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North Wiltshire Orienteering Club capture hundreds of newcomers

North Wiltshire Orienteers capture hundreds of newcomers with lottery-funded partnership

After the success of the Beat the Street game in Swindon, in January 2019 North Wiltshire Orienteers partnered with Intelligent Health for two fun family events that saw hundreds of newcomers enjoying Street Orienteering for the first time.

In 2018, Beat the Street (funded by the National Lottery and Swindon Borough Council) saw thousands of people navigating around their towns earning points by tapping special electronic cards on units called Beat Boxes, usually attached to lampposts. The game, designed to encourage families to be more active, had obvious similarities to orienteering, and of the towns where Beat the Street ran, Swindon had the highest participation numbers. North Wiltshire Orienteers’ Membership Secretary and Coach Ken Stimson saw a great opportunity to tap into this enthusiasm and offer more fun events for local families.

“We made contact as soon as Beat the Street arrived and offered to run an orienteering maze at their final prize-giving. Organising follow-up activities are part of Beat the Street’s mission for which they have funding. So they welcomed our idea of two Beat the Street orienteering events and we benefitted from access to their very large number of local contacts” said Ken Stimson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Including the familiar Beat Boxes at the start, finish, and one mystery location on the course, participants navigated using urban orienteering maps. On offer was a popular, non-competitive ‘go-as-you-please’ approach, locating as many controls as they wanted and earning points for each, or the challenge of a score event with an hour time limit. Over two Saturdays, more than 200 men, women, babies and dogs braved the January drizzle to explore Swindon’s Old Town and Haydon Wick areas.

“We’ve never seen such a fantastic turnout for an informal Street Orienteering event before, and it was wonderful to see so many families who had never orienteered before enjoying themselves. Working with Beat the Street gave us the opportunity to reach a wide audience and showcase the joy of this sport, and Intelligent Health were fantastically supportive”, said Hannah Phillips, North Wiltshire Orienteers’ Publicity Officer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

North Wiltshire Orienteers have run further Beat the Street-inspired events since which saw several families and individuals continuing their newfound interest in the sport. With even more events planned for the summer and into 2020, the positive impact of the partnership looks set to continue for years to come.

Family taking part in Beat the Street Orienteering
Beat the Street-inspired event
One family attending

Photo credits:  Hannah Phillips, North Wiltshire Orienteering Club

 

 

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