Discussion: Rocky Mountain 1000 Day date change!

This is to announce that we are seeking permission to move the 2006 Rocky Mountain 1000 Day to the dates of 9-20 August, and are now planning for those dates in anticipation that they will be approved. We're making the move because it gradually became clear that many more people than we thought were being forced to choose between events going on in Europe during July and 1000 Day, and who would really like to do both. It's our hope and belief that this change will result in a better O' summer for a majority of orienteers, even though we fully realize that any change will inevitably lead to some new conflicts for other folks (though, again, hopefully a much smaller number.)

If you have any questions or comments about this, please do not hesitate to email me!

Cheers, and looking forward to a great orienteering year in 2006 for everyone,
Mikell Platt

Can the responsible person then change the dates on the Events page? Thanks.

I'd be happy to do that, but I have no idea how you put up events or take them down or (in this case) change the dates.

The person who posted to the events section to begin with has to edit it - or Ken.

Note that the (proposed) date change has not cleared
sanctioning yet

Ouch. I'm in the "new conflict" category. Oh well. I understand the rationale.

We might be in the "new conflict" category. What are the proposed dates of the US Champs?

Mikell, is there an event website for the 1000-day somewhere? I was thinking of coming to the US in August. Would be cool to go to the 1000-day now!

Oh, right at the BC champs in Whistler...

Also, not on the Attackpoint schedule yet is the Canadian Champs with connected events, which I think is from Aug 19 to 26. Has that been confirmed now? Hammer?

Maprunner, the idea is that the entire existing 1000 Day schedule would be slid back 5 weeks. The US Champs would fall on 19-20 August with a model on the afternoon of the 18th (Friday). Sadly, this will lead to some new date conflicts, and there's no way around that. But, the weight of the feedback I have heard today is very heavily positive in support of the date change.

Boris, we are all very much looking forward to seeing the new and rapidly improving SwedeBoris in action, and what better place than the 1000 Day!

If the US champs are the 19th and 20th, then we can make it. I'll be able to extend my champs attendance streak. Thanks for moving the events to August!

Anyone have airline tickets yet? Or do airlines not even sell tickets that far in advance these days? I certainly don't have RMOC tickets yet. And I'm rather ambivalent between July & August.

Airline geek talk: airlines do sell tickets that far out (usually 331 days out for most US-based airlines). However, when once you could reliably get the cheapest seats by booking early, it's now much more random, and is more usually around three months out (but with a good deal of variability depending on how sales are going, among other things). So except if you got in on a random sale, you probably shouldn't buy yet (though to be fair, there are still a few good early deals out there: related to another important event, US Airways have been selling $143+tax tickets from Boston to St Louis for the team trials for a few days now, which is pretty cheap).

I guess when you have 1000 days (why does it have that strange name?) it is bound to conflict with other races. In this case it now conflicts with both the BC and Canadian Champs. Canadian Champs week is August 19-27 with COC's on the final weekend.

To bring up the unavoidable and crucial question: What about the widely revered, beautiful summer furred attack badgers? Do they move, too? Or is that the real reason, that attack badger farming is slow. Some new attack badger need to be imported from an unknown state in the eastern half of the universe?

Excellent news if it happens. I'll probably be there from the UK (again) if its in August.

The new dates also create a conflict with the US Canoe-O Championships, but there are very few people who would be affected by that.

Except perhaps, the results crew! Yikes!

will the night O be on a weekend?

The World University Orienteering Championships are squarely in the "new conflict" category.

The US Night Champs will be on August 14 (which is a Monday) if the change is approved. Unfortunately, that means it won't be a full moon night race anymore, which would have been pretty cool with the area we're planning to use, but the moon will be about 3/4's illuminated, which should still be enough to light up the prairie pretty good.

Before you run out and buy those US Airways tickets to St. Louis, you might want to read this. I'd like to say it's just an isolated and somewhat humorous anecdote, but I've flown them a bunch the last year and it's pretty typical.

but you've got a waning moon (full = 9th) so the moon won't even rise until almost 11PM - so unless you're pushing the start window into the wee hours of Tuesday, the moon will be a moot point...

That's right Clint--instead of a full moon, it's going to be darkness for quite a while, where the attack badgers will have every advantage. They will be so happy, and their eyes will give off such a nice glow when a headlamp happens to come their way!

I had indeed not bought the US Airways tickets because of just that reputation... I'm waiting for a real airline to hold a sale, not a Mickey Mouse outfit.

Airline tickets - hold off for tickets to Denver. Southwest starts service in January. They usually go out about 3 months; they are now accepting reservations through March. So expect prices to drop with the new entry.

Hammer, as to the name, I take full responsibility. In the early days, the number of days was in great dispute, as there were some factions who thought each race was a day, and others who thought some races were days and others were not, and there were off days in the middle, so it got pretty confusing. In addition, the first few years, more and more days were being added, so it seemed best to come up with a name that would be unlikely to become obsolete as the event matured. In the first few years, Mikell was a bit put off by the name, but it seems to have stuck. Pehaps a Canadian would recognize it better by the alternate name, "Mille Jours de Colorado".

Well I sure hope the Board doesn't say no... I'm happy to see the date change was Sanctioning-Committee approved and hope the Board slides the US Champs along with it.