How to Organize Your First MTBO Event

v2 – 29 Apr 2017

Draft outline

1. Objective and structure of this document 1.1. Provide practical guidance and ideas for people who want to organize their first Mountain Bike Orienteering event in a country or region where no MTBO event was organized before 1.2. This document shall take you through all aspects of organizing an MTBO event 1.3. Three levels of background considered (and we need to indicate in each section the advice for Level A/B/C 1.3.1. Level A: active O-life, but no MTBO (e.g. Norway) 1.3.2. Level B: some O-life, but no MTBO (e.g. US, SA) 1.3.3. Level C: no O-life, but some navigational exercises like scouts or military (e.g. Iceland, China) 1.4. Two levels of events considered 1.4.1. Small – 20-30 participants 1.4.2. Large – 30-100 participants

2. Why MTBO? 2.1. More fun than walking / running ;-) 2.2. Accessible for all age groups and broad skill level – Masters can enjoy moving on terrain at speed again ;-) 2.3. Teaches decision making, execution, and living with the consequences of your mistakes ;-) 2.4. Reading the map/navigation is easier than in foot orienteering because you usually stay on the tracks

3. Background required 3.1. Some foot orienteering background is helpful, but not necessary 3.2. Familiarity with maps 3.3. Some experience organizing outdoor sporting events in a given country

4. Event program 4.1. Single day event 4.2. Considerations on choosing the day (inc. combine with other events or not) 4.3. Best times: weekend morning or weekday late afternoon - depends on local culture and habits

5. Permissions and insurance v2 – 29 Apr 2017

5.1. What are the permissions required? (local authority, land owner, police, etc) 5.2. Liability insurance – in some places you should not go without, in others nobody will understand what it is ;-)

6. Participants 6.1. Target audience (orienteers, schools, scouts, MTB riders) 6.1.1. Numbers expected 6.1.2. Background expected (is instruction needed or not) 6.2. How to reach potential participants 6.2.1. Flyers for public 6.2.2. Article in local newspaper 6.2.3. Groups (orienteers, scouts, MTB riders) 6.2.4. Social media (FB, local discussion groups) 6.2.5. Bring a friend / colleague 6.3. Management of participants 6.3.1. Entry / registration 6.3.2. During the event (check if all returned)

7. Event information 7.1. To participants 7.1.1. What form (by email, on website etc.) 7.1.2. Content: info about the event, equipment, how to do an MTBO course, rules, etc. 7.1.3. Information before, during, after the event 7.2. To local population, general public 7.3. To landowners, authorities etc.

8. Costs / revenue 8.1. Keep cost to minimum 8.2. Expect the following expenses (may not all be applicable) 8.2.1. Permission (and insurance) 8.2.2. Map cost 8.2.2.1.Access fee 8.2.2.2.Survey / field visits 8.2.2.3.Drawing 8.2.2.4.Printing 8.2.3. Control equipment 8.2.4. Timing system 8.2.5. Infrastructure for event centre (shelter, toilets etc.) 8.2.6. Fees for federation or organization if organized under the umbrella of such an institution 8.2.7. other 8.3. Possible sources of income 8.3.1. Participation fee 8.3.1.1.How much v2 – 29 Apr 2017

8.3.1.2.Payment (when, how) 8.3.2. Sponsors 8.3.3. Sale of food and drinks

9. Entries 9.1. Keep it simple – ask for pre-registration (number of maps), but do not rely on it (do not despair if few comes in). Consider advantages/disadvantages of pre-registration 9.2. Be ready for people showing up on the day and plan for it (maps, registration, etc)

10. Registration on the day 10.1. Setup, people required 10.2. List of entries

11. Entry fee 11.1. How much 11.2. Payment (when, how)

12. Assembly area and Event Center 12.1. Car park – or place to park cars 12.2. Possible facilities of an event center (shelter, toilets, shower, electricity supply, bike-wash etc.)

13. Terrain selection 13.1. Features of ideal and unsuitable terrains 13.2. General considerations when selecting a terrain 13.2.1. Availability of map 13.2.2. Hilly/flat 13.2.3. Traffic 13.2.4. Ease of riding 13.3. Possible terrains 13.3.1. Forest / open field 13.3.2. Agricultural (vineyard) 13.3.3. Park 13.3.4. Urban

14. Safety and care for the environment 14.1. Risks 14.1.1. Inherent to riding on terrain 14.1.2. Inherent to riding in traffic 14.1.3. Inherent to MTBO: map reading (with or without map holder) 14.1.4. Inherent to format (type of competition) 14.1.5. Inherent to course setting 14.1.6. Inherent to whether or not it’s allowed to leave the tracks v2 – 29 Apr 2017

14.1.7. How to minimize risks and take precaution 14.2. Environment and public 14.2.1. Environmental damage 14.2.2. Meeting the public (walkers, horse riders, forestry workers, etc)

15. Equipment for participants 15.1. Bike – type and recommended features 15.2. Map holders 15.2.1. General - more fun with mapholder 15.2.2. Available for rent or for sale 15.2.3. Appendix on mapholders 15.3. Compulsory: helmet 15.4. Useful: glasses, gloves 15.5. Typically not used: DH protectors for knee, elbow, spine

