President’s Rant – July 2015

Not surprisingly July has seen our young junior athletes taking all our attention. During the early part of the month, I’m sure that most of us were actively following JWOC from Norway with no indication of what was about to unfold. It’s hard to find the appropriate superlatives to acclaim the outstanding efforts of our juniors on their world stage. Two top ten positions in the Men’s Long Distance, a 1st and 3rd in the Women’s Middle B Final all following Tim Robertson’s superb defence of his JWOC Sprint title. We’ve now witnessed three gold medal performances at JWOC in the last four years! We clearly are doing something right at club and regional level with our training, and the inputs from our elites into junior training are definitely paying dividends.

The last weekend of the school holidays saw the NZ Secondary Schools Champs being hosted by Nelson Orienteering Club. I ventured over the hill from Blenheim and attended the Individual Champs and the Relays. It was great to see the enthusiasm and quality of our next generation of junior athletes being displayed. The NOC volunteers with Michael Croxford involved in everything, put on a memorable event which was not without its challenges – first from the weather which served up a combination of fog and mist, brilliant sunshine and cold driving rain and also from a couple of issues with controls at the relays. One aspect which I will remember from this event was the appearance of Kayla Fairburn and Alice Tilley both of whom had rushed back from JWOC to attend the NZSS Champs being their last opportunity to take part in this event. Their overriding desire to attend acted as inspiration for the other more junior competitors.

At Council level, we are setting about exploring changes to our Constitution and are seeking your inputs. We have raised some of the apparent areas for change in our monthly newsletters – so please take the time to provide feedback (club and/or individual) on these important issues as they affect the way we govern and manage the affairs of ONZ and ultimately our sport. The other key focus which continues is Auckland World Masters Games and Oceania – both scheduled for Easter 2017 – and this will increasingly dominate our time as we work towards this date.

Finally good luck to all competitors participating at WOC based around Inverness and the Moray Firth in Scotland during the beginning of August.

David Turner

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Orienteering NZ Appointments & Vacancies

Congratulations to Michael Wood & Nick Collins who have been appointed to the Rogaine Committee.

We still have vacancies for the following panels and committees:

• Rogaine Committee – 1 member
• Selection Panel – Senior – 1 member
• Technical Committee – 1 member

Full position descriptions for all these roles are available on the Orienteering NZ website.

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Constitution Review

This year Orienteering NZ will be reviewing our constitution.  While the constitution was last amended at the 2011 AGM the Council believe it timely to thoroughly review the constitution to ensure it is abreast of legal requirements, represents best practice and provides the framework for our sport moving forward.

While the Council will be taking legal advice on many of these issues, we are also wanting members to provide input into this process. We believe it is important for members who have had to work within the constitution to give us ideas and suggestions as to how we can make it better.

There are a few key areas which we are specifically keen to hear from you about:

1. The Council makeup.  Currently the Council is made up of a President, Vice-President, 4 Regional Representatives and the General Manager.  Is the the right or wrong number of people?
2. Elected or Appointed Council members. Currently the President and Vice-President are elected annually at the AGM.  The Regional Representatives are appointed by their respective regions.  Is this the right process?  Should all members of the Council be elected by the membership at large?  Should there still be Regional Reps?  If so, how do regions ensure the best people are appointed?  Currently the way in which regions appoint their reps vary region to region.  Should a national appointment process for regional reps be set?
3. Council appointment term.  The President and Vice-President are elected annually but the Regional Reps are appointed for varying terms.  Should the terms be longer?  Should all terms be for the same period of time, for example 2 or 3 years?
4. Membership – the current constitution allows for Institutional membership of which we currently have 1 school as an institutional member.  Should membership be individuals only or a mix of individuals and institutions?
5. AGM Timings.  The current rules around notification of the AGM, AGM remits etc is very long 12 weeks. With the use of technology does this have to be so long now?  For example for the 2016 AGM any remits will need to be submitted by Christmas 2015!

We invite all members to part of this review process.  If you have any ideas, suggestions, feedback please forward these to gm@orienteering.org.nz.

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Embargoes

Please note the following area embargoes are now in place for the Auckland World Masters Games 2017.

• https://www.orienteering.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Embargoed-Areas-WMOC-2017.pdf
• https://www.orienteering.org.nz/world-masters-2017/

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Controllers Clinics

Want to learn the art of Controlling Orienteering events with ease?

Orienteering NZ free controllers clinics are for you and your club mates.

Whether you’re new to Controlling for your club or ONZ registered and experienced, IOF controller Marquita Gelderman will help you.  She’ll help you understand the role, understand where to put your time and energy and how to approach decision making.

Fun, stress free and satisfying event controlling!

Presentations, workshop, discussions and map site practicals over two days.

• Wellington:  September 12/13th (Places are filling fast)
• Christchurch: October 10/11th

For more information register interest with volunteerguidance@orienteering.org.nz

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AMP Scholarships

AMP Scholarships is about helping bright, passionate New Zealanders to succeed, no matter what their thing is. And as an important part of our community, we know you share the same goal.

Each year, we award up to $200,000 in scholarships, and applications for 2015 are now open.

www.doyourthing.co.nz

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Vacancies Coming Soon

Event Manager – Masters Games

Event Manager – Oceania

The Organising Committee has decided to have 2 event managers for these two events. While they will work closely together to ensure the Festival of Orienteering is a success, there is a need to have 2 seperate roles.

If you are interested in either of these roles, check out www.orienteering.org.nz/vacancies/

We are also interested in Course Planners and Setters who wish to be involved in either or both of these events.  Information will be posted on www.orienteering.org.nz/world-masters-2017/ so keep an eye out there for more info.

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Upcoming Events

8 Aug 2015 – NZ Secondary Schools Rogaine Champs, Levin

Don’t forget to follow our international team at WOC.

For more events check out the Orienteering NZ website

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Advance Notice

2015 JUNIOR CAMP

The Junior Camp is being hosted by Auckland Orienteering Club.

The dates are: Sunday 13 to Friday 18 Dec 2015.

Camp Bulletin coming soon.

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We welcome your feedback at any time.

Our mailing address is:
gm@orienteering.org.nz