Tony,
You said:
> So, I was checking out the Winter Olympics giant slalom event this
> weekend on the tube and noticed that they line the course on the outside
> of the gates. Sorry, I know I'll regret posting this but I just couldn't
> resist.
> tony
How dare you :-) Well then, you did ask for it, here it goes!
I apologize to you/any in advance if my comments are, for you, repetitious
but, I make the comments for those who may not be aware of the background on
the subject you raise.
Several years ago I was responsible for instigating considerable Steering
Committee (SC) discussion as to where course lines should be located at our
events, either inside or outside the cones. There were strong views
expressed for both options leading to the compromise that the wording in the
SFR Supplemental Instructions (Supps) would be changed from something like
"lined on the inside of the cones" to the following words of our current
supps paragraph #20:
"Both sides of the course will be lined with gypsum or an appropriate
substance when allowed by the weather and property owners. Slaloms may be
lined or unlined."
This revised wording was/is intended to continue requiring individual course
designers/constructors to line each course but allow the option of their
lining inside/outside as they prefer. Since I had favored changing our
lining practice to that of always lining outside the cones I was hopeful
that this compromise wording would result in our SFR events, randomly,
having both course-lining configurations. At least with some event-to-event
variation, I felt with the compromise of having both course-lining
techniques incorporated in our courses, our sub-conscience brains would
develop a clearer understanding that ONLY the cones establish what I'll call
the "penalty-edge" of the course.
Traditionally, before the above noted SC discussions, SFR courses had been,
consistently, lined on both sides of the course inside of the cones. However
this marking practice was not, necessarily, the course marking technique
used by other regions. Although some other regions lined inside the cones,
others lined outside the cones or, in some cases, regions used no marking at
all and, as my memory recalled, National-level courses I'd run had all been
lined on the outside.
The thrust of my bringing up the issue, before the SC, as to where the lines
should be located was based on concern about my and our other regions'
members' competitiveness when running events in other regions, or at
National-type events, where courses were, routinely, lined outside the
cones.
My observations on where the lining should be located were developed after
attending quite a number of Nationals-type and other-region events with
courses that were lined outside the cones. My conclusion was, and still is,
that once acclimated to running mostly with inside-lined courses there is a
greater risk of hitting cones when confronted with an outside-lined course.
That conclusion was based on my thought that the "safe" penalty-edge of the
course, although absolutely defined by the cones, is possibility defined in
one's brain as a combination of both the cones and the course-marking lines.
Therefore, this theory suggests that when the line is moved from the
"normally-experienced" inside location to the outside, the "safe"
penalty-edge, defined by the brain, also moves outwardly resulting in a
tendency to drive closer to, and more frequently hit, the cones.
Although not directly applicable to this lining discussion, anyone who has
experienced temporarily driving on the left side of the road with a
right-hand-drive car before returning to a normal right-side-road/LHD
situation knows how the brain requires some re-training time before one can,
in either case, routinely and instinctively figure out where the edges of
the car really are located. In one of my own experiences with this phenomena
I came home from a several-weeks-in-England driving trip on a Tuesday,
couldn't get my cars parked correctly for a couple of days and decided that
I'd have to take extra care at that next Sunday's autocross to not hit
right-side cones. Well, on the first two runs I was successful but, because
of the conscience effort to avoid the cones, I was really slow. So,
realizing I had to get-with-the-program on the last run my instincts took
over and I had a quicker and respectable time. But, alas, I hit two
right-side apex cones in the process. My spatial instincts were still in
"England" mode.
So, I think the "brain-training" thing IS real whether talking about
different roads or different course-line/cone locations.
Don
|