Junior Development

Junior Development

Every Junior Matters

British Orienteering is committed to ensuring orienteering offers a satisfying and accessible sport to juniors and families.

In 2018 British Orienteering launched a new Youth strategy 'Every Junior Matters'. Based on several months of research, consultation and testing of ideas. The funding for this work comes from Sport England who have a strategy “Towards an Active Nation” for 2016-21, encouraging the population to be more active.

Objective
The objective of this strategy is to raise junior membership and participation to a third of overall membership and participation by 2025.

The strategy is available in two versions:

Youth Strategy (Short Version) - provides an overview of the strategy and the main actions linked to achieving the outcomes.

Youth Strategy (Full Version) - provides more detail on the aims and objectives of the strategy as well as background information supporting the strategy implementation.

Youth Strategy Implementation Report - Year 1

Junior Development Framework

Following discussions initiated by a number of members at the Club and Association Conference in October 2015, a Junior Development Meeting was organised in March 2016. Over 25 clubs shared updates pertaining to their development initiatives and progress. This gave a broader perspective on the successes and challenges faced across the sport for clubs in England. Further conversations highlighted that these are consistent with other clubs across the UK.

In order to continue to drive forward this work and to create a focus for the Families and Juniors Development Working Group for England was set up. The group's remit was to look at best practice for engaging juniors and share it across the sport.

The Junior Development Framework is the result of that work based on information supplied by a number of clubs that displayed growth in membership and a high percentage of juniors as a total of their overall membership. 

The Framework presented at the 2016 Club and Association Conference, layouts principles and an approach that has been proven to deliver increases in junior participation and membership by a number of clubs from across the UK including South Yorkshire Orienteers, Moravian Orienteers and Happy Herts among others.

The Junior Development Framework is available here:

Junior Development Framework

The Framework continues to be a work in progress and clubs looking to replicate this type of activity are encouraged to contact Craig Anthony, Head of Development canthony@britishorienteering.org.uk 07342 882530.