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LETTERS
From the President
IF you started orienteering when all events were of classic length in the bush and that’s what you want to do each weekend when you ‘go orienteering’, the chances are that you are hurting right now and perhaps even bewildered as to what ‘they’ are doing to ‘your sport’. However, there are now many people who ‘go orienteering’ without leaving the bush tracks or without even going into the bush. We have people who only ‘go orienteering’ in the parks and the streets or only ‘go orienteering’ riding a mountain bike – not to mention those who prefer to have the ground covered in snow – or to use a canoe or swim underwater. The fundamental principles of Orienteering lend themselves to many environments, different types of event and a variety of course lengths. It was logical that when orienteers chose to try to popularise their sport, they looked at many variations of what it means to ‘go orienteering’. But why seek to popularise Orienteering and destroy that charming existence of the Sunday morning 7 km. run through some wonderful Australian bush? Well, some people cannot go orienteering on Sunday mornings, some don’t want to run 7 km. and some don’t want to run in the bush – but they do want to orienteer and we need them to orienteer. We need participants to make our orienteering activities economically viable. We need to attract new participants to continue to justify our receipt of government funding. Government Depts have agendas we must help them fulfill and one is that more people participate in recreational activities. Of course for us, with participation comes sponsorship. We also need participants to become members to ensure the long-term viability of our clubs and associations that administer and conduct Orienteering events. Since Orienteering was introduced to Australia, our social environment has altered dramatically and Sunday is no longer the family day that it was. Employment patterns have changed for all groups. Community bodies of all types struggle for members to take on voluntary tasks. Orienteering Australia’s Statistical Summary of Orienteering Activities in Australia 1999 – 2003 provides information for us to consider as we plan our orienteering activities. Two observations stand out for me - the commonality of the demographic data about Members from state to state; particularly the fact that just 11% of Members are ‘Seniors’ whilst 57% are ‘Masters’. Isn’t this a good enough reason for us to attract more younger participants and to convert them to Members? At international level, the need for diversity in what it means to ‘go orienteering’ has been similarly recognized. There is competition with other sports for sponsorship, for publicity and for a berth in the Olympic Games. This diversity has manifested itself in three sets of world championships in foot Orienteering - long, middle and short – and activities such as the Park World Tour. These three sets of championships are now incorporated into our national and state event calendars. National rankings for elite orienteers now reflect performances at state championships in all three disciplines. Even the Easter 3-Day for the Elites has been modified to include a sprint component. While the changes are targeting our elite orienteers, there is a natural flow on affecting the rest of us. Some of the new concepts we will enjoy more than others, but by appreciating why the changes are occurring and adopting an attitude of being prepared to ‘give it a go’, each of us will be working towards strengthening the future of Orienteering. Keep spiking those controls.
Bob McCreddin The Australian Orienteer welcomes letters from members. Preference will be given to letters which are concise and which make positive points. The editor reserves the right to edit letters, particularly ones which are longer than 300 words.
Orienteering is not cheap for a twenty year old
WELL done David Bourne for his letter "Orienteering is not cheap for a twenty year old" (June). As a father of twin 18 year olds with great potential, I can only agree with the issues David raised. The geographic locations of our bush events makes access a real concern for any interstate visitor, particularly those that are in this age group, without licences or the financial means to survive (students etc). It is these locations however that attract many of us to the sport and keep us interested. The cost and convenience of flying across Australia, or even just across the border is improving all the time, however the entry fees, ground travel and accommodation component are another matter all together. During the recent carnival in Queensland over Easter, our juniors opted to compete in the elite class on one occasion for some added experience and competition but were required to pay full adult fees. Are they juniors or not? Camping is also difficult when flying is involved as you may be away for periods of up to ten days and have little opportunity to carry the required equipment to make such an experience at least semi-pleasurable, let alone find a site in close proximity to the event. Unfortunately I do not have the answers either, but I do agree with the notion of surveying those concerned. So how about it Bob McCreddin, as new national President will you tackle this issue head on and instigate some targeted research?
Allan Whitfield (WA)
Victorinox letter of the month
Allan Whitfield (WA) for his letter on the cost of orienteering.
Allan receives a Victorinox Voyager with 20 tools and features including a watch/ alarm/timer, retail value $109.95.
Bob McCreddin responds:
Two topics that Orienteering Australia has long left to individual state associations to decide are the definition of a “junior” and the fees for national events. This letter from Allan Whitfield is one of a series of messages that have reached Orienteering Australia on the issue of entry fees for juniors at national events. The matter will need to be considered collectively by the state associations through Orienteering Australia and due to widely differing state positions on the topic, the resolution will most likely have to wait until the December Conference – but perhaps states discussing fees now for national events over the next year or two will note the concerns being expressed.
