Discussion: Medals and Recycling
in: Orienteering; General
OUSA has just had a new batch of medals delivered so we have enough for probably two years. They cost less than we had thought but they still cost money. Some people like them and want them, others don't seem to care about them or another one. I have a few and am proud of them. However, it may be that we could start a recycling program for these medals. If you don't want one, wear it and get your picture taken and then return it to the awards stand. The worst would be to take it home and throw it in the trash. They cost money.
Any thoughts on whether this kind of program will fly?
I would definitely use and support such a program.
I don't know what your costings are for medals but our club had for many years presented medals, trophies and cloth badges. It then moved to 'useful' replacements - the first round being embroidered microfibre towels, then we moved to wet sacks with club logo. Both have been well received and act as promotion. We recognise our course setters with calico bags (club logo) but now have moved to event entry vouchers. This is all at club level.
In 2010 our prestigous Australian 3 Day carnival presentations were towels. When bought in bulk these can be quite reasonable. WA presented coffee mugs suitably embellished with logo and placing in 2006 for Aus Champs presentations.
I think there is a feeling for a change from medals/trophies and cloth badges. There are 2 things to consider: give a respectful presentation (not Easter eggs for a national event, even if it is held at Easter. If you pay $35 a day for 3 days getting a $3 Easter egg is pretty weak)
And kids under 12 LOVE medals - and trophies and cloth badges. Adults appreciate useful things.
This sounds like a great idea. Functionally, for people who want medals, it would be no different than it is now. For those who don't (e.g. me), it would provide a courteous way to decline said accolade.
At the
Center for Creative Reuse, found a bunch of hardwood floor
samples with a hole in them for the ribbon, on which to glue on a color-printed paper copy of the Raccoongaine
logo
Quite a few years back, there was in fact a move to useful items. While I have gotten many neat things, I also now have so many mugs, glasses, water bottles, and bags I will never be able to use them all.
I actually prefer a unique, well designed medal that says something about the specific event. It can be displayed and doesn't take up a ton of room. But for those who don't like medals, a recycling program is fantastic. (And I realize event medals and OUSA medals are two different things, also.)
They cost money.
I support the recycling option and would like to propose another cost-saving measure: limit the number of medals awarded based on the number competing in the class (especially for 21+ and above).
...I actually prefer a unique, well designed medal that...can be displayed...
Just curious, where does anyone display/wear medals? Even kids, once they are home again?
Most orienteers I know are pretty modest. The last thing they would do would be to boast about winning or actually wear or display their medals. The OUSA Annual Rankings are arguably the most competitive O awards each year...yet I've never seen any of the three Gold winners in each age group actually wear their Gold ranking patch.
I suggest saving money, time and misspent effort; discontinue medals and awards.
keeping my interest as a junior was heavily motivated by the fact I could win an award...and I definitely displayed them.
unique trophies/plaques > medals.
That recycling place of stuff mentioned above also had hundreds of
trophies. Runners, horse riders, disc golfers, wrestlers, baseballers, you name it ...
I support the recycling idea.
I totally support Cristina's idea to limit the the number of medals awarded once you get to non-junior classes.
I support the idea to limit the number of non-junior classes once you run out of medals.
I joined a local running group, and boy, do they live for race medals (and these are just the lame finisher medals). They scoff at races that don't provide them, and they make medal display racks and such, take selfies with their medals post-race, etc. There's also a house in my neighborhood with race medals hanging from the eaves.
Obviously orienteers aren't like regular runners, but if anyone has ever thought about trying to bridge that gap with a specific event, consider offering finisher medals, despite how lame/wasteful that seems to you.
at dvoa's annual (very large) scout event the top 1/3 in each class get a trophy (bigger trophies for top 3).
also, recycling program is definitely a good idea.
I Really LIKE and would support the medal recycling idea if it ever comes to Canada. I liked and appreciated receiving the medals and when I was working I had a place to display them which seemed to impress office guests.Now they just languish in a box. I would like to give back the medals and keep the ribbons which I put in my map books along with the event map.
More cherished are the unique prizes from certain events over the years - Troll cups, a troll hand carved and decorated by Susan Budge back in 1972, a miner's lamp minature from Opava CSSR, a slice of Danish pine used as a plate at the WOC '74 Viking banquet, a plaqued bit of local gypsum from Albert County New Brunswick - I hope they do that again at this year's COC, etc
Trivia question: How many different designs have been used for the COC medal?
