IOF Event Advisors Clinic

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ISOM 2000
(the map standard and misinterpretations)
László Zentai Map Commission http//lazarus.elte.h
u/mc
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Topics

• ISOM 2000
• Report on World Ranking Event maps 2001
• Sprint o-map specification

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ISOM2000 the mapping rule
What is ISOM today?

• Nearly perfect standard for Foot-O (and other
  disciplines).
• A reliable basis for a fair competition.
• A clear message to organizers on the expected
  standard.
• A clear message to athletes on what to expect in
  order to prepare for competition.
• A rule with wide agreement among competitors and
  IOF member federations.
• In most countries it is used as a Bible.

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ISOM2000 the mapping rule
What cant ISOM be?

• Its not a manual for teaching map making (use
  IOF Instructor's Kit).
• Its not a playground for experimentation.

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ISOM2000 the scale issue 1
The scale for an orienteering map is 115 000.
Terrain that cannot be fieldworked at a scale of
17500 and legibly presented at a scale of 115
000, is not suitable for international
foot-orienteering. Maps at 110 000 may be
produced for relay and short distance (plus
medium) competitions. The scale 110 000 is
recommended for older age groups (45 and above)
where reading fine lines and small symbols may
cause problems or for younger age groups (age
classes 16 and below) where the capacity of
reading complex maps is not fully developed.
Where a map is enlarged to a scale of 110 000
or greater, all lines and symbols must be
enlarged to 150 (like a blueprint).
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ISOM2000 the scale issue 2
The reasons for the decision to permit only scale
1 15 000 in junior and elite competitions over
the classic distance are the following
disadvantages of maps at 1 10 000
Route choice problem Remote alternative routes
are not recognised with a long leg between two
controls. Long leg overview problem For long
legs over 2 km it is hardly possible to keep an
overview of more than 25 cm on the map while
running. Map size problem Elite routes up to 20
km long require very large map formats, which can
hardly be handled in the competition.
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ISOM2000 the scale issue 3
The reasons for the decision to permit only scale
1 15 000 in junior and elite competitions over
the classic distance are the following
disadvantages of maps at 1 10 000
Number of controls problem The general
experience is that a course on a 110,000 map has
significantly more controls than a course of the
same length on the same map at 115,000. The
course is thus more a long short distance" event
and route choice as an orienteering technique is
often neglected. Wildlife protection
problem With a reasonable map size of up to A3
it is only possible to represent an area of 3.0
km x 4.2 km, i.e. about 12 km2 at a maximum. Such
an area is generally too small to be able to
permit designation of adequate wildlife
protection areas.
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ISOM2000 introduction
These specifications (ISOM2000) should be read in
conjunction with the rules for IOF orienteering
events. For IOF events (WOC, JWOC, WMOC, WRE)
deviations are permissible only with the sanction
of the IOF Map Commission (IOF MC). For other
events such sanction must be given by the
national federation. In addition, there are
supplementary specifications for other
orienteering disciplines on the basis of the
specification for foot orienteering maps.
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ISOM2000 general requirements
In the ideal case no competitor should gain an
advantage or suffer a disadvantage because of
faults on the map. For the mapmaker, the task is
knowing which features to map and how to
represent them. A continuing involvement in the
sport is important for a basic understanding of
the requirements for the orienteering map its
content, the need for accuracy, the level of
detail and above all the need for legibility.
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Printing techniques
Colour copiers, printers and other digital
printing equipment are not yet suitable for
printing orienteering maps for high level
competitions. It is very difficult to achieve the
line quality, legibility and colour appearance of
traditional spot colour offset printed maps using
this kind of equipment. It is expected that the
continuing development of computer technology
will lead to the possibility of using alternative
printing methods with quality suitable for large
competitions. Most printing devices use a
4-colour technique (CMYK). For such devices the
same colour settings as recommended for 4-colour
offset printing may be suitable, but the colour
appearance will vary slightly from one device to
another and from one paper quality to another.
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The Event Advisor is not necessarily an
experienced o-mapper, but he/she must be capable
to judge the map quality.The advisor must be
able to make the mapping rules strictly kept to
guarantee the fair competition for each
runner.Think globally, not locally.
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The mapping process and the role of the IOF Event
Advisor

• In the ideal case the Advisor can influence some
  processes
• In connection with the mapping process
• choosing fair terrain (no advantage for local
  competitors)
• choosing the mappers (international experience)
• guarantee the map quality (national map
  controller).

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The practiceReport on World Ranking Event maps
2001
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Statistics of the WRE 2001

• Number of events 65 (including WOC and Akita)
• Classic events 47
• Short 13
• Sprint 2
• Other (normal, long, medium) 3
• Number of organizing countries 29
• Europe 25
• Other 4 (Australia, Canada, Japan, USA)

• - terminology based on previous elite events
  system according to IOF WRE site sprint, short,
  classic.

