World Orienteering Day 2019 is May 15-21. Will your club “Be Part of Something Bigger”? Has your club scheduled its events yet? School calendars are quickly filling up with activities for May, so you will want to contact your local schools to set a date for an event.
While WOD emphasizes events for school children, all ages are welcome to join in. Officially, any event within that week can be considered a WOD event, but in the U.S., we are going to include all of May for hosting your WOD event(s). For an event to qualify, it must be registered at the WOD website and have basic participant data provided shortly after the event is held.
WOD, with its worldwide participation, is an ideal way to get people to try our sport. The international slogan, “Be Part of Something Bigger,“ is something that most people, especially children, can get excited about. They can see on the webpage www.worldorienteeringday.com, and on social media that the number of events is growing as their local event date draws near, and they will know that they are part of that huge number if their school is participating. Afterward, they may get the satisfaction of knowing they helped set a new record for the number of people participating in this event around the world. Posts appear regularly on Facebook and Instagram.
As your 2019 WOD Coordinator, I am encouraging you to set some dates as soon as you are able to get as many children as possible doing orienteering in your area for World Orienteering Day. There is a thread on AttackPointwhere you can get and share ideas about what you can do. Keep it simple; try something new using orienteering games like Maze-O, Animal-O, MOBO, Photo-O or a schoolyard sprint. Any activity that involves orienteering is encouraged. Indoor games or outdoor games are encouraged—anything that gets kids (and adults) having fun finding controls.
So contact your local school, scout troop, homeschool group, nature center, or other group which will be delighted to have your club show up for the day and treat their kids to a fun learning experience. For more information go to the WOD website, above, or contact me via email. Let’s work together to make this the best World Orienteering Day yet!
–Mary Jo Childs