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Events
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View from the Chair
Hi all, it is pleasing to see 5 people have nominated themselves for the 2 vacancies on the ONZ Council. Particularly pleasing to also see a spread across different clubs. Clubs vote for the people to fill the vacancies, and the votes are weighted according to the number of members in the clubs.
Voting closes on the 12 April and we should have the results before the AGM on 19 April. As usual, the AGM will be held on Good Friday after the sprint event in Oamaru. The AGM is scheduled to take place on Friday evening after dinner at Waitaki Boys High School (see event details here )
Preceding the dinner at Waitaki Boys High School, ONZ will host a club forum, which is an opportunity for ONZ to update members on some initiatives we are working on, but mainly it is an opportunity for clubs to share ideas. This forum will take place from 5-6.30pm and hopefully generate lots of good dinner conversations also. It’s not too late to let Catriona know if you’d like an opportunity to share any good ideas you have on making orienteering easier to get involved in, more fun, or more efficient.
Another topic that I’ve been mulling over a bit lately is making sure we have the mix right between ONZ Council and ONZ Staff responsibilities and those of the clubs and volunteers who are the backbone of the sport and who make orienteering happen. We’ve had a lot of discussion around the Council table, and I know there is a lot of discussion, and some discontent, at club level also. I know everyone wants orienteering to grow and for that we need enthusiasm and engagement, as well as best practice and good guidance. To get the mix right we need to keep the communication channels open and positive. As always, I am open to your ideas and thoughts on how we get to this balance.
Cheers, and good running
Jane Harding
Risk Management Question
Question: What responsibilities does an Orienteering participant have?
Answer:
Personal Safety Check for Competitors:
- Participation is at your own risk.
- Always know where your children are.
- Obey all instructions and warnings.
- Wear appropriate clothes for conditions.
- Consider wearing safety glasses
- Notify coordinator of any potentially serious health problems.
- Keep clear of any plant or equipment, farm buildings, and out-of-bounds/unauthorised areas.
- Avoid disturbing livestock and keep away from all work activities.
- Be suitably hydrated and/or carry water and/or know if/where water is available on their course
- Carry a whistle. Know the recognised emergency call which is 6 short blasts.
- If you hear repeated sounding of car horns this means fire or another major problem. Abandon the course and return to the nearest road and thence to event centre, unless directed to another assembly point or exit route. Notify an event official you are safe.
2019 AGM & Club Forum Notice
The ONZ AGM will be held on Friday 19 April 2019
Venue: Waitaki Boys High School, Oamaru
Time: 8pm
The AGM will be held after the Club Forum and Dinner.
The Club Forum will held on Friday 19 April 2019
Venue: Waitaki Boys High School, Oamaru
Time: 5 pm – 6.30pm
There will be a break for dinner between the Club Forum and AGM.
Those who are not staying onsite, but wish to join everyone for dinner on 19 April can purchase a dinner ticket on EnterO.
Council Elections
Five applications were received for the two vacant positions.
The 5 applicants are Martin Crosby (Auckland), Michael Croxford (Nelson), Tom Davies (Waikato) Marquita Gelderman (North West) and Pete Swanson (BOP).
Clubs will be invited to vote on these applicants over the next few weeks.
The outcome will be announced shortly afterwards.
High Performance Update
Training v competing
In the January HP News I wrote about responses given by athletes at the U23 Camp to various questions that they were posed about their orienteering experiences. One of these was about how much help they received from clubs/regions in terms of training opportunities, and the overall impression given was that the answer was “not much”. This produced expressions of surprise in some organizational quarters where the view was quite different – beauty is in the eye of the beholder I suppose. A recent Radio NZ interview about how New Zealand Rugby is advising provinces to do away with Under 14 representative teams made me reflect again on this issue.
NZR’s advice is based on research which suggests that having competitive representative teams at that early age does not help to identify the future stars, and that many of those admitted to High Performance programmes at that age are the first to drop out. The premise is that it is better to offer coaching in skills to a much wider group out of whom the future stars will develop, albeit maybe a bit later.
How does this relate to orienteering and the responses made by the U23 athletes? Consider that most juniors of school age experience orienteering almost exclusively at events – in other words in what is essentially a competitive environment where there is, generally, little opportunity for closely monitoring techniques and giving coaching feedback. How much more effective, and we saw this at the Wellington camp in January, is it to allow juniors regular opportunities for non-competitive training exercises where analysis and feedback on both techniques and mistakes is able to be given? Consider also the ratio of orienteering training exercises to races that many young athletes in Europe experience compared to what occurs in New Zealand. Magnus Bengtsson, who attended an “orienteering school” in Sweden commented that training days to races were in the ratio of something like 2 or 3 to 1.
So, although clubs have to provide for a diverse orienteering community, perhaps we do need a bigger focus on training days rather than events. This might help to eliminate, even from the older part of the orienteering community, let alone the juniors, the experience of making the same mistakes over and over again and the struggle to improve and develop.
Event Liaison Update
2019 Junior Camp
2020 Secondary Schools Events
ONZ has sought expressions of interest from clubs who are keen and are able to host the Junior Camp 2019and the 2020 Secondary School Orienteering Champs with no response as yet. We are keen to see clubs wanting to host events rather than feeling obliged to hold them and not enjoying the experience.
