A belated Happy New Year to you all, and hoping many of you have had a positive start to 2023. That said, I know a few of our community have been impacted by the recent flooding  – our thoughts are very much with those of you affected, and hope the clean-up and fixes get you back on track as soon as possible.
From an orienteering perspective there have been some positive things happening – early season events, including the South Island Champs sound like they have gone well, and have provided a good chance to get some early training and practice in ahead of the Nationals. We were particularly delighted to hear about Nathan Fa’avae being recognised in the New Year’s honours. Whilst this was for services to Adventure Racing, the fact that it was a map sport and with Nathan (and his families) keen involvement in Orienteering, it felt like a recognition for one of our own – huge congrats Nathan and a very well deserved recognition.

From an ONZ Council perspective, we had a pretty busy finish to 2022, and hopefully many of you will have seen notices going out asking for feedback on a number of important things; changes to the constitution, a new event levy and member policy, and updated business plan for 2023. These are generally positive things, but it is critical that members get familiar with these and provide feedback. The Levy changes and Constitution update will be voted on at this years AGM in April.

We are looking for 1 or 2 new Council members for 2023. Whilst we have fantastic and very capable Council members currently, it is essential we welcome in new blood on a regular basis to keep things fresh, energised, and resilient. This is a brilliant opportunity for people to contribute to the broader sport, and get some learning around governance, leadership and sport development – as well as be part of a really positive group of people leading things at a national level. Please give this some consideration, and contact me, Christo, or any of the Council to discuss and find out more.

That’s it from me – I look forward to catching up with many of you in due course. My time has been spent on family holidays and bikepacking events so far, but look forward to getting into orienteering in the weeks ahead. 

Happy running
Peter Swanson   |  ONZ Council Chairperson