How to stage a simple TrailO event

by Clive Allen

Introduction

TrailO is a superb discipline for training map-reading skills as well as being a fine competitive discipline in its own right. A full TrailO event or a small sequence of TrailO control sites can be built into a club’s training and competition programme with minimal manpower requirements.

TrailO has two formats: PreO and the fully-timed form TempO. This article, based on my experience in Denmark, describes how to stage a PreO event with 2 courses (Elite and Standard) with up to 20 controls and a timed-control station, and a simple TempO event with several stations.

Note that in Scotland the term PreO is also used for ‘Taster TrailO’ (up to 5 controls, associated with a FootO event, usually sited on the way from assembly to the start); elsewhere in Great Britain, this Taster TrailO is called IntrO.

This article deals only with the organisation of an event for your club. It does not describe the nature of TrailO or in any great detail the planning of courses; information on these can be found on the British Orienteering TrailO Minisite in the chapter on IntrO and other articles that are available through links.

Staging a PreO Event

Basic requirements

- One person to plan and prepare the event- One additional person on the day, to help with registration- A competition area with a simple track or good path network from which some varied contour, line

and point features (e.g. rocks and crags, streams and ditches) and vegetation detail can be seen- A reasonably accurate and detailed map of the area, 1:5,000 or 1:4,000 with 2.5m contours- A set of kites, plus special control cards and small kites as Decision Point markers (see later)

Note: TrailO is a discipline anyone can take part in, including people in wheelchairs and other physically disabled people. In an area with wheelchair-friendly tracks and paths, wheelchair-sports groups and other wheelchair users can be invited to come and try an easy TrailO course. If they like what they try, maybe they will go further and become addicted: there is a large Paralympic Class at international level!

Getting started – planning the courses

The first thing to do is to get a copy of the map and go out into the area to look at a possible track/path route through the most detailed areas of the map. This is likely to be 1-2 km long for a full course, but for a ‘Taster’ would be much shorter. It can be circular or out-and-back, or from assembly area to FootO start at a FootO event.

When you’ve chosen a likely route, start looking at possible control sites for the course(s). The circle at each chosen site needs to be on a definite feature on the map. For a Standard course, kites will be placed here and in up to four more places nearby. You want to make the participant read the map carefully, using all the available detail, in order to make the correct choice. You need to check that the bearings to the correct kite are correct from various precise points along the path used by participants, or from distinct fixed points just the other side of the path. For an Elite course, you can consider if the site can be a Z, i.e. no kite at the

place indicated by the centre of the circle. If you do choose the Z option, then the nearest kite must be far enough away that it is seen by the competitor as a clear Z. There are various subtle ways of doing this so that it is not too obvious! Finally you need to decide on the Decision Point, the place where the participants should record their decision, since the order of kites seen from left to right can change dependent on where on the path you are standing.

Typical PreO control site – this one a timed control at JK 2014 Photo: Dick Keighley

Make pencil markings on the map and notes on a pad as you go along. For each possible site, make a note of the key feature and the number and general location of other kites, and whether you think it might be a ‘Z control’ and where the Decision Point will be.

The best way of starting to learn the art of setting good control sites is by competing on a TrailO course; see the Calendar section of the British Orienteering TrailO Minisite. It is fairly easy to set Standard-level sites, but some knowledge and experience is needed to set Elite sites at a level that will properly test experienced Trail Orienteers. ‘Trick controls’, e.g. the control description giving the opposite side of a stone to where the kite is, should be avoided in this kind of event. For more detailed information and guidance on course planning, together with examples, see the longer IntrO article in this chapter.

Additional visits to the terrain usually result in improvements being made to the course(s) as new ideas for a good technical challenge come to mind. A timed control site may also be planned (see below).

At each control site I usually dig in a twig where the Decision Point will be, and use tape or something else suitable to pinpoint the positions of all the kites.

At a big event, a separate cane with a needle punch attached is placed a little away from the Decision Point at each control site, and all competitors are required to use this punch. For small events I ask participants to bring their own punch for use all the way round the course, and I have spares available to loan to people who don’t have their own.

Advance preparations

Your event deserves plenty of publicity – on the club’s website, social media sites and elsewhere. About one month ahead I prepare a flyer giving date and time, location, nature of the competition etc. which is emailed out to our circulation list – people who have been to TrailO before, regularly or otherwise, and placed on the Silkeborg OK and trail-o.dk websites.

When you are happy that the courses are as you want them, you use CONDES or similar software to define the area of the map to be used and the scale, and set up the courses on the map, plus the control descriptions and necessary titles. The process is just as in FootO except that TrailO description lists must be used. These have the number of kites (A, A-B … A-E) in column 2 and the direction of viewing from the Decision Point, where this is not obvious, in the final column. Care must be taken to put the circles on the map in exactly the right place! Note that on point features the centre of the circle is the centre of the feature, irrespective of which side the kite is actually on.

Print the number of maps you think you need for each course, then add a few. Put them into plastic bags if waterproof paper is not available.

