RUNNING THE BUSINESS

What is Orienteering?

ONE of the perennial debates at any discussion on developing Orienteering is “What is Orienteering?” Many of the purists argue that the only true Orienteering is ‘bush’ orienteering, undertaken by individuals finding their own way around a course, using only a map and compass. That might have been the situation when the sport was introduced into Australia in the 1970s, but the sport has evolved a lot since then.

As articles in recent editions of The Australian Orienteer have indicated there has been a boom in street and park Orienteering in all States and Territories. The reason for this boom is multifarious. Probably the first is convenience. Many people are time poor and they look for something that they can fit into a short period of time. Another is that while it is challenging, it is not threatening.

How many orienteers can remember the first time that they were really lost in a complex bush area? And how they wondered if they would ever reach civilization again? I can recall the first time I ran on maps like Little Bombay, near Braidwood, and Inverary, near Bungonia, both in NSW. Both maps have large areas of vague sameness. On both occasions I had very long legs, about 2.5 kms, and I remember losing touch with the map for long periods. I began wondering when I would ever see something that I would recognise. I wasn’t overly concerned - more embarrassed. But for many people such situations can be threatening and as John Earle (at least I think it was him) told a National Development Conference in the 1990s, 85 per cent of the population is risk averse.

So rather than talk about street and park Orienteering, I prefer the term ‘convenient recreational’ Orienteering. Convenient because it is, and recreational because it is non-threatening. This form of Orienteering generally encourages participation by groups of two, three or more.

Niche Markets

I also describe it as a ‘niche market’ and in the family of sports based on navigation, there are a number of niche markets, with street and park Orienteering being just one. Apart from that and straightforward bush Orienteering, there is mountain bike Orienteering, Rogaining and the newly created Adventure Racing. And within bush Orienteering, we now have many variations in terms of competition and training formats.

For example we have Sprint, Middle and Long-distance events, each of which has different course planning requirements and competition techniques. In addition we have Relays, Score, Line, Window and Map Memory events. Every discipline or format does not appeal to everyone, but there is sufficient interest to ensure staging different events will attract a reasonable number of entries. The current growth seems to be at the opposite ends of the scale: in the cheap convenient recreational Orienteering and the expensive Adventure Racing, with bush Orienteering remaining reasonably stable, somewhere in the middle.

What those within Orienteering must recognise is that niche markets exist and if the sport is to survive and grow, those managing the sport much ensure that they cater for all niche markets and the rank and file orienteers, especially aficionados of bush orienteering, must accept that there are different forms of Orienteering, not just one. I admit to being one of those whose main and abiding interest is in bush Orienteering. I seldom do any street Orienteering and I have never been mountain bike Orienteering or Rogaining, but I recognise that many people enjoy those events and they should be encouraged. The survival of Orienteering depends on healthy niche markets.

The Challenge for Bush Orienteering

The real challenge for bush Orienteering is to be able to maintain a calendar of sufficient quality events to retain interest in it. More and more Clubs and States are reporting difficulties in staging events. The difficulties include access to suitable areas as both public and private organisations deny access, and recruiting sufficient volunteers who are prepared to go the distances required to plan high quality courses. But that is a topic for another day.

IOF World Rankings

The International Orienteering Federation World Ranking Scheme is based on points scored at World Ranking Events, full details of which can be found at http://www.orienteering.org/. The current standings for men and women are given in the following tables:

World Ranking for Men

1 Valentin Novikov RUS 2 Mats Troeng SWE 3 Thierry Gueorgiou FRA 4 Holger Hott Johansen NOR 5 Jani Lakanen FIN 6 Johan Näsman SWE 7= Anders Nordberg NOR 7= Daniel Hubmann SUI 9 Øystein Kvaal Østerbø NOR 10 Mats Haldin FIN 29 Grant Bluett AUS 51 David Shepherd AUS 69 Troy de Haas AUS 72 David Brickhill-Jones AUS

World Ranking for Women

1 Simone Niggli-Luder SUI 2 Karolina Arewång-Hõjsgaard SWE 3 Jenny Johansson SWE 4 Tatyana Riabkina RUS 5 Minna Kauppi FIN 6 Hanne Staff NOR 7 Heli Jukkola FIN 8 Karin Schmalfeld GER 9 Vroni Koenig-Salmi SUI 10= Emma Engstrand SWE 10= Dana Brozkova CZE 51 Jo Allison AUS 64 Natasha Key AUS 66 Hanny Allston AUS 122= Tracy Bluett AUS 122= Allison Jones AUS 129 Danielle Winslow AUS

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

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.