News Archive

News

Share  Tweet Friday 4th June 2021

Day 4: Volunteers' Week (1-7 June): Thank You to Caroline Mackenzie (CLOK)

British Orienteering is saying thank you to all who give endless hours of their time and energy to our sport every week. 

British Orienteering continues with expressing much appreciation and saying thank you to more individuals across the UK. 

------

In the 'Thank You Spotlight' is....

Caroline Mackenzie (Cleveland Orienteering Klub)

Caroline was awarded British Orienteering's Volunteer of the Year this year. 

Caroline Mackenzie - CLOK

Caroline is the current Cleveland Orienteering Klub (CLOK) Chair and through her leadership and personal volunteering has steered the club through one of the most difficult years imaginable. Her contributions through the year include:

  • Although JK2020 was cancelled, Caroline was a co-organiser of an individual day for which she led complex negotiations for access and was a driving force on the organising team.
  • Leading the development of a risk assessment that set out the way we could start providing (nearly) normal events once the first lockdown was eased. This involved planning the biosecurity of the entry system, parking, start, download, and toilet provision.
  • She organised a successful event in August 2020 to help club members get going orienteering again.
  • The club found it difficult to get landowners’ permissions for events on many of our areas in 2020. Caroline initiated the POC revitalisation and adoption programs and co-ordinated the effort to establish many Virtual Orienteering Courses (VOCs), and checked many of the control sites. The club now has about 40 VOC courses in 10 different locations.
  • Caroline led a successful grant application with the Orienteering Foundation to support the club contracting the services of a Club Development Officer. She also developed the appropriate contract documents and liaised with other clubs to benefit from their experience in this field. As the club’s age profile gets older, it is recognised that it is important to attract younger people into the sport.
  • She led an initiative to find a Schools Development Officer to replace the role of a club member who has retired after many years of service.
  • In 2019 the club placed orders with Oland and Noname for jackets displaying a club logo and silhouette of a local orienteering area. When they were delivered (from abroad) they had some mistakes and had to be returned. This involved a lot of work for Caroline to get the orders put right. Once this was done, she got all the pre-orders delivered to club members.

Members of CLOK Alan Cranke, Phill Batts, Duncan Archer, John Green, Peter Archer, say: 
"Caroline has worked tirelessly throughout the year to achieve two main objectives on behalf of the club.

Firstly, she has laid the basis for many club members to have the opportunity run in conventional (SI based) events or virtual orienteering courses. This has helped to maintain club membership.

She has also set in motion club development to help ensure future membership particularly by younger members and to increase participation."

British Orienteering would like to take this opportunity again Caroline to thank you for all your hard work and endless hours you give to your club and to the sport of orienteering. 

Is there anything you are particularly proud of which you would like British Orienteering to shine a spotlight on? 

Caroline, says:
"I'm really proud of what Cleveland Orienteering Klub has achieved since I became Chair in 2018, and particularly over the last year and a half. As well as doing a good job of getting back to putting on high-quality orienteering events as soon as the coronavirus restrictions allowed, the club has also found the time and energy to formulate and start implementing a strategy to secure its longer-term future. In particular, we've appointed a Schools Development Officer to revive and expand our schools development programme and obtained an Orienteering Foundation grant to help to fund a Club Development Officer to attract new people into orienteering in the Cleveland area to help to correct our ageing membership profile."

Caroline please tell us about your volunteering journey and what motivates you?  
"​I get a lot of satisfaction from knowing that I've made a contribution towards the success of my local club and played a role in enabling so many people to enjoy our wonderful sport."

------

Caroline has also asked British Orienteering to highlight that their club have an upcoming June O-Holiday weekend near Whitby.
"It should be a fun weekend!"

Please find details below.

Acorn event weekend - 12th/13th June

Don't forget our Acorn O-holiday weekend near Whitby is coming up.

  • Saturday 12 June (afternoon): short distance event at Aislaby Moor - a new area mapped by Paul Taylor, and planned by Cat Taylor, details.
  • Sunday 13 June: Middle distance race at Hutton Mulgrave & Skelder - using courses adapted from the cancelled JK 2020 relay, planned by Chris Wright, details.

"Maybe it is time to think about getting the tents out of the garage or get a B&B booked!"

British Orienteering would like to take this opportunity to say a big "THANK YOU" to all volunteers within our sportand for for what you do; committee members, coaches, planners, controllers, tea-makers, car-parking stewards, mappers, organisers, volunteers who put out controls, volunteers who collect back in the controls after an event......the list goes on! 

You are the lifeblood of our sport.  You are at the heart and soul of orienteering - and make it happen week after week.  There so many roles which are all important.  However you contribute to our sport of orienteering, British Orienteering wants to take this opportunity during National Volunteers' Week to say Thank You!  

#VolunteersWeek
Join in the celebrations!  Who are you going to personally say thank you to in your club or further afield?

Don't forget to include British Orienteering in all of your club or personal social media posts:
https://twitter.com/gbrorienteering
https://www.facebook.com/britishorienteering

#VolunteersWeek 

#Orienteering  

Top