Club and Association newsletter – September 2011

Below is the latest edition of the British Orienteering Club and Association newsletter.  We hope you find the content informative and if you'd like any further information about the topics please contact the National Office.

Club Annual returns and affiliation payments

At the end of July, British Orienteering wrote to all club secretaries detailing the requirements of the Annual Club return for all clubs wishing to be affiliated to British Orienteering in 2012. 

This Annual Club return was due by 1^stSeptember 2011. If your club has yet to return the details please can you do so, together with payment of the affiliation fee for 2012, ASAP. 

One of the requirements of the Annual Club return is details of the club membership fees for 2012. We will be commencing printing of the membership renewal forms w/c 19^thSeptember.  If there is a change in your club membership fees for 2012, and the details are not received via the Annual Club Return, to the National Office by 16^thSeptember 2011, then we will print the current 2011 club fees as known. 

Any subsequent changes in your club membership fees for 2012 will mean that members will have been sent renewal forms with the 2011 amounts and subsequently pay incorrect fees. Any changes in membership fees due to clubs in 2012 will need to be rectified by the club directly with the members and cannot be rectified by British Orienteering. 

Payments to British Orienteering 

Club membership and levy payments can now be made to British Orienteering electronically. 

The membership subscriptions account number is available to club membership secretaries and treasurers, so that they can remit the British Orienteering portion of any new member subscriptions collected by clubs, electronically. All that will be required is to add the club and new member surname as the descriptor on the payment. Also an electronic copy of the membership form will need submitting to info@britishorienteering.org.ukso staff can match payments to new members and add contact details onto the British Orienteering member database. 

Account details for membership subscriptions 

Account number: 10078050

Sort Code: 161730 

The event levies account details are available to club fixtures secretaries and treasurers, so that they can remit event levies electronically. All that will be required is to add the club and event registration number, (which is available to clubs on the web-based participation recording system) as the descriptor on the payment. It is important that levy payments are not made until the participation figures for the event have been updated in the web-based system. 

Account details for event levy payments 

Account number:10101567

Sort Code: 161730 

It is important that you use the correct account details for both membership and levy payments

Free local membership in first year joining available online

The online membership joining process on the British Orienteering website now recognises clubs who offer first year free membership to local members. Any newcomers joining these clubs will be able to do so by entering their details on the website. 

Association and Club conference

Clubs are asked to nominate delegates to attend the Association and Club Conference on Saturday 15^th October 2011 at the Eric Mensforth building of Sheffield Hallam University.

Invites extend to up to 2 members of each club and association that are chosen (by the club or association) to represent their views. Club/Association chairs or secretaries need to confirm the names of delegates attending on behalf of their club or association ASAP and by Monday 19^th September. Please email info@britishorienteering.org.ukand this will register their attendance.

Topics already on the agenda include: 

1. Whole Sport Plan 2013/2017

2. Committee structure and membership

3. Membership & Levy proposal for the 2012 AGM

4. Articles of Association proposal for the 2012 AGM

This is an opportunity for attendees to make their association or club views known on a variety of important and strategic matters and Board members look forward to gaining insight into thinking on these matters.

For more information, please see:

- Notice of Association and Club Conference

- Discussion papers for Association and Club Conference

- Expenses arrangements for delegates attending Association and Club Conference

If delegates would like to combine the conference with some orienteering, there are several orienteering events in and around Sheffield on the weekend of 15^th/16^th October.  For more information visit the British Orienteering fixture list. Organisers of the Compass Sport Cup final have agreed that any registered conference delegates, whose club has not qualified for the final, can run non-competitively at the event on Sunday 16^th October.  Any registered delegates wishing to take up this possibility should email Laura Martin LMartin@britishorienteering.org.uk for further details.

Regional Plans

British Orienteering has worked over the previous six months to develop a series of regional development plans to indicate the work that we intend to do over the next two years. These plans are now complete and can be viewed on the British Orienteering website http://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/page/regional_plans

British Orienteering has a vision of ‘More People, More Places, More Podiums’. These plans outline the areas that the Development programme will be delivering in, so that we can achieve this vision. The plans have been developed with regional staff and we have detailed our plans to a number of members; clubs; associations; the British Orienteering Development Committee and our national and local partners.

A series of Questions and Answers are also available to help you understand the plans and the programme.

The Regional Participation Managers will be in contact with clubs and members over the coming months to detail how this programme will be moved forward.

If you do have any further questions please contact the Development Manager, Edward Nicholas ENicholas@britishorienteering.org.ukor call the National Office on 01629 734042.

Course Organisers

British Orienteering is looking to appoint Course Organisers for our UKCC coaching courses from January-July 2012. Each course organiser will be fully supported in this role by National Office staff and requires no previous coaching experience. If you would like further information please contact Edward Nicholas, Development Manager on ENicholas@britishorienteering.org.uk

North West Orienteering Association Course in Media Relationships

The NWOA are holding a course for orienteering club members wanting to develop links with local Press and other media. 

Saturday 24^thSeptember 2011 atCatonVillage Hall, Lancaster 

This course will equip those interested in publicising the sport through local newspapers and other media with the skills required to do so. The emphasis will be on practical matters, to help newcomers get started and allow experienced “correspondents” to exchange ideas. It will cover: 

• Identifying local media – papers, radio, websites – and getting in touch
• What does the media want? How does that match what clubs can provide?
• What should the club be aiming to get from the media?
• Developing relationships with the local media
• Practical sessions on how to produce good, interesting, targeted copy, use of pictures etc.

