Discussion: IOF Biennial Report

Curious what people find interesting in the biennial IOF report, and perhaps in the report from the XXVII Congress.

OK, here's what is catching my eye:

• A strategic initiative for 2012-18 is "increase the attractiveness of orienteering to young people"
  
  
  
  • In 2014, a webpage will be established to help teachers and clubs working with young people and beginners. Is this out yet?
    
  
  
• Televization has been a big push
  
• Annually the IOF takes in and spends around 500,000 and has about 250,000 in the bank. I presume those are euros.
  
• Olympics are still a major goal, and IOF has expanded into military and university sports events, and continues to hobnob with IOC people where possible.
  
  

Interesting = not knowing :)

A few points where I didn't find answers or have some thoughts.


+++ Congress +++
• 14.1. Amendments to the IOF Statutes
On IOF webpage is available only old Statutes from 2010

• IOF Media Officer Clive Allen (GBR)
Is this semi/part time job or volunteering? Why not to mention the job responsibility on website under the IOF Office.


+++ Report +++
• Since the 2012 General Assembly five new members – Iran, Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Uganda, and Nepal – have joined the IOF, taking the membership to 78, of which 53 are members and 25 provisional members.
IOF has 21 members with "extended provisional membership" and it would be nice to know what is the status of their activities and what actions IOF plan to do till next congress in order to not loose them. I very much like the presentations of countries in Inside Orienteering and it would be very easy to put each media article link (PDF) also under National federation official data. IOF also collect data about registered orienteers, #clubs, starts,.. and it would be nice to publish these data here as well with tables how these numbers changed over the years within each country and in total by all IOF members.

• A project has been launched to help the provisional members develop towards “full” membership.
Who is in charge and what the project includes? I read somewhere about start package or it was Sportident start package for new members. Anyone know what includes?

• Number of volunteers
There is a list of number of volunteers by countries. Those people are very important for IOF and I would suggest a separate subpage for volunteers. A more structured information as it was done by MC http://lazarus.elte.hu/mc/correspondents/c.htm To have on one page: articles of them in IOF magazines, time served, erea, IOF awards and some general information about what IOF expect (time,..) when someone volunteering for IOF. To promote volunteering and when IOF seeks new ones for promotion at WOC, etc. It would be nice to have a title: IOF promoters so in each country there will be a few persons who will have time to promote orienteering and execute specific tasks prepared in cooperation with, national federation and IOF.

• IOF Office rent
Profit and Lost statement does not reveal this. How much IOF has spent for rent over the years?

• The Map Commission has evaluated maps from major IOF events in all disciplines. The reports are available on the IOF website.
On webpage there are only reports from 2006-2010. Where is possible to find the reports for 2011-13?


+++ Activity Plan 2014-2016 +++
• 10 provisional members given support
What kind of support they already got or they can expect to get?

• 5 of 24 provisional members shall become full members
If this will happen then IOF will loose at least 16 members with "extended provisional membership" in 2016. The goal should have been to not loose anyone. By statutes: "The IOF Council may determine to extend further the period of provisional membership by one Congress period. A provisional member having such membership terminated by the IOF Council or the General Assembly may not reapply for membership until after one Congress period has lapsed."

"increase the attractiveness of orienteering to young people"

And some keep telling us that all is fine and well the other side of the pond. Perhaps it is.

More info what means this "attractiveness"is in Activity plan. Second point.

But most of key outcomes describe what IOF want from federations and clubs to do and that they're willing to communicate youth orienteering projects on international or national level within their media channels. With no budget the goals are too broad. The proposed measures have no clear guidance what IOF full-time employees can do to help and achieve these goals. Are they able to collect ideas and make first step? Do they have administrative time, money to give small support to those projects or bring a project team together?

+++ Example +++

We did Erasmus exchange 10 years back. Nice project "Environment + orienteering" but young people come and go and organizing projects outside our core sport area is tricky.

After Erasmus we organized International orienteering conference in 2004 to discuss about development. Really great project with people participated from all around Europe. From Oringen, PWT,... and also IOF MC chairman at that time. Some participants said that this model should be repeated but nobody have guts to collect money and organize it. It is hard. Today we see WOC clinics which are based on similar concept. It was big event for such a small federation.

Things changed, not everything at once but our young athletes went to international camps,... and I can say that whole 10 years federation has worked on issues to "increase attractiveness of orienteering to young people". But these o-activities are not enough to secure better image for sport in general public. It is pure technical work and o-activities only for young people who like orienteering.

To bring excitement and interest we need a public project to get attention from outside of our o-community. IOF list of goals is too broad, they want to address many ideas which can be most beneficial to IOF but they don't have budget to make the first step.

I think IOF should have better focus here and I see only one priority if they want to move the needle. A goal to spread Oringen academy model as IOF global project. Workshops and events for different groups along with the youth camp in a new countries. Information and presentation for Media, schools, universities, sport authorities, sport managers, environmental institutions, government, etc.

Small orienteering countries can't host WOC but they can host Oringen academy. Many countries could organize a "happening" in a way that people will remember orienteering. Small orienteering communities like ours need such public projects to bring orienteering on the sport map. Orienteering is not seen as a sport. The impulse of what normal people see, read about orienteering is too weak. IOF president should be part of this project to promote our values and olympic goals. This is the only way to leave traces.

If the concept is to weak than it becomes just a training camp with a very low impact on local sport people or general public. We could not compete with bigger sports for this "attractiveness". We just don't have resources. We need to develop unique concept and stick with one or two projects to increase attractiveness.