12 thoughts on making orienteering more popular in the US
(quick intro after the ideas)

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1) Change the name from "orienteering" to "navigation racing" or 
"navigation race".  Eliminate all other jargon a trail runner 
wouldn't understand in 3 seconds.

2) Change the name from "rogaine" to pretty much anything other
than a drug for a condition that most young people don't relate
to, or want to relate to, in their athletic (or other) pursuits,
or at least to a term that is more SEO friendly to the 
experience you are selling.

3) Ban "interval starts".  "Mass starts" only.  If you grow really
big, then use "wave starts" or "seeded starts", but note that this
is categorically different than "interval starts", and even "wave
starts" will get the volunteers home on time; forget the important
benefit of a more social and head to head race experience (duh).

4) Festive, friendly start/finish area at the same place.  NO 
BUSES unless the area is so spectacular this negative is 
outweighed by the positives of doing it.  Copious free food 
essential; free craft beer definitely a plus; but these things 
should not be lipstick on a pig after thoughts, but flow from 
a genuine festive attitude.

5) Friendly, staffed aid stations visible from a distance with 
staff who will hand you refreshments, not a random jug of water 
behind a random rock, which when you can see it, it is likely the
competitor in front of you just mouthed on the jug (much more 
common than you think, BTW, and all the arguments aside about 
how this isn't gross, IT IS GROSS, at least to newbies, me, and
many others, who think people who do this to save 3 seconds are
more of a jerk than I am, and are a big turnoff for the sport).

6) Much longer distances.  I'm not gonna suggest ultra distances,
tho I think that is the best idea, but 20K is an absolute minimum
for any race.  Not alot of people want to drive 4+ hours, or hop 
on a plane, for an hour or two of racing (especially over a 2 day
weekend).  (Ok, I get that sprint distance navigation races in 
ancient European cities is both cool and video friendly; but that 
never really worked out to mass appeal, did it?, and there are 
certainly too few US locations where that experience can be 
produced in any case).  THE MARKET FOR THE "BADASS" EXPERIENCE
WANTS "BADASS" RACES.  This market is larger than your market.

7) One day of racing.  The two day "A meet" is just silly, and I'm
not talking about the unintelligible, non-SEO friendly jargon.  
Budget conscious young people want one day of intense racing 
(and one day of travel costs), rather than 2 days of half 
intense racing, 2 days of travel costs, and a good portion of 
time on the afternoon of the first day sitting in a chain motel 
off exit X of Interstate Y.  I imagine volunteers, young and old, 
might feel the same way, tho they have the (physical) social 
network to make the chain motel e