[ARDF] Region 1 Champs 144MHz results...

[Bruce]

> 3.  Here are the orders for minimum distance, sorted by 
> length.  I added winning times to the table:
> 
> >>>>> Minimum of running routes >>>>>
> M21  S-5-1-2-4-3-6-Fi    8100 m 59 minutes

Looking at the control placements using the little charts shows that this is
actually not a trivial pick, with the 4 & 5 being so close. Maybe there is a
massive ravine there also, but we just don't know this yet.

> M40  S-1-2-4-3-6-Fi      7800 m 59 minutes

More obvious than M21 due to dropping 5. Note all the top 5 placers chose
the same route.

> as W21 and M40.   W19 seemed really short, until I saw the winning

In ARDF I'm not sure the absolute distance is as much as a criteria as in
orienteering. Other factors come into play such as where you hit each TX
during a cycle, especially the first one (can you get to it in 2nd cycle etc
etc). A +/-km may not make as much difference to the finishing times if you
can cover that distance in less than the 5 minute cycle. Sometimes you spend
just as long on a short course, but just more time hanging around waiting
for it to come on ! (well, for me anyway :)).

> 4.  Did you see that they had a 120-minute time limit?  I 
> thought 150 was standard.  If you're used to 150 minutes, you 

I'm not sure why they'd do that. It's not going to make any difference to
the top end of the field, so it really only affects the experience of those
lower down the ladder. It doesn't make a lot of difference to the overall
time of the event (20 mins longer waiting for the last starter?), so unless
they are trying to force a higher number of competitors to miss transmitters
due to time constraints (or DNF) I don't follow the reasoning.

> 5.  The finish corridor looks like it goes uphill.  I hate 
> uphill finishes on *so* many levels.  Mostly, I hate it when 

Pant Pant...agreed. Can always put on a final spurt for the finish, but
uphill is just cruel :)

> I'm too exhausted to run up them.  The finish pictures aren't 
> nearly as impressive, except for the uber-fit people, who 
> tend to be dramatic no matter what.  I am embarrassed to 
> admit this, but two of my criteria for a "good" finish chute 
> are actually trivial concerns:  I want it to be *not* uphill, 
> and I want it to be lit into the faces of the competitors, so 
> the photos are better.  In the end, I'll put the chute where 
> it needs to be, but if I can meet those two things, I'm much 
> happier.  By my two criteria, the Day 1 chute fails on both 
> accounts, although the photos are pretty decent.

Cheers,
Bruce