International Rogaining Federation

Newsletter Number 48, December 1998

PO Box 3,
Central Park,
3145, Victoria.
neil.phillips@bigpond.com, 61-3-95721784 fax
President: Neil Phillips

Development of the IRF
The last IRF Newsletter reported on the Wartook meeting at which there was agreement to pursue the IRF constitution issue further. Australian Rogaining Association President, Peter Taylor, suggested that the next goals of international rogaining should be towards a constituted IRF, an IRF financial system, and legal protection for the IRF. It was agreed that Neil Phillips and Nigel Aylott would develop the constitution further, and that Richard Robinson would be asked to join that group. Currently, Richard is finalizing some arrangements with Peter and the ARA, whilst Neil and Nigel progress the constitution and seek feedback.

5th World Rogaining Championships
A formal call for expressions of interest in holding the 5th World Rogaining Championships was made in IRF Newsletter 45 in September 1998. At the close of expressions of interest there is one application from the Ceska Asociace Rogainingu (Czech Rogaining Association). CAR are now being asked to prepare a formal 5WRC document for wider input and discussion over the next few months.
'Rogaining'
Several associations and individuals have contribute to 'Rogaining': a new book on the sport that will take the place of 'Cross country navigation'. Further contributions have been promised shortly.

Special welcome: Sweden
Mats Johansson and Lars-Ake Svensk have reported on the first two rogaines in Sweden. The Savedalens AIK club from Gothenbourg in the south of Sweden ran the first Rogaine in Sweden on November 7th 1998. It was a 6 and 3-hour Rogaine and 20 teams (50 persons) participated. Then a few weeks later the Taby OK ran a Rogaine on December 5th at Skavloten, 10 kilometres north of Stockholm. Twenty four teams and 54 people started in this 6-hour Rogaine in weather around zero (C) and heavy snowfall, with 20 cm of snow on the ground. After 3 hours it began to get dark, but as most teams had headlamps there was little problem. One of the two water stops was conveniently located at the house of one of the organizing club's members, and therefore frequent reports were made by telephone to the Hash House. At 5 pm after five hours of intense competition, the last team left the water stop with an hour to cover 8 km back to the Hash House. Many teams returned just in time but two teams had overestimated their endurance and were late back, thus receiving a penalty. Three participants had rogained before, two of them from Australia - Richard Mountstephens and Don Staudte. All the participants thought it was a great experience and asked for another Rogaine! We are planning to make "Taby Rogaine" an annual event. The orienteering newspaper "Skogssport" was at the event and in the next issue there will be an article. Results and a report are on the web-site: http://hem2.passagen.se/rampoon/rogaine/tabyrog.htm and the site "Swedish Rogaining": http://hem2.passagen.se/rampoon/rogaine/ and also: (mats.a.johansson@posten.se) (lars.svensk@swipnet.se)

Great to see another country taking up rogaining.

Research project: Where have the 24-hour Rogainers gone?
Ivana Cicchelli of the Victorian Rogaining Association has completed a report on rogaining for her Masters of Business Administration degree. We reprint this article by Ivana from a recent Victorian Rogaining Association newsletter because of its wider importance to all rogainers.

Ivana: I have been conducting a research study into why there has been a declining participation rate in 24-hour events in Victoria despite an overall trend of steady to slightly increasing participation rates across all event types. The purpose of this study was to establish whether a sustainable increase in 24-hour events is possible.

The research was conducted in two parts. First, an environment analysis was performed, which looked at trends in society and in the outdoor sport and recreation industry. Second, an internal analysis of the VRA was conducted, using focus groups and a survey. Thank you to all of the members who participated in the focus groups and the survey. Of the 250 surveys mailed out, 160 members responded, which is an excellent response rate and is sufficient to project the results across the whole membership with a high level of confidence.

This is a summary of the results obtained. More detailed results are available and if you are interested in obtaining further information, you are more than welcome to contact me or any of the committee members to receive a full copy of the report. Alternatively, the full report may shortly be accessible through the VRA web site.

Environment Analysis
Demographics: The ageing population phenomena will have a small positive impact on 24-hour events. Whilst the median age of the VRA membership closely matches that of Victoria's population (30-34), the median age for 24-hour event participants is higher (40-44). Victoria's median age is predicted to increase to 40 by the year 2021.

