Looks like we’ve just punched through another month! We are in the thick of our regional championships. I had the pleasure of attending the Pokopū Champs last weekend near Whanganui, racing around in the beautiful forest maps of Knottingly and Koitiata. It was so neat to see two traditionally smaller clubs (Red Kiwis and Hutt Valley) come together to put on the weekend with Red Kiwis taking the lead, supported by Hutt Valley organising all the starts. 

Increasing club capability came through as a key priority from members at our Club Forum earlier in the month, along with figuring out how commercial operations can fit into our volunteer and club based model. It was great to hear the ideas for what orienteering could look like in 2030 and that members were supportive of the draft strategy. The words participants left the meeting with when asked for one word that captures how you feel about the future of orienteering were: enthusiastic, innovative, potential, optimistic, encouraging, challenging, resonance, AIMS games double, reindeer, a unique sport, it’s time to go to the next level, hopeful, continuous improvement, exciting, positive, possibilities. 

At our Board meeting Greg Bacchus gave us a tour of O-Zone and we discussed ideas (there are many) for the next items for development. Even though we’ve had a look ourselves it was amazing to have a tour with Greg. If you haven’t had a look then definitely check it out. We’re working through how to prioritise all the ideas and will let you all know via Compass Point when there is another opportunity to get involved with O-Zone’s development