I read an article today about how professional bull riders are using the internet to prepare for rodeos. This got me to thinking, just how many different ways could the internet be used to help orienteers?

Some ways orienteer use the internet are obvious: using email to enter events, looking at maps and routes on web pages, and getting results after races. But, what other -- perhaps more creative -- uses are there?

I suppose you might be wondering how bull riders use the internet. Well, one way is that there is a web page with a database of information about bulls (e.g., average time a rider stays on the bull).

-- Spike (meglin@juno.com), February 07, 2000

Answers

Somewhere I saw someone who had run a course using a transmitter of some sort that relayed his position to a receiver placed out in the forest. In the end he could plot his position on the map and the time at each point. I think there were many problems with this today, but that with some work and money these could be solved. The sort of data from these experiments could be useful. I have always wondered how long some of my mistakes were, have been unable to reconstruct my routes after the fact occasionally, and have wondered how much extra distance I run in some cases. To have a record would be quite useful.

For spectators this would be fun too. I think the plans are in place to have all runners at the 2001 WOC in Finland run with little transmitters (or maybe by "all runners" they really mean all of the runners from certain countries?). I don't know if they will be broadcasting live positions or anything, but if they did it could be interesting. I suppose one of the things we have always dreamt about is to have live internet broadcasts showing the instantaneous positions, speeds, placing, heartrate(?), or whatever of orienteers in the forest. It would be fun to sit home at your computer a continent away and watch the race unfold.

-- Mook (everett@psi.edu), February 12, 2000.

One especially cool web page is the US Unofficial Junion page. It is at:

http://web.mit.edu/kwalker/www/us-juniors/

The page has some really nice features. People can register and then can, for example, list the events that they plan to attend. They can also keep a training log on the page and others can look at thier training. Mikell Platt keeps a log on the page. Check it out at:

http://kwalker.mit.edu/us-juniors/personTraining.jsp?ID=91

I like to look at some of the people's training logs from time to time. It is interesting to see how much (or how little) people are training. It can also be interesting to see mistakes people are making. I remember looking at one person's training and thinking, "wow, that is really a lot...can't imagine they won't get hurt." Then a few weeks later they were injured.

I guess in the not-too-long-run I'd like for the OK pages to have some of the features of the Unofficial Junior pages. Unfortunately, the computer work required is beyond my ability.

-- Spike (mike_eglinski@kcmo.org), February 22, 2000.

Here is an interesting (?) article I translated from a Swedish O' web page (www.alternativet.nu):

Mobile telephone technology is now being used during O training. The worlds first (?) training using mobile phones took place yesterday as a cooperative effort between two O clubs in Scandinavia  FK Friskus and Espoon Suunta.

On February 22, what may have been the first international cooperative interval training session took place. It happened in two countries and three cities. Mobile telephones played a main roll in this futuristic form of training. It was used by two O clubs  FK Friskus in Sweden and Espoon Sunntas in Finland  to give the runners more motivation and competition. The training was 5 x 1000 meters with starts every sixth minute. The intervals were done on indoor tracks and an outdoor trail.

Each interval started at the same time and the times and positions were commented on by mobile telephone during the rest periods and even during the running periods.

We are anxiously awaiting the next development  cooperative training on the internetrunning with laptops?!

-- Spike (mike_eglinski@kcmo.org), February 24, 2000.