3-4 days in advance of your event, you get together the equipment you need:

- kites and stakes (up to 80 or so may be needed for a full event with 20 controls). Kites are blank – no numbers needed.

- Decision Point markers: for ‘Taster’ and local events, a mini-kite on a small stake is good for this purpose. An alternative and for bigger events is to have cards fixed to sticks with E1, E2, … or S1, S2, … marked on the card.

- TrailO control cards. See Appendix for downloadable file. Alternatively for a small Taster event, the control card can be incorporated into the map unit.

- Some needle punches to loan to participants who don’t bring their own.

If there is a timed control, you also need specially-prepared timed-control maps, a stop watch and a chair. You will also need paper and pen to write down the names of the competitors at registration and later their results, and a pen at the timed control.

An example of a map prepared for a PreO competition is shown below.

Timed control site

Usually one site is chosen with two or three tasks, which usually will be different between the E and S courses. Several copies of a section of map – circular, a square or a rectangle with the overall site in the centre – are prepared, with magnetic north lines prominently shown. On a copy for each task, a circle is drawn showing the placing of the kite for that task. Usually there are six kites placed at a timed-control site. Note that ‘Z’ is not allowed at a timed control.

The map with circle is pasted on a card with the direction of viewing from bottom to top, and the one-line control description is pasted beneath. The copies need to be labelled E1, E2 … S1, S2 … (numbers as required), and laminated or placed in a plastic sleeve.

The 2 or 3 maps for each course are stacked in the correct order with a blank card on the top; alternatively they can be strung together to ensure they remain in the correct order.

The day before the event

An encouragingly-worded reminder about the event on your club website and elsewhere, stating clearly the time and the meeting place, always helps.

It can take quite a time to set out control sites, therefore best to do everything you can on the day before the event. This means that in a period of 3-4 hours on this day you set out all kites, unless they are to go in very visible and accessible locations where they might get moved or pinched.

In order to help ensure that all kites are visible from the Decision Point, I often place a kite on a stake at the Decision Point whilst I go to set out the competition kites. This can save a lot of time, especially for sites where the kites are some distance from the path. I then remove this extra kite and carry it along to the next site.

The day of the event

Start early, setting out remaining kites whilst going round the course route putting out the Decision Point markers – in the process checking that all the kites can be seen and indeed that all are still where they should be.

Your helper should arrive at the registration site no later than half-an-hour before the advertised start (which is usually 12 noon). A sheet with information and instructions for competitors is posted on a car window. Sitting in the car, the helper lists competitor names and course (E or S), and notes needle punch if loaned out, and gives out a folded TrailO control card with name written on.

I prefer to have the timed control first wherever possible, and administer it myself. The route from the meeting point needs to be signed and tagged, up to a Stop sign just out of earshot and where the kites can’t be seen in context. I call up competitors from there; they give me their control card and tell me ‘E’ or ‘S’, sit in the chair (or their wheelchair is stopped at the same spot) and we go through the routine procedure. I note the answers and the time taken on the control card.

I then give them a copy of the map for their course and note their start time on their control card. They go off and start the course, and I turn my attention to the next competitor.

The helper is able to go out on the course once everyone else has arrived and been registered. Once s/he has done the timed control, the kites are left on site (for competitors to look at again later, if they wish) and everything else taken back to the meeting point.

Here, the correct solutions are posted up on a notice board and/or a window of the car, which is also the site of the finish. Competitors come in and their arrival time is noted on their control card – cut this in half, keep the main section and hand the other half back to the competitor, who can then self-check his or her choices. Loaned needle punches are returned. If there is time available, you can check their answers against the correct solutions straight away, and record their total correct plus timed-control data on the registration sheet. Usually there is also good time to chat with competitors about aspects of the course, and listen to their grumbles if any!

At a Scottish-style ‘Taster’, maps (with control card included) are left by participants at the finish of the course and collected by the PreO organiser later (after s/he has had his/her run in the Foot-O event).

Once everyone has gone, it’s of course time to collect in all the kites, stakes and Decision Point markers, perhaps with the assistance of the helper.

After the event

Back at home, knots need untying, mud needs removing etc. before the equipment is returned to the club store.

Results are keyed in in Word (no need to use specialist software, but there is some if you want to) and then emailed to competitors and posted on the club website and/or where appropriate. If not using the software, you can calculate the number of competitors with the correct answer for each control, and then write a text giving this info for each control. The text explains the best method used for getting the right answer in each case, and is posted along with the results. A solution map that shows where each kite was placed can also be produced – see example below – but is not essential for a small event or Taster course.

In Scotland, the results go up on the website of the FootO club as quickly as possible. Individuals’ results are not posted up to avoid embarrassing anyone, just the overall success rate on each control, plus the competition map, the solutions maps and some notes on how to solve the control problems.

Solutions example – New Road map, White Rose 2015 (see also solutions map below)

TC1 – D kite – the kite on the boulder gave a pointer to the marsh and distance.

TC2 – F kite – was the only one at the edge of the clearing even if the ditch was difficult to see.

