Orienteering is an exciting competitive sport and versatile
outdoor activity that is enjoyed by thousands of Americans of all ages and
fitness levels. The combination of
physical and intellectual challenge, natural outdoor environment, and
suitability for a broad range of people makes it very appealing to both
individuals and families. Despite its
tremendous promise, however, orienteering remains obscure in the United States
and growth has been slow.
Barriers to growth include low visibility in the media and
limited opportunities to try the sport in some parts of the country. In addition, orienteering is a challenge to
describe because the basic activity can be approached from many different
directions. On the one hand,
orienteering can be pursued as a highly competitive international sport; on the
other hand, it can be enjoyed purely for its recreational or educational
benefits. This flexibility makes the
sport fun for everyone and creates plenty of diversity within each orienteering
club. However, it also makes the sport
more difficult to define and present to the public.
The following report by the United States Orienteering
Federation (USOF) discusses these issues in greater depth and presents a set of
goals for effectively developing the sport in the United States over the next
10 years.
Although orienteering will probably never achieve the same
popularity in the US as in Scandinavia, it is reasonable to aim for
substantially more growth than we have now.
At present, the amount of participation in the US (as defined by number
of starts) is on a par with countries such as Australia and France, and is
one-half to one-third that found in Denmark and Britain. However, as a percentage of total population,
participation in the US is only 1/10th that found in Britain and
Australia, and 1/100th that found in Denmark. In all three countries, most people are at
least familiar with orienteering (often through school programs, which are
typically much more widespread).
Distances between orienteering activities in the US are
another area where the US lags. While
the US has approximately 500 orienteering maps, compared to around 1,000 each
in Denmark, Britain and Australia, the distances between our maps are
huge. The US has one color map per
250,000 km2 (excluding the area of Alaska and Hawaii), compared to one per
2,500 km2 in Britain and an even higher concentration in Denmark. Even Australia has a higher map density, with
one map per 175,000 km2, and the large distances there are mitigated by a
population more concentrated in just a few areas of the country.
Financial resources to support orienteering in the US are
also very low compared to funding in
other countries due to three factors.
First, in the other countries surveyed, the government funds 50-75% of
the sports costs. Second, in the US only
about 25% of local orienteering club members are members of the national
organization (compared to 75-100% elsewhere).
Third, the small size of the US orienteering community further limits
funding. The result is that USOF is
poorly funded on an absolute and on a per- orienteer basis. USOF’s annual budget is approximately $80,000
from all sources, which is 1/5th to 1/10th the budget of
Denmark, Britain, France, and Australia (including State organizations). On a per-club member basis, USOF spends $11,
while the range overseas is $32 in Denmark (with high participation) to more
than $100 in Australia and France.
One area where US orienteering is similar to other countries
is in slow growth. US growth of about 2%
over the last few years compares favorably with Denmark, Britain and Australia,
where orienteering is stagnant or declining slightly. Only France, with a significant promotional
push, has seen growth of 5-10% recently.
Increasing participation in orienteering will make a
significant improvement in the quality of the sport in the United States.
Increased success in international competition would come from a much larger
pool of young orienteers, increased domestic competition, and funding to
support a national team. Event frequency and average distances to events would
be improved by the greater geographical coverage and higher level of activity.
The higher level of activity would result in improved media coverage of
orienteering, awareness of the sport among the general population, and
recognition of the attractiveness of orienteering as a lifetime activity. Event
quality would improve through greater experience of organizers, improved
communications, better control mechanisms, and, in some cases, use of
professionals to organize events.
Our overall vision of orienteering activity ten years from
now is to increase participation levels to five to ten times current levels,
with an average participant age below 35.
Such a level of activity would place us in the top five orienteering
countries in terms of absolute number of participants; overall penetration and
larger distances between events would still be much lower. This assumes that other countries continue to
grow only at the current rate. Such a
goal will require the number of US orienteering participants to increase at a
consistent growth rate of between 15% and 25% per year for all ten years.
To grow, USOF will need to focus on six objectives:
1. Build consensus on
the need for growth and ways to achieve it.
2. Establish new
clubs to make orienteering more widely accessible.
3. Focus clubs and
club services on increasing orienteering participation.
4. Develop thriving
competition in each region.
5. Coordinate
promotion and marketing nationally and locally.
6. Increase
fundraising efforts and sponsorship to support major projects.
Each of these objectives is important for the growth of the
sport. Obviously the activities
required, the level of funding required, and the timing will differ for each
objective.
What follows below are more detailed explanations of the
rationale for each objective and an initial discussion of possible
activities. These actions will be
refined over the next few months as the Long Range Growth Plan is finalized,
prior to approval by the USOF Board of Directors in October. Even after board
approval, the Long Range Growth Plan is meant to be a living document.
1. Build consensus on
the need for growth
Consensus on the need for growth and
the actions required to achieve it will be critical to the success of the
program. Our goal is twofold: Initially we will need to receive the
enthusiastic support of at least three-quarters of USOF clubs (as expressed as
resolutions of support by the boards of member clubs) for the six objectives
listed above. Secondly we will need to
receive the active participation and support of the majority of clubs in
implementing the growth programs.
To achieve these goals, USOF will
implement the following processes:
. Initiate active discussions with
clubs and the membership to develop and improve the Long Range Growth Plan and
create buy-in. . Build a closer
alignment among clubs, club members, and USOF through the following three
actions:
·
Change the structure of USOF
memberships so that all club members are also USOF members, as is the case in
other countries.
