Sanctioning Subcommittee

The Sanctioning Subcommittee has primary responsibility for all matters related to sanctioned ARDF competitions:

  1. Defining and establishing the process for selecting a host-and-organizer for the sanctioned ARDF Championships.
  2. Soliciting offers to host sanctioned competitions.
  3. Submitting host-selection recommendations to a full ARDF Committee vote.
  4. Investigating ways to:
    • Increase the number of sanctioned competitions held each year.
    • Increase competition quality.
    • Improve the host, volunteer, and competitor experiences.
  5. Facilitating the support needed for competitions and their organizers.

Some examples of questions the subcommittee should ponder:

  • What would make ARDF competitions better?
  • What constitutes “competition quality” and how can it be improved?
  • How to increase the number of ARRL-sanctioned events held each year?
  • What can be done to make it easier to host and organize a competition?
  • How can we get firm hosting commitments looking 3 or more years into the future?
  • What changes can be made to encourage more youth participation in sanctioned events?

Those and similar considerations are all within the Sanctioning Subcommittee’s realm of responsibility. When potential solutions are identified, the subcommittee is empowered to act. Possible subcommittee actions include:

  • Direct action by members of the Sanctioning Subcommittee itself.
  • Submitting recommendations to another subcommittee or to the full ARDF Committee.
  • Requesting information from the ARDF community using a poll or email list.
  • Posting information to the ARDF community on a web site, email list, or group.

Some concrete examples of possible subcommittee actions include:

  • Creating a database of loaner equipment and volunteers for championship competitions.
  • Creating a database of qualified Championships Directors and suitable venues.
  • Recommending to the Rules Subcommittee a rules change that would simplify holding a competition.
  • Polling the ARDF community to identify volunteer helpers and loaner equipment.
  • Posting a link to the next USA Championships web site.

First Thing: The 2020 USA ARDF Championships

The 2020 USA ARDF Championships is the Sanctioning Subcommittee’s most immediate concern. A host, or hosts, need to be found, plans made, and a proposal approved. Necessary support for the championships needs to be identified: both equipment and volunteers. Everything needs to come together for a championship no later than June 2020.

There’s a lot to be done to hold next year’s USA Championships. The Sanctioning Subcommittee won’t be doing most of the work itself, but the subcommittee has the responsibility to help ensure that it all gets done.

Once the immediate concerns of the 2020 games are handled, subcommittee attention can turn to more long-term goals.

What is a USA ARDF Championships?

The USA ARDF Championships are ARRL-sanctioned ARDF competitions, held annually, the results of which are used to help determine which individuals will be extended invitations to join Team USA.

Since the first USA ARDF Championships in 2001 in Albuquerque, NM, the size and complexity of these competitions has only grown, due in large part to a doubling in the number of event types. Foxoring and sprint have added to the number of days needed to hold a championship, the amount and types of equipment required, and the number of medals awarded.

Even back when only the two classic events were held, the amount of work involved in a USA Championship always exceeded the amount of help available. The result has been organizer burn-out, a reluctance to take on Event Director duties, and a resultant shortage of Event Directors and viable venues.

At most USA competitions, the workload has been shared to some degree. A single Event Director (or small team) has been assigned primary responsibility for the competition, but helpers from other states have pitched in to provide transmitters, timing equipment, course design and set-up, and other necessary paraphernalia and assistance. The available help has generally been sufficient to hold the competitions, but at the expense of some greatly overworked volunteers.

A Proposed New Approach

Rather than appointing a single Championship Director to handle all the responsibilities and hoping that sufficient volunteer help can be found, a new approach is proposed.

Proposal: The newly-expanded ARRL ARDF Committee will partner with one or more Championship Directors to ensure a successful USA Championships each year. Working with the Director, the Sanctioning Subcommittee will help identify sources of loaner equipment and volunteers, and devise solutions to address deficiencies in the plans.

The Sanctioning Subcommittee should help identify sources of loaner equipment and volunteers, and devise solutions to address deficiencies in the plans.

Some steps to help establish a close committee-director partnership are described below.

Documenting a Championships

The ARDF Committee can provide helpful guidance on the various volunteer roles of a championships competition. The guidance can include more than the titles and responsibilities of the various positions. It can describe the locations, actions, and contingency plans for those tending to the Start, Finish, Download, and other necessary roles.

This guidance can be in the form of brief written, or audiovisual/video documentation. A video format should probably be a long-term goal, beyond 2020.

The ARDF Committee can provide helpful guidance on the various volunteer roles of a championships competition.