Yes, good idea about recycling medals. Along that line though, organizers need to think twice before putting a sticker on the medal with specifics about category, date, event, etc. Maybe printing up the stickers and having them available for the folks that want them instead of pasting them on ahead of time is the way to go.
We used "finisher awards" for the Hickory Hop Rogaine which seemed to be well received and the SVO Stumble and the Billygoat have used "finisher awards" at least for those meeting certain cut-offs (much like in some of the 100 mile races). So it's not unheard of in orienteering.
I've always printed up the stickers (with event name, category, etc.) and put the stickers in the little bag with the medal instead of putting it on the medal. I started doing this when many of the 3rd place and even 2nd place medals would go unused in some of the categories, but I would want to get them ready well ahead of time without knowing final registrations.
Along that line though, organizers need to think twice before putting a sticker on the medal with specifics about category, date, event, etc.
Peel the label off and hand the medal back?
Reading the comments, it seems like it might work and save money, too.
I will say that I know juniors like them even though they may not show them off in public. I have a few and they are hanging in a place I see them and appreciate them. It would only be an option and people who want them should feel good about keeping what they won. If you don't want it, then you could recycle.
How would be the best way to publicize this recycling? In meet notes? At the awards ceremony?
With regard to Cristina's comment, there has been talk of making 10 year groupings of people rather than the present 5 year groupings for the over 35 year old people which is how the Canadians give awards. Changing that will take a more time and discussion.....
I wore a national championship medal into a Taco Bell once and got free dessert! It has since become a tradition for people I travel with to always wear any medals won if stopping for food on the way home.
(Then they go in a box on a shelf, and someday when I die, I suppose somebody will have to throw them into a bonfire along with my sled.)
Publicize at the award ceremony. Before you start handing out medals, mention that those folks who don't want to keep theirs may place it in the recycle box, located a bit off to the side (but still under someone's watchful eye).
Like Gord, I like special awards that someone put time and effort into; for example, the stuffed bears with personalized ribbons given out at one A meet at the Water Gap.
personalized ribbons
Ah, yes, the personalized ribbons. I remember them well. I think that was the end of my machine embroidery career. :)
With regard to Cristina's comment, there has been talk of making 10 year groupings of people rather than the present 5 year groupings for the over 35 year old people which is how the Canadians give awards. Changing that will take a more time and discussion.....
Let me know how that goes ;-)
Here in WA we went from 5 year to 10 year and then after a few years (last year in fact), the older generation decided it wasn't fair to be competing against people 5-9 years younger, even if there were only two people in the category, so after much heated discussion the oldies got their way and it's now back to 5 year age gaps... but only for 65+. I don't bother acknowledging people who win their age category by default.
It would be great to at least combine M35 and M40, right now it is ridiculous.
And or combine M35 with M21-34 which I believe the Canadian group is considering.
A large number of M35s continue to run M21. I would love to know real stats on that.
Ah, I see how it is. I finally get to M35 and you want to take away my sliver of hope of winning a two-person field.
@gordhun wrote "More cherished are the unique prizes from certain events over the years - Troll cups, "
Yup the Troll Cups were awesome but for me the most cherished award by far was original art commissioned by Gord Hunter for Canadian Nationals in 1996 (Men's elite title). Absolutely beautiful and hangs proudly in my home. Thanks once again Gord for your generosity.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/waddsquad/1626058280...
Don't get rid of M35....I don't want to wait 18 years instead of 8 to become a podium contender without training significantly harder
We need hope in the Canadian MPP (Mediocre Performance Program)
Just curious, where does anyone display/wear medals? Even kids, once they are home again?
I have them all pinned along the top and sides of a large corkboard. Makes a pretty cool border. Also have my handful of horse show ribbons hanging on a wall. Although I don't really entertain at home much, so they are mostly there for my own memories and not for others to see. Maybe I'm just strange.
The Water Gap stuffed bear, the pocketknife I got from Sandy's French Creek Rogaine (just looking at this engraving... 2003 REALLY?! that long ago!) and the stained glass control from WPOC a few years ago are probably my top three favorite awards ever.
I would totally go for a recycling option. We had chest drawers full of medals that we finally had to dump (yes, we've been around for quite a while ;-) It always seems like such a waste (but kids do love them).
