British Orienteering has peaked!

@FlowersInDenmark The only person saying "women are dumb at maps" is you. Repeatedly.

If a man transitions to a woman, does he automatically become "dumb at maps"? That's quite a theory you have there.

of COURSE there's a need for female and male categories. It's absolutely about both navigation skills AND running/strength. This is a basic fact of orienteering. How do you not understand this?

I turn maps upside down. So the directions makes sense to me. This means I’m very womanly, unlike the womensey men, who never do this, instead they look at a map like a mansy man.

Adding in people born male does not equal representing women.

@FlowersInDenmark women do relatively well in ultras compared to shorter races (though women don't beat men in marathons, do they?) If you're involved in volunteering at ultras you should know this. Suggested reasons include

Fat metabolism: Women tend to burn fat more efficiently, giving them a steady energy source over ultra distances.
Pain tolerance and pacing: Studies show women pace more consistently and may manage pain and discomfort more effectively.
Mental endurance: Ultrarunning is as much mental as physical, and women are shown to be more resilient in the face of fatigue, cold, sleep deprivation, and discomfort.

(from https://www.ratrace.com/blog/how-women-are-taking-over-the-ultramarathon-world/)

So how come you don't also know that orienteering races are generally not as long as ultramarathons, and they are not just about mapreading?

And as others have said, even if there were no advantage/disadvantage for men vs women, women are allowed to have our own categories without including men.

Yes, I agree. Fun thing is that extending a helping hand to trans women for those same reasons doesn't diminish us. Banning trans women, on the other hand, says women are dumb at maps. Yay!!!

This is the trouble with sport, isn't it? As children we watch it and see someone chucking a dart at a board, someone pushing a cue against a ball, someone running around grabbing letters from a pole, etc. The men do better because they're....better. But nobody points out that the guy throwing the dart is a foot taller, has longer arms, stronger muscles, etc., and the guy at the snooker table doesn't have boobs he has to lift out of the way, has longer legs and, therefore higher hips, longer arms, and stronger muscles. Or that the man running around has different physiology as well as his long legs, etc. We just think the women aren't good at this stuff.

I'm glad that my children are growing up in a more aware world.

this. Except I dispute the "walking" aspect. At highly competitive levels, orienteering is full blown RUNNING and most highly competitive orienteerers are also competitive runners, albeit at a lower level (I have family who compete at international level).

I think this is great news. In my extended family, the woman has always outperformed by ranking vs the men but all of the men are, ultimately, faster than her so if she was to compete against them, she would do less well.

No for sure, orienteering has zero to do with navigation. Lol.

I mean, there is no need for male and female categories, except the societal pressure that makes women feel they're dumb at maps which means that a more supportive approach is helpful to overcome that. Which is also helpful for trans women who face transphobia as well as misogyny.

Also I've just finished volunteering at an ultra which was won outright by a woman. She managed, staggeringly, to overcome her Q angle and triumph using all those other bits of psychology and biology that are relevant to longer distances. But no, you're right, the Q angle is literally the only important thing, women suck, we will literally always lose at every single thing, and, did I mention, we're dumb at maps?

Yay feminism.

I would argue even if no competitive advantage then there still is a need because its about representation.

Women may be less likely to orienteer for many reasons.

It's got zero to do with navigation. It's about biological male speed and power advantages.

Hardly, and thanks for showing us how little you understand orienteering.
Orienteering is not just about map reading its a timed event where you have to walk often quite long distances so the men will always be faster and win over women due to the male Q angle vs the female Q angle which effects walking and running speeds. If orienteering was purely about map reading as you claim there would be no need for male and female categories

@FlowersInDenmark
"women are dumb at reading maps" is a feminist principle?
Care to clarify what on earth you are talking about?

Completely agree. "Men can enter the class but not compete" - what the hell is that?

What's great about all this feminist campaigning is it's forcing organisations to enshrine feminist principles like 'women are dumb at reading maps' into the heart of what they do. I know I, as a cis woman who likes orienteering, definitely feel like this is a victory for feminism. Yay feminism!

Well thats a start but they need to kick the non competitive men out too.
Men should not be joining womens orienteering groups

This is great news.