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Distribution of European organizers
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Misuse 1 the scale issue
WREs to be organized according to the WOC
rules. Maps at 110 000 may be produced for
relay and short distance competitions.
Classic events 115000 scale Collected 37 maps
of classic events 110000 scale 12
maps 115000 scale 25 maps
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Misuse 1 the scale issue 2
12 events used 110000 scale maps on classic
events. 110000 scale maps are simply
magnification (150).
Austria (contour lines are 0.1 mm instead of 0.21
mm) Belgium Canada (2days event on the same
map) Croatia Denmark Estonia Great-Britain
(contour line are 0.16 mm instead of 0.21
mm) Latvia Lithuania Sweden Ukraine Yugoslavia
(contour line are 0.14 mm instead of 0.21 mm,
point symbols were also smaller)
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Misuse 2 the lack of index contours
102 Every fifth contour shall be drawn with a
thicker line.
Not used Austria (1) 115000/5m !!! Belgium
(1) 110000/2.5m (height difference is
minimal) Canada (1) 110000/2.5m (2
events) Denmark (1) 115000/2.5m Estonia (2)
115000/2.5m and 110000/2.5m Finland (6)
115000/5m (3), 110000/5m (2), 15000 (1) Sweden
(2) 110000/2.5m and 110000/4m Ukraine (1)
110000/2.5m (height difference is minimal)
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Misuse 3 special signs
WRE maps must follow ISOM2000, deviations are
prohibited, any deviation is allowed only by the
Map Commission and not the Event Advisor.
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Printing methods

• Offset 46
• 4 colours 2 (AUT, UKR)
• 4 colours-FM screen 2 (DEN)
• 5 colours 24
• 6 colours (grey) 7 (AUS, FIN)
• 6 colours (red) 5
• More 6 (FIN WOC maps)
• Other digital (laser) 4 (AUT, 2EST, ROM)
• Inkjet (?) 3 (UKR, 2CAN)

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Printing methods 2
Other printing methods may be used, if colours
and line width have the same quality as printing
with spot colours (brown, black, green, yellow,
blue).(ISOM 2000)
Alternative printing methods are not suitable for
international events for local events and for
disciplines like MBO, ski-o and trail-o.
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An example of misuse 1
110000 for classic, wrong magnification, no
index contours, wrong colours, wrong size of
signs.
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An example of misuse 2
WOC 2001 Tampere, Classic distance Missing gaps
of the path between controls 9-10
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International Specification for Sprint (Urban)
Orienteering Maps
Antecedents

• ISOM2000 only park orienteering not rules,
  just guideline.
• Leibnitz convention IOF Congress, 2000.
• Elite Event Group suggestion (yearly WOC, new
  structure sprint is added) accepted in Tampere,
  2001.

The specification is still a proposal, but the
Map Commission is working on it.
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The Map Commission is pressed to establish the
specification for Sprint o-maps as soon as
possible.

• 2001 Tampere sprint was an official discipline,
  but it was organized in a forest area.
• 2002 Hungary, European Championships and World
  Cup Event. Sprint-o will be an official event
  mixed area, but mostly forest.
• 2003 Switzerland, WOC urban area.

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Why is it problematic?

• The integration of urban areas into the arena of
  orienteering sports causes some major problems
  from a cartographical point of view.
•  
• The urban terrain differs completely from the
  classical forest terrain. Especially in the
  center of old downtowns, the degree of details
  can be much higher then in a forest.
• The urban areas, generally paved areas, permit
  very high running speed. However, in urban area,
  theyre also many restrictions (forbidden or
  dangerous areas), which runners must take into
  consideration
• The short distances / sprint (2.5 to 4.0 km)
  permit the use of large scale within the range of
  12000 - 15000.

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Why is it problematic (illustrations)?
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The timeline of the process

• Working Draft (Winter 2002)
• Candidate Recommendation (Spring 2002),
  implementation into map project
• Proposed Recommendation (Fall 2002)
• Recommendation (February 2003)

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The principles 1
Sprint Orienteering specification focuses on the
matter to show passable or impassable and
forbidden passages

• Private areas are forbidden to pass.
• All impassable or uncrossable features (fences,
  walls, cliffs, etc.) are forbidden to pass as
  well.
• Parts of buildings that are shown passable in a
  map, must be open during competition, as well as
  parts of buildings that are shown closed in a
  map, must be closed during competition.

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The principles 2
The following restrictions have to be mentioned
in urban areas

• An International Sprint Orienteering event may
  not take place in the underground (e.g. cellars,
  underground buildings) or in buildings (indoor).
  Therefore, just the main level is shown on a map.
• However, important underground passages (e.g.
  lighted tunnel, underpass), which are important
  for the runners must be shown in a map.
• Traffic must be taken into consideration in urban
  areas. The organizers are responsible for the
  runners safety. They have to do everything, what
  is reasonable to prevent accidents (e.g. close
  roads or restrict traffic). If this is not
  possible, the chosen area is not suitable for
  sprint orienteering.

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The principles 3
The scale 14000 or 15000 can be used. Scale
14000 is recommended for old and/or narrow
downtowns. According to the certain scale, the
contour interval must be adopted. In general, the
contour interval value should be 2 m for 14000
or 2.5 m for 1.5000. The minimum dimension of a
features in a map is 2 x 2m in its projection. An
object smaller than 2 x 2m can be shown if its
very visible or high.
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Samples 1
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Samples 2
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Samples 3
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THE END
Thank you for your attention
László Zentai Map Commission http//lazarus.elte.h
u/mc