Discussion: NAOC Sprint Championships

As the North American Sprint Series gets off the ground, and with WOC going to sprint during even years, is it time to discuss a proper dedicated weekend to a NAOC Sprint Championships on our continent, (or even hemisphere - Sprint Champs of the Americas)?...or even APOC?

...odd years beginning in 2019?

And...

Over/under on post count for this thread? ;)

Nice idea. I feel like it should follow the WC scheduling philosophy and happen in the fall or spring before the Sprint WOCs, as a lead-up. So, fall of 2019 with Sprint WOC 2020 the next summer?

Our countries' respective Thanksgiving weekends? (With each country taking turns hosting)

Tack on some forest-O to make the weekend even more inclusive? (With the holiday in mind)

...fully understand that Thanksgiving is a family event for many though.

...maybe it's a Fri/Sat NAOC Sprint Champs, and the forest piece is a Sun/Mon - middle/long national championship for the country that is hosting.

On the elite end of things, this might be more appealing for European-based athletes. (Cheaper flights, come home to see family for a holiday, not conflicting with big Euro races.)

It just seems like the strength of the field is not fully realized for a summer national championship.

...and being biannually, it might be a happy medium for those who prefer a summer national championship, (and the festivals associated with them.)

...more appealing to run in NA forests in the fall too.

I think this is a great idea and would follow what is being done with the Euro Champs as well. I think to make this work the US and Canada really need to figure out a good champs and
team trials race scheduling (time of year, country rotation, sharing resources) to rebuild the domestic elite racing scene.
The NAOC has been a bright light in that scene for a decade now but we shouldn't have to wait once every two years for a race weekend with strong NorAm elite depth. An annual shared spring team trials and an autumn NAOC has the potential for success.

If go the split approach for NAOC in 2019 then Canada should host the first urban NAOC with US hosting in 2020 (forest as planned) and 2021 (urban) which is also the year the US is hosting the World Games. Hmmmmm.

It's not just a matter of preferring summer or fall, but climate. Mid October can be lovely late season for Ontario, post season for Alberta or Colorado (due to snow), or early season for Georgia, all significant orienteering centers. Summer can be lovely for a festival in much of the American or Canadian west, while winter can be nice for a Vancouver sprint camp or Georgia junior camp.

The suggestion of alternating between a fall championship on odd years and a summer one on even years sounds nice. But to build a following, maybe there needs to be something on that date every year. Non championships can build a following, like Billygoat, Highlander, West Point, Park World Tour, O-Ringen, Jukola. So, maybe aim for having a winter three day, a summer week and a fall weekend every year on regular dates. The NA championship could alternate between the summer and fall events, but other championships, like relay, ultra long, etc., could also alternate between certain summer, fall and winter weekends.

Would it make more sense to have the Sprint championship in winter on the even years (in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, California, Seattle, Victoria or in Vancouver with the camp), and in summer on odd years? Then have an ML champs alternating between October and summer.

4/4

For those who love to race and organize sprint races in North America:

Coming off what's seems to have been another wonderful sprint weekend in Vancouver...

Am I right that perhaps an unspoken consensus in the sprint community would be to let the North American Sprint Series grow organically, (it is still so new) than to bother with sanctioned sprint racing?

let the North American Sprint Series grow organically, (it is still so new)

Or revive the old one ... that was a lot of fun while it lasted...