Generation Xers versus Baby Boomers: It is difficult to make any conclusive deductions about whether Rogaining is likely to appeal to Generation Xers (born after 1964) to the same extent as with Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964). The key reasons respondents in the focus groups gave for enjoying the sport were the challenge and sense of achievement in a social and outdoor setting. According to current research, Generation Xers are looking for challenges and for opportunities to impress people through what they have achieved. In this context, Rogaining is likely to continue to appeal to segments of the younger generation.

However, they are looking to do this with the least amount of effort. In this respect, convenience is a more important factor for this group than for the Baby Boomers. An example of this is the recent surge in popularity of indoor climbing, with outdoor climbing surprisingly continuing to decline. Rogaining is relatively "convenient" in that participants basically just turn up with almost everything from map to food provided and this may need to be emphasized when trying to attract new members.

Social/Cultural Trends: People are working longer hours and doing more shift work and part-time work than a decade ago. There has been a de-synchronization in the times when people take their leisure as work patterns change. This has resulted in declining participation for many traditional organized sports as more people undertake their sport and recreation in their own time and in new ways.

In addition, there has been a large increase in the variety of available leisure options, with sport and recreation now one of the top ten industries both in Victoria and nationally. As the available options for people's leisure time increase, competition to attract people increases, making it harder for smaller niche activities to prosper. Examples of new leisure activities that have emerged over the last decade are weekend shopping, mountain biking and snowboarding.

Outdoor activities have undergone significant growth in the last decade and this has been mostly attributed to the establishment of outdoor education programmes at secondary schools. Now that these programmes are mostly established, it is anticipated that future growth in this area will be more subdued.

Trends in related sports: The most significant trend that is occurring in bushwalking is the decline of overnight bushwalks and the increase in day walks. This matches the VRA trends of participation shifting from the longer events to the shorter events.

Orienteering is experiencing a significant decline in its traditional bush events. Its diversification into related events such as mountain bike orienteering and street orienteering has been successful, but is not resulting in bringing people back into the bush events. Interestingly, the participation rate of orienteering is of a similar magnitude to Rogaining in Victoria, yet Orienteering is much better recognised within the broader community than Rogaining!

Potential "Market Size": Since the survey indicated that 82% of Rogainers also consider themselves to be regular bushwalkers, it is possible to gauge the potential market size by determining the number of bushwalkers in Victoria. Using a variety of data, it is estimated that there are at least 20,000 serious bushwalkers in Victoria. On this basis, the VRA membership represents less than 5% of the potential market. Since the VRA currently does no publicity other than word-of-mouth, there seems to be potential to further increase the penetration of this market.

Summary of Environment Issues: Overall these environment factors combine to project a steady and small growth of outdoor sport, with most of the growth in activities involving lower levels of commitment. There is competitor rivalry due to an increasing range of outdoor activities, and sport and leisure activities in general. However, the low penetration of the target market with no marketing campaign indicates that, despite intense competition, there is potential for the growth of Rogaining in Victoria. A goal for the VRA committee to consider might be to ensure that 'all bushwalkers in Victoria are aware of Rogaining'.

Internal Analysis - The Survey and Focus Groups
The purpose of the survey was predominantly to quantify the potential for increasing 24-hour event participation within the existing membership, and to identify controllable factors that the VRA can influence in order to achieve this capacity. However, other issues of interest to the committee were also included, such as satisfaction with the VRA, proposed future events, sponsorship and Internet usage, and these are also reported below.

Participation Profile: The survey results indicate that participation in 24-hour events within the existing membership is likely to grow over the next two years, in the order of 14%. This was calculated by comparing the number of respondents who had entered one or more 24-hour events in the last 18 months with the number of respondents who:

Interestingly, participation in 24-hour events is not discriminated by gender. Female participants enter and intend to enter 24-hour events in the same ratio as their representation in the membership.

Participation is, however, discriminated by age. Participation as a percentage of members in that age group is lowest for members aged between 25 and 34. Approximately 50% of respondents under 35 years old have not entered a 24-hour event, compared with 30% for those over 35 years old. However the appeal of 24-hour events is not discriminated by age.

Members who do not participate in 24-hour events can be segmented into three groups: those who no longer compete in 24-hour events; those who have not tried one but would like to try one in the future, and those who have not participated and do not intend to in the future. Each of these groups has different reasons for their non-participation.

