Discussion: Welcome to Rogaining

were the main difference to Orienteering is the inferior map

Yep, the defining feature of rogaining is the inaccurate map. I had complaints about the Bendigo Diggings Rush rogaine map. It was orienteering maps stitched together. Apparently that took the skill out of rogaining because all the tracks and gullies were on the map.

Yeah, we were told rogainers don't like o maps as there's too much detail. I did quite a few rogaines in Nsw and this map seemed much worse regards paths (talking firetrails). Also never had a map with grid north before. Some mistakes were us being a bit silly but not being able to safely take bearings cost us a lot. Also go til you hit the big line feature doesn't work so well.

Hoping Clare forgets the bad things cos I'd like to do another.

Which big line feature? The one on the map or the one that's the exact same size but isn't? Luckily it was a nice day :)

We have some of the Bendigo Diggings maps at home - I think I would enjoy that a lot more!

I'd also rather do six hours on Bendigo diggings. We did 28k btw.

One day on the other side of town. Maybe.

I see Thor's recovered ok from the Aust Champs last weekend...
How were the spiders - any as big as Shelob in the redwoods at Rotorua?

There were some pretty impressively big spiders. I took a visiting Czech orienteer to an event in Bendigo a couple of weeks ago... forgot to tell her about spiders... she got a bit of a shock.

Can't compare to the Rotorua ones because I forgot I'd entered, but there were some pretty massive golden orbs out there!

Those were the best events - the Middle-Earth theme extended to having a control on Gandalf in the forest and a 5-foot wide Shelob spider menacing passersby in the assembly area.

Wow, that's impressive of Thor to back it up! I have blisters after 6hrs so I don't know how you manage for 24??

Not being a Lord of the Rings fan, this is the first I've realised that Shelob is a spider thing... Now it makes sense.

I'm pretty impressed that we came 5th overall despite making so many mistakes and neither of us having slept much the night before/done that much training. Although, I don't know what other people were doing out there. Particularly the guy who was hurrying his partner up, "come on, we're wasting time", when she was orientating her map.

You came fifth because you know how to navigate. Thats another distinguishing feature between the two sports.

The old guys came over at the end to tell us we need to learn how to navigate "ignore the terrain, take a bearing and pace count" doesn't sound as much fun!

VRA obviously has too many bushwalkers.

Which is a comment on rogaining course setting. Every leg is the approximately same length. From my experience of the sport no thought was ever given to route choice challenges between controls.

You came fifth because you know how to navigate.

Which is exactly not the reason that we won our 12hr on the weekend given we missed three of our last six controls. We won because we move so fast - never mind the navigating!

Speed - also another distinguishing feature between the two sports.

I've heard stories of the shockwaves that hit rogaining in Victoria at an event sometime around 1976-1977 when Alex Tarr and Tim Dent (both of whom were WOC team members at the time) fronted up to a rogaine and actually ran. Apparently they cleaned up all the controls for a 12-hour in something like 6.

we ran on the paths (some on the map, some not) - unfortunately we then lost all that time bumbling around finding controls

Yeah, we didn't really demonstrate our superior navigation skills! But learnt some lessons for next time (a theoretical next time, anyway)...

1976-1977 doesn't exist online so that can't be verified.

We've go to beat those old guys clare

That vindication feeling can be fun. There once was a series of annual 12 hour navigation races for emergency services. Being with a former version of your employer, Craig and I qualified, so we decided to enter. Like you say, the "old guys" came out of the woodwork willing to offer us advice. We politely declined, telling one we intended to win. I never heard back from him after we won.