Discussion: Swiss-German for "split starts"?

Since moving to Switzerland 4 months ago we've really struggled with getting split starts for pre-entry events (my German is pretty poor & my husband's non-existant!). Can anyone help with the correct phrase to use in asking for this when entering events?

I think there's no real term for this in German but I would write sth like "Wir bitten um zeitlich verschobene Startzeiten (2 Stunden) zwecks Kinderbetreuung".

In GO2OL (reservation portal of most swiss national events) you should use "Startzeitwunsch" and then click on "Eltern" for both parents. Otherwise just explain it in English most people will understand (but the term split-starts is not known).

From my time in Switzerland I've found the organisation of orienteering events pretty rigorous and inflexible to anything outside the entry form as is (though excellent for those who were able to pre-enter in the right format). If the term is not known then I would say you are going to basically have to beg for reasonable treatment and will be successful some of the time, but not all.

A rule change is needed at SOLV level. The problem you are going to face is that National Rules, like many other countries, are based on IOF Rules. And because there are no split starts at the World Championships you won't find this provision in many National versions. And unless its in the Rules many Swiss organisers probably won't want to consider it.

Thanks for the help - hopefully that should make it easier. We tried using GO2OL last time & checked the "Eltern" option but still ended up with starts 2 mins apart...!

So far we've been lucky with events and people have been pretty helpful and accommodating. Not having the concept of split starts makes it more difficult than the UK, where they bend over backwards to fit you in, but on the positive side the nice event centres here are much better than a wet car park back home!

What are split starts?

2 parents have start times split by a large block of time to maximize the chance of the early starter finishing and taking responsibility for the kid(s) before's the late starter has to stop watching the kid(s).