Youngsters finding their feet in orienteering field
The orienteering season starts on the weekend.
Taupo Orienteering Club chairman Lyndon Haugh says the leadup to the beginning of the season has had eight schools take part in orienteering training sessions during term two.
The grand finale was a bigday-out rogaine event held at Spa Park on July 6.
“It was clear from the results that many students have improved their orienteering skills and teamwork, with some very fast times both in the Year 5/6 as well as the Year 7/8 section,” Lyndon says.
This is the second year that orienteering education training sessions have been held in primary and intermediate schools. Lyndon says feedback shows there is an ongoing interest in orienteering in schools. He says the Taupō Orienteering Club was fortunate to have Olivia Mcleod carrying out the training last year, with Katey Coubrough picking up the inschool training role this year. He says they also have organisational and financial support from the Taupo Sports Advisory Council.
Lyndon says the club is running an end-of-winter/ spring series of events in different locations around Taupō town.
Participants upload an app onto their smartphone, and the events can be done on a bike or on foot.
There will be four events — on August 14, August 28, September
11, and September 25. He says participants can elect to do an event course at any time up to two weeks after the initial date of the event.
Each event has a number of courses suitable for families so they can explore parts of the town, parks and reserves they may have never been to. Lyndon says the courses are designed to be done for fun, and also for keen rogainers who want a training navigation run.
Further information on the courses and how to enter and get maps are on the club website at www. taupoorienteering.nz or by emailing info@taupoorienteering.nz