Discussion: Old man

I think Phil is still smarting from the time I passed him in the finish chute and said “c’mon old man” to him.

It's funnier when the "old man" is younger than the speaker. :-)

Even if he is a young whippersnapper from my perspective, from the perspective of society as a whole, I think he qualifies as old man.

Though among the orienteering population perhaps he is right about the median age?

Perhaps amongst the US orienteering population, anyway.

International, too. Based on my observations at World masters competitions over the last 9 years or so, the modal YOB is 1947. So Phil is on the young side in that gathering.

I guess I´m still a junior then...

Well, I suppose one might expect a slightly higher median age at an event where there is a low-end cutoff at 35 years of age. Looking at the participants in the 6th stage of the Swiss Orienteering Week this year, for example, well over half of the women's entries were in categories under 35 years of age (though that was not quite the case for the men). But the median age at the SOW would certainly have left Phil in the old-guy class. I'm sure the same sort of thing would show up at an event like the O-Ringen with 10 times the participants of the SOW (but requiring the addition of a lot more numbers to get some idea of the median age).

I think I have been to 5 WMOCs, and my class has always been the most numerous, whether it was M-60, M-65 or M-70. Don’t know how long that can keep up.

Probably not a lot longer unless retirement ages keep going up in other countries. A lot of people seem to find it easier to get away to sports events in the first few years after they are no longer tied down to a job.

In rogaining, a dropping off in the older age end of the spectrum seems to happen a bit faster. At the WRC in Spain this year there were 24 teams in the under 23 age category, 145 in the between 23 and 40 bracket, 126 in the 40 to 55 range, 52 in the 55-65 group, and 28 left in the over 65 dregs. I don't know how many people besides myself were over 75 in that last bunch of people (at least two others that I met, but I think not many). And since the categories for teams are related to the most restrictive category that either team member might be in, a few of the people in the numbers may really belong in an older category, but not be shown because of a younger teammate--sometimes a child). But the overall picture is most people in the under 40 category, and a steady dropping off with age. Not many, if any, over 80 this year, and I think none over 85 ever at a WRC. (Of course, with even the over 65 category a relatively recent addition, maybe there is less incentive for an older team to try competing).