On the 28th of October, the Foot Orienteering Commission invited all athletes and coaches to an open online / digital meeting.
The topics for the meeting included reflections and feedback about the 2021 IOF major events, thoughts about the future events program and a very specific discussion regarding gender-equal competition parameters for IOF formats. The overall goal of the meeting was to help with the continued development of orienteering and the IOF, with the input of coaches and athletes.
More than 60 attendees joined the meeting with a large number contributing to the discussions.
Reflections about the 2021 season resulted in important feedback about the “new” World Cup and the 3 rounds in Switzerland, Sweden and Italy. Discussion focused on the format of the World Cup and winning times. There was also an interesting discussion about the World Orienteering Championships Long Distance competition with various viewpoints expressed.
The most significant and longest discussion during the meeting revolved around the gender equality issue. Questions discussed were: Should there be equal winning times for men and women in the Long Distance? and Should the order of female and male athletes running in the sprint relay be the same or should it change every year? Or should the Sprint Relay be only two athletes per team?
During the meeting a number of other questions were also raised, having been sent in advance for the meeting, for example regarding mapping standards, start intervals and equal forking in relays.
All the items raised, and the feedback given, will be discussed by the FootO Commission at their upcoming meeting and used in development and event advising work.
The agenda and presentation from the meeting can be found on the FootO Commission page (Direct document link:IOF FootO Athletes and Coaches Open Meeting Agenda)
The meeting was recorded and is available via the YouTube embedded link below