Navigation Games x ACA Meeting Takeaways

[Emilee Vizenor]

Hi all, 

I have been working with Navigation Games to grow their conferences program, connecting orienteers to educator conferences to spread the word about how educators can implement orienteering into their curriculums. (If you are interested in presenting at a conference, please reach out to Barb or myself!)

We recently talked with folks from the American Camping Association (ACA) to discuss the possibility of adding resources about orienteering to the resources section of their website. 

The ACA is a community of camp professionals. They hold regular conferences, one of which we have attended to introduce orienteering to summer camp leaders. During this meeting, Orienteering USA’s resources were mentioned, so we wanted to bring the orienteering community up to speed. 

Here are our notes from the meeting:

• We are hoping to include resources about orienteering on the ACA website. This could include an introduction to orienteering, how to get an orienteering map made, activities to teach orienteering, and potentially information about incorporating scouting badges. 

• We used the Camp Belknap orienteering program as a case study.

• We emphasized that this is an educational partnership, not a business promotion.

• They will be following up with us to talk about next steps, likely creating a blog post or webinar to share on their website.

• ACA also mentioned the Character at Camp Initiative, a grant program that will be awarding $27 million to camps over five years. The goal of this grant is for camps to develop new programs that encourage character building. They are encouraging camps to partner with other educational organizations to apply for funds. The grant application is expected to open later this summer. They suggested that we could encourage camps we know of to partner with OUSA or a member club to create orienteering programs.

Are there any clubs out there that would like to be involved in this, specifically with resources to share or connections to camps?

Thanks,

Emilee Vizenor

Conferences Project Manager, Navigation Games

[Gord Hunter]

Hello Emilee,

Count Suncoast Orienteering in Florida to be interested in any initiatives to build partnerships and extend the orienteering learning with camps and the ACA.

We have been at this for several years working mostly with Scouting America properties.

Our biggest hurdle is coming across those 30 to 60 something ex-scouts, ex-military whose only experience with orienteering is shooting an azimuth and heading off into some swampy forest.  That's not modern orienteering!

Where they are interested we will make an orienteering map and help them set up courses where their scouts can compete to qualify for merit badges. In return we look for opportunities to hold public competitions at the camp properties.

Suncoast Orienteering also works with local Parks and Recreation officials to help bring orienteering to their programs but mostly to gain their permission for staging local events.

We continually play down the map and compass/ follow a bearing aspect of orienteering and stress that the participants are getting to make their own decisions how to go between points on the principle of making the decision that enables them to get there as fast as possible. The ability to make quick, correct decisions and solve problems are important lifetime skills learned from orienteering. it is more important than learning how to use a compass.  I see Navigation Games is on that track, too.

Here is a slide show I put together several years ago for P&R departments that may be interested in orienteering.  Since those days the process of creating orienteering maps, simple orienteering maps, for them has become so much easier and cheaper.    Orienteering for Your Parks and Rec Program

Orienteering for Your Parks and Rec Program Orienteering is sometimes mistaken for a military and scout activity involving following a compass direction. Or...

Best regards,

Gord Hunter

Suncoast Orienteering

 

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