ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA
Orienteering Development
A Newcomer Pathway? Ben Rattray, OA Director (Development)
I hear it often, “How can we convert street orienteers to the bush?”
W
e have an advantage in Australia over many countries in that we have been so willing to utilise urban Orienteering events, and in our biggest cities we see large numbers of participants. Our bush events (apart from Championships and carnivals) are typically less well attended, and many of us wonder how we can get some of this large number of participants out to more of our bush events. I don’t know what the answer is, nor do I think it is always possible, nor desirable, but it must be possible to some degree. I don’t think we do enough to encourage the transition between street and bush Orienteering. I remember only one flyer handed out whilst entering a street event promoting another event, and I remember very few posters or message boards with eye catching promotions. That is in around 10 years of regularly attending (some of) these events in Australia. Whilst there are often helpers at events, and we show friendliness towards the self-proclaimed newcomers, I feel we could do more. I’m not sure what exactly but we do need to ensure a non-threatening environment to beginners (being somewhere they know and easy to get to, having appropriate standard of courses, ensuring the right people are there to assist, coach and instruct the beginners). I am sure that the experience newcomers have at their first or first few events is critical for future participation. But then what? Why would a street orienteer go bush Orienteering? There are many barriers to overcome, not least the time and travel to a bush event. And if you do not know what to expect, whether you will enjoy it or not, these barriers are largely insurmountable. Another under-estimated barrier is the intimidating nature of Orienteering. There is a high skill component, navigating with a map, usually alone; and for bush events, in a foreign and unforgiving environment. Sure we cater for novices with easier navigation courses - but do they know that? Should they travel a long way for something they are unsure they will enjoy? Is there guidance to improve their skill level? Unfortunately the answer more often than not is “no”. I suggest there is a missing link, a missing stepping stone or pathway. School Orienteering programs overcome many of these limitations. Schools often use close areas repetitively to teach Orienteering skills. The school environment also has its own social networks, and the social side is important in any sports success, so Orienteering can be as successful as any other sport in the schools curriculum as it is often dependent on the skills of the educator. CATI (Come and Try It) events are our most common stepping stone for non-school groups. The incorporation of an acronym into the name suggests to me it is already not suitable for newcomers. At least change the name to Novice Orienteering, or something similarly simple and catchy. CATI events are often just normal basic events held on less inspiring areas (because it is not an “important” event like a Badge or State series) with normal courses and somebody in an orange vest. This is then expected to make it easy for a street orienteer to get enthusiastic about and engaged with bush Orienteering. Giving a participant a flyer, and getting them to turn up to a CATI event is certainly an easy way to try to promote bush Orienteering, but it is far from being the most effective way. The problem is that there is no program 32 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2008
which makes it easy for these people to make the step up to becoming properly integrated within the sport. What we need is a thoughtful participant pathway that makes it easy for beginners to get into and enjoy bush Orienteering. This article was provoked by an email conversation I recently had with Gareth Candy. Gareth (ex-Australian team member, National Coach, Executive Officer) now works for British Orienteering where many of the same issues of development exist. How to fully integrate newcomers into the sport (competing in bush events) is obviously an issue there and Gareth made a number of observations pertinent to the Australian scene. A potential solution advocated by Gareth is to hold a series of events specifically designed for beginners. Based in the same location every week, a core group of regular coaches impart advice and support, create a social atmosphere and design courses and exercises for beginners, not for regular orienteers. The venue is somewhat important and should be easily accessible, perhaps with additions such as changing rooms and food and drink options, ensuring it is competitive with many other sports in terms of a more constant location. The venue obviously needs to be mapped, and many very good locations spring to my mind in cities such as Ballarat, Bendigo and Canberra. Larger cities have many good options too and I can think of suitable areas in Melbourne and Sydney for instance, but access and friendly usable terrain are important considerations. Gareth asserts that “The keys to this, I think, are holding bush style events which are easy to get to, have good facilities, have the right instruction and coaching available for beginners and have courses and activities designed for beginners (not just the normal spectrum of courses that has little to inspire inexperienced participants). If you can get people involved and engaged here and sell them on how enjoyable and rewarding this more difficult style of Orienteering can be then there will be a far better conversion of street participants into [bush] orienteers, members and volunteers. The event should be designed with more of a spectrum of training exercises rather than courses with legs designed to allow participants to use basic principles to find the controls effectively.” The targeting of individuals is also less efficient than targeting groups. Many social groups form at street events and if this group can be convinced to sample a bush event together, there is a higher likelihood a few will stay on. Whether or not this particular model is the future is not important. The conversion of participants to bush orienteers needs a dedicated effort in order to reach its potential. A well structured and targeted pathway would be more successful than current practice.
Development Tips – Club Development Awards
Give your club the credit it deserves! If your club is actively developing the sport Orienteering Australia would like to hear from you. The bi-annual Club Development Award seeks to recognise club development initiatives across the Australian Orienteering community. Successful applications will be recognised through The Australian Orienteer, on the web and also receive up to $1000 for reimbursement towards the development project. Further details can be found at: www. orienteering.asn.au/promotion/ If you have any tips, PLEASE email them to: oa_development@netspeed. com.au. Good tips will be published with acknowledgements in subsequent editions. Development Resources Orienteering Australia is creating development resources. Everyone can access them through the Orienteering Australia website: www.orienteering. asn.au/promotion/devel/ Please take advantage of them and check regularly for updates.