For 2020 a written list of roles and responsibilities might be compiled. Some documents already exist, created for bygone championships, so the work doesn’t have to start from a blank slate.

Checklists of necessary equipment and personnel can be compiled. A comprehensive list of lessons learned from previous competitions can be created. Some examples of these documents exist already, so again, this effort has a headstart.

Tracking What’s Available

Based on recent offers of help, here is a partial list of what can be made available to championships organizers.

  • Cincinnati Group still has a complete set of 2m and 80M transmitters if needed. Also have 15, 80M fox-O transmitters.  Bob, WA6EZV
  • Austin Group: Has a volunteer willing to do course setting or other jobs.
  • NC BOK: Can handle registration, results & t-shirts as well as providing certain equipment if needed. FoxOring course design and setting.
  • Cary, NC: Professional ARDF course design services. Photography. Odd jobs and course vetting.

Those offers of assistance are great! But they would be even better if the ARDF Committee were to serve as the central clearinghouse of championships support information. Then everyone would know where to go to offer their help, and where to request help for ARRL-sanctioned competitions.

The ARDF Committee should serve as the central clearinghouse of championships support information.

Information maintained by the Committee would probably include contact information, a detailed inventory of the equipment or services offered, the lead time and dates of availability, and any cost (such as mailing cost) associated with using the offered assistance. The information should be updated annually to keep it current.

Dividing the Work

Dividing championships work into logical “chunks” might help identify teams and individuals that are capable of providing broad categories of assistance. Clear descriptions of what needs to be provided will help ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

Armed with these categories and lists, the Sanctioning Subcommittee can assist with soliciting offers of support and equipment from the ARDF Community.

The following first cut at a division of tasks is intended to serve as a reasonable framework for dividing responsibilities among volunteers. It isn’t intended to be rigidly applied: responsibilities can be moved between categories, and categories can be combined, split or renamed.

1. Director  – The Director is a championships Project Manager. The ARDF Committee should partner with the Director(s) to help ensure a successful (and low-stress) championships.

2. Local Host – The Local Host serves as the interface to clubs and businesses near the championships venue. Responsibilities include arranging for base maps, initial site vetting, reserving facilities, specifying preferred hotel and restaurants, arranging venue-required insurance, identifying local safety hazards, local volunteers, local tourist attractions, and local suppliers of provisions and services. Ensures borrowed equipment is received and returned after use.

3. Course Designer – The Course Designer must be familiar with ARDF rules that apply to competitions, software tools for course design and creating competition maps, and strategies for designing quality courses. Might also be responsible for having maps printed and providing them to Start organizers.

4. Fox Equipment Provider – Provides transmitters, antennas, batteries, device programming, deployment, take-down, and maintenance instructions. Packs equipment for shipping, and submits it to a shipping service.

5. Timing Equipment Provider – Provides SI boxes for Start, Finish, and foxes; loaner finger sticks; orienteering flags and poles; download box, laptop/tablet, printer, cables, chargers. Provides personnel trained to use the equipment and/or detailed instructions on how to use it. Provides results data to Publicity for posting to the competition website. Packs equipment for shipping, and submits it to a shipping service.

6. Start/Finish Equipment Provider – Supplies tables, scissors, map bags, writing markers, corridor ribbon/flags, clocks, radios, impoundment tarps, and signage. Assembles the Start and Finish prior to a competition, and picks them up afterward. Provides trained personnel to run the Start and Finish while those locations are active. Packs equipment for shipping, and submits it to a shipping service.

7. Registrar – The Registrar is responsible for a registration website, on-line registration, collecting fees, confirming registration, purchase of meals, t-shirts, bibs, etc.

8. Publicity – Publicity is responsible for establishing and updating a competition website, contacting media, informing orienteers, ham clubs, Boy Scouts, and other groups nationally and local to the venue.

9. Other – Other important duties need to be assigned: T-shirt design, course setting and pick-up, forms and announcements, bulletins, recordkeeping/reporting, reviewing lessons learned from previous years, updating new lessons learned, …

More Ideas

Here are some ideas that the ARRL ARDF Committee might consider for helping ensure successful ARDF Championships.

  • A clear and complete step-by-step guide on how to stage a successful championships competition.
  • Define smaller sanctioned “mini championships” to supplement annual championships. This will require input from all subcommittees.
  • Dedicated equipment pool?
  • Fundraising?
  • Would a national ARDF club provide a source of fundraising and support?
  • Your ideas here!