Discussion: 787 to scope out US Champs venues today!

Boeing's 787 test plane just took off and will be spending the rest of the day flight testing over and near our US Champs venues! Follow it live here.

Wow--now (~12:30) it's really close to the Middle Champs terrain! Are they taking additional photos for you, kupackman?

The plane is currently sitting at Moses Lake Airport and will take off again shortly. It does a lot of landings and takeoffs from that airport, so I figured that it would pretty much fly over the Middle Champs terrain. Looking at the flight track, it also flew within 15 miles of the Long Champs, Sprint Champs, and Trail-O Champs terrains (held in three different venues).

The test pilots must have a specific preference for middle distance terrain, as they pretty much flew over both location finalists we had for the Middle Champs terrain selection.

It's back in the air again, trackable here.

Umm, I didn't know that Boeing flew test flights over upstate NY, where EMPO is hosting the US Orienteering Championships on October 16-17.

Wow, EMPO is hosting, like, 16 different races in one weekend?! No way!!!

SML is where it's at, foo.

Actually, Guy, that is the 'US Two-Day Classic Championship.' Your terminology is wrong. That battle is lost.

16? No way! Let's count 'em!

The International Foot-O Standards
1 US Sprint Champs
2 US Middle Champs
3 US Long Champs
4 US Relay Champs

Other International Disciplines
5 US Trail-O Champs
6 US Ski-O Champs
7 US Mountain Bike-O Champs [US has never had one (I think), but...]

USOF Additions
8 US Two-Day Classic Champs
9 US Year-End Ranking Champs
10 US Interscholastics Champs
11 US Intercollegiates Champs
12 US Ultra-Long Champs
13 US Night-O Champs

Stretching...
14 US Rogaining Champs
15 US Canoe-O Champs
16 US Radio-O Champs

Whoa, dude. We could actually have 16!

Well, the Two-Day Classic Champs consists of two races, so that's a back-up in case one of the other falls through...

And there's always String-O!

You can also mix and match to create some more!

A radio-o relay in canoes, for example.

Or the year-end rankings of intercollegiates who ski only at night.

The "Year-End Ranking Champs", Interscholastics, and Intercollegiates aren't races, they're collections of races. In particular, the Interscholastics and Intercollegiates are typically SML courses, so adding those championships to a meet would not increase the race count.

From your list, I count the following races:
Sprint
Middle
Long
Relay
Classic x2
Trail-O
Ski-O
MTB-O
Ultra long
Night-O
Rogaine
Canoe-O
Radio-O

I suppose you could augment the list with String and Vampire-O, though certainly to much ridicule. I think it likely that a Ski-O would be infeasible near terrain conducive to the other events.

I think it likely that a Ski-O would be infeasible near terrain conducive to the other events.

The site of the 2009 US [1 Day] Classic Championships could easily host a Ski-O championship, although it would be best to have the events in different seasons. The venue for the 2010 US Classic Champs has terrain appropriate for Ski-O on the map (though not of championship event calibre). Let's hope that ski-O won't be possible in mid-October when the shoe-O champs are scheduled.

EMPO wasn't sure the 2-day classic champs would still be available this year given some folks' preference for the Sprint-Middle-Long format that's being offered in eastern Washington state in June. But we bid, and it was, so there ya' go...

We'll see if we have the same championship field in October that meets in June! Who will be considered the US champ for 2010???

The Radio-O Champs (US ARDF Champs) are not held under USOF, but rather the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). The rules were developed by the ARDF Working Group of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU).

I have a feeling that the M/F-21+ field in October will be a wee bit stronger than in June, given the scheduling conflicts.

Radio-O was a stretch, and I admitted as much, and it was 16th on my list. I was just playfully trying to get to Cristina's number of 16 (which I'm guessing she threw out there arbitrarily), thinking of as many different championships could be won in a given year.

I don't think USOF has jurisdiction over Canoe-O or Rogaining, either.

I have a feeling that the M/F-21+ field in October will be a wee bit stronger than in June, given the scheduling conflicts.

Agreed. I know that the North American Orienteering Festival will draw some Europeans, but I don't think it'll be enough to compensate for the lack of US elites. One of our local US elites will be ineligible for the US Middle Champs, as he's my course vetter/consultant.

I don't think USOF has jurisdiction over Canoe-O or Rogaining, either.

