£2.3 million Sport England investmeto help orienteering find its way.
Sport England is investing £2.3 million into orienteering to help the sport find its niche amongst mass-participation events.
The funding to the British Orienteering Federation ( BOF ) is a response to the governing body’s development over the last three years. Changes to BOF’s infrastructure and the proposed creation of new on-demand versions of the sport will help to open up new opportunities for growth.
Around 12,000 people take part in orienteering at least once a month and there are likely to be many more participants who are running regularly as they train for each orienteering event. The sport is attractive to people seeking personal challenges, a change from their usual running-related training and an opportunity to use the latest technology.
BOF’s plan is based on a strategic vision – More People, More Places, More Podiums. It pulls together a range of planning activity including:
Community O+ - a range of focused programmes designed to start and keep people taking part. These include an introduction to the sport, an informal and social Running Challenge for younger people; Park Orienteering for the family market; and a Student Starter offer for 16-25 year olds.
Virtual Orienteering – on-demand orienteering for recreational runners that blends mobile running apps with traditional fixed point orienteering.
Events and competitions – a series of local and national events aimed at retaining participants through increased challenge and progression and a new UK Orienteering League.
The plan also covers talent development and the recruitment and support of a paid and volunteer workforce capable of delivering a full programme of events.
Lisa O’Keefe, Sport England’s Director of Sport said: “This investment will enable the British Orienteering Federation to continue the expansion of its events programme and explore the potential of technology to enhance the experience of the sport."
Not sure how this compares with past funding?
each - a heck of a lot of money in a recession. Which might otherwise be spent on women's-beating-each-other-up, dwarf-swimming or whatever other 70s voyeurisms pass as mainstream sport nowadays.