It was hoped that by giving clubs early notice for these expressions of interest there will not be the last-minute scramble to finalise event areas and will give those wishing to attend the ability to organise travel early.
It is now our intention to now start liaising directly with support clubs in areas that we would like to hold the above as well as the NI and SI Secondary Schools Champs.
We are in the process of working through the issues surrounding the allocation and running of all major events and formalising a system that clubs are comfortable with. This subject will be discussed at the Club Forum at the National Champs in Oamaru.
Have your Say!
ONZ is seeking your feedback on the following.
Council Policies
A new series of policies have been draft around the Council. These policies are a reflection of the way the Council has been operating in the last few years, but now has formally documented these. Policies include Council, Governing Process, Code of Ethics, Conflict of Interest and Meeting Process. More
Southern Cross Team
The Council has approved in principle the extension of the Southern Cross team from 1 team of 16 athletes to 2 teams with a maximum of 40 athletes. This requires a policy change and the draft policy is now open for feedback. More
If you have any feedback on the Council Policies or Southern Cross Team, please email gm@orienteering.org.nz by Friday 12 April.
Major Events
A review of the Major Events has been undertaken and ONZ has identified the need to consider alternatives to how events are allocated and managed. It is imperative for the continued growth and development of our sport that we review events and look at the best options for delivering these in the future.
The full discussion paper on this proposal will be available shortly on the ONZ website. Information on feedback deadlines will be included in this document, but we do plan to discuss this further at the Clubs Forum on Friday 19 April.
In other news …
Orienteering Good Practice Guidelines Working Party – Members Wanted
Education Outdoors NZ (EONZ) and the Recreation Aotearoa (RA) began working together two years ago to develop Good Practice Guidelines for a range of activities that are not covered by the Adventure Activity Regulations and therefore don’t (and probably won’t ever) have Activity Safety Guidelines written for them. The Good Practice Guidelines or GPG’s as they are commonly known have developed into an online resource that includes both a guidance document and a planning template. The GPG’s completed to date are at the following link, together with some more background information;
http://www.supportadventure.co.nz/activity-specific-good-practice-information/good-practice-guidelines
The GPG’s are primarily targeted at youth organisations, schools and outdoor centres who offer these activities as part of their programmes. They are written to be usable by school teachers, part time or volunteer leaders or instructors who are planning an activity. As you are no doubt aware, many of the residential camps spread throughout NZ, where thousands of children go on their school camps, have orienteering courses. This together with school teachers, scouts or guides leaders who might want to use a local permanent course, would be who I would see as who this GPG being written for. It would not be aimed at orienteering clubs or for anyone who is organising competitive events.
The time commitment is a 1 day face to face meeting and the some follow up feedback via email. Timing for face to face meeting is likely early May. Travel costs covered by RA but no remuneration available for group members.
If you are interested, please contact David Mangnall <davidmangnall@hotmail.com>
IOF WOD
New offer from OCAD
OCAD, one of World Orienteering Day’s partners, have a new offer to all of you how intend to organize a WOD-event. Preregister and apply for OCAD WOD Starter License for 2019! Read more
CONSULTATION ROUND THREE
The pest management plan includes a set of proposed rules that could affect the way you access kauri forests, or require you to carry out actions to protect kauri if you have kauri forest on your land.
We want your views on how workable you think our proposals are, and the impacts they might have on you and your community, iwi, business or group. We want to know if there are any major issues you believe we have missed, that could significantly affect our proposals. And we’d like your views on the best agency model to manage the protection of kauri in the future.
Following this consultation round we will make final recommendations to ministers.
Consultation runs from 18 February to 18 March 2019. We are also running a series of hui and community meetings in the kaurilands in early March. Come along to hear more about the proposals. More here
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games 24 July – 9 August 2020
Tokyo 2020 Registrations Now Open
Right now, New Zealand’s greatest athletes are preparing for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. We want our greatest fans to be there. Tokyo 2020 registrations are now open for New Zealand residents. Witness sporting history being made in one of the world’s most exciting cities.
Touch of Nostalgia
ONZ is selling the old NZSS Schools Team Uniforms to fundraise for future school team costs. For those of you who once proudly wore a NZSS race top or tracksuit, here’s your opportunity to now purchase one for posterity!!
All these uniforms are well worn and are used condition. Sizes unknown and stock is limited, so it will be on a first in – first served basis if you want specific sizings.
Please email gm@orienteering.org.nz your order.
Please include postal address details. Invoices will be sent for payment, including price of uniforms bought and $10 P&P.
Race Top Black – $15
Track suit top – $20
Track Suit bottom – $15
Race Top Old Style – $15
Race Pants Old Style – $15
Auckland World Masters Games Volunteer Uniforms
ONZ has spare unopened World Masters Games Uniforms for any volunteers who were at the Games and would like some more kit for free. Not sure about sizes, so again, first in best dressed in green!
email gm@orienteering.org.nz with your postal details and we will send them out to you.
Jacket
Top
We welcome your feedback at any time.
Our mailing address is:
gm@orienteering.org.nz
This is a copy of the Compass Point e-Newsletter. You can subscribe to receive these in your email inbox
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