16. Competition map 16.1. General considerations 16.1.1. What makes a good MTBO map? good map - fair event 16.1.2. Scale, legibility 16.1.3. Roads, paths 16.1.4. Elevation (may do without on flattish area) 16.1.5. Forbidden areas 16.1.6. Danger areas (traffic) 16.1.7. Plan using the map participants will use 16.2. Using existing map 16.2.1. General tips 16.2.2. Sources 16.2.2.1. Orienteering 16.2.2.2. Topographical 16.2.2.3. Tourist / walker / forestry 16.2.2.4. City / park 16.2.3. Conversions 16.2.3.1. Foot orienteering map → MTBO map 16.2.3.2. Downloadable map → MTBO map 16.2.4. Corrections 16.2.4.1. New roads / paths (required accuracy) 16.2.4.2. Forbidden routes / Danger areas 16.3. Draw it yourself (or get somebody to do it) 16.3.1. General considerations 16.3.2. Useful sources 16.3.2.1. Open Street Map, etc. 16.3.2.2. Open orienteering map (oomap.co.uk) 16.3.2.3. Open orienteering (openorienteering.org)

17. Courses 17.1. Formats v2 – 29 Apr 2017

17.1.1. Free order or score event– simple navigation, more riding 17.1.2. Linear orienteering – classical orienteering course 17.1.3. Individual or team 17.2. General course setting considerations (e.g. where to have start and finish, safety, etc.) 17.2.1. Different levels / difficulty 17.2.1.1. Safer for absolute beginners 17.2.1.2. More challenging one for adventurous types 17.2.2. Course lengths 17.2.2.1. What is the right length 17.2.2.2. What makes a course faster or slower 17.2.3. General, o-technical and riding-technical difficulty 17.2.4. Route choices 17.2.5. Example for an easy course (for absolute beginners) 17.2.6. Example for a difficult course 17.3. Control placement

18. Control setup and equipment 18.1. Control location and equipment 18.1.1. Orienteering controls – find the flag 18.1.1.1. Where to put them (visible, but not disturbing) 18.1.1.2. Control flag (mylon or paper) 18.1.1.3. Ribbon / milk carton etc. 18.1.1.4. How to prove passage 18.1.1.4.1. electronic (if you have one) 18.1.1.4.2. pin punch 18.1.1.4.3. crayon 18.1.1.4.4. special code / letter to note 18.1.1.4.5. QR code, etc 18.1.2. Natural controls – find the object 18.1.2.1. Advantage (no flag required) and limitations 18.1.2.2. What could be used? 18.1.2.2.1. Tower / rain hut / signpost 18.1.2.3. How to prove passage 18.1.2.3.1. Take selfie at landmark 18.1.2.3.2. Read off existing information (post number, date from sign, etc) 18.2. Setting up the course / putting out controls 18.2.1. How, when etc 18.2.2. Visibility of controls vs risk of loss

19. Start 19.1. Forms and time keeping options 19.1.1. Mass start 19.1.2. Staged (pre-set list) 19.1.3. Free start within a time interval v2 – 29 Apr 2017

19.2. Setup of start 19.2.1. Shelter for rain or wet weather 19.2.2. Fairness 19.2.3. Staff requirement

20. Maps for participants 20.1. Map with printed or drawn course 20.1.1. Methods to have maps with printed or drawn courses 20.1.1.1. Option 1: one course on one map 20.1.1.2. Option 2: all controls on one map + list of controls to be taken 20.1.2. Draw course on map by hand (use a stencil) 20.1.3. Use a software like Condes to draw the courses 20.1.4. Use a map drawing and course setting program (OCAD) 20.2. Course to be drawn on map by participants 20.2.1. Master map(s) 20.2.2. Map handed out before time start 20.2.2.1. Course drawn before or after the time start 20.2.3. Map handed out and course drawn after the time start 20.3. Course printed vs drawn considerations 20.4. When to hand out the map or self-service – if handed out before the start, it can be discussed upfront –less fairness, but more comfort to beginners

21. Finish and time keeping 21.1. Finish options dependent on start and equipment used 21.2. Setup of finish 21.3. Staff requirement 21.4. Timing 21.4.1. Manual 21.4.2. Electronic

22. Results 22.1. On-event 22.1.1. Printing options 22.1.2. Display options (laundry line, etc) 22.2. After event 22.2.1. Web, FB, etc.

23. Prize giving 23.1. May or may not do – depends on setup 23.2. Make it fun and not overly serious 23.3. May give little present to all finishers

24. Final tasks 24.1. Checking all participants returned v2 – 29 Apr 2017

24.2. Collecting controls 24.3. Cleanup

25. After the event 25.1. Keep contacts 25.2. Send thank you letters (landowners, municipality, etc)

26. Overall effort required 26.1. Keep things simple – less work, fewer people needed 26.2. Essential tasks – number of people required 26.3. Build a team 26.3.1. number of people required 26.3.2. recruit, manage, motivate staff

27. Odds and ends 27.1. When things go wrong 27.1.1. What can happen 27.1.2. How to mitigate it 27.2. Other ideas?

Appendices

28. App A: Useful resources 28.1. IOF web 28.2. MTBO Commission’s web 28.3. Other useful resources

29. App B: Organizer checklists 29.1. Equipment and material you need as organizer 29.2. Checklist for a simple event 29.3. Checklist for larger events

30. App C: List useful programs with basic instruction 30.1. Open Orienteering Mapper 30.2. OCAD 30.3. Condes 30.4. Etc.

31. App D: Simple map board ideas 31.1. Non-rotating 31.2. Flower pot rotating 31.3. Taped to handlebar 31.4. Clamped to handlebar 31.5. List of commercial providers v2 – 29 Apr 2017