OFFICIAL NEWS Annual General Meeting The AGM of Orienteering Australia was held in Jindabyne, NSW on 27th March during the Easter Carnival. Representatives of all States and a number of observers attended the meeting where the main business was the adoption of the Annual Report and Annual Financial Report for 2004 and the election and appointment of officers of OA for 2005. OA Board President Bob McCreddin WA Director (Administration) Dave Lotty NSW Director (Finance) Kathy Liley VIC Director (Development) Bob Mouatt ACT Director (Technical) Andy Hogg ACT Director (High Performance) Michael Dowling TAS Committee Chairpersons Coaching Nev Bleakley ACT Development & Participation vacant Events Hugh Cameron VIC High Tech Ron Pallas NSW Mapping Noel Schocknecht WA MTB Orienteering Blake Gordon VIC Publications David Hogg ACT Ski Orienteering vacant Technical Dick Ogilvie NSW Other Appointments Auditor Colin Morgans VIC Badge Scheme Secretary John Oliver NSW Public Officer Bob Allison ACT
Member Protection What is it? Dave Lotty, AO Director (Administration)
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T the Orienteering Australia Annual Conference in December the States all adopted a standard Member Protection Policy (as set by the Australian Sports Commission) to provide guidelines for the protection of the health, safety and well being of all Orienteering Australia members and those who participate in Orienteering whether organised by a State Association or a club. The complete policy may be found on the OA website http://www.orienteering. asn.au under Administration, Operational Manual at Leaflet 4.10. The Policy sets out the procedures to be followed in dealing with harassment, discrimination and other misconduct in an effective, appropriate and timely manner. It provides a procedure for informal and formal resolution of complaints and applies to committee members, employees, coaches, officials and competitors. It will require OA, States or clubs employing people (in a paid or voluntary capacity) who will or are likely to travel away with orienteers under 18 years of age, or are likely to have individual and unsupervised contact with orienteers under 18 years of age, to be screened by obtaining a police check. The purpose of the Police Check is to see whether the person has any previous relevant criminal convictions. If the Police Check reveals that the person has committed any criminal offences involving a serious sex offence, assault against a person or an offence that in any way involved persons under 18 years of age, then they must not be appointed. It also proscribes harassment, discrimination or other misconduct in any form. Harassment is any behaviour that is offensive, abusive, belittling or threatening and which is directed at a person or a group of people because of a particular characteristic of that person or group of people. The behaviour must be unwelcome and the sort of behaviour a reasonable person would recognise as being unwelcome and likely to cause the recipient to feel
54 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER JUNE 2005
Dave Lotty, Director (Administration)
Schools Liaison Wendy Read QLD Statisticians Darryl Erbacher ACT & Bruce Arthur VIC Other items of interest included: • Adoption of the 2005-08 OA Operational Plan • Adoption of the 2006 subscription rate for The Australian Orienteer at $4.10 per copy ($16.40 per year). This is a 10c per copy increase over 2005. • From 2008, all Australian Championships (Long, Middle, Sprint and Relay) will be scheduled on two successive weekends (with the possible use of the intervening Friday). The actual program make-up will be at the discretion of the organising State. • Adoption of an Orienteering Australia Athlete of the Year Award. The first award for 2004 was made to Adrian Jackson VIC. • Adoption of the National League Funding proposal with minor amendment to the conditions for support for 2005 only.
Silva Orienteering Awards Each year OA awards three trophies made available by Silva. The trophies were presented at the Australian 3-Days to: • I an Hassall (NSW) for the Silva Medal (Orienteer of the Year) for 2004 •B lake Gordon (VIC) for services to Australian Orienteering. The award was made to recognize Blake’s contributions (among others) as Organiser of the World MTBO Championships in 2004. •W arren Key (VIC) for services to Australian Orienteering Coaching. This was in recognition of his contribution as National Senior Coach from 1999-2003.
offended, humiliated or intimidated. Whether or not the behaviour is Harassment is determined from the point of view of the person receiving the Harassment. Discrimination is treating or proposing to treat a person less favourably than someone else in certain areas of public life on the basis of an attribute or personal characteristic they have. Misconduct includes conduct at an event that brings Orienteering into disrepute, damage to property at an event, consuming alcohol (if under 18) or being drunk and disorderly at any activity held or sanctioned by an Orienteering organization, or other disruptive behaviour. To protect the health, safety and well being of all the people participating in Orienteering, Orienteering Australia has developed a number of Codes of Behaviour which are set out in the Policy. There are a General Code of Behaviour and Codes of Behaviour for Participants, Administrators, Coaches, Officials, Parents and Spectators Any person may make a complaint about a person to whom the Policy applies, if they consider that person has committed a breach. The complaint should be made to a Member Protection Officer (MPO). The Australian Sports Commission maintains contact details for most MPOs on its web site at http://www.ausport.gov.au/ethics/ memprot.asp. Not all are listed on the ASC web site as some opt not to be named on it. Five orienteers are currently listed on the ASC web site. It is not necessary for the complainant to lodge a complaint with a MPO in the same State or within the same sport. The policy is now in place for your protection so if you consider you have been the subject of any form of harassment, discrimination or other misconduct, do not be afraid to use the policy and its procedures and processes to protect your interests. Should you have difficulty in locating an appropriate MPO or have any inquiries regarding other matters relating to the policy you may seek help from AO Director (Administration), Dave Lotty, AO Director (Development) Bob Mouatt, or the ASC by calling (02) 6214 1111 and asking to speak with somebody in the Ethics in Sport Unit.
