Getting More Out of Livelox and Splitsbrowser
Gord Hunter
The two orienteering clubs in Florida are having a great run of participation with often 300+ orienteers coming to our events, 15 to 20 events per year. Now that’s not 300+ off the streets but mostly the participants are members of high school JROTC orienteering teams, coming to compete for individual medals and team trophies.
This is not about how we attract those numbers. There is a story there but that is for another time.
The JROTC participants come to our events with little orienteering experience or training, and it often shows in the Livelox tracks they generate. Some ‘get it’ right away but many seem to take two, three or more times the distance they should covering a course.
I bet all clubs find the same phenomena as newcomers work their way through the orienteering learning process.
Instructors try to teach what they can before the orienteers get to their competitions and on to the starting lines. But what about after the event? Are the athletes getting any follow-up? Do course reviews take place? They should. Back in my football-playing days our coaches used game films to show us players what we were doing right and what we could do better. The same could be happening in orienteering with Livelox and Splitsbrowser. Performances can be reviewed as an individual or as a team. The results should be the same – better orienteering the next time out.
Gord Hunter