WRE event! Sprint the Bay! Everyone who was staying was pretty excited for this, as was I. In short, I really did not have a good race, I probably wasn't really running as hard as I should be, nor was I focused very well, so I didn't get the kind of points I really would have liked.
However...
*INCOMING RANT!*
http://www.sprintthebay.org/results/2013/maps/Stag...
There was two, no, three things that irritated me about this race. One, I did not make good plans. I was hurrying, and quite frequently made bad choices because I thought I could plan on the fly. I also stopped focusing at times which made me either lose contact or really just forget the control site.
Two, I, and other people, kind of felt like there was a few tricky tricks that were kind of bad form. If this were not a world ranking event, perhaps I'd be less annoyed. Between 12-13, there was an uncrossable fence. Except for one tiny sliver right beside the control which was deemed crossable. It was the same height as the fence around it, but there were three stairs that made the inside part slightly less high. If you saw that little tiny bit, you could go there and attempt to climb the fence (which was probably about double the height of Carol), or you'd go around, because you assume the whole thing is uncrossable.
I don't know, the Kiwis had their national championships on this map last year so I assume they expected that on that map, but it totally burned me, and burned me on the first map between 3 and 4, where right at the end of the fence there is a small sliver between olive green and uncrossable fence where you could cross. I went and looked at it and.... yeah. I don't really have a solution to this except for making the whole thing uncrossable, or making the symbol more visible? Maybe its just not a WRE appropriate map, then? Maybe I should just focus better and notice these things.
And that brings me to third. As I was botching 3-4 because I didn't see the passable fence, I was getting reeled in by the guy who started behind me. He eventually caught me at 5 and we were together at 6. Admittedly my navigation was more hurried and less attentive as I wanted to hang with him. We went through the courtyard, down some stairs, and then... where were we? All that was in front of us was a hedge. I was confused. Apparently he was not, because he paused, and then went straight through a small gap between the hedges.
I kind of felt like I wanted to figure out where I was first. I relocated, looked up, and realized that the hedges he went through, which, albeit provided a perfect and short line to the control, was totally olive green. There was no way directly through, you had to go around. In short, he cheated. I'm not going to say it was intentional or not, since I was very close to going straight through it without realizing it afterwards. I know I shouldn't let other people affect me, but I admit I kind of had it on my mind the rest of the race.
Afterwards, I was a little conflicted. I didn't know the guy, so I couldn't really just confront him. Again, if it were any other stage, or non world-level-ish event, I wouldn't care too much. But this is still a WRE, and I thought maybe in this case he'd look over his course, realize he cheated, and maybe bring it up. I am certain he must, must know where he went, show me an elite orienteer that doesn't quickly go through their course and analyze where they went? He had to know afterwards what he did. But what should he do? Admit it? DSQ himself? Keep his mouth shout? If you don't get caught by an official, are you obligated to admit it? It wouldn't happen in any other sport I am aware of. Perhaps I'm stuck in that "oh well, orienteers are different from other athletes and always play fair" mentality. Should I have done something? Protesting would make me look jerk sore loser.
But, what about if he also won the race?
Statute of limitations.