1. A kite – at first view the kite that was in front of the tree and not in the gully was ruled out, so the choice was one that was alongside the tree. The C kite was slightly down from the tree, so as you walked up the road the middle kite was the correct one. From the Decision Point this lined up as the A kite.

2. B kite – It was difficult to see the actual length of the earth bank, so it had to be fixed from the shape where the A kite was. The C kite was on the top and the B on the bottom.

3. C kite – pretty difficult to fix when the stream was not visible, but the tree and vegetation change were. A distance estimation from the tree proved it. The A kite was on the vegetation change, the B kite on the tree.

4. C kite – need to check which rock is on the map, and the relation of the boulders on the slope to the clearing alongside the road. The D and E kites were relevant to control 5. A and B kites were between the other boulders.

5. Z kite – Using the road-side clearing as a guide and the boulders on the slope it was possible to fix the locations of kites D and E on the form line. The hill was further back and could not be seen from the road.

6. B kite – although you could not see in to the depression, you could tell where it was and the A kite was a distracter. C and D kites were middle and N-part kites.

7. B kite – a spur pointing up the hill. Could be fixed from the lower path easily enough, but you needed to be sure which the north part was. The A kite was in the re-entrant and the C kite on the eastern part of the spur.

8. Z kite – neither kite was on the centre of the point feature. The Decision Point was at an angle. 9. C kite – This was a hard one, so well done if you got it right. You needed to estimate the distance up the re-

entrant. There are a number of ways to do this. One is to find something nearby which you can see to compare. In this case the next path west along the track was roughly the same distance. The C kite was parallel to the clearing in the wood.

10. A kite – a long distance kite with confusing undergrowth around. It was on the corner of the open forest in relation to the small clearing. To be a Z it would have needed to be well away from the corner.

11. A kite – the little re-entrant opposite was the key to the correct location, as you walked past the kites. The description should have been West spur – but the circle made it clear. The B kite was on the top, the C kite on the lower form line part and the D kite on the eastern form line spur.

12. B kite – the hardest one on the course. To start with you were facing south, so there was the confusion with east and west. Kites A and C were on the side so it was either B or Z. Its location was B.

TempO competitions

TempO is proving to be very popular with young people, and is excellent for a junior training session with orienteers of reasonable proficiency. The speed element and the inclusion of ‘Z’ answers provides an extra challenge and attraction. It can of course be planned for orienteers of every age group!

At local level, it is common to have 5-6 stations with say 4 tasks at each. The best kind of location to use is a campus, school or park-style area with several buildings, covered by an accurate Sprint map.

The site of each station should be planned so that competitors can’t see much, if anything, of the kite layout before they arrive at the Decision Point. This can be achieved by, for instance, having the Decision Point and view of the kites just round the corner of a building.

At each station, 6 kites are set out on features that are accurately mapped. Z answers are allowed, so it’s best to use places with a reasonable amount of detail. Sections of maps with a single control circle need to be prepared as for a timed control, so quite a lot of map sections in all.

It is best to have two people at each station sharing the work of pointing out the kites and timing, etc. but it is possible for it to be done by one experienced and well-organised person. Competitors should use a TempO control card where the multiple answers for the same station can be recorded (see Appendix), but an alternative is for the person(s) manning the station to record all answers for all competitors on a single piece of paper.

A TempO competition can be run by just two people in all as long as the number of competitors is small, but with only two there can be some waiting time between stations. The competition can be run one station at a time, with everyone walking together between stations. This approach has the benefit that the answers can be checked and discussed station by station.

With four organisers, two stations can be manned at a time with the two pairs ‘leap-frogging’ each other to maintain continuity. Another way is to have two experienced trail orienteers being the first competitors at the first station; they then stay to time the other competitors through whilst the organisers move on to Station 2. The same can be done there, and in this way a ‘flow’ is developed.

Conclusion

Planning and organising TrailO is fun and absorbing! It’s important though to put in the effort to attract as many people as possible, to make all your work worthwhile.

I hope these notes give more orienteers the encouragement to start putting on TrailO Tasters and small events at club level. I am happy to give advice on this topic, and I would also like to hear of possible improvements and developments of this article: email me on j.clive.allen@gmail.com.

Acknowledgements to Peter and Christine Roberts for the White Rose 2015 map, solution map and comments.

Appendix – control cards

Standard control cards for PreO and TempO can be downloaded from the text on the Mini-site introducing this article.

These can be printed on waterproof paper, by BML or Hassall & Lucking, etc. Paul Taunton of NGOC printed all BTOC15, both maps and control cards, in house. Best to use one of the thinner varieties of Pretex; anything thicker is quite difficult for those with weak hands to punch through when its doubled over. The other plastic-type paper, made by Xerox, which the army sometimes use for printing their MLS maps, won't fold or crease and whilst its fine (if noisy) for maps, it’s no good for control cards.

For results processing there is an Excel spreadsheet for Preo originally produced by Don Braggins, whilst Rob Hickling has designed a spreadsheet for scoring TempO. These can be obtained from Dick Keighley, mail@jrkeighley.co.uk.