DVO’s Saturday events become less labour-intensive with MapRun
Using MapRun timing with kites on the ground could mean that we are able to re-energise our Local Events Programme, as fewer helpers are needed. There is no Download, and Registration will focus more on App support. Fees will remain £5 and £3 as we still have to pay for access fees, map printing, and the British Orienteering and East Midlands OA competitor levies.
We are trialling this format for our event at Alvaston Park on 5 October, planned and organised by Chris Millard, our Club Development Officer. Chris has staged some 18 MapRuns in Derby over the last year and introduced orienteering and MapRun to over 200 runners across the city and surroundings. We are delighted to announce that the Orienteering Foundation has agreed to fund his work for a further 12 months! Chris will create 4 MapRun courses for Alvaston, using our tried-and-tested Saturday template as follows:
- Beginners 1.5km (White standard at a colour-coded event)
- Improvers 2.5km (Yellow)
- Medium Technical 3.5km (Orange+)
- Long Technical 5km (Light Green)
We will put out kites so it feels like a real event, but no need to use SI boxes and gripples! Stakes will have punches attached so anyone without a Smartphone can simply punch – exactly as we all did last century! Because we are paying the competitor levy, we are able to publish Results, so we can integrate the punchers’ times with those of the MapRun completers. It will be interesting to see how many takers we have for the punching option, and we will need to think through how we capture their over-all time. I can see a come-back for the humble control card!
Finding organisers for Local Events is often a struggle, and at Fixtures Committee, we have been looking ways to make the role easier. The Blue Stationary Box has been overhauled to contain everything below, so that all an organiser needs is signs and banners, plus a float. I’m not sure why the envelopes are in there; we could replace these with Registration slips, or a table of who has gone out and on which course (as we do on Thursdays).
Chris will need some volunteers at Alvaston – people good with MapRun and also those who can talk beginners through the paper map (symbols and orienting). Please drop him a line if you’re free to help on the 5th, and remember you get a half-price run .
Other Local Events on the horizon are Shipley Country Park on 14 Dec, then hopefully a busy programme in Spring 2025.