Canoe-O: no (i.e., the above statement is correct in that regard)
Rogaining: yes

I have a feeling that the M/F-21+ field in October will be a wee bit stronger than in June, given the scheduling conflicts.

Canadian attendance has the potential to mitigate or negate this effect, however (if one is concerned solely with field strength and not with the medal hunt, that is.)

There are at least middle and long distance races in mountain bike orienteering, so that's one more race.

Ditto for Ski-O.

Canadian attendance has the potential to mitigate or negate this effect.

Classic Champs will be in New York, which is just as close to Canada as central Washington. Proximity-wise, I can see just as many Canadians at both.

However, I would think Canadians would be more drawn to the North American Festival since they are hosting a significant portion of it, so that will likely give an attendance bump to US SML Champs.

My thoughts exactly.

Canadian attendance has the potential to mitigate or negate this effect.

If early registrations for the NAOCs is any type of indicator , there could be a good balance of Canadian and American elite, along with some of the top international performers from the recent WMOC in Australia, at both the NAOC & US S/M/L Champs and other NOAF events. http://www.naoc2010.com/2010_North_American_Orient...

If early registrations for the NAOCs is any type of indicator

It isn't, really, because there are scheduling conflicts for many of the US elite runners for US Champs but not for NAOC. (I see at least 5 US M/F21+ who will be at NAOC but will not be running on at least one day of the US Champs.)

The Canadians have an event scheduled the weekend before the Classic Champs which are about 5-6 hours to the east. We hope some folks take the time to travel from Hamilton to 40 minutes north of Albany, NY!

787 Test Plane #1 flew directly over the middle-distance champs today. Woo!

feet: Actually, Guy, that is the 'US Two-Day Classic Championship.' Your terminology is wrong. That battle is lost.

Really? Perhaps among many -- maybe most -- of the netizens of AP, but not among US orienteers in general. And not (yet) by the national governing body.

For as long as I have been orienteering (27 years), the terms "US Champs" and "US Championships" have connoted the annual 2-day, total time, open (as opposed to restricted like the Intercollegiates and Interscholastics) championship event. In recent years, it has more specifically been called the "US Two-Day Classic Championships" -- although in 1998 and 2009, it was only a one-day competition -- or simply the "US Classic Championships".

On the other hand, the US Sprint, Middle and Long Championships are together in 2010 for the first time, as per a new USOF requirement. That requirement (which, btw, I supported) was intended to start a transition to possibly replacing the 2-day classic at some point in the future -- but not immediately.

Therefore, as long as there are two major, indvidual, national open championship events, I would proffer that it is premature to officially designate either as the "US Championships". The 2010 June event is the "US Sprint/Middle/Long Championsips" and the October event is the "US Two-Day Classic Championship".

May the better attended, more widely recognized format eventually prevail as the "US Orienteering Championships".

I agree. Logically, we should designate neither the "US Championships" because how could they be?

As JanetT mentioned GHO's 3-day GLOF event is only a short few hour drive away from the U.S. 2-day classic Champs the following weekend (with Niagara Falls in between). The GLOF weekend was set several years ago and is on the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend with the long distance race on the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10th year. A perfect 10! While this race weekend wasn't included in 2010 US Rankings list it makes a great weekend of racing in preparation for the U.S. Champs. We have four races in three days planned including a sprint and middle on Sat., long on Sunday and then a mass start 'O-Cross' on Monday . ALL four races start and finish at the same spot (Camp Canterbury Hills) that offers lodging and food right in the middle of the Dundas Valley in Hamilton (60 minutes to the U.S. border). So an eco-friendly race setting. No driving needed once you arrive.

This will be the 5th multi-day GLOF event that GHO has hosted since 1994. GLOF has often been a race where we attempt to bring together both Canadian and American participants. Previous GLOF's have included the USOF convention and also the North American Champs and with back-to-back weekends this year I think the same will be true again. I know that there will be a lot of orienteers from Ontario attending the U.S. 2-day Classic Champs as we always enjoy racing in upstate (and Harriman lowstate) NY.

http://dontgetlost.ca/index.php?option=com_content...

iansmith: In particular, the Interscholastics and Intercollegiates are typically SML courses...

Can't speak for the Intercollegiates, but prior to 2009, the Interscholastics used the 2-day classic format. Last year's USMAOC event was SML, but only the ML race results were counted in the Interescholastic competition. For 2010, OCIN will probably also use ML, with another middle-distance A-day on Friday, but no sprint.