Welcome to the Orienteering NZ e-newsletter. This year we are aiming to get out to as many of our members, past and present, and interested groups with regular updates via email.
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In this month’s Compass Point:
- WOC Selection Announcement
- WOC & JWOC Team Vacancies
- AGM Notice
- Orienteering NZ Panel and Committee Appointments & Vacancies
Presidents Piece
Welcome into 2015 for my first President’s section for the monthly newsletter.
I wish to congratulate everyone who went over to Australia to compete at the Oceania Championships. There were some fantastic results over there in what by all accounts was a very successfully hosted event. We had a large number of individuals competing over there, with many representing New Zealand in either the NZ Schools team, the ANZ Challenge Team or the World Cup team. I wish to pass on a big thank you to all the individuals who supported our teams as either coaches or managers and the selectors.
Instead of heading over to Oceania I instead spent about 8 weeks having a refreshing holiday around the South Island where I was able to enjoy many adventures that I hadn’t experienced before. It made me think lots about orienteering and about people’s first experiences of any sport or activity they decide to give a go, because at this time of year we have lots of new people trying orienteering by coming along to summer series events all around New Zealand.
It’s important to think about the first time you experienced orienteering. What made you go? Did you go with someone? How did you find the atmosphere at the event? Were people helpful? This first-time experience that you are thinking about is what many people go through at this time of year. We all need to do our bit in helping to make orienteering as accessible for new people as we can. Do you have some friends that you can bring along? Can you help some new people at an event? We all need to do our bit in making sure people enjoy themselves and want to come back for another adventure.
Besides having lots of new people come along experience the adventure that orienteering provides, we also have lots of new people experiencing the joy of course planning or controlling. Orienteering relies so much on people volunteering to run events – thank you to everyone who has put their hands up to help with events. For 2015 and onwards Orienteering NZ is making volunteer training a real priority, with a particular focus initially in the space of course planning and controlling. But the scope of the training will expand as we want to help develop the capability and capacity to grow orienteering further all around New Zealand. There will be more information on this in the months ahead and you will begin to see a schedule of training provided across various mediums, including in-person and over the internet.
The other thing I thought about was just how much I enjoy navigating, in particular when it is in new areas. For this reason I’m really looking forward to competing at our National Championships which are being hosted over Easter by the Counties Manukau. The National Championships are always a test of both mind and body and it’s a test that we all enjoy. Instead of it being a person’s first event experience, it might instead be their first National Championships experience and we shouldn’t forget to ensure we make that experience fantastic. Be sure to bring along a few friends or family members. In the meantime please make sure you enjoy all the fantastic local events that are on offer around New Zealand.
Compass Point – February 2015
February is now upon us and the summer seems a distant past. There are many exciting events coming up in the next few months including the JWOC Trials in the Wairarapa and NZ Champs Counties.
Malcolm Ingham has been appointed as High Performance leader and will be providing guidance to the Council on the high performance end of our sport. More information on high performance can be found on the Orienteering NZ website HP section.
Thanks to all the members who put their names forward for panel and committee positions. Outlined below are the confirmed appointments. There are still a few vacancies for some roles, so if you are interested please put your name forward, or if you know someone who you think would be great in one of these roles, convince them to put their name forward.
We still have a few more committees to roll-out including the Junior, MTBO and Rogaine so watch for these vacancies in the future.
Applications are now invited for:
- JWOC Team Manager
- JWOC Coach
- WOC Team Manager
Position descriptions can be found on the Orienteering NZ website.
Deadline for applications: Sunday 15 March
Selection Announcements
World Orienteering Championships 2015
Inverness, Scotland 1-7 August 2015
Selection Trials for the 2015 WOC team will take place at the 2015 National Orienteering Championships Long, Middle and Sprint Distance events, to be held in Counties Manukau between 3-6 April, 2015.
All athletes interested in selection for the 2015 WOC team should notify the
Convenor of Selectors Al Cory-Wright [jean.al@xtra.co.nz] by 6 March 2015 (close of entries) and should plan to compete in all of the trial events. Overseas-based athletes who are unable to return to New Zealand for the trial events will be judged on their performance World Ranking Events held during the period (1 January 3-6 April 2015). These events must be nominated to the Convenor of Selectors by 6 March 2015.
World Cup Round 2
Norway/Sweden 3-7 June 2015
All athletes interested in selection for the 2015 WOC team should notify the Convenor of Selectors, Al Cory-Wright, by 6 March 2015.
Selection for these events will be based on past results with all known form taken into account, but most weight will be placed on performances at the 2015 Nationals.
Panel and Committee Appointments
Orienteering NZ has the pleasure of advising the following appointments to Orienteering NZ panels and committees:
- Junior Selection Panel – Tom Reynolds (Convenor), Mike Beveridge, Steve Oram, Bill Edwards
- Senior Selection Panel – Al Cory-Wright (Convenor), Bill Edwards, Tom Reynolds (appointed for the 2015 JWOC Team selection)
- MTBO Selection Panel – Pete Swanson, Josie Boland, Rob Garden, Michael Wood
- Technical Committee – Marquita Gelderman, Alan Horn
- Mapping Committee – Michael Wood, Nick Hann, Linley Earnshaw
- D-Squad Coordinator – Nick Smith
- Volunteer Training Coordinator – Neil Kerrison
Congratulations to all the appointees.
Orienteering NZ Vacancies
Orienteering NZ is still looking for members for the following panels and committees:
- Selection Panel – Senior – 1 member
- Technical Committee – 2 members
- Fixtures Coordinator
Full position descriptions for all these roles are available on the Orienteering NZ website.
Correction:
Nick Hann took out the World Cup Sprint M21E class, and Lizzie Ingham finished 3rd in the Oceania Middle M21E class and 12th in the World Cup final.
STOP PRESS – Junior Camp 2015
Auckland will be hosting Junior Camp this year. Please note due to the school calendar the camp will finish just a few days before Christmas. As soon as we have the accommodation confirmed we will be able to advise exact dates so you can get in early for your travel bookings.
“Cool, Awesome and Educational” – Primary School Resource
During last year some clubs in Sweden been running a project called “Skol-Sprinten” and so far it has been a great success.
The spin-off was they recognised the lack of both enough preparation time and knowledge to teach the children in orienteering in a fun and interesting way. A “web-book” called “Cool, Awesome and Educational” has been developed to address these issues. This book is for children at primary school (6-12 years) and you will find at the link below and you can download it free of charge:
English version:
http://np.netpublicator.com/netpublication/n03791623
Upcoming Events
21-22 March 2015 – JWOC Trials, Wairarapa
3-6 April – NZ Champs, Counties Manukau
16-18 April – North Island Secondary School Champs, Red Kiwi
18-19 April – South Island Secondary School Champs, PAPO
30 May – 1 June – Queens Birthday, North West
For more events check out the Orienteering NZ website
Orienteering NZ Annual General Meeting
The 2015 AGM will be held during the NZ Champs.
6.00pm Sunday 5 April
7:30pm Friday 3 April 2015
Wesley College, Paerata (Room TBC)
Nominations for the position of President and Vice-President are invited.Nominations to be forwarded to the General Manager no later than Friday 20 March 2015.
[Please note correction of date and time to 7:30pm Friday 3 April 2015 for Orienteering NZ AGM]
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