Incorporating the Schools Champs

Jamie Posted: 24 September 2007, 3:11 AM   For years we have wondered how we can get more of the School Champs competitors joining and running for clubs... But we've never tried what the Aussies do, incorporating the schools champs in some of their biggest events, eg nationals or this year, oceania.... Is this something we can work towards, a week long carnival at Easter with a schools focus or maybe QB SS Nationals with super series round....build some atmosphere...impress the juniors with our sport rather than trucking them off to some isolated place and providing them an opportunity to orienteer with almost no club presence apart from the organisers? I know there are some funny rules for secondary sport, but what are they? and is there really no way we can work around them to give our clubs a better chance to snare some recruits and liven our events up? Maybe the NZOF's new youth council might promote this idea?   Martin Posted: 24 September 2007, 3:23 AM   This is what I know about the timing of national SS events (NI,SI,NZ) x. Dates are traditional x. Set by NZOF Secondary Schools coordinator x. Avoid clashes with (most) other sports x. Convenient for school teams & managers x. Sanctioned by NZSSSC Have you considered publishing a book of all your awesome ideas Jamie? Keep them flowing.   SimonB Posted: 24 September 2007, 4:24 AM   well ss used to be at end of easter hols didnt they? and then they changed for some reason...   SJ Posted: 24 September 2007, 7:08 AM   I reckon this is a major if we want to grow numbers in the sport. We get as many as 300 school students to NZSS Champs, but how many will turn up to a club event that year? 20? 30? 50 if we're lucky? The thing that stands out with regard to the Schools champs to me is that they are held halfway through the year. After July, that's it for most of the kids in terms of orienteering. I think with a progressive season of orienteering throughout the calender year, linked with a progression of schools events, coming to a climax of both National and NZSS champs held at the same carnival would hook in so many more of these kids.   Tane Cambridge Posted: 24 September 2007, 8:09 AM   Just a random idea... but maybe the NZSS champs could be incorporated into or as part of the NZSS Athletics champs? Wouldnt increase participation greatly but might be more logistically convenient with regards to timing etc   onemanfanclub Posted: 24 September 2007, 2:06 PM   Having helped out at a handful of schools champs over the years, I'd just add that anything that brought together schools competitors and "club" orienteers, could also potentially teach the average kiwi orienteer about how to generate a bit of atmosphere at an event. These kids rock in terms of having fun supporting their team mates...   nick Posted: 26 September 2007, 12:06 PM   i still don't understand *why* there is such a degree of separation...   addison Posted: 26 September 2007, 12:23 PM   There is a degree of separation in almost every sport - its just that often in other sports there are completely different organisations behind each scene. In ours there is one organisation (us as clubs) that run both club events and stuff as well as school events.   ole codger Posted: 26 September 2007, 3:19 PM   Jamie is sure on roll with the ideas.Most but not all have been thought of before but the platform for getting them activated is a long and difficult one generally via club remits at AGM. But it doesn't have to be. All we want is my old 'think tank committee" idea with promotion of it by the NZOF. This got shot down by Headhoncho a year or two ago, but I seriously think that a thinker or two like of Jamie, some yougsters like Simon and Martin just to mention a few, with a couple of old heads thrown in and perhaps someone from outside orienteering, could form a committee & look at the ideas put up over the recent year or two and come up with recommendations to clubs and the National body. Other sports have done it to lift their sport out of a rut.   nick Posted: 27 September 2007, 1:50 AM   simon - thats cool, but seems like an observation rather than an explanation. perhaps its something from the schools end - teachers/bureaucratic requirements? wouldn't surprise me if schools wouldn't get involved unless its an independent "schools" event? is there a tendency (even inadvertently) amongst teachers to want to sealed within the education system? in any case, it would be useful to identify the barriers to schools participation in the broader O community, so that we can then find ways around them. could a job for the think tank   Tane Cambridge Posted: 27 September 2007, 12:17 PM   1. Schools are more likely to pay for entry fees to school events. (nothing to do with teachers as individuals...principals and money handlers maybe) 2. I doubt there is any thing amongst teachers to keep 'it' sealed within the school system. Teachers are under little (or no!) obligation to help out at all, any work they do to get kids involved is totally unpaid often on their own time. I think it may come down to advertising, schools events are advertised through schools, club events are not always. (for Dunedin anyway) And yes my parents are both Teachers...   Martin Posted: 27 September 2007, 3:21 PM   1. Schools are more likely to pay for entry fees to school events bollocks! schools just charge it straight back to the students however, big ss events are generally cheaper than major club events... so putting them together something would have to change   Tane Cambridge Posted: 27 September 2007, 4:04 PM   Man, what kinda school did you go to! I dont think I ever had to pay for any of the school regional champs I did, nor was it charged directly back to me...however maybe indirectly through fees etc. local School series events was different and I had to pay for them (...well to be honest my parents paid for them).   nick Posted: 28 September 2007, 1:10 AM   Yo Tane, really good point about the voluntary extra-curricular activity... something for us to bear in mind when we approach schools... teachers go with students to sport because its part of school activity - but why would they go and spend their weekend watching their students play club rugby/netball/tennis/cricket that is unrelated to school? hmmmmmm very interesting.