Discussion: Olympic clash

I had been told that the WMTBOC was held earlier this year to avoid such a clash (for some reason involving some WC rule) and yet here the WOC is doing just that! In 2012 we were watching the Olympics during our training camp so there was no issue back then.

I have no idea what time I went to bed last night. I fell asleep on the couch and didn't check the time when I woke up sometime later.

The IOF brought in rules about this about 3-4 years ago. In the normal course of events, rule changes are not binding on organisers who have already been appointed. Since WOC organisers are appointed earlier than MTBO WOC ones (assuming anyone bothers to bid), I can imagine - without having looked it up - that at the time of the decision, the WOC 2016 organisers had been appointed but the MTBO WOC 2016 ones hadn't.

This is something I've felt pretty strongly about since being part of the 1996 World Cup series in Sweden and Norway, which clashed with the second week of the Atlanta Olympics. Not only did this ensure that the World Cup got zero media coverage, but on the last day most of the athletes disappeared before the presentations so they could go back and watch the Olympic marathon on TV.

One of the stated reasons underlying the move to the split urban/forest WOCs is the idea that urban WOCs (in even years) have more flexibility in timing so it's easier to stay out of the way of the Olympics and the (football) World Cup, both of which are held in even years.

I guess this year it's a bit weird because technically the Olympics are being held in winter rather than summer. When Brisbane wins the rights to host the 2028 Olympics, there won't be a problem (unless by some miracle WOC moves away from Europe that year into the southern hemisphere).

I got stuck watching all the fast women's 800m heats despite my best intentions to get to bed!

Bigger things to tackle in Blair's own backyard - the Aus champs colliding with the AFL grand final year-in, year-out. Have given Swans the kiss of death this year by not making plans for Oz champs.

Thought we'd fixed it this year but the AFL put the Grand Final back a week.

I suspect it's not coincidental that the WOC sprint relay starts about 10 minutes after the expected finish of the men's marathon.

I'm surprised too! Swedish orienteering fans have been told all the way that "we're organising WOC at this rather inconvenient time of the year when schools have just started just because we don't want it to clash with the olympics". But then it clashes with the olympics anyway...

While reading an on-line history of Modern Pentathlon it struck me that orienteering has probably missed its only chance of getting into the Olympics, as part of the Modern Pentathlon that was introduced in Stockholm in 1912, when
the President of the Organizing Committee for the 1912 Games, showed that he made use of the long tradition of Swedish military multi-sports events, to create a manageable modern pentathlon.

Does anyone know if orienteering, which was also part of the Swedish military sports, was considered as the cross-country running element of MP?

Blair, all they did was move it from the first weekend of the Aus Champs to the second weekend! It would have clashed with something regardless.

The way I read that summary, we had the ancient pentathlon and that gave way to the medieval pentathlon, which is what they are doing today since it was intended for cavalrymen of early-1900s times. Perhaps the modern pentathlon could involve:

-Booking the cheapest flights to the Olympics online
-Catching the most Pokemon in a 10 minute period (wouldn't want to discriminate against the non-athletic participants by making it any longer)
-Time trial to Maccas for morning coffee
-Most creative tweet to your followers
-Creating a playlist on your iPod and seeing how many cyclists you can hit whilst doing it on a bike path