Other Interests and Activities: The highest correlation between Rogaining and other activities is daywalking (82%) followed by overnight bushwalking (66%). Other significant correlations are cycling (55%) and cross-country skiing (48%). Surprisingly, the correlation with orienteering (33%) is low. The range of activities were analysed to see if there was a discernible difference in the interests of 24-hour Rogainers compared with non 24-hour Rogainers. It was found that 24-hour Rogainers are more likely to be involved in overnight bushwalking, orienteering, cross-country skiing or distance running than non 24-hour Rogainers. Currently, 23% of Rogainers are introduced through organizations related to these activities and 67% of Rogainers are introduced through friends, colleagues or family.

Partners: 71% of respondents stated that they had a regular partner and of these, 43% stated they do not compete if their regular partner is unavailable. Whilst only 10% of respondents had used the Partner Finding Service (PFS), 38% indicated they would be interested in using it in the future. Of the 10% who had used the PFS, 75% had competed in 4 or more 24-hour events. This might be because it is more difficult to find partners for 24-hour events combined with the fact that there are relatively few of them that if one is missed, it is a long wait until the next one. Consequently, people who enjoy 24-hour events are perhaps more likely to compromise on partners simply in order to compete.

Respondents that indicated they would not use the PFS fell mainly into two categories. The first are those that see the social experience with family/friends as a highly important part of Rogaining and have enough networks not to require the service. The second are those whose main concern is the reliability of the PFS to match up partners that are compatible in fitness, personality and approach to the sport.

Event Preferences: Respondents were asked to rate the range of VRA events on a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 is extremely unappealing, 7 is extremely appealing and 4 is neither (Table 1).

The 8-hour and 6-hour bush events are clearly the most appealing events for the majority of the respondents. They had over 70% of respondents rating them as highly appealing and less than 5% of respondents rating them as highly unappealing. The 12-hour event is close behind with a slightly lower average of 5.6 but a high median (6) and mode (7). Again, only 4% rated the 12-hour event as highly unappealing indicating a broad appeal of this event length.

The 24-hour event appeals to a narrower segment of the membership. Over a third of the respondents found it highly appealing, however the number of respondents who found it highly unappealing was 21%, which is considerably higher than for 6, 8 or 12-hour events. In fact, it rated in a similar fashion to the metrogaine, cyclogaine and snogaine. It could be said that these events cater for particular preferences of segments of the membership rather than catering for mass appeal.

The VRA currently run only one or two 12-hour events per year compared with two 24-hour events and three to four 6/8-hour events. Given the above preferences, the VRA Committee should consider increasing the number of 12-hour events on offer. This will balance the event mix with members' preferences and also possibly introduce more people into night navigation, thus increasing the potential candidates for 24-hour events.

Coaching: A strong interest was shown in skill development with 70% of respondents indicating they would like some form of coaching. The most popular areas for further skills development were route planning and night navigation. The most favoured methods of coaching (in order) were practical training days, practice sessions in metropolitan parklands, instruction manuals and one page information notes available at events (Table 2).

Volunteer Activities: Overall, 48% of respondents have performed volunteer activities for the VRA. As expected, members who have joined in the last two years are less likely to have volunteered. Of respondents who joined prior to 1996, 72% have volunteered for VRA activities.

Even when members who joined in 1996 or later were eliminated from the data, non 24-hour Rogainers are far less likely to volunteer (56%) compared with regular 24-hour Rogainers (75%). This supports evidence from the focus groups that 24-hour participants have a higher involvement with the sport. This suggests that if 24-hour participation is increased, the available pool of volunteers will also be increased.

Attitudes towards Rogaining: The aim of this section was to determine if there are any discernible differences in the attitudes of 24-hour Rogainers compared with non 24-hour Rogainers.

It was found that 24-hour Rogainers are more likely to:

Non 24-hour Rogainers are more likely to:There were no discernible differences between the two groups in regards to:Satisfaction with VRA Activities: Overall, the satisfaction of the membership is extremely high (Table 3). Areas that rated exceptionally well were transport to and from events, accuracy of course setting, membership fees, and the newsletter. Areas that may need some improvement are coaching assistance, volunteer instruction manuals, partner finding service, quality of food at events, speed of announcing results after events, toilet and washing facilities at events, social atmosphere at events and mix of events provided. Note however, that almost all of these areas had an average rating of above 5, which still indicates a high level of satisfaction. This is an outstanding result and all volunteers and committee members involved should be proud of their achievement.

