dibber or die !!
Just wanted to put the question to the fell running community.
Should any person who lost there dibber trying to prevent themselves and others drowning be forced to pay 30. One if my fellow Todmorden harriers had been told she had to pay this. 2 points here. Number 1 is the cost price if a dibber 30 quid? Was it really her fault??
In my opinion all those who took part in great lakes including the marshalls and organising team deserve a pat on the back not a charge.
They are expensive, and someone has to pay for it. Depends what was in the race conditions. If that states that lost dibbers must be paid for, then any discretion would be entirely up to the organiser. If I'm honest, I would be annoyed (mostly with myself for losing it) but would pay it.
That said, I don't think a public forum is the way to go about getting the organiser to change the rules. Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear.
@Hill_Runner on twitter
Yes, dibbers are that expensive: https://www.sportident.co.uk/equipme...egory.php?id=1Originally Posted by John Lloyd
Just bought myself one for orienteering.
As for the charge, I guess that's bad luck unfortunately. They aren't disposable and have to be reused for other events. If the cost of them is £30 and one is lost, who foots the bill for replacement - Sportident? the RO? or the competitor?
I know that at all O events, if you hire a dibber, it's made very clear beforehand that if you lose a dibber, you pay the charge for the replacement. I guess that's the same situation here.
Not saying that it's necessarily the most satisfactory outcome, especially given the circumstances under which the dibber was lost, but it's the way things are. I suspect that it would be the same if you hired a car and there was an accident that wasn't necessarily your fault, but there was no other clear party at fault. You would foot the bill.
Richard Foster, North Leeds Fell Runners, Airienteers Orienteering Club & Leeds Adel Hockey Club
Well if that was the only lost dibber today then they were very lucky.
I can fully appreciate the reasons for the charge under normal circumstances, but today wasn't normal circumstances. Sometimes it was a battle just to survive, never mind hold on to your dibber.
Crossing the Esk near the big bend, the water was above my navel at one point and I'm 6-1. It was a real struggle against the fast flowing water even in large groups.
A tiny elastic finger loop can't really be expected to be adequate in these conditions and think a neck loop (as used in some races ) would have been a better option.
I think it would be the decent thing to waive the charge in this case.
Do what you like, like what you do
I lost mine on one of my many falls/slides down Pike o Blisco. I had no gripes about paying the £30; it was my responsibility to get it back, whatever the reasons.
Good spirit shown today, good team work and general concern for fellow runners. Do wish some runners would take their navigation skills more seriously though. Great organisation and fantastic job done by the marshals.
What had you attached the dibber to? I attached mine to the thumb hole on my waterproof top. Short of the strap breaking it was not going to come off. I saw some attached to fingers - not in my opinion a good choice where the terrain was so rough.
I used the finger loop provided for mine, had it on my middle finger but up the back of it. Meant that it was a quick dib at the CP's, but been on the back meant I didn't keep scraping it on the rocks etc every time I put my hands down, which was a hell of a lot. Took a swim at one point and it stayed on fine. Voluntarily came down most of Blisco on my backside because it was quicker than trying to mince down to the river, got a nice pace going on the softer stuff and it survived that too.
I think if you lost it you pay for it, regardless of circumstances but yeah, it's a tough break if you lose it helping someone.
I understand why someone might think that £30 is a bit steep for a replacement, however it is always stated quite clearly that it is the responsibility of the individual athlete to take care of them and pay for the cost of replacement if lost. Therefore we can't really complain when that happens.
Fitness can't be stored. It must be earned over and over, indefinitely.
A lot of orienteers use a "backup" piece of "nylon type string" which goes through the dibber and fastens onto the wrist. I put mine through my watch strap. In order to lose mine, it has to come off my wrist without me noticing and either snap the indestructible string or my watch strap snap and the loop to come off my wrist withou me noticing it. I still have my original dibber - had it for ten years? Use it most weeks , sometimes twice a week.
Also when you do lose your own dibber, there is no arguing withe the organiser over who pays. How far off the day are we when it is common practice at middle/long races when the ident system is almost universally used? Whilst start up costs are quite significant, the benefits are huge. Instant results, an accurate record of who has gone through each checkpoint as a soon as the box is returned to the race hq. at orienteering events there are even radio controls out in the forest that relay back who has gon through and when. When people own their own dibber, you simply need to enter th number on the race entry form.
At some events when they give you dibbers, they fasten them to you with indestructible "paper" around the wrist. I have found these to be nigh on indestructible aswell, needing to be cut off at the race end. Saunders two day race and mountain trial- would be interesting to see the loss rate with these events.
I know there is an issue with slowing down to rob, but at middle and long races this should not be an issue
but are you given the choice to use a dibber or not? if you are forced to use one then in some circumstances the charge should be waivered as you have not choice in whether you take on the risk of losing it or not
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