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Hello
Welcome to the Orienteering Canada newsletter. Submissions for the next newsletter are welcome. Please send them by the 15th of each month to newsletter@orienteering.ca. We aim to get the newsletter out by the end of each month.
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News from Orienteering Canada
What are your Club's Winter Orienteering Plans?
For most of the country, fall season orienteering is done or close to done and we are looking ahead at what we can do through the winter. Orienteering Canada is hosting a Club Connect Call to give clubs a chance to share ideas, and discuss options, challenges, plans and solutions. Everyone is welcome to join in, and we particularly encourage at least one person from each club who is involved in scheduling of events to participate. The Zoom meeting will be held at 8:00 pm eastern on Wednesday Nov 25. Use this link to register for the call. Looking forward to hearing what everyone is thinking for the winter months!
Calling all Provincial and Territorial Orienteering Associations
There will be a Club Connect Call in January to give Provincial/Territorial Orienteering Associations (PTOAs) an opportunity to compare notes and learn from each other about financial structures, membership, administrative strategies, etc. Some PTOAs are very interested in hearing from others about how their organization works. We hope representatives from each of the PTOAs will be able to join the discussion. More info, with date and time will be coming in the next newsletter.
Your Ideas are welcome!
If you have an idea for a Club Connect Call or a Let’s Talk Orienteering Presentation, please pass the idea along to us! Send an e-mail to info@orienteering.ca or reach out to Tracy Bradley, Charlotte MacNaughton or Anne Teutsch. Thank you!
COVID-19 and orienteering
Following inquiries from a number of clubs and PTOAs, Orienteering Canada has updated the Management Plan and the Risk Mitigation Tool to allow for electronic completion of the daily Declaration of Health. You will find the updated version on Orienteering Canada COVID-19 page. It is still very important that (a) the Declaration of Health is completed on the day of the activity, and (b) that officials/organizers confirm that the Declaration of Health has been completed for each person on site at the activity. Officials/organizers should view the completed form – either the paper version or online; it is not enough for participants to tell officials that they have completed it online. Please continue to be vigilant about the Declarations of Health!
Attention Clubs: Insurance certificate request deadline
Clubs needing specific insurance certificates for events happening December 19th through January 6th inclusive must have their requests in to insurance@orienteering.ca no later than December 15th. Please plan ahead to ensure you have what you need.
Request from Orienteering Canada's Technical Committee / Seeking input for the Course Planner’s Corner
- Do you have a question relating to course planning – in particular a challenge that you had to overcome?
- Do you have a suggestion on course planning in general?
- Do you have any interesting or humorous experiences that you would like to share with the orienteering community?
If you answered yes to any of the above then the Technical Committee would like to hear from you. Course Planner’s Corner is a way we hope to share learnings between the Course Planners all across Canada. “My personal favourite challenge and humorous example was for my first B Meet. At 7:00 pm the night before the event I found that my Course 2 was going to go directly through an outdoor wedding ceremony. This was in the era of preprinted maps so some juggling and map alterations by flashlight were required. Don Riddle – Technical Committee Co-chair”
Request from Orienteering Canada's Technical Committee / Do you have a suggestion about the Orienteering Canada rules?
The Technical Committee is seeking updates to the technical rules of Orienteering Canada. Suggested amendments should be sent to technical@orienteering.ca by December 31, 2020.
Team Canada Program / Application window now open - deadline to apply is Nov 30
Orienteering Canada’s High Performance Program has a new name this year – the Team Canada Program. Orienteering Canada's new Team Canada Program is our program for athletes with drive, a passion for orienteering, and a desire to represent Canada internationally. The new program is team centered and is designed to provide a sense of belonging and support for our athletes. Interested athletes should check out the Team Canada Athlete Handbook for how to apply. Details are at: www.orienteering.ca/team-canada/high-performance
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Volunteer Profile - Ian Sidders
written by Tracy Bradley
Ian Sidders, an orienteer from DGL is our volunteer spotlight this month. A funny thing I’ve learned about orienteers is that we get the same response when we want to highlight their contributions. Ian also felt like there were others that contributed more. I told him he would be in fantastic company and that folks might be interested to learn a little about the person behind the kind responses and diligent record keeping behind our officials@orienteering.ca email. I met Ian while he was on the Orienteering Canada Board when I first joined our National office and worked with Ian as a board member until his retirement in 2014.
In 2018, Ian was featured in Orienteering Ontario’s newsletter as a volunteer highlight. Orienteering Ontario has graciously shared their write up with me and I’ve included excerpts from their newsletter to share some fun, fast facts about Ian.
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A few fun facts about Ian before ending with a couple specific questions.
Before Ian started orienteering, he started triathlon training in 1998 towards a goal of adventure racing. A presentation on orienteering by Mike Waddington suggested that sport as good training for AR navigation. Ian joined GHO, now DGL, in 2003 while still adventure racing and triathlon training. In 2006, Ian joined the Orienteering Ontario board as vice president and served as president, co-president and secretary until about 2012 and a general director after. He also joined the Orienteering Canada board in 2006 and took over management of the national officials database in 2007, converting it to a more convenient Excel format. He has not missed an Ontario Orienteering Championships since 2004 and serving as the O Champs event director in 2016. In 2009, Ian did Lake Placid Ironman but also the COCs in Manitoba that same year. Outside of Ian’s athletic pursuits, Ian is an industrial R&D chemist, working for over 40 years in the development of metalworking lubricants for a Canadian owned but global company. These lubricants are used in the manufacture of such products as staples, nails, bolts, welding wire, pre-stressed concrete cable, fencing and syringes.
What do you love most about orienteering?
I really enjoy the mental and physical challenge of a top level event. Even when just learning to orienteer, I would go to the COCs and often get lost for 45 minutes to an hour on a control, often finishing the course around or over the time cut off. I also have enjoyed that you can see the country and world through orienteering.
What keeps you involved?
I have always felt if everyone spends a little time in volunteering for an organization, the combined effort keeps the entire community functioning as an important recreation. Databases is a niche I enjoy maintaining and taking care of the officials database is a easy contribution for me to Orienteering Canada.
And the 2020 question – how do COVID and orienteering influence each other this year, for you?
Personally not much as I had not planned to attend the COCs as we were going to hike the Alps instead. That has been postponed and we may have to alter plans eventually. Instead we toured parts of Ontario that we had not visited in a while. As a volunteer, database work may be down a little as less people have done their practicum. However other committee members and orienteering associations have been quite active in encouraging people to get certified as officials in the lull. Activity continues.
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GivingTuesday - the global day of giving
Canada, join us for the 8th annual GivingTuesday on December 1, 2020
GivingTuesday is a global movement for giving and volunteering, taking place each year after Black Friday. The “Opening day of the giving season,” it’s a time when charities, companies and individuals join together and rally for favourite causes. In the same way that retailers take part in Black Friday, the giving community comes together for GivingTuesday.
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We are grateful to orienteers who donate to Orienteering Canada. Donations can be geared to various Orienteering Programs or Orienteering Canada's recently created Endowment Fund. Tax receipts are issues for all donations over $10.
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Contacting Orienteering Canada
Are you wondering who to email at Orienteering Canada with your questions, comments and ideas? Orienteering Canada's email directory is handy. You can also find this on Orienteering Canada's contact page.
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