As others have said, intrinsic attractiveness that can make some awards worth hanging onto and displaying. I personally love the ceramic tiles that BAOC has recently been commissioning for their Pacheco and Boggs Mtn meets; I would fly to SF just for the chance to win one of the next version! Hard to wear around your neck, though.... ;-)
Another way to avoid waste is to hand out edible awards. I once won a Mars bar for placing second in our state champs.
I think the medal recycling idea is a good one, for those who want.
But, I'm not sure any wholesale elimination of medals is a good idea (for championship events). I've got medals that are important to me, not because of the hunk of metal, but because of the accomplishment that they represent.
The tricky bit is that the sense of accomplishment is a personal thing and will be much different for different people. Some orienteers might need to win WOC to get a medal that is worth holding onto. For others, winning the club championship might feel just as important. And, for others, maybe it's M35 at Sage Stomp :-)!
Don't get rid of M35....I don't want to wait 18 years instead of 8 to become a podium contender without training significantly harder
With maths skills like those, you don't need awards.
you do have M40 don't you???
And or combine M35 with M21-34 which I believe the Canadian group is considering.
A large number of M35s continue to run M21. I would love to know real stats on that.
M35 is a nothing category in Aus although in our WA state champs of 2013, we had as many M35 contenders as M21 (M35 being 35-44). The M21 was a three horse race (I think there were eight or nine overall) so the has beens and never will bes who were old enough went for the M35 prize instead. I sucked either way.
I'd welcome the recycling program. I have quite a few unlabeled medals that I'd love to put back into circulation.
The most useful (as well as coveted?) awards I've received over the years have been two "moose" hats for being on a winning team in Ås' traditional Kvistkvaset relay.
The award is a standard knitted wool cap but with a small moose peeking out of the fold.
Military championships otoh tend to have much larger price budgets, I've gotten several pairs of expensive sports sun glasses, nice training bags and a super lightweight backpack. :-)
BTW, even though we still hand out medals for county championships (but for NIght-O the oldest class is H21 which makes it kind of hard to compete for a 57 year old has-been) I don't think I got one at either of the last two times I won the Norwegian veteran's championship.
PS. Re reycling: My brother Knut (who won the H55 class last fall in Brazil) and I collected 100+ tiny pewter cups during our H12-16 years, they were on display above a downstairs window for many years until our mother started handing them out as prizes for the H/D -12N (beginners) races she used to organize.
She even told us about her recycling effort when we came home for Christmas. :-)
PPS. She is 81 and took part in the Brazil WMOC together with Knut, but since she thinks she still doesn't need reading glasses she had some problems reading the maps, particularly in the Sprint.
Winning H55 at WMOC (with Jorgen Martensson placed second)... I'd wear that medal for the rest of my life.
Regarding the thread hijack: in part as an effort to demonstrate how useless M35 is as a category, I (a mediocre M50+) have been running in that category almost exclusively for a couple of years (except when I do M21), and usually place first or second. It's a joke. In general, the M35s running in that category don't deserve any awards -- I sure don't, and anybody who can't beat me doesn't, either. The M40s and M45s on the same course turn in better times. Although it makes sense in Scandinavia, these five-year age categories are ridiculous in the USA. As for people who want to finally have a chance to be on top, maybe the first time everybody joins the federation, they should automatically be sent gold medals.
It's also crazy that the top categories get the same number of awards as the lightly subscribed age groups, presumably out of some misplaced sense of "fairness". If things were working well, M/F21 would be the biggest category and there would be prizes for maybe the top 10, and in the age groups between one and three would get recognized.
(OK, I'll be quiet now...)
It would be great to at least combine M35 and M40, right now it is ridiculous.
Dammit, Igor, save that proposal for after the Pig!
My cube needs more accolades.
... and the stained glass control from WPOC a few years ago are probably my top three favorite awards ever
You can thank the bleak wintery days of Western Pennsylvania for convincing folks to keep busy indoors in crafting stuff from items found at Hobby Lobby and other craft shops. I believe that stained glass item was a creation by Laurie, Jim's wife, the president of the club.
jjcote>> Actually, in Sweden M35 (or H35) tends to be pretty thin as well, with the same effect of top 35's running 21 for several years after they age out, so I think it's a pretty universal problem.
