COACHING – Evaluating Performance with GPS

Evaluating Orienteering Performance with GPS

– the Journey so Far

IN the December 2003 edition of The Australian Orienteer I wrote an article comparing “old” ways of evaluating Orienteering performance with a new way using a GPS system developed by a Canberra-based firm (GPSports) using a device called a SPI-10 and an integrated software package. At that time, our small team at ACTAS (ACT Academy of Sport) had only used the system a few times, but we were confident that the technology would change the way we measured and evaluated orienteering performances. “GPS was here to stay”, I wrote. Eighteen months later, I have no reason to change that view, but will admit that the journey has had its challenges.

Cost. The cost ($1,500) of the system developed by GPSports has been a deterrent. Many orienteers will spend a couple of hundred dollars on a new device that they think might help them, but $1,500? – not readily. Academies or Institutes of Sport may be a different matter, as most have budgets for performance analysis. In June 2003 the ACTAS squad bought three SPI-10s. I understand that GPSports Pty Ltd has sold hundreds of such systems to sports in Australia and overseas. It’s most likely those sports have access to more funds than Orienteering, but perhaps they can appreciate their value. $1,500 is not a lot of money to invest in something that will give an athlete an edge over his/her rivals at world championship level.

Cheaper Alternatives. Investigations have been carried out in Canberra into cheaper devices. However, those alternatives need to have a compatible software package. Recent trials by Cassie Trewin and Rex Saye (more on Rex below) have shown that the Gecko GPS system is suitable for some applications and can be used for Orienteering map-making. The Gecko costs approx $250 – even less on e-bay - so it’s cost is in the ball-park for the average orienteer. However, it all depends on what you want to do with it.

FRWD. A Finnish system has recently appeared that looks impressive from its web site www.frwd.com. The price is still high for the average Australian orienteer, being approx $A960.

Use. The most obvious use for any GPS system in Orienteering is to tell an orienteer where he/she has been. ACTAS’s first “live” trial was at the Orienteering event at the 2003 Masters’ Games in Canberra, and that was indeed what the three volunteer masters orienteers wanted most of all. However, when the system was used later with elites, the elites didn’t want that sort of information – they knew where they had been (for better or for worse). They wanted to know how fast they had done certain legs, with what effort (heart rate), where they had stopped or slowed down, or whether they really had been “steady” on a certain segment. They wanted to know about the quality of their run, and how they compared with others who had done the same course.

It’s Horses for Courses. Gecko does not measure heart rate, so any measure of effort is not available, whereas the SPI-10 and the two FRWD models do. Frankly, as a coach, I want to know how much effort an elite orienteer is expending at a particular point on his/her route – it can tell me a lot about an orienteer’s fitness, running strategy and/or mental resolve. So I would prefer the SPI10 (and probably the FRWD, but I haven’t used one yet) any day, and would think the extra cost worth it – for an elite. I suspect that most non-elites in the sport of Orienteering would settle for less information, and that the Gecko (or some equivalent, lowercost device) might suit their requirements provided there is useful software. Incidentally, Cassie’s trials showed that the SPI-10 had several other advantages over the Gecko (and certainly over any other system she used) but I won’t go into those in this article. If you want to know more, ask Cassie.

Software. Data is just data unless it can be presented in a timely, convenient way to the user. GPSports’ software was way ahead of any of its rivals in early 2004 but now FRWD seems to be challenging that. Orienteers relate everything to an Orienteering map. Experience at ACTAS suggests that the power of a device will not be exploited unless the software presents results in a simple, familiar and convenient way - on the relevant map. The ACTAS project stalled in 2004 until such a solution could be found.

Rex Saye. Rex Saye is the Canberra-based developer of CORPSE, the software that puts courses on Orienteering maps. He sells CORPSE to orienteers all over the world. I explained my dilemma with GPS to Rex and - to cut a very long story short - he set about developing a software system (OTrack) to meet our need. “It will keep me off the streets” said Rex, who is retired from full-time work. OTrack was designed to put SPI-10 data on an Orienteering map. Cassie carried out trials of each prototype, and we all made suggestions for improvement. Rex’s attitude was constantly “What do you need? – just tell me and I’ll do it”.

I suspect that this project will never have an end, as there are so many ways that data can be presented to an orienteer, and so many views on what a coach and/or an elite orienteer think is important. However, Rex has developed a system whereby an orienteer can choose any point on their course on the relevant map, and OTrack will provide data on such things as speed, effort and climb as well as showing where the orienteer actually went - every second of their course. OTrack does more than that – it enables orienteers to have their data compared with others doing the same course, and much more. Suddenly the ACTAS GPS project had legs again.

Methodology. GPS can be used in two ways. It can be used on a fixed terrain loop to measure an orienteer’s fitness on the differing types of terrain in the loop. On a terrain loop there are no navigation challenges. The segment times, heart rates and speed (or lack of it) are used to measure fitness/skill in specific types of terrain: uphill legs, contouring, downhill-on-track, downhillin-terrain, cross-country, and so on. At ACTAS we use a terrain loop on Black Mountain. Data from this loop will replace all laboratory-based methods of measuring fitness. A suitable terrain loop could be anywhere in the world for athletes based overseas, as long as they could access the same loop over time. Data is easily transportable over the internet. The second way of using a GPS system is to compare athlete performances over the same courses – in a competition setting. ACTAS has done little of this so far but – with a recent order for seven more SPI-10 units to make a total of ten available to the Orienteering squad - this will change.

Recent Trials. The GPS team carried out a trial of SPI-10 and OTrack at the recent OACT event at Orroral Valley. Cassie and I did the same course. I am embarrassed to say that the “wiggles” in Cassie’s route were deliberate on her part, but clearly not on mine - much to Rex’s amusement. Later in the week, in the presence of Grant Bluett, coach of the Canberra Cockatoos and Jim Russell, the National Senior Squad coach, we used the same system for a terrain trial on Black Mountain with Troy de Haas. Troy’s results were available for him to view within minutes of him completing his run.

The Future. Competition is now appearing, showing that others share ACTAS’s long-held view on the value of GPS for performance analysis. That competition will also, in time, drive price down further. Rex Saye and ACTAS are considering ways to proceed for further development of OTrack. GPS for performance evaluation of orienteers is here to stay.

Editor’s note – an FRWD device was supplied to each competitor in the recent World Ski-O Championships, held in Finland. The device was strapped to the back of their map-holders and information on position, speed, heart-rate, temperature, etc was downloaded when competitors completed their courses. Competitors could not access the data on the course.