Orienteering Tasmania was recently successful in securing $18,000 from Sport and Recreation Tasmania’s 2016 State Grants Program. Speaker of the House of Assembly and Liberal Member for Denison, Elise Archer, was delighted to receive an invitation to participate in one of the Orienteering Tasmania Twilight Series events, held across the Greater Hobart area, allowing her to see firsthand the benefits the grant funding is delivering.
The money Orienteering Tasmania received through the State Grants Program has enabled the further expansion of the program with school children. At Easter, Orienteering Tasmania will hold a coaching camp for juniors at St Helens, allowing beginners to gain confidence in navigating through the bush and the more experienced to further hone their orienteering skills.
State Grants Program funding has also allowed for the creation and updating of maps, and the development of a marketing plan to allow Orienteering Tasmania to more easily communicate with participants and potential participants.
“I have had a great time getting just a small taste of the fun of orienteering. Tasmania’s beautiful natural environment is ideal for orienteering, and I am pleased that the State Government has been able to support Orienteering Tasmania in delivering this program for everyone. Finding time in our busy schedules to engage in physical activity is essential our health and wellbeing, and I thank Orienteering Tasmania for making participation both possible and fun!” Ms Archer said.
In recent years Orienteering Tasmania has extended its outreach to schools through the Southern Tasmania based Wednesday Twilight Series and the Sporting Schools program in and around the greater Hobart area. This has resulted in a rapid increase in the number of people attending urban events. This year about 230 people have attended each of the Autumn Twilight season events, with around 140 participants each week being school children.
“The future of orienteering in Tasmania is bright. More and more people are participating in outdoor activities and being attracted to active pursuits like orienteering. Navigation adds an extra dimension to running, you have to interpret maps and make decisions while on the run,” Mike Calder, Director of Development, Orienteering Tasmania, said.
Those interested in finding out more about participating in orienteering in Tasmania can visit https://old.tasorienteering.asn.au/
Photo 1: The Hon Elise Archer MP, Speaker of the House of Assembly and Liberal Member for Denison, was invited to enjoy an afternoon of orienteering at Bellerive to see firsthand the benefits delivered by a State Grants Program grant to Orienteering Tasmania.
Photo 2: The Hon Elise Archer MP, Speaker of the House of Assembly and Liberal Member for Denison, pictured with Mike Calder, Director of Development, Orienteering Tasmania. Orienteering Tasmania recently received $18,000 from Sport and Recreation Tasmania’s 2016 State Grants Program.