, other TV-competition and what we have possibilities to show competition so that TV-user get something more. Before that orienteering competitions are for orienteers. Now we change our sport again using same reason: TV.

If our sport is not well known in our own country, we have not possible to be TV-sport = must done first.

TV control add possibility to make mistake = we have so unprofessional planner, who can't found normal control place for TV where competitors can make mistakes. TV-users ofcourse like to see mistakes just like death, accidents, humiliations, blood, sex, ... We are animals.

Micro-o, citysprint,... are only tricks for us to lie that our sport would be interesting in the world wide.

Why we are making changes which maybe helps sell WOC in one country - depending of organizer country. If there was o-micro 2005, how much more TV-time we get ? Don't make one year decisions. Now we have done, or have next WOC's promised that they have TV broadcast ?

It's very amateur thinking that somebody give some idea and after that some orienteering amateurs change our sport without good definition, discussion, ... all this happened in one week ?

How many country has real possibilities that they have 1-2 TV broadcast in year ? Even they arrange WOC.

I think that maybe MTB-O has best possibilites to be world wide orienteering. MTB is so popular in many countries. I'm foot orienteer, but that has been my selection.

Have anybody asked from the middle distance runners what do they think about micro-o ? Must they change training - reason - we/IOF/... lie ourself.

Why we create something which is not usefull in the regular competition.

We only need anymore that IOF destroy long distance. It has almost destroyed, but something is still left. Add mass start for the long and then we have left nothing in the WOC. Then everything has done for unvisible TV - and all properties of orienteering has killed = reason why we have selected this sport. After that we have killed all motivation almost every real orienteers. (3 person / country / comp, WOC in every year, 3 legs in relay, sprint, micro-o in middle, ...).

With this speed WOC are very soon some happening, not real trying to find the World Best Orienteers. 3 person in the relay/team = first and only sport in the world ?

Where they make training - not in the competitions - that is reality. NOC map example wasn't done using IOF standard = we must make special map for training, which has done only for m-o, because we have some 5 min WOC section. Are we grazy ? How about WOC 2006 ? Have we again special map, not IOF map using IOF standards.

Micro-o give lot of extra work for organizer = only some competitions in year = Does that give to us priviledges to arrange World Championship competition ? No.

Resultsystems software must update to support this great idea. Resultsystem come more and more complex and risk for mistakes are bigger. Today the technical needs to arrange competition is maybe too high. Micro-o add those needs again.

More difficulties to found good competition center. More and more courses is rounding the center. Middle comes like long sprint ? What we lost ? Orienteering - competitor get less real orienteering - more boring orienteering. More shorter legs - nothing interesting.

Why WOC is testing place ?

If like to test, why not sprint ? We have been so many different sprint in the WOC history - one more is nothing.

Why don't we first test ideas in our national competition and try to get TV to be interesting AND TV-user to be interesting. Then come out with new format in Wcup, WOC, ... if competitors like it also.

It's very bad idea that we have version of orienteering which is used mostly on some unvisible TV-competition, but normal organizer will not arrange that - too much work and get nothing. Something like sprint. Most of orienteers not love orienteering middle of city - that is not orienteering - it's so easy. We are mostly orienteers who like to orienteer on the forest. That is our sport.

Comparing competitors with new method - no automation, no rules, ... = random.

Ofcourse I like that our sport is on TV and TV-user like to look orienteering, but we must find those ideas, which are reason why we do it. Maybe then we have possibilities to tell nice and interesting drama also for TV-users. We have something and we have values (nature, forest, greenvalues, skills,...).

Biathlon: they show all mistakes, penalty loop is not interesting.

micro-o: show 1-2 mistakes, rest of mistakes are hidden

micro-o: less mistakes - orienteers learn system - less mistakes - what was so interesting ?

We have also accept that there is lot of interesting hoppies in the world, but only some part of peoples are interested those - even they try everything - like we are doing.

If we so much want label "orienteering" in the Olympic Games - why we don't create own orienteering version for that and current terrainorienteers can continue this lovely sport in our own world, .... We have so much engineer - they can build hundreds version. Current orienteering will be never interesting world wide sport, just like ex. finnish own "baseball"=pesäpallo. You must do it yourself that you really understand what it is. Then you maybe love it.

If we like more TV-time from WOC, we must arrange WOC's only in those countries, which has possibilities to arrange TV-time. Is that reality? Ofcourse not. So, how reality is to get more TV-time ?

Why we add new untested event to the middle of some other ? Why WOC is the first present of this event (I mean world wide, not only nordic).

Have IOF any idea what means WOC for competitors - it's a dream in the future - you make works many years without salary (usually parents pay it). You try to learn Tero-level skills, try to learn methods how to be fastest animal on the terrain between location A and B. Everything looks fine, next year I'm the King Of Middle. Suddenly some group say that sorry - next year we have new measurementsystem to test and you must learn those in one year - we o-gurus know that this is only little change, almost nothing ... so it's very easy to create automation, learn WOC-level skills, get lot of experiences from the micro-o competitions (maybe 10-20 comp. before WOC in the world) and after that ofcourse you are ready to the Championship.

In one week IOF killed many dreams, motivation to make training 600-800 h/year, ...

When we select WOC places, most important values are how much cost sleeping and eating ? If we like that our WOC's are TV-program then it must be part of request. But are we ready about that ?

Who believe that some orienteering week where is only sprint, micro-o, ... has thousands of orienteers ?

All we have seen, if we have good and nice terrain - then we have more orienteers. Good terrain with good courses are the heart of our sport.

