| Several Individual
DFers in One Car |
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Let your navigator have a go
......
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Just don't let them finish first!
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How it works:
- Those
sharing a car work
as a team until the site is reached.
- All
may
use their sets at the start and at any time
throughout the event.
- When
the site is reached those in
the car split and
compete against each
other.
The team no longer exists, the others
in the car become just like other competitors, there should be
no
further communication. The scoring system and Jokers encourage people to split
up, you are very unlikely to win if you stay with a group!
- Once
the team splits up on
site the driver may have a slight advantage over the others because he
could use the car to access distant Txs. It is up to the team how this
is resolved - all have a key or no one uses the car; calling each
other on the phone to arrange a group hunt of a distant station, would
not
be 'in the spirit' and may raise a few eyebrows! Solo competitors may
use their car as they wish,
this helps to compensate for not having a navigator.
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Notes
- a) Normal rules for traditional events have
always allowed one
nominated person per team to use one DF set. If we analyse why, it is
to stop two people from the same team ‘triangulating’ the Tx when close
in and thereby gaining a huge advantage. This makes it an individual
sport with navigators and helpers receiving no official reward for
their labours and no chance to learn how to use a set.
In Multi-DF, since ‘teams’ split and compete against each
other on
site,
there is no need for this restriction during the driving phase of the
event.
- b) Fairness - Yes two or more in a car may be a
slight advantage
initially but it has the disadvantage that teams must be very sure that they are on site before
leaving the car and this probably means an extra check bearing compared
to a solo competitor (so swings and roundabouts).
- c) Disaster recovery - In the very
rare event that competitors
split and
it later becomes obvious that they are not on the correct site
then
obviously they have no choice but to use mobile phones or whistles to
coordinate an ‘escape’. In this situation there would be no penalty
for using the phone, the time wasted is penalty enough! With
only
a 4 minute delay between transmissions the
essential check bearings mentioned in b) should not take a huge amount
of time and of course means that you start on foot with more
information.
Why
allow two or more in a car anyway?
- Company while travelling.
- Makes a long journey more worthwhile for our
distant friends.
- Saves petrol/planet.
- Gets more competitors on site.
- Navigators fully involved.
- A way to introduce newcomers.
- Improved safety (you should never be very far
from another DFer in case
of accident).
- Having allowed this for two years, experiences
in Colchester have all been positive, it works just fine.
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