The course leader is Richard Catlow, a professional journalist, former editor of local newspapers and long-standing member of PFO. Richard is also the current Chairman of the Society of Editors in the North West. He is well placed to match the goals of orienteering clubs needing publicity with the requirements of the local media. 

If you are interested in attending, please Email stephenround@msn.com

Cost: Free to NWOA club members, £20 to members of other clubs if spaces available. 

Interested in your club developing a Club Talent Squad?

If your Orienteering Club can identify approximately 10 – 15 athletes (of all ages) who may benefit from the development of a ‘Club Talent Squad’ section within the club, then British Orienteering would like to hear from your Club. 

Benefits of being a member of this project include an introduction to the Orienteer Development Pathway and assistance will be offered to your club coaches to help them with the design of suitable progressive sessions.  Additionally, those Orienteering Clubs will be able to benefit from small amounts of additional funding from British Orienteering to support them to understand ‘Long Term Athlete Development’. 

Please contact Sarah Hague for further information on SHague@britishorienteering.org.uk

Events Registration System

A new event registration system and fixtures list will be launched during September. Many of the changes to the system are based on feedback from club based on your experiences using the current system. We have optimised the new system to make registering events/ activities easier for Club Fixtures Secretaries and make it easier for newcomers and established orienteers to find an event/activity. We welcome feedback from members on the new system once it has been launched. 

British Orienteering is seeking a Chair for Events & Competitions Committee

As part of the committee structure review the Board of Directors is delegating responsibility to an Events & Competitions Committee to oversee the work associated with events and competitions in orienteering.  The next stage in implementing the review is to appoint a voluntary Chair of the Events & Competitions Committee. 

If you think this role may be of interest to you, more information is available by contacting Janine White at the National Office on JWhite@britishorienteering.org.uk

Staff news – Departure of British Orienteering Performance Director

Gareth Candy, Performance Director for British Orienteering, is to return to Australia at the end of the year. Gareth and his wife have decided for personal reasons that they wish to return to their home in Australia. Having worked and orienteered in Australia, Gareth brought considerable experience and a different perspective to the International Programme enabling him to successfully restructure and modernise the programme. Plans for the programme are in place for next year and we will shortly finalise the staffing requirements. Gareth will continue to implement these plans through to the end of 2011.

World Orienteering Championship 2015

The bid to host the World Orienteering Championships 2015 in Scotland was successful against what we understand to have been a strong bid from Sweden.

The Championships will be based in Inverness, Scotland during August 2015 and willutilisethe world class terrain along the Moray coast and in the Cairngorms National Park. The foundation of the British bid has been the strong partnerships which have developed between British Orienteering, the Scottish Orienteering Association, EventScotland, the Scottish 6 Days Event Company and the Highland Council.

EventScotland worked closely with Dave Peel, the Bid Director and their experience has been invaluable.

The Championships will be staged alongside and in conjunction with the Scottish 6 Days and together should make a fantastic event. Talks are in progress to bring television coverage to the Championships providing an excellent foundation on which to promote the sport.

Forestry Commission Agreement England & Wales

The national agreement for 2011 has been rolled forward into 2012. Both the Forestry Commission and British Orienteering recognize the need to put in place an agreement that is more fitting of the needs of both organisations. Unfortunately a restructuring of the Forestry Commission in England has meant that the development and consultation work that is required to establish a new agreement has had to be slowed down. It is now expected that a new agreement will be finalized for bookings made from the 1 January 2013.

In the meantime clubs are advised to make as many future bookings as is feasible to ensure the current fees areutilised.Details are available here

Juniors and urban orienteering

As a consequence of challenges by members British Orienteering has had to issue guidance regarding urban orienteering, risk management and U16s completing on urban courses.

It is stressed that British Orienteering has not instigated this guidance but has responded to parents and members. The guidance is for the benefit oforganisers, planners and clubs that have responsibility for the safety of participants. This guidance has been agreed with our insurers.

It is not appropriate for under 16s to be competing on courses that tempt them (or require) them to run across road(s) that contain traffic; roads with traffic management that included low speeds (15mph as on many campus) are acceptable but public roads are not. 16 year olds are considered to be adults by the law in this context and they can then accept responsibility for the crossing of such road – under 16 cannot. This does cause the problem for the M/W16 age class in that they can be split across this legal 16 years of age boundary.
Managed crossings of roads can be used to overcome this problem and I can confirm that there is no issue with parks and campus that contain no roads bearing significant traffic.

There are no such issues with 16 and older competitors although once again the risk assessment and management around the crossing or temptation to cross roads that are busy whilst racing are to be taken seriously and must be mitigated as much as possible. Where roads are busy we would expect courses to be planned to avoid the crossing of the busy roads unless via a controlled/managed crossing.

All competitors should be made aware of the risks and their responsibility in protecting themselves and the safety of others. For instance a person running around a ‘blind’ street corner is responsible for not colliding with another pedestrian and a person running across a road in such a way as to cause a road user to swerve and injury someone else (the driver or another pedestrian) is likely to be held responsible in that their actions caused the incident.

'More People, More Places, More Podiums'

For further information about orienteering please visit www.britishorienteering.org.uk