Newsletter Number 57, June 2000
PO Box 3,
Central Park,
3145, Victoria.
neil.phillips@bigpond.com, 61-3-95721784 fax
President: Neil PhillipsPerm rogaine, Russia
German N. Shestakov has provided more detailed information about the Perm rogaine in Russia on 2-3 September 2000.
From Moscow, take a 24-hour trip by a comfortable sleeping train to Perm (Moscow-Perm). A 2-hour air flight is also possible. With prior notice, guests will be met upon arrival in Perm at the station or airport.
Perm is a regional centre with a population over one million people. The city is just west of the Ural mountains, and stretches 40 kms along the Kama river. The region is famous for its rocky rivers, the Kungur ice cave, nature reservations, ethnographic museums in Khokhlovka and Tchusovoi.
For the 2nd Perm rogaining championship in September, a district of broken terrain, mixed forests with thick bushes, clearings, gullies, streams and brooks, footpaths and secondary roads has been chosen. It will not be easy navigation, and the participants should find the course interesting. In September, the day temperature is 14-17oC, and 8-10o at night. The sun rises at 6.30 am and sets at 8.20pm.
On September 8-11, a week after the rogaining event, the All-Russia sports navigation championship will take place also in Perm. Those participating in the rogaining championship thus may also take part in the latter event. olimp@mail.perm.ru for details.
Estonia rogaine
Andres Kaar has provided some details of their first 8hr rogaine in Estonia on 7th October 2000.
The capital city of Estonia is Tallinn which is a 1000 years old town with a population of 400,000. The rogaine area is 50 km east of Tallinn in a forested area called Korvemaa (moorland and forest). The nearest village is Aegviidu on the Tallinn-Narva railway, 9km away. There are a few motels and hotels near Aegviidu.
The landscape is flat (60 to 100 m above sea-level), but some areas have very intricate height contours. Most of the course is forested, in places densely. There are different kinds of wetlands: bogs, marshes, wooded and open fenlands. Forests are mostly state-owned, with straight lanes and drainage ditches. There are new and old felled areas. Farmsteads inside the forest are mostly ruins with only a few summer houses. Like Scandinavian countries, there is in use the 'everyman law', meaning that if entry is not specially prohibited (signs or locked gates) everyone may walk and be in private land, except in cultivated fields in the growing period (no camping though).
There are no obvious dangers in the forests. The area is surrounded by roads and habitation, getting totally lost in wasteland would not be easy. The weather may vary from nice 'indian summer' to continuous light rain. The temperature range is likely to be 5 to 15oC. The Sun sets 1 hour before the rogaine ends, but it takes a long time to get really dark. Visiting all the controls involves 54 km by straight-line. This might seem long for a 8 hour rogaine, but the area is flat and there are forest lanes, paths and roads.
To the north of Aegviidu, there is a large area with the same kind of landscape, but less roads and no habitation. It was used as a Soviet army training area. Visitors to the rogaine may stay near Aegviidu and spend a few days on an additional 'bush-' or 'bogwalk' using the local 1:50 000 maps.
New Zealand
PAPO, the organizers of the 4th World Rogaining Championships in New Zealand in early 2000, have their 3rd annual 12 hour rogaine on 24th June 2000 and expect nearly 200 people to this mid-winter event.
IRF Constitution
The IRF Constitution (April 2000 draft) has now been sent to 25 people for inspection and comment. Most of the comments in reply were positive, can be addressed relatively easily, and will lead to a better constitution.
1. Graham Foley suggested re-wording in several places to improve clarity.
2. Richard Matthews suggested the definition of 'Members' be tightened to avoid misunderstandings. He queried acceptability of the Constitution for incorporation.
3. David Stephens suggested the founders be ex-officio members of the IRF in order to provide stability regarding the ideals that have been developed.
4. Numerous comments and suggestions have been passed on throughout this process by Nigel Aylott and Rod Phillips and generally incorporated at the time.
None of the above indicated they would not support the Constitution.
Only two people out of the 25 said they would not support the April draft of the Constitution in its present form.
The overwhelming view is to finish the Constitution, and make it amenable for early incorporation. This will be achieved by a small group of those dedicated to making the IRF Constitution happen quickly by working together and reporting back to national groups.
Why start a rogaining association?
The need to address the state of rogaining in USA was alluded to at the 4WRC IRF meeting in New Zealand and in IRF Newsletter 54. The following is a precis of the main points in a recent letter to Bob Reddick, an IRF representative for USA and organizer of the first rogaine in America in 1989.
We have successes starting the sport in something like 21 states of America; and this is an amazing achievement. But, the big but, we have ten states where rogaining has actually stopped! This is close to unique; it has never happened like this anywhere else. Once we get a foothold in a district due to someone's good work and enthusiasm, how do we get properly established and grow the sport? How do we get to a state membership of 1000, with 400 people coming on every rogaine, and a history of 20 plus years? This should be possible in every state of USA that has one million people and a sniff of a forest.
We are prepared to hear of better solutions, but at the moment the most obvious solution is that we need a US Rogaining Association, and we need state rogaining associations in 21 states of America. Several onlookers outside USA believe that rogaining in Washington state hinges on Bob Reddick and other individuals, in Arizona on a group of dedicated individuals, and in New York on Eric Smith and colleagues. This may or may not be a true picture. All these dedicated individuals probably work too hard for the sport and for their own good. It is also likely that the rogaining infrastructure is not robust enough in any of these places to withstand the lost of key personnel, nor to have the sport continue to grow for decades to come without these people.
Northern Territory (in Australia) is an interesting comparison. It has fearsome bush in places, some thick grass 3m high, a climate worse than Florida in summer, and a population of 150,000 - less than the least populous state of USA. They ran their first rogaine in 1999 and enticed 40 people to travel from over 1000 km away. They started a rogaining association, and soon lost over half of their key players who moved interstate with their jobs. A year later they are thriving and running more rogaines, and putting out a newsletter.
We are striving for a solution to turn USA rogaining into a major success and build on the work of Big Red et al. (1989), Arizona, and Eric Smith and co.. If a US Rogaining Assocation is to be formed, who should do it? The Arizona people? Those from California? Over east? Or someone from left field who recognizes the opportunity and simply does it?
Neil Phillips, President IRF