Next issue
1 December 2004
Contributions deadlines Time-sensitive 22 Oct All other contributions 15 Oct
Park orienteers are the wrong crowd
I WONDER if we are falling into a trap of thinking that Orienteering is better served by catering for local occasional non-members instead of its membership. For example, out of the 61 events scheduled in the ACT for this year, the bulk of which are held on maps within the city limits, I plan to go to 13 only. So my question is where is the value in membership? And a related question is: where is the return to Orienteering for all this activity? The recent skew towards park Orienteering in the ACT had its roots in catering to school Orienteering. However school participation appears to have dwindled to a handful of kids from just two schools only. The reason these events survive now is because they are really easy to organise and they get good numbers and returns. The problem is that these events are not resulting in a trend to longer term recruitment of members and are consuming a disproportionate component of our limited monetary, mapping and volunteer resources from real Orienteering, out in the bush. So my question is why is park Orienteering our focus? We are over-catering to the wrong crowd. Park Orienteering definitely has its place during the hotter months and for staged publicity, but real orienteering is out in the bush. My view is there are two primary characteristics of our sport that attract and keep people to it: being out in nature and having a mental/physical challenge. These characteristics are being eroded by our overconcentration of limited resources on simple park maps so that when we do venture further out, we a reliant on the same maps and same areas, some of which are over 20 years old now. Orienteering in the ACT has become predictable and boring. The small gains achieved in terms of membership from park Orienteering are lost by over-use of the same areas on everdiminishing maps, in terms of accuracy. Turning this around by focusing on the strengths of our sport i.e. catering to the reasons why people like Orienteering is where our energies should be applied.
David Baker (ACT)
See editorial, June 2004,’ “Where do most people orienteer?” In Victoria it’s “In local parks and streets”.’ Ed.
AFTER busting my achilles tendon at the relays (which I hadn't even entered) on Good Friday at Easter in Queensland, the guys I was with dropped me off at the only medical place we could find, the hospital outpatients, on their way to the Saturday event. I waited there with others all day till 4 pm when the duty doctor announced that because of emergencies we were all likely to have to wait another five hours. No good for me. I was outside, just about to ride away, when I heard my name called. I raced back in. And things happened. Within 15 minutes I was being X-rayed, another 15 minutes I was with a doctor (who happened to hail from Tallangatta, Victoria, near Albury, NSW, my home town). He consulted a specialist and I was booked in for surgery at a private hospital 90 minutes later. Easter Saturday night! All that happened because an orienteer behind the counter had recognised me as I walked out. Thanks so much to that lady who shall remain anonymous here, because I don't know what I was going to do next. But just to tell you that because of your kind influence, three weeks after the operation I am unsore, unswollen, been bike riding and abseiling, massaging it three hours a day and planning on making a fast recovery. Thanks so much again,
Leigh Privett (Vic)
Caring for young children
WHEN I was a young elite orienteer, although that's a fast fading memory now, I never fully appreciated the little things that mean so much when you take a family with young children to an Easter Three Day carnival or an Australian Champs carnival. Things like parking close to the assembly area, a bit of shade, short walks to the start and, most of all, a welcoming place for the younger children to go when the parents are out doing their thing in the forest. This last point in particular really made it for us at Easter in Queensland. What a truly fantastic facility was provided for the children while mums and dads were out on the course. Sue and I want to really thank all the wonderful people involved in providing the great activities and welcoming environment for our children and all the others who enjoyed themselves at the crèche. It was much appreciated and something that made the kids really look forward to going out to the events each day.
Mike Dowling (Tas)
Dexter and Irina Palmer
ON behalf of my sister Heather and myself, I am writing to thank those orienteers who have provided sympathy and support since our parents, Dexter and Irena Palmer, were killed in a car accident on 28 March 2004 on their way home from an Orienteering event near Bendigo. I had not realised that Orienteering was more than just a sport, but rather a large and extended family. We became a part of this family back in 1984 when Dad dragged us up into the Adelaide Hills to try Orienteering. Despite not finding this first event, Dad was not deterred and we headed up into the Hills the following weekend. This time we found the event, ventured out into the bush and were hooked, joining Yalanga Orienteers. Dad soon launched himself into the administrative side of the sport, and over the years served as president of both Yalanga and OASA. He also assisted in organising many events, including the 1989 Easter 3 Days in Burra. Dad enjoyed the administrative side of Orienteering more than the actual racing. I suspect he was quite relieved when, a few years ago, his back prevented him from running any more. This meant he could legitimately concentrate on his great love of cycling, whilst continuing to dabble with Orienteering paperwork. Mum was always a fierce competitor at whatever sport she played, and with Orienteering she was no different. Although she claimed to have numerous ailments preventing her from running, she was certainly the fastest “walker” I’d ever seen. I’m sure those she raced against would agree. Mum was absolutely thrilled with her 2nd place as a W60 at the Oceania Championships. She was even more thrilled to be the current Albury Wodonga Champion eight years after me! However, as with Dad, Mum’s real love for Orienteering was
