On August 2nd, the Red Kiwi Orienteering Club hosted the second Manawatū Schools’ Relay Championships. This year, we saw participation from 246 students across 25 schools, marking an increase of 60 students and 6 new schools from last year. Leading up to the event, club members visited interested schools to teach orienteering skills through classroom sessions and practical runs.

To ensure a successful “grand finale” for our school’s training program, we needed a beginner-friendly venue. The Victoria Esplanade in Palmerston North was ideal as it is central, accessible, and suitable for our needs. We secured permissions from the Palmerston North City Council and the Victoria Esplanade Miniature Railway Committee to use the area and its base map, which is also used for the Manawatū Individual Champs. We carefully designed the courses to avoid road crossings for Primary and Year 7/8 students, ensuring safety with secondary students crossing roads only at manned crossings. Given the Esplanade’s popularity for walking, biking, and its busy playground, we took precautions by briefing students and placing ample signage to inform the public about the event.

Reflecting on the event, we identified areas for improvement, such as adding more early course splits and simplifying parts of the primary course. Lessons learned from last year’s relay, including the need for shorter courses, helped us run a smoother event. This year, we successfully increased high school participation from 2 to 7 schools. 

Feedback from teachers and parents was overwhelmingly positive:

Teacher response: “We have been coming to the Red Kiwi events and courses set up at various schools all year – they have been awesome to help build confidence and skills.” We are loving this sport and I have more students wanting to participate next year”.

Parent comment: “I loved seeing so many kids giving orienteering a go in a really fun event. The relay format kept it interesting the whole race as you didnt know if teams had started with their fastest or were saving them to last. The esplanade is a really cool location to host the event especially for those new to the sport. I  enjoyed seeing the friendly rivalry between the teams and the huge sense of achievement that especially some of the younger kids got once they had completed the course. The whole event had a great vibe and was really well run. My own kids had a great time.”

The event’s success was largely due to the support from the local community, including a grant from Sport Manawatū. Special thanks go to volunteers like Jane and Phillip Herries from Hawkes Bay, and to the teachers who promoted orienteering within their schools. The enthusiasm of the students was also vital feedback for the Red Kiwi Orienteering Club.

From my experience, attracting younger audiences involves clear communication about orienteering. Our school training sessions have been effective in boosting youth participation, focusing on fun and engagement. Afternoon sessions at host schools, followed by open courses for interested kids and families, have proven successful in drawing new participants. Additionally, our ‘Have-a-go’ day provided a welcoming introduction to orienteering for all skill levels, with effective promotion being key to its success. Our key focus was making it fun! We generally ran an afternoon session at a hostschool in school time and then the course was opened up to others to come along. Running school training sessions and events is highly rewarding. It has allowed me to see many kids discover, improve, and enjoy orienteering, while also engaging with their peers in the sport.

By Jakob Abernethy
redkiwischoolstraining@gmail.com