4 minute read
THE CHAIRMAN’S PAGE
MIKE DOWLING –
BOARD CHAIRMAN, ORIENTEERING AUSTRALIA
After a most successful Easter 3 Days, the COVID-19 pandemic has again impacted on our capacity to conduct our sport. As I write this column NSW and QLD are in lockdown, and the New Zealand authorities have implemented an 8 week quarantine against travel across the Tasman. Our already postponed national championships carnival from 2020 scheduled for Tasmania at the end of September will be impacted. It is highly unlikely we will have a New Zealand contingent being able to travel as well as some States not being able to enter Tasmania. The only basis now for the Championships week to not go ahead though is if the Tasmanian State Government imposes restrictions that will prevent the Championships week from being able to proceed. It is not feasible to postpone these Championships once again. It is hoped that the COVID situation will improve to allow a reasonable level of participation. The Tasmanian organisers have a strong COVID safe plan in place to provide as safe an environment as possible for participants. The OA Board continues to monitor the situation and work closely with the Tasmanian organising committee to ensure a safe Championships week. Speaking of the impact of the COVID pandemic on our sport, the IOF were able to hold the World Championships in the Czech Republic in early July. Unfortunately, it was the first time since the early 70’s that no Australian representation was present. A highlight of the World Championships for those of us in this part of the world was the bronze medal for New Zealand’s Tim Robertson in a most technically challenging Sprint in the grounds of an old castle. Unfortunately, the IOF subsequently reported about a dozen COVID19 cases from the conduct of the Championships. The new OA Board has now well settled into our work. We have several participation focused projects in place, many of which are in partnership with member States, as a result of support from Sport Australia. One of the more important projects is to continue to develop Eventor to further improve its usability for new orienteering participants and to make it easier for event organisers to readily input accurate result data across the diversity of event types we run across Australia. Having accurate member and participation data is fundamental in being able to know how our sport is progressing and to be able to acquit funding support provided by Sport Australia. The Board has formed a small working group to develop a new strategic plan for Australian orienteering for the period 2022-2024. It is anticipated this will be shared with member States in the coming months for consultation and feedback. The other major work in progress is the implementation of a new coaching framework. This has been a major undertaking, led by Brodie Nankervis. The Board thanks Brodie for his brilliant work in re-framing what coaching can look like for Australian orienteering. Following feedback from a reference group and Sport Australia, the Board has signed off on the framework at its most recent meeting and has formed a small working group under the leadership of Hanny Allston to move the framework into the implementation phase. The OA Board has been conducting monthly hook-ups with our member States on a needs basis. At our last meeting, we have agreed upon a framework for a unified national membership model such that we will have a consistency of membership types across Australia. A working group has been formed to finalise the details of the new model with a view to implement the new model for the 2022 year. From a personal standpoint, I am delighted that we are moving towards a unified national membership structure. We are a small sport in the greater context of Australian sport and it makes no sense for us to have different membership models across each State. In closing, stay safe, get your COVID vaccination when you can and, when you get the chance wherever you are, get out and enjoy all that our fantastic sport has to offer.
