ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA 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 Schools Liaison Statisticians Wendy Read QLD 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: • Ian Hassall (NSW) for the Silva Medal (Orienteer of the Year) for 2004 • Blake 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. • Warren Key (VIC) for services to Australian Orienteering Coaching.

This was in recognition of his contribution as National Senior Coach from 1999-2003.

Member Protection

What is it?

Dave Lotty, AO Director (Administration)

AT 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 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.

National Orienteering Day

Sunday 1 May 2005 was National Orienteering Day and as I collate the results from the events held I have the impression that the Day was a most successful one. I was pleased that on the Day we had 18 events scheduled, with at least one in each State and Territory.

While other countries, Sweden, Switzerland, the USA have held National Orienteering Days, this was a first for Australia.

The purpose of a National Orienteering Day is to focus on providing opportunities for people to ‘Give Orienteering a Go’ at an ideal time of the year. Early May is the ideal time in most parts of the world to go Orienteering and in most of Australia it is especially good as the weather is cool, yet not cold and there are usually plenty of follow-up events during the rest of May and in June.

While I could have done more to promote the Day, it was a matter of priorities and I simply did not have the time in the months leading up to it. Nonetheless some States seized the opportunity to use the Day to their advantage.

Queensland used it to seek a grant from the Brisbane City Council to promote an ‘activeandhealthy’ lifestyle; Tasmania used it to launch the Australian Championships Carnival and Western Australia used it to seek funds for top elites Jo Allison and David Shepherd to visit the State to conduct clinics.

Each State reported to the 2005 National Development Conference (Canberra 30-31 May) on how the Day went for them. Regardless of the number of new orienteers National Orienteering Day attracts, I would like to keep it going as I consider that in time it will gain better recognition and be a source of recruits and publicity for our sport.

Junior Sport Framework

The 2005 National Development Conference was held in Canberra on 30-31 May. Each State had at least one representative. One of the key activities was to start the process of developing a national Junior Sport Framework. The ASC has recommended that all national sporting organizations develop such a framework and has provided guidelines and a template for developing such.

The ASC has recommended that NSOs develop strategies under nine headings: • Long Term Involvement • Getting Young People Involved • Physical Growth and Maturation • Sport Pathways • Forming Links • People Making It Happen • Quality Coaching • Making Sport Safe • The Law and Sport

However, it is not essential to use all of the headings and Swimming Australia has developed a national policy with the following headings: • Getting young people involved for the long-term • Swimmer development and pathways • Forming links • Quality coaching of junior swimmers • Making swimming safe

Swimming Australia has released a brochure on its strategies and Orienteering could benefit from having a close look at it, as there are a number of issues that are common to both sports, but Orienteering Australia will not be seeking a quick solution. The aim will be to consult widely both within and outside of the sport with the aim of presenting the final version of the framework to the OA Annual Conference in December 2006, with it to come into effect progressively during 2007. Coincidentally, 2007 is the year when Australia will be hosting the World Junior Championships (JWOC 2007). A draft will be presented to the 2005 Annual Conference in December.

Books on orienteering

There are a great number of books on all aspects of orienteering. For a list and prices contact:

Orienteering Services of Australia

44 Alexandra Parade, Clifton-Hill VIC 3068 Phone (03) 9489 9766 Email info@macson.com.au

Have you already registered f O-zine?

O-zine is an international on-line/e-mail orienteering magazine published 4-6 times a year. You can now receive an e-mail notification whenever a new issue of O-zine is released. To register, just fill in the form at http://www.orienteering.org/headline.htm and press the 'Subscribe' button. Enjoy reading your O-zine! International Orienteering Federation Radiokatu 20, FIN-00093 SLU, FINLAND www .orienteering .org

Do you have an insurance policy with EIG Ansvar?

The arrangement between EIG Ansvar and Orienteering Australia includes the provision that OA receives commissions, of 15% on house and contents insurance and 5% on motor insurance. OA uses the proceeds to help fund international teams.

Obviously EIG Ansvar can credit commissions to OA only when the person taking out the policy tells them he/she is an orienteer. New Policy notices and Renewal notices record this notification, so when you get one, please check that it says the policy is under the OA arrangement. If you find that OA is not mentioned on your Insurance documentation, please contact EIG-Ansvar and advise them of the need for the policy to be amended to record the OA connection. EIG-Ansvar can be contacted by email:- insure@eigansvar.com.au or write to EIG-Ansvar Limited, GPO Box 1655N Melbourne, 3000 Victoria. EIG-Ansvar will be pleased to hear from you and will immediately make any necessary changes. The information required by EIG-Ansvar is: Your Name, Address and Policy number/s.