Member news & views | AUGUST 2021
Update
- Note from the GM
- View from the Chair
Sport
- Junior Camp Registrations now open
- Orienteering and Covid – a brief look at things in the UK
- High performance update – World Cup Event Two
- Understanding our membership
- Club forum
- New club/school resources launched
- Do orienteers improve with age?
Sports People
- Interview with Yvette Baker
Events
- Southern Cross Experience Cancelled
- NZSS Video Footage released
ONZ Updates
- What is your national Council up to at the moment?
Note from the GM
Once again we find ourselves patiently waiting out another Covid lockdown. As an Aucklander with children who were close contacts through school, I understand the challenges presented by both lockdown and self isolation. When my family received negative day 12 test results, we gained the freedom to go for a walk to alleviate two weeks of cabin fever.
In this month’s issue Junior Camp registrations open, we talk to Yvette Baker, probably the most successful orienteer in our country. We also share the new Schools Knowledge Hub resource aimed at making it easy for participants, parents, schools and coaches to get involved in orienteering.
Finally we feature the first of a number of segments of ONZ’s membership demographics and what this tells us about our sport.
Ngā Mihi
Christo Peters | ONZ General Manager
027 714 0915
gm@orienteering.org.nz
View from the chair
How much do we value orienteering?
Well here we are again, facing the spectre of a multi week lockdown, which a month ago was hard to imagine! My family and I were in Wanaka when the lockdown happened, primed for what promised to be one of the best powder skiing days of the season. Instead of adventures on the slopes, our adventure turned into an extended road trip, connecting rental cars, flights and shuttles on a very convoluted journey to get home! Whilst not the holiday we had anticipated, we adapted, and like everyone else, have subsequently focused on doing fun things closer to home.
Whilst it is disheartening on one level to be back in this situation, on another level we have reason to feel positive. Continue reading…
2021 Junior Camp Registrations are Open
Note change of date
The recent move by NZQA to move back NCEA examinations has forced ONZ to move both the Junior and U23 Camp dates. The Junior Camp will now take place between Wed 15th and Mon 20th December 2021.
For information on the camp and to register use this link.
Orienteering and Covid – a brief look at how things are going in the UK
While New Zealand suffers (hopefully temporarily) under another lockdown it’s perhaps worth reflecting from an orienteering point of view on how relative lucky we have been over the last 18 months in largely been able to continue orienteering. While there were hiccups along the way, such as the postponement of the 2020 ONZ Championships, compared to the rest of the world we have had a relatively free run of events, albeit without the international competition. …continue reading here
A reminder that a guide to ONZ’s Covid-19 Alert level guide to clubs and members can be found here.
High Performance Update – World Cup Event 2
With all events in New Zealand on hold as we wait for the move back into level two, Tim Robertson and Toby Scott have been in Sweden competing in the second round of the World Cup. The middle caused a lot of problems for many athletes and Tim elected not to start leaving Toby as the only New Zealand representative. Click on the links below to read more:
Understanding ONZ’s membership
Nearly two years ago Orienteering New Zealand rolled out a national membership database for all clubs. This process allowed clubs to move away from the historical method of reporting membership figures – the excel spreadsheet. As part of this process ONZ has been able to better understand our membership demographics. This information will provide valuable insights into those belonging to our clubs. Despite most questions being optional, the response rate was still at least seven times higher than previous ONZ surveys. Over the next few editions we will briefly look at some of these statistics and what they say about our sport. To read on click here.
2021 Club Forum
This year’s club forum will take place via Zoom at 7:30pm on Tuesday 26th October 2021. The main topic this year is Volunteering in Orienteering. If you are interested in attending, please contact us.
Orienteering NZ School Knowledge Hub Resource
Orienteering New Zealand is proud to officially release our new Schools Knowledge Hub Resource. The resource has different sections for athletes, parents, schools (Managers/Teachers In Charge) and coaches. It contains simple videos explaining what you know and where to find information. There is also a new school resource link to provide additional resources. Click below to view these resources:
Do Orienteers improve with age?
We would all like to believe that we improve with age. Many of us are conditioned to accept that performance decreases as we get older. Do orienteers get better with age? An academic article published this year by Gasser and Vogel titled “Older orienteers perform better at elite level – is experience the key?” provides an analysis of age in elite orienteering produces some interesting findings. Check out the article here.
Interview with Yvette Baker
In June ONZ announced the Southern Cross team and staff which we had hoped would be travelling to Australia to compete in the Australian Schools Competition. For the third year in a row, the team included members of the Baker family. This year the coaching staff also included one of the Baker family. For those who move in orienteering circles, it was no surprise that Yvette Baker was chosen as a coach for the event. Many know Yvette as a member of Wellington Orienteering Club for the past 10-15 years. Some will even have competed against her at the odd nationals.
What many do not know is that Yvette is Britain’s most successful orienteer, and at 16yrs old was the youngest competitor to compete at WOC. Continue reading…
Southern Cross Experience Cancelled
After much discussion and investigation, the decision has been made to not go ahead with the Southern Cross Experience. Timing and logistics were key factors in reaching this conclusion.
Orienteering New Zealand would like to thank all those who have put considerable time into trying to make this work – specifically the Wellington, North West, Auckland, Counties Manukau Committees, Cameron de L’lisle, Jenny Adams, and ONZ Staff Malcolm Ingham and Russell Higham.
NZSS video footage released
Highlights from the recent NZSS Champs hosted by Hawkes Bay Orienteering Club. Footage was paid for by Sky Sport through the New Zealand Sports Collective which Orienteering New Zealand is a member of. Thanks to production company Stream Shop Live for this year’s footage and to our wonderful MC Ed Cory-Wright who drove up from Wellington and donated his time to help make this video possible. Click the image above to view.
What is your national Council up to?
At the August ONZ Council meeting, Council discussed progress on this year’s business (annual) plan. All key items were underway with the Marketing role and research into the possibility of a national event entry system due to be undertaken before the September meeting. Following the final sign-off of the strategic plan and the uncertainty of Covid-19, it was agreed that this year’s Business Planning meeting would take place by Zoom.
Also at the July meeting, Council discussed the recent meetings with PAPO and OA around Oceania contingencies as well as learnings regarding mental health that can be gained from Cycling NZ’s recent tragedy. A discussion was also had around the national club forum which will take place in October using zoom. The likely topic for the forum will be club volunteerism.
All approved ONZ minutes can be accessed here.
How can we help? Me pēhea mātou e āwhina ai?
If you have a particular topic you are looking for on orienteering? Try browsing the search function on the ONZ website or search for an area under news and views in the main menu at the top of the page – you may find what you need. If you have an enquiry about the sport, do get in touch via any of our media below or email us here
Happy orienteering! Editorial deadline:
We love to read about all kinds of navigation events from every corner of NZ. We are keen for news and updates from places we cannot get to. So do share your passion with photos, events, links, and info about your club. Send something in by the 20th day of the month so it can be published at the end of the month.
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