May 15-21, 2019 has been declared by the IOF to be the week in which clubs around the world host their World Orienteering Day events. It is time to begin the process of planning, scheduling, and promoting your club's events. Last year, over 349,000 people took part in WOD events, and expectations are that we will surpass that number this year.
As OUSA's WOD Coordinator, I would like to start a discussion about this great promotional opportunity to bring more young people into our sport. Please share your stories of what has worked well in the past and what flopped. What can you share with other clubs to help make this year's events even more successful? What non-traditional games have you tried? What unique ways have you promoted your event(s)?
I am hoping that we can produce a video that emphasizes young people enjoying orienteering events in their distinctive areas of the country. Imagine seeing children running around in the desert with a control on a cactus, or in a tropical or Mediterranean setting with palm trees and aloes? How about kids in the rainforests of the PNW or the mountains of west or east? Your club may be able to showcase awesome geological features such as caves, natural bridges, or enormous boulders. This can be our chance to entice people to our sport by showing the wonderful experiences we can all have when we orienteer. I am not sure how to pull this together yet (I have zero experience making videos, so I am open to suggestions), but I hope that individuals and clubs will take advantage of opportunities in the next few months to video kids, and adults, having fun orienteering from school yards to parks to national parks.
I will do my best to help U.S.clubs make it a record year for participation in orienteering fun and games. Your input is valued whether you live in the USA or elsewhere. Please share your experience to help O grow.
You can find more info at
www.worldorienteeringday.com where you can also register your event(s).