Discussion: Relay course planning tip - the start

The clip posted by gordhun http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/2008... includes a shot of the COC relay Mass Start. This, sadly, is a lame start. And appears even more lame when shown on TV - our great sport of physical toughness and mental brilliance is shown as a bunch of people standing still, looking confused, then shuffling off in various directions.

The start of a relay is a glorious chance to create spectacle and excitement ... strong runners thundering away into the forest, on a mission.

To get this effect at the start is quite simple....

Have the map pickup a good distance from the start triangle, with a marked route from the map pickup to the start of orienteering. This allows the runners to race away from the start line, creating a wonderful atmosphere.

Like the Thomassssssss at NAOC!

That was a surreal experience. Because of my age class, I was up on the start line with the best of the best. "What the hell am I doing up here with these guys?"

Absolutely agree, and not just for relays, but any event. The whole "flip the map over and stand still" is just a disaster from a perception point of view. I always set the first control either in full view of the start or on an obvious trail from the start (noted in the instructions so even the first starters know they can confidently take off). It removes about 30 seconds of navigation from the course and adds excitement while also testing the skil of finding your spot on the map while running. Also avoids the need for complicated call-up procedures.

This video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xurv1-ZpqDQ ) shows how the start of the Belgian Relay championships was organised last year, including a bottle of champagne for the first male and female to cross the start. The courses included a spectator control on a bridge in the middle of the arena (actually the video is shot from the bridge) and the handover zone was beneath it. The result was lots of excitement in the arena.

No remote map pickups please (on any type of race)! Do you really want to risk disqualifying a team because they picked up the wrong map? What about the other team who now can't find their map? I know it is unavoidable at the map exchange. Everyone can still thunder off down a start chute to the start triangle with map in hand ala Jukola.

Standing around studying the map is, sadly, what Canadians do. I have videotape from events back in the 1980's and 1990's including the COCs in the Kananaskis area where I was able to get shots of many Canadians and Swedes leaving the start. Predictably the Swedes picked up their map, took a quick look, ran to a power line and kept going. Most Canadians picked up their map, studied it, ran to a power line and stopped to study the map again.
I agree with AZ that the relay image is lame to the orienteering purist but hopefully to the uninitiated it shows the role of the map, that routes are not fixed and it is a sport that many can do.
Perhaps coincidentally local meets in Ottawa have had a pretty good turnout since the media exposure of the COC's.

Instead of bottles of Champagne, the 2002 US relay champs used a $5 bill on a post, downhill across a field.
Won by a Mr. Ross Smith I think.

COCs in the Kananaskis area ... Swedes leaving the start...

Could that have been me? I ran the first leg of a COC relay in (or near) Kananaskis in 1985... (I remember that a then very young hammer was running too).