I'm sure such a proposal exists already on AP, but an obvious redivision of US age groups would be the following:
M21 - 39: Blue
M40 - 49: Red
M50 - 59: Green
M60 - 69: Brown (also 70+, 80+, etc)
F21 - 39: Red
F40 - 49: Green
F50 - 59: Brown (60+, 70+ etc)
I imagine that many competitors would run up, as the progression to shorter courses is slightly faster with this system than with the current system.
I will suggest that I am not saying, in any way, that if you don't want a medal that you deserve, that you shouldn't keep it. It is just if you have no need for it, then recycle. We need to make sure that people don't feel embarrassed keeping it.
Ian, I was on an Orienteering Canada committee that made that suggestion for adult age groups. ie., Elite (Open), 40+, 50+, 60+, 70+, 80+
While Canada has had 10 year masters age groups for many years the number of 35-39 year olds running in 35-44 was low. Also, it was argued that the 75-84 category needed to be broken into 5 year age groups as 80 was an age than ability decreased greatly. So moving to 10 year ages starting at 40 it solved the young end and old end of the age groups nicely. I'm not sure why it never got adopted. It just made so much sense.
I agree that it did make a lot of sense but there were too many against it... But we do go to 5yr age groups after 75: M/W 75-79, M/W 80-84, and M/W 85+. As our competitors age maybe we'll add in 85-89, then 90+?
Wow, Ian ... I don't want to run Brown at 55; definitely wouldn't have wanted to run it at 50! I may be in the minority though. (?)
The Troll Cup used to give awards (the silver cups, no less) down to 6th place in M & F 21. That was pretty cool.
mbo, I believe we have officially added the 85+ this year or last. I am sure the day will come when we are asked to add 90+.
Hammer I actually really like the idea of 40+, 50+, 60+, 70+, 80+, all snarky comments about wanting to sneak into M35 in a few years aside
MTBO already has the age categories described. M21 goes all the way out to 39, then it's ten year age categories above that, but then there aren't as many competitors either.
...the 75-84 category needed to be broken into 5 year age groups as 80 was an age tha[t] ability decreased greatly...
Beg pardon? As someone entering this age group next year, there's another side to this story: the number of participants in those age groups ALSO decreased greatly; there's nothing less meaningful than to be competing in a one-man age group. I no longer go to many road races where I know I'll be handed a "winning" medal 'cause no other guy over 70 showed up.
And as peggyd points out, there is a WIDE range of ability in these older age groups; please don't "dumb down" us oldsters! Don't we still want to recognize and reward talent, not just participation?
I say maintain the 10-year age groupings all the way up to 90+!
Personally, I like medals and awards. Its a motivator, even when classes are small. If you don't want 'em, just turn 'em down. You can always compare your performance to all other people on the course if you want a broader comparison than just your class - you don't have to enlarge the classes to do that.
Separate categories for all! Medals to everybody! And those who don't want them don't have to take them!
oops, I said I was going to be quiet...
As an update to my 10-year age categories, the course changes aren't quite ideal. The differences between what I proposed are that M60-64 and F50-54 currently run Green, and in the proposed classes, they are assigned for Brown.
Two possible corrections:
- M60-69 and F50-59 run Green instead of Brown, promoting M65-69 and F55-59 to Green.
- We introduce an intermediate course between the lengths of Brown and Green, and M60-69 and F50-59 run that course. Functionally, this might not be that difficult anyway, as most A-meets have two Green courses. One could be made slightly shorter. I'd also suggest F-18 run this course instead of Brown.
@WR: Yes, I believe Knut was extremely pleased to win in front of Jögge, particularly since they've been competing for a _lot_ of years, in the start JM was usually in front.
Re the medals: Knowing my brother I'd bet he has already forgotten where he put them. :-)
We introduce an intermediate course between the lengths of Brown and GreenMaybe you could call it
beige.
Beg pardon? As someone entering this age group next year, there's another side to this story: the number of participants in those age groups ALSO decreased greatly; there's nothing less meaningful than to be competing in a one-man age group. I no longer go to many road races where I know I'll be handed a "winning" medal 'cause no other guy over 70 showed up.
And as peggyd points out, there is a WIDE range of ability in these older age groups; please don't "dumb down" us oldsters! Don't we still want to recognize and reward talent, not just participation?
Come and have a chat with our sole M80-84 participant (who got the category reintroduced just so he could win a state championship) and you'll find views vary quite widely across this issue. Actually here it tends to favour five year age categories if you're in the older generation.
