Clubs Pooling for Travel

[Gord Hunter]

I trust this is an appropriate forum for this question. We are mostly club leaders. Besides running events, leaders will likely be seen supporting their members in the furtherance of their goals in orienteering.

Sometimes when we hear it, a goal or even just an idea may seem too far-fetched for one club to support so perhaps we just dismiss it. But what if several people in different parts of the country have the same idea at the same time. Can we pool ideas on how to help?

In Florida, as you know, JROTC orienteering is huge. We usually make a fair bit of money from the JROTC events and we turn back much of it to their teams going to national events such as the AFJROTC and NJROTC Nationals, sometimes OUSA Nationals.

It goes up and down. This year we have one particular school with one particularly gifted orienteer and the leadership and some parents are interested in getting as much national exposure as possible for their team. Suncoast Orienteering for sure will support them going to the Georgia Navigator Cup if the go. But their view goes further and I like that.

They know the Navy Nationals are one weekend in Oak Mountain, AL. The OUSA Junior Nationals are the next weekend at a camp somewhere not too far from Dallas TX. “Why don’t we got to Alabama then just drive on to Texas?” offered one parent. See what I mean about far-fetched but also far-reaching. Would the school district ever give the teacher the time off. Some say no. I say you don’t know until you ask. Perhaps  competent adult supervision can take the place of the teacher for the second event.

But how does this involve other clubs? Probably doesn’t unless you know of others in your club/ area who would be interested in doing the double. Collectively, might there be enough of our members for them to pool resources to rent a van, or a bus? In Arkansas and even SE Oklahoma there is some nice orienteering terrain along the way where we could scare up an orienteering map to help them to some training-on-the-go.

Just by chance have you heard of anyone over your way who might be interested in this event double, mid March 2025? I’d love to hear from you. OCIN perhaps? Others?

Thanks for taking the time to read

Gord Hunter

Suncoast Orienteering