Internet: Awareness of the VRA on the Internet is high with 42% of respondents aware that results are available on the Internet one week after the event. Over one-quarter of respondents had visited the VRA web site, and 18% indicated that they would be willing to pay fees over the Internet. This indicates a high level of computer literacy of the membership and the VRA should continue to develop and enhance this form of communication with its members and potential new members.

Interest in future proposed events: 24% of respondents indicated firm interest in entering the proposed 24-hour event at the turn of the century (1999/2000). 10% of respondents indicated firm interest in entering the proposed 50-hour event on Labour Day weekend, 2001.

In regards to the proposed 24-hour event, it is estimated that it would attract approximately 116 participants which is borderline with respect to running a financially viable event. Running a 12-hour event instead might be a better option since 12-hour events have a broader appeal across the membership and therefore are likely to attract more participants. Also a 12-hour event would enable a celebration at the hash-house at midnight and be a great incentive to get back on time!

In regards to the 50-hour event, this would only be viable if the event is run concurrently with shorter events and organized on a similar budget to that of 24-hour events. This is clearly a "niche" event.

Sponsorship: The key benefits respondents identified were to promote the sport, money and better equipment and facilities. The key concerns respondents identified were changes to benefit sponsors rather than members, the organization becoming commercial, and loss of the family and friendly atmosphere. The most acceptable form of publicity for sponsors was a logo or advertisement in the newsletter. Opinion was widely divided on all of the other suggested forms of publicity.

Summary of the Internal Analysis: The future of 24-hour events looks promising with a predicted increase in participation over the next two years. There are various factors that the VRA can review to maximize the potential for 24-hour event participation within the existing membership. These are:

The VRA Committee will be reviewing and prioritizing these findings and recommendations and you should hear about some of their decisions shortly. Thanks once again to all of you who assisted me in preparing for this research study. Further details from Ivana Cicchelli, phone: 61-3- 9499 4338. E-mail: ivanamartin@bigpond.com

6 hr

8 hr

12 hr

24 hr

50 hr

Snogaine

Cyclogaine

metrogaine

roving 12

handicap

upsidedown 12

Average

5.9

6.0

5.6

4.5

2.6

3.9

4.3

4.6

5.0

4.5

4.1

Median

6

6

6

5

2

4

5

5

5

4

4

Mode

7

7

7

5

1

1

7

5

6

4

5

std dev

1.4

1.3

1.5

2.0

1.9

2.2

2.0

1.8

1.5

1.7

2.0

% 6,7

74%

73%

62%

35%

8%

29%

33%

33%

41%

31%

28%

% 1,2

5%

3%

4%

21%

58%

33%

21%

16%

8%

13%

26%

 

average

median

Mode

std dev

% 6,7

% 1,2

No. of R

Training Days

5.8

6

6

1.2

66%

3%

32

Coaching Assistance (L-Plate)

5.2

5

7

1.6

44%

6%

18

Transport to and from events

6.0

6

7

1.2

73%

2%

44

Volunteer instruction manuals

5.0

5

6

1.7

47%

11%

38

Partner Finding Service

5.3

6

4

1.5

52%

9%

23

Novice Pack

5.9

6

6

1.2

77%

3%

30

average

median

Mode

std dev

% 6,7

% 1,2

No. of R

Accuracy of course setting

6.1

6

6

0.8

84%

0%

159

Amount of food at events

6.0

6

7

1.2

77%

3%

158

Quality of food at events

5.7

6

6

1.2

64%

2%

158

Speed of checking in before events

6.1

6

6

0.9

80%

0%

159

Speed of announcing results after events

5.2

5

5

1.5

47%

4%

157

Availability of committee members

5.1

4

4

1.3

43%

0%

154

Toilet and washing facilities at events

4.8

5

5

1.3

34%

4%

159

Fees for events

5.7

6

6

1.2

64%

2%

159

Social atmosphere at events

5.5

6

6

1.2

54%

1%

158

Membership fees

6.0

6

7

1.1

72%

1%

159

Newsletter

6.2

6

7

0.9

84%

0%

158

Mix of events provided

5.6

6

6

1.3

61%

3%

155

Selection of event locations

5.9

6

6

1.0

70%

1%

157

Overall performance of the VRA

6.3

6

7

0.8

87%

0%

157

R = number of responses
Happy New Year
This year has been a very successful one for international rogaining with the 3rd World Rogaining Championships in Canada, and new rogaining developments in several countries.