Funny thing is, the initial argument was along the lines of decreased abilities, inability to read maps, etc. but when the subject of increased work (to set additional courses - apparently there is a WORLD of difference if you're running a 2.9km course versus a 2.7km course) was brought up, the argument swung in favour of retaining the same courses, just having additional categories within that course. So really it was just to win the medal (or badge in our case). So at present instead of having two M75-84 participants, we have one M75-79 and one M80-84, but they can still compare times since they are running on the same course.
apparently there is a WORLD of difference if you're running a 2.9km course versus a 2.7km course
Try telling that to a 80 year old running 3 k on the track. I think we are getting a bit precious
The funny thing is, when we did reintroduce the five year age gaps, no-one in the X0-X4 stepped 'down' an age group (except the 80+ guy) because there was no-one else signed up for those categories and they wanted some competition!
I have a problem with not making presentations to age groups with small entry fields. When you enter an event you have no influence on how many people will also enter that class. You also have no knowledge of this number. You shouldn't be affected by outside influences.
Some states in Aus made a huge mistake of giving lesser worth/appearance prizes for B class groups (ie easier nav) and also for Short courses. The argument was that it wasn't a championship class. However the argument was returned in spades - the entrants paid the same entry fee, they ran in a course suitable to them and the biggest argument was that this is where you get a newcomer to the sport, achieves in a "lesser" course and then gets really inspired and trains and progresses. Try promoting our sport by saying "only the elites (not just the 21's either) deserve to get prizes/medals/ cups etc.
Actually with pre-entry in Eventor you know exactly how many people will be in your class beforehand! Well except for the people who enter on the last day.
But usually medals/badges etc will have been ordered prior to entries closing to allow for delivery, especially now with Eventor permitting fairly skinny closing off dates.
BTW tRicky - I gave WA a good rap about their prizes from 2006!
I didn't compete that year. I was only doing MTBO at that stage and wasn't overly good at it.
I thought using a 2006 Aus Champs Carnival Orienteering mug at work would be a safe way to stop my mug disappearing. I was wrong.
I learned the hard way not to bring personal stuff from home.
I sent an email to my brother (he just moved to Australia for a work task) asking what he'd done with his championship medals:
(Translated reply)
"I have to admit I don't know exactly where the WMOC medals ended up, they were stored away before we moved. I've considered hanging up my 7 Norwegian champs medals, the 3 WUOC medals (in 4 starts), the single CISM (2 starts) and the 3 WMOC (in 4 starts), but I probably won't. I don't think I would be able to find all 14 of them either."
I.e. medals are nice to get but not something to keep/display.
IMHO he forgot about the big one, the year I beat him and we took 1-2 in the Norwegian Veteran's Champs. :-)
People who go for the gongs, I've heard them too. The Aussies are all talking about "spill motions" ATM, I feel one coming on..
Did she really win all those?
Actually (for those who didn't click through), nobody did. Those were the leftovers.
I didn't bother. Usually my workplace blocks anything fun on the internet (I'm surprised I can even see the photo) so I'm kind of used to not following links now :-)
If people keep stealing your medals and mugs at work, you could do like de Hevesy and
dissolve them in acid for safekeeping.
#blegg that is pretty cool but not for our tRicky. He's just got to win more and more!
I have a lot of cloth rogaining badges that need melting down.
It would be crazy and unfair to make the old guys race M21s. At our Championship meet today the mins/km were ...
M50L 6.4
M45L 6.5
M40L 8.1
M35L 7.1
M21L 6.8
with enough common legs to be sure the courses were pretty similar
Nice. You should enter the event for the Palo Alto Longevity Prize
Graeme, can you explain why paces get slower from M21 to M40 and them jump up again in 45 and 50 categories?
Could it be because the faster M40s and M35s are running up?
M50 is probably half the distance so a sprint event.
M50L was 9.8k, M21L 10.9k: Nobody running up, it's kind of frowned upon when old guys too slow to win their own class
get nice red hats on M21.
- mainly, it's the size of the entry that explains it...
M50L 37
M45L 33
M40L 8
M35L 8
M21L 5
A few extra km is no big deal, but like most 45+, I'm reluctant to run the open class nowadays because I can't bring a 1:15000 map into focus.
I am in favor of beer for rewards. A cask aged brew for first place, a regular local brew for second place, and Coors Lite for last place. ChiClark would get both a cask aged brew and a Coors Lite to drown his sorrow from lack of competitors, unless he runs up a class or two. This will also motivate our juniors more than medals.