TV-camera location selection is most important = in the terrain, not in the middlle of street/park/dogs/peoples, not competition methods. Using cutted TV broadcast, we can add explanations for mistakes (drawing: manual or GPS tracking = no need for online tracking = after competition read punching and gps-data from the competitors = same system is usable in the training also), handle control by control = no need to take care of start intervals, ... easy to follow.

Realtime map-drawing-tracking is boring. It's a tool to tell what has happened. Relay situation is little different.

I'm waiting when Emit, SI, ... add GPS-tracking to the card. Then no need to use add-on tracking like Frwd, Suunto X-9, ...

Splitting middle using micro-o - we split something more.

Are we lieing ourself ? Are we killing orienteering (sprint,micro-o,...) ?

Jukka Inkeri

Send comments (30) some comments

PS. Alone with this perspective ? Read ex.

• Finnish discussion about micro-o.
• Alternativ.nu Swedish micro-o discussion
• Picture tell more than ...
• One more picture tell more than ...
• Okansas Blog
• Norway
• GB
• Matr Troeng
• Attack Point
• Microorientering med i VM 2006
• Orienteering Today

Orienteering could, I think, make for good TV....but not live. I think a good editor with a bunch of video from a race could put together a good story. Forget about how the event unfolded live, edit it to tell a story. That's how TV covers adventure racing and it seems to work pretty well."
Full story

But IF we have Micro-O ?

• we need international group to define micro-o rules, NOC example need fixing
• If look WOC history of middle, time difference is about 3 min between 10 best competitor. 5 minutes micro-o role = max. about 1 minute. If we have only making TV-show - then we can give less role for micro-o, if we look results - TV-persons are looking mistakes ? Or ? So time is not important, only idea of mistakes. Why it's 5 min - we can't show so many controls in the TV?
• So simple as possible - TV-user must understand the system - so no some tactics needs (punch or not ... some engineer has done this idea ).
• We have posibilities to show 1-2 TV control on TV - 2 micro-o control and nothing else. We can see:punch correct or not. Why hidden micro-o controls - what we do with those ???
• Penalty loop, about 15 s = TV-competition
• if penalty is only 15 s = difficult leg for difficult control = run as fast as possible and punch on the some control ... penalty must be more ? Then less micro-o conrols ... why we have to add this kind of tactic properties ?
• In the regular competition (without lot of spectators or TV) we can use some micro-o control = wrong punching 15-30 s penalty
• No need to use any special maps, 1:10 000 must be enough. Why we need 1:5 000 map ??? for TV-user ??? NOC 1:5000 map wasn't ISOM2000 standard
• if we have lot of competitors - resultsystem must also include info about wrong punching - more and more competitors in the infodesk
• We need ISOM standard maps - readable map, nothing else.
• Why we need 1:5000 ??? Why we can't make same idea on the one map - there is only some TV-extra controls without code ?
• Those empty area controlpoints have nothing todo with orienteering - I understand idea, taked from trail-o - but orienteering base idea is still Who is fastest from location A to location B. We don't need more engineer methods - our sport is already too much "engineersport"
• What interesting is to make micro-o control which are only hidden in the forest but TV shows only 1-2 control ??? Funny to look TV and wait some penalty number ??? Are we sure that it's interesting ... ? Is our sport so dummy that waiting penalty number on the screen is more interesting ? I understand idea of make mistake on TV, but mistake somewhere in the forest = what is difference to the current system ???
• Add 2-3 micro-o control to the sprint - sprint is better place to test this kind of tricks
• Is there TV broadcast from WOC 2006. Okay. How about other countries as Denmark ? Really ? Then why ???
• If one WOC/year is on the TV in one/two country - How that helps our competitors to found sponsors ??? We are very amateur sport - somebody works professionally.
• How about our problem - following other competitor. Ex. WOC 2005 middle Thierry catched previous competitor - if micro-o: they continue together to the micro-o. Only grazy don't follow Thierrys choise. Result = 5th place, but without micro-o Thierry was stonger on the last uphill - place wasn't 5th
• Maybe we need some stop&go system to break pairs. We can remove stop penaltytime from result. Or ... It's more interesting to look stop&go penaltycontrol as penaltynumbers on the screen. No, both of those not add TV-users. But ourself we maybe need some pairbreakingsystem on the WOC ?
• map must be 1:10 000
• whole course in one map
• only 1-2 TV-controls are done using NOC-spec. Which testing type is okay (NOC-spec)? type I (=VI+VII),III. Type II nothing todo with IOF rules, map includes the tasks/problems, control description role = only tell where it is exactly. This is orienteering, not reading test. Orienteering destination is some symbol on the map, description tell where is flag and punching, IF it's not readable exactly from map - base idea = no need for description. Type IV+V is for Trail-O, nothing todo when we use foot orienteering rules.
• if TV-control is done using micro-o controls - those can be allmost everywhere - no need micro-o section, we have only different type of control - no codenumber. But do we need this or can we do it using good planner work ?
• every control must punch, if not then disq.
• no need for obligatory controls
• keep it simple that Your BIG TV-audience understand the system
• why we not test this first in ex. in the sprint and not maybe destroy middle.

PS. I love all technical orienteering (like ex. Tero also), so for me it is okay, but I can't understand why we arrange so technical competition. Only one method to train skills - not more. I believe that Terkelsen, Rostrup, Gueorgiou, ... are more unbeatable. Somebody maybe believe that after this we need less physics - sorry, ex. Tero can use still method: "full speed - no mistake".

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