President’s Report

Orienteering Victoria President Carl Dalheim

WORDS CARL DALHEIM PHOTOS MARGI FREEMANTLE

Hi Folks, 2020 was a challenging year. The year started with fires continuing to burn up and down the east coast of the country, with tragic results for the environment and many communities. In Victoria, all significant fires were declared contained on February 27th. We all breathed a great sigh of relief, but little did we know that on January 25th Victoria had recorded their first COVID-19 case, and by March 25th, sadly, our first COVID-19 death. We had no idea of what lay ahead.

The year for myself and the board was vastly different to previous years. OV was extremely fortunate that the phenomenally successful Melbourne Sprint Weekend occurred in early March, by late March, our state calendar of events was a procession of cancellations. The national calendar was also impacted with the cancellation of the Easter Carnival and ultimately the Australian Orienteering Carnival. Additionally, in late March Rob Fell advised me of his intentions to move on to a different role outside the sport. As a board we decided to postpone replacing Rob; and I took on the tasks of dealing with various activities typically managed by Rob, including the pursuit of various government grants. The Victorian government provided several opportunities across the next 6 months for associations and clubs to pursue grant funding; and we were successful at every opportunity.

In parallel to the pursuit of grants, by the end of March, clubs and many individuals quickly responded to the challenge of lockdowns and restrictions. MapLink/DIY Orienteering had arrived on the website and across the course of many months this wonderful asset grew and provided the Orienteering community the perfect tonic for the soon to come ‘5km radius’. During the months of April and May Orienteering competitions in Victoria had effectively ceased. As we moved into June, restrictions eased – slightly – and there was a certain amount of optimism to the extent that AWOC, Bayside, CHOC and DROC were hosting training events; and Bendigo hosted several Bush Classics. Unfortunately, by the end of June case numbers were climbing, and at the end of June the ‘long lockdown’ began.

Fortunately for those living outside of Melbourne, restrictions were frequently different. On September 19th Bendigo held Bush Classic 23 at Mt Korong, followed by events at Myers Creek, Ironstone Hill, and Marong Forests. The regional clubs were back out in the forest. On November 2nd, the Melbourne based Park and Street Summer Series returned – Orienteering was officially back for everyone in Victoria.

Unfortunately, our elites and our school teams missed out on several opportunities in 2020. The cancellation of the Australian Orienteering Carnival meant that our schools team did not travel to Tasmania. The cancellation of international calendars impacted our junior and senior elites in foot Orienteering and MTBO, and anyone keen on travelling to masters events in Europe.

Despite COVID we had an opportunity, utilising our grant funding, to make some important adjustments to the administration of our sport; the delivery of our Sporting Schools program; and the re-invigoration of coaching. In July, the OV board had decided that the Executive Officer role was too broad, and that we needed to create a more specific role – OV Office Manager. In August, the recruitment process commenced and by late August we offered the role to Mel Kent. We had some great candidates, but the experience and knowledge demonstrated by Mel in the areas of business and finance made her an excellent choice. One of our grants included a project to reassess and adjust our financial systems, i.e. MYOB. Mel has proved to be fantastic in this area, and indeed all areas of the role, such that we now have simplicity and clarity of our financial position, and in partnership with Ruth Goddard and our treasurer, Stephen Collins, we are now on top of our finances and our general office activity. I meet weekly with Mel, and greatly appreciate her professionalism to the extent that is has made my role a lot easier. Mel, and her family, are very keen Park and Street Orienteers, and members of Yarra Valley. I am sure many of you know Mel from her Park and Street participation and given that Mel has indicated that she is keen to try some bush events hopefully more of you will get to know Mel and her family.

The reassessment of the Executive Officer position resulted in a second role – OV Schools Officer. The lockdown periods across Victoria had provided some space to re-define our Sporting Schools approach. David Jaffe and Brodie Nankervis represented Victoria on a national initiative to redefine the Sporting Schools offerings, including content for Secondary Schools. Brodie, along with Wendy Taverna and others were also working on a better approach to coaching for all participants from beginners to elites. Given this , it came as no surprise that Brodie successfully applied for the OV Schools Officer role; commencing in the role in October – just in time to assist schools in Term 4 and set things up for Term 1 of 2021 – phew, we were back on track with two great paid officers.

Despite a year of lockdowns, restrictions, and a daily flow – particularly during winter - of depressing media advice, the Victorian Orienteering community responded in an incredibly positive and energetic manner. Many events were held, and fantastic resources were developed. The Yearbook reflects this response, and despite the many gaps in the publication in comparison to previous years I am confident you will enjoy it, cheers Carl.