Check your local laws first.
There was an M21E course that ran 6's for 16km
If I win, you can have my beer, Gale.
I would also like to offer up my beer but then I never win so it would be a hollow promise.
Re the race medals dress:
In the old days all the Tiomila start numbers were printed on the same kind of nylon fabric as was used for race suits, so many people would collect them.
At least one guy had so many starts that he managed to sew a full race upper of them and used it to run O events.
Nothing says "experience" like having 20+ Tiomila start numbers. :-)
I had a pretty good run at Tiomila starting around 1977, when I ran the forked leg either before or after Långa Natten (i.e. as dark as possible), and had maximum 90 sec total time loss for 10 consecutive years. One of those years we managed a podium placement (i.e. top 25) with a team consisting of only local guys, mostly kids who had grown up together.
For courses white, yellow, and orange, top 3 on each age/gender class on each course, assuming each age/gender class is a legitimate and appropriate to the course, should medal (translation, no "open" medals on these courses, and no change to the 2 year M/W brackets, but please change the silly name of these and all courses).
For course blue, top three (gender agnostic) should medal.
For course red, top three females should medal. Top three junior men should medal, and top three senior men or older should medal.
For course green, top three junior females should medal. Top three veteran men or older should medal. Top three senior women or older should medal.
For course brown, top three veteran women or older , and top three super veteran men should medal. No juniors should medal on brown.
Junior is someone whos age is less than 21
Senior is someone whos age is greater than 39
Veteran is someone whos age is greater than 49
Super veteran is someone whos age is greater than 59
I hope this simplified approach (where the structure can remain, but the age numbers may be changed), is seen as superior to the current structure. If not, I hope it provides a framework for constructive discussion.
As to perhaps the OPs question, of course the medals should be recycled. Its the prestige that matters, not the physical atoms in the base metal that these medals are based on. Take a pic and put it on as many appropriate web sites as you can count. Electrons are cheaper than large base metal slugs.
BTW, I have a ton of such slugs, and if USOF would like them back, to recycle to more worthy winners, send me something postpaid, and they are yours.
I have only ever won an orienteering medal once, so I kept it and I like having it.
Stina wins them much more often, and I have to say I like it when she wins food. :) She won a giant loaf of homemade banana bread (with chocolate chips) at a biathlon event this winter. She's also brought home local wines or maple syrup from various events as prizes, which are a nice treat.
... and the stained glass control from WPOC a few years ago are probably my top three favorite awards ever
We also have the stained glass control hanging in our window and enjoy it very much.
Medal is a noun. I don't care that the dictionary says otherwise.
Met a person at the Fox Chaser. First words out of her mouth were "I have something for you." I wondered what it could be but a minute later, there were nine medals in my hand from previous championships. The OUSA Medal Recycling Program has started. Don't know if this a trend...... Do remember that it is OK to keep a medal, just recycle if you don't want it.
@JJ - So one could say he / she had been tRickyed?
Maybe only if he comes over here for a visit?
My remark has been Coted! Or should that be JJed?
Once you're done JJing - can a verb be renouned, or would that make it an adjective?
Is there anyone who has never been Baltered?
I guess some of these comments may be funny but any recycled medal saves OUSA dollars to do other things. Perhaps, I should have said that the person who recycled the medals was stupid as some of these comments seem to say but I will say, honestly, that recycling is a benefit to all. We do not have to mine more metal to make them, ship them from where they are made and spend dollars for something that someone doesn't want.
Is there anyone who has never been Baltered?
Baltering (or Barteration?) is not reversible, it can only be done once.
???
I don't see any comments on here that say that recycling is stupid. Some of the comments are stupid and recycled perhaps but not the concept.
I guess that I don't get the inside jokes after my March 23rd post. Maybe they are all completely positive but I just don't know. I don't believe that the person who recycled the medals was tricked............
None of those comments have anything to do with medals or recycling, they're just banter about grammar, utilizing people's names.
Thanks JJ. I was hunting for some meaning in all of it but Peter summed it up best.
It ain't tricky. At a minium recycling medals is a good win for all of us.
Any conversation that tRicky's involved in is tricky. I wouldn't think too hard about it ;-)
I like the idea of medal recycling but wanted to mention another way to deal with the cost. Orienteering Ontario orders medals for the Ontario Champs to ensure a consistent design from year to year but the organizers of the championship are required to pay the cost of the medals they use. They know this when they set the entry fees for their event so it should be cost neutral for the club. OOA orders several years worth of medals at a time to reduce costs.
