Discussion: #orienteerNOW video contest

Orienteering Canada is having a video competition for National Orienteering Week (NOW). The video should complete the sentence "Orienteering is a great sport because..."

I just finished putting one together for our Kids Running Free program in Ottawa and I thought people might be interested in it.

HI Canadian,
Love the idea of kids putting it together themselves - it is interesting to see what they prioritise. But no sign of a map?? Maybe a different focus. I'd expected that they might start out just running but a map would appear at some time.

Here's a great ski training video ...
https://youtu.be/avZySYE5BFI
How much skiing is there?

The coaches/controls look pretty young...

Wow I didn't think the video would be analyzed so closely. Silly me right?
The video was made in fun and was intended as a joke.

The concept came from an activity we did earlier in the day where the kids had to find and chase me down and then head back to one of our coaches to help solve a puzzle. The idea is to practice running in the woods.

Evan and Thomas are both junior program coaches that used to be participants.

And Tinytoes, unfortunately the kids, while super excited about it had almost nothing to do with the production of it. I wanted to get it out as quickly as possible so just pushed through it myself.

Sorry Canadian I didn't see the joke colour in the print. Just the length seemed to imply completion.
Explanation of it being one element ie running in the woods now puts it into context and is fine - maybe even (heavily) abbreviated it could form one of series of vignettes. So another on map usage definitely; another on control finding? another on the companionship in the sport? another on all age. I'm not trying to give you work.

@bmay
There is some. I see that one as stimulating the variety of training and approach needed (cross training) supporting skiing. (But didn't translate it so I shouldn't comment on the target audience)

Canadian - this is a very serious forum. Of course we would analyse the comment and video. tRicky, tooms and juffy are my heroes.

Awwww! how cute!

I think the video is awesome. And, I think adults need to realize that on a list of children's priorities "reading the map" is pretty low. Things like "running through the mud", "jumping over logs", "finding the flag", "punching the coach" are way more fun!

Spoken like a parent.

bmay - sorry but there are kids who like the map (though they may not actually relate it to what they are doing). And running through the mud , jumping over logs etc is Fell Running, Cross Country running or Hunger Games?

Hahahaha! Great... Punch line!
Seriously now, that looked like a lot of fun to make, nice work kids.

When my club introduced our Adventure Running Kids program we received a lot of criticism and complaints that what we were doing wasn't orienteering because the kids didn't always have a map in their hands. actually for the youngest it was only 25% of the time. Five years later and we have had almost a total of 5000 participants in the program. We offer the program in 9 communities in ontario's Golden Horseshoe region with 900 kids in our spring season. For kids and parents it has been a huge success! We now have three full time employees!

Some of the people or clubs that were critics from several years ago now offer a similar version to what we have developed in their own clubs which is great. But there are still some that make it a habit of telling me to my face every time they see me that it isn't orienteering.

Now I could argue that most of the top orienteers don't have a map in their hand for 25% of the time or that running is a key component of orienteering but I've stopped caring about trying to defend the approach we have taken. Instead I just say what bmay said at a workshop three years ago (where several were criticizing what we had done). He said something like this 'We aren't developing orienteers we are developing kids!' Spoken like a true parent and he is absolutely right! The fact they just so happen to be having fun while learning the skills and FUNdamentals of our sport is a bonus. FUN is the key word because running through the mud and jumping over logs is XC and fell running yes but it is also orienteering. Oh and Hunger Games with a map is one of our Adventure Running Kids' favourite exercises.

Couldn't have agreed more Hammer. I've been involved in introducing Orienteering to primary school kids (aged 6-12) since 2009, having input into the program generation in our State which has now been incorporated into a wider approach. Our program was tailored to run over 7 consecutive weeks. It was under the banner of Play for Life and used a game based introduction to the sport and particularly for those kids who weren't already involved in much physical activity. The underlying features were learning through games, decision making and team work and learning new personal skills as well as improving physical fitness and activity. The kids' first 'real' course came in Week 3 and looking at it now possibly less than 30% was map in hand courses over the 7 weeks. I too took some constructive criticism about taking the long route to getting to 'real' orienteering - but I stood by my approach. Play for Life is the way to go - so we aren't at odds at all.

I like your term 'taking the long route'. It is strange that a sport that is so strongly based around 'route choice' is so set with 'the route' to develop youth (i.e., on map all the time from day#1).