Competition analysis
From Orienteering-Wiki
As with any activity, in order to improve improve your performance you need a way to evaluate what you have done. After the initial judgement you make based on the results, you can get more detailed analysis using a number of tools.
- Discussion of route choices with competitors
- Viewing GPS tracks of competition such as on routegadget.
- Analysing split times with tools such as winsplits or splitsbrowser.
- Just have a good think about it.
Think you couldn't have done it better? Doubt it. Have a good look at the splits, . If you want to improve you have to really look hard for where you can improve. Unless your name is Simone Niggli or Thierry Geourgiou (although even then) then there is probably quite a bit of room for improvement, in all realms of orienteering, physical, navigational and mental.
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[edit] Analysing split times tips
Winsplits offers some useful analysis. Compare your splits with competitors. Has winsplits identified a mistake? If so work out why you lost time. If you are at a reasonable level there is a change it won't have identified a mistake... that doesnt mean you havent lost time. Alter the winsplits "conditions for a mistake" to be increase sensitivity to mistakes (although there may be a bit of extra noise in the measurement too). You can edit the settings down to 0.01 and 1%.
In the analysis you should try to evaluate where you lost time, why you lost time, evaluate any trends and set out creating an action plan to improve for next time.
[edit] Why did you lose time?
- Poor route choice
- Poor execution of navigation
- hesitations
- wobbling through the terrain
- lost map contact or plan
At you improve you will become more and more aware of how you have lost time. At the highest levels you may be concerned with:
- slowing down too much leading in to a control,
- running the wrong side of the boulder that the control is on,
- exiting a control at slightly the wrong angle,
- running a metre further than you needed too,
- hesitating when there was no need to
[edit] Trend analysis
Identify your errors and time losses within each race and over a number of races. Over time you are likely to identify weaknesses in your orienteering and will be able to identify areas you need to work on, or try to devise strategies to eliminate or minimise these weaknesses.
[edit] Now it's time for an action plan
The action plan may include:
- specific training activities, focusing on a skill on a map
- mental rehearsal
- creating routines
- conscious effort during next competition
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