Wow gordhun, you had a really subtle one slipped in there, but I think I just caught it two days later. I hope Peter won't mind if I say "that's a Goodwin"?
Would it be fair to say if you missed your route to the control that you're running your b-legg?
@ pgoodwin - I think you read my comment like an upside down map and took off on a 180! Like you I 100% support recycling medals for anyone who doesn't want them. I'm not personally ready to give up the ones I've managed to earn, but I'd never oppose anyone who wants to recycle theirs.
If someone wants to recycle, no one should stand in their way. If they want to keep them, that is a great reason to keep them. Just taking them home and throwing in the trash is not a great idea.
Who would throw them in the trash? That's sacrilege!!!
Sometimes we put a sticker on the back with the new event and winner 's name so that the medal is reused
Tash, Mark throws his badges in the bin. Granted they are only rogaining badges but still...
:O
My goodness!! That is mean!!
Well he threw mine out anyway.
It might be helpful to those of us who have a basement full of old medals to post a mailing address on OUSA's
Donate webpage so that we can get them in the mail.
Considering the last run I did, yes I think that would be fair tRicky.
Chitown, I'm pretty sure they don't want the old USOF medals to melt down, but rather OUSA medals to put new labels on.
Recycling medals is a good thing. Any can be sent to 66 Point of Pines, Wolfeboro, NH. 03894 or you can bring them to a meet with a board meeting where I will always be. We won't be melting medals down as the value is virtually non-existent as scrap metal. They are valuable because they are made to award great orienteering.
In our state, we give out awards to the older categories just because they turned up. In effect we awarded them for complaining.
Do you get an award after every cycle commute to work tRicky?
Yes, I got rewarded with work.
I'm doing some year-end house cleaning. *Peter, can you confirm that you're only collecting current OUSA medals for reuse? (Or are you accepting any orienteering medal? Your post above says "any"...) Thanks!
Peter's post was on the 1st April, he may live to regret that as the boxes of old medals pile up
When CascadeOC hosted IS/IC champs in 2012, O-USA provided some medals, but not all (or there was a medal shortage? I don't remember). In any case, we ordered a bunch of custom event medals, but we ended up with 81 extra, which sat in my closet for a few years.
Then SART comes along, with 80 spots. I ordered new custom stickers, and bam, everyone got a medal.
If we get enough of the old medals back, we may have a "retro" award event. One possibility would to give the "old" medals to the "old timers". Another possibility to avoid age discrimination would be to award the "old" medals to the under 21 set, man of whom have never gotten one of the classics.
Yes, all medals can be recycled.
Maybe I am interpreting bbrooke's question differently but I interpret her to ask if you are accepting non-OUSA championship medals for recycling. And, I am guessing that you just want the OUSA medals and you will take either the new style or the old style----right? Or, is it that you will take any medal, even from non-US Champs events and from non-orienteering events?
Old USOF medals can be collected, I think. The new style is also easily recycled to save money.
Resurrecting this thread from the dead: is OUSA doing this now? Re-using old medals? If so, where would one send them?
We don't have an institutionalized system for collecting unwanted/no longer wanted medals but the intention since the beginning of my tenure as VP of Competition is that OUSA-provided medals for US championships and NAOC should be reusable for future events, at least until whenever in the future a new design seems called for. If you win a medal and don't want to keep it after having your picture taken with it, return it to the organizers before leaving the event and it will sooner or later be reunited with the supply of medals I keep stored against future needs. If you have recent vintage medals you no longer want, I think it makes more sense to give them to me directly at some event we'll both be attending or by enlisting some fellow orienteer as your courier than to send me one or a few medals by mail.
Connecting with the
shadowing thread. Perhaps we could start giving out "retro" medals for participation in the M/F-10-12 categories?
We've been having this discussion in Ontario again. I'm thinking that at the awards ceremony, we should actively offer the option of returning the medal after getting a photo. No pressure if they want to keep it but it might make some people feel more comfortable about leaving it behind.
I wish they'd stop giving out participation medals at all the fun runs in Aus but social participants seem to expect it and are more likely to participate if they receive an award for their 'achievement'. Just means the rest of us have to pay higher entry fees.
It's a waste of money and medals.
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