DSQ of Weltzien reverted due to map error

Posted by Jan Kocbach, 11 Jun 2009@10:00

weltzien67.jpg
A small drama involving Audun Weltzien after the NOC Sprint Finals yesterday: As everybody could see during the GPS-tracking (see screenshot above – full tracking here), Weltzien ran through a hedge marked with ‘Impassable vegetation’ between controls 6 and 7. Thus he was disqualified by the organizers. However, a protest from Weltzien made the organizers revert the DSQ.

- Note that the hedge looks to be drawn with thickness of about 0.2 mm [Note! According to comment below, the hedge was drawn with thickness 0.3 mm on the map], while the minimum width of a hedge of this type is 0.4 mm according to the ISSOM, Håvard Tveite – leader of the Norwegian mapping group – comments. – Thus it is very difficult to see that this hedge is drawn as impassable. It looks like several other runners have been tricked by the same, as several others have also started in this direction.

- Audun Weltzien called me, and I advised him to deliver a protest on the disqualification, Tveite continues. According to Tveite, the protest was followed, and Weltzien is now in the official results of the organizers in the 19th spot for the World Cup. The official results at the IOF page – including WRE and World Cup points are however not posted yet (thus no updated Fantasy World Cup standings as of yet).

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4 Comments

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Comment by Ilkka Saarimäki

June 11, 2009 @ 13:14

The hedge was drawn with thickness 0.3 mm on the map.

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Comment by anders

June 11, 2009 @ 16:24

Is it allowed to pass lines with this color and thickness < 0.4mm ?

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Comment by World Cup Runner

June 11, 2009 @ 18:50

Ok.

But what about other side of this problem. Also other hedges were drawn very thinly – therefore badly visible. By the mistake of organizers you cannot disqualify a runner, but a runner could get unwanted advantage. And some watchful runners lost time by reading map too carefully to see these thin hedges.

Luckily it didnt affect results on the top (probably).

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Comment by Håvard Tveite

June 12, 2009 @ 16:17

The screenshot is of course different from the printed map, but compare the width of the lines of impassable vegetation to the width of the impassable fence a bit further west. The impassable vegetation line should be at least as thick as the impassable fence line (0.4 mm). On the screenshot it looks significantly thinner, so it is understandable if runners have mistaken this for something passable (for instance passable wall) when making their route choice.
The widths of lines chosen for the ISSOM are not arbitrary – an important principle of the ISSOM is that barrier symbols shall be very visible.

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