They really needed a Start Chief like Earle Phillips who would have snapped people to attention. A number of people mentioned the overly casual nature of the start.
The Finish, on the other hand, had Valerie in charge.
Yup! it was the loudest start I've ever experienced in a champs event.
That's DVOA, for better or worse.
As in chatty? Sometimes our sport suffers from not being able to change gears from folksy C Meet to what should be one step below a World Cup.