On behalf of the rogaining community, I thank state, province and national rogaining groups and associations for their support in international rogaining activities during 1998.

Very best wishes to all rogainers for 1999. Next year will be the tenth anniversary of the International Rogaining Federation and an opportunity for further developments in the sport on local, national and international levels.

Neil Phillips, President IRF

Australian Rogaining Programme for 1999
27 Feb  WA	Upside down rogaine - 12hr, Toodyay	61-8 9381 8608
28 Feb  NSW	Macarthur Country Metrogaine	61-2 9990 3480
28 Feb  SE Qld	Upside Down Rogaine - 6hr	61-7 3369 1641
28 Feb  Vic	Metro/cyclogaine - 6hr, Geelong	61-3 9718 2753
13 Mar  SA	Metrogaine	61-8 8258 5696
21 Mar  ACT	Paddy Pallin Rogaine - 6hr	61-2 6268 8734
27/28 Mar NSW	Autumn Rogaine - 12/24hr	61-2 9990 3480
27/28 Mar Vic	Rogaine - 12/24hr	61-3 9718 2753
27 Mar  WA	Rogaine - 6hr, Mundaring	61-8 9381 8608
10/11 Apr SE Qld	Training Weekend	61-7 3369 1641
10/11 Apr Tas	Rogaine	61-3 6223 8201
1/2 May ACT	Rogaine ACT Champs - 24hr	61-2 6268 8734
1/2 May SA	AUMC 24hr Walk - 24hr	61-8 8258 5696
1/2 May SE Qld	Rogaine Champs - 8/24hr, Crows Nest	61-7 3369 1641
1 May   Vic	Rogaine - 12hr 	61-3 9718 2753
1 May   WA	Autumn Rogaine - 12hr, Williams	61-8 9381 8608
29/30 May Vic	Rogaine Vic Champs - 24/8hr	61-3 9718 2753
20 Jun  NSW	Paddy Pallin Rogaine	61-2 9990 3480
26 Jun  WA	Winter Rogaine - 24hr	61-8 9381 8608
27 Jun  Vic	Rogaine - 6hr	61-3 9718 2753
3/4 Jul NSW	Search & Rescue Navigation Shield -11/29hr	61-2 9789 2527
24/25 Jul SA	SA Champs - 24hr	61-8 8258 5696
31 July SE Qld	Rogaine - 6/12hr	61-7 3369 1641
14 Aug  Vic	Snogaine - 5hr	61-3 9718 2753
28/29 Aug  WA	Rogaine WA Champs - 24hr	61-8 9381 8608
28/29 Aug NSW	Rogaine NSW Champs - 24hr	61-2 9990 3480
12 Sep  ACT	Cyclogaine	61-2 6268 8734
12 Sep  SE Qld	Cyclogaine - 3/6hr	61-7 3369 1641
12 Sep  Vic	Rogaine - 6hr	61-3 9718 2753
18 Sep  NSW	Rogaine Lake Macquarie - 12hr	61-2 9990 3480
25 Sep  SA	Spring Rogaine - 12hr	61-8 8258 5696
23/24 Oct Vic	Australian Championships -24hr, Wodonga	61-2 6025 4959
23 Oct  WA	Rogaine - 12hr	61-8 9381 8608
7 Nov  SE Qld	Metrogaine - 6hr	61-7 3369 1641
20 Nov  ACT	Rogaine - 6hr	61-2 6268 8734
20 Nov  Vic	Rogaine - 12hr	61-3 9718 2753

15/16 Jan 2000	Fourth World Rogaining Championships NZ
(If you are interested in any rogaines, phone the contact number shown: most numbers are about 10 hours ahead of London, except 61-89 … numbers which are 8 hours ahead. Novice and experienced rogainers welcome on all these events. List available thanks to Nigel Aylott and state contacts)

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