·
Modify the way USOF communicates with
members under an expanded membership, particularly using new Internet-based
technologies.
·
Change the USOF value proposition
(i.e., services and benefits of membership, less cost) that members receive to
better appeal to a broader membership.
This will entail significant realignment of USOF,s revenue and cost
structure.
2. Establish new
clubs
Thriving clubs are the lifeblood of
orienteering in the US and around the world.
From an analysis of orienteering in other countries, our clubs appear to
be of similar size and activity level to those found in more advanced
countries, but US clubs cover larger geographic areas and are not contiguous. A
twofold approach offers the best opportunity for growth: encourage the
development of new orienteering clubs, and strengthen existing clubs so that
they can continue to grow and support new clubs in neighboring areas.
These activities will perhaps be the
most critical to our successful growth.
Thankfully, this is also an area where some individual clubs around the
country have been successful in the recent past. The specific actions that drive growth will
therefore need to be determined over the next six months. They are likely to include:
. Encourage and support the creation of
college clubs through an adopt a college program.
. Analyze national demographics and
geography of communities not served or underserved by orienteering clubs and
determine 10-20 high-priority communities targeted for new clubs.
. For each targeted community, develop a plan in combination
with the nearest clubs to develop an orienteering club in the area. Plan elements are likely to include
·
Tracking and priority handling of
inquiries from these cities
·
Providing each target community with
two to three maps of urban/suburban parks
·
Creating guidelines for existing clubs
to support new clubs
·
Providing USOF matching funds for clubs
supporting new clubs . Provide financial assistance and volunteers to help with
early events and publicity (could include travel support)
3. Focus clubs and
club services on growth
Clubs will be the focal point of
increasing orienteering participation.
After building a consensus among clubs for the need for growth, USOF
will need to provide tools and services to aid clubs in investing limited
resources in the most effective fashion.
USOF will provide the most critical and valuable services after first
determining the needs of clubs.
. Survey clubs to learn the services
they require to promote growth.
. Efficiently and effectively provide
these services. The menu of services
will probably include
·
Promotion and marketing tools
(including targeted tools for use with JROTC, schools, etc. and tools for
general media exposure)
·
Refocused map fund to support high-use
areas for small and start-up clubs
·
Standardized software and other tools
for membership tracking, meet officiating, etc.
. Support clubs in creating local marketing opportunities
coordinated with national marketing programs.
. Use the Internet to promote better communication between
clubs and USOF and among clubs, with the goal of making the Internet THE
primary communication tool.
4. Develop thriving
competition in each region
Given the large geographical distances
between population centers in most areas of the United States, the only
effective means of providing thriving competition of sufficient frequency is to
have competition available on a regional level, that is within a day,s drive or
an inexpensive flight. To achieve this
goal it will be necessary to have sufficient opportunities for competition and
ensure that appropriate support for training and junior development are
available in each region.
While each region is in different
stages of development and the needs of individual regions may vary, there will
be several similar goals:
. Hold at least two multi-day A events
in each region each year, using a simpler and more flexible format.
. Hold regional championships (senior
and junior) annually and promote these champions to enhance their visibility.
. Develop regional ranking system
supported by USOF. . Have regions
develop and operate training and development programs for elite and junior
orienteers (with support from USOF and the national teams)
. Create expanded awards for US and
regional championships
5. Coordinate promotion
and marketing nationally and locally Improving the effectiveness of how we sell
our sport to the general public is clearly critical to the growth of the
sport. While clubs will continue to
lead promotion at the local level, USOF will need to take more of a lead at the
national level, particularly by organizing and coordinating activities.
Elements to be included are:
. Hire a professional marketer or
sports marketing company to assess appropriate strategy and help implement the
chosen approach. These efforts are
likely to include: determining how best to showcase the sport, gaining access
to TV coverage, developing a sponsorship program, developing relationships with
the media to ensure a steady stream of articles, and developing a clearinghouse
for responding to media requests.
. Develop partnerships with
orienteering-friendly companies and organizations at the national level with
the goal of increasing orienteering exposure.
Particular targets will include (among others)
·
Companies with products used by
orienteers
·
Conservation organizations
·
Other national sports organizations
with overlapping interests (e.g., adventure racing, disabled athletes, road
racing, mountain biking)
·
Age-group-specific organizations (e.g.,
Elderhostel, JROTC)
. Coordinate national activities at the local level, such as
promoting an annual National Orienteering Day or tie-ins with other events such
as National Trails Day and charity events . Develop an annual presence at two or three major sports and
recreation conferences.
6. Increase
fundraising efforts and sponsorship to support major projects To meet the
objectives outlined above, USOF will need to find additional financial
sources. Initial activities can be
started using existing funds (USOF,s operating balance was $100,000 at the end
of 1997, with a total balance of $200,000 including restricted funds). Additional funding will come from many
sources, but in most cases will be targeted at specific programs. These programs should include a mapping
intern program, new club initiatives, and targeted orienteering promotion. Sources of funds to be targeted are:
. Develop a major sponsorship program
(in conjunction with marketing efforts) . Initiate a joint national fundraising
program between USOF and clubs to raise substantially more than the $15,000
raised last year for specific programs.
This approach, which can be started as soon as the programs are
identified, will require a more professional and intensive approach than has
been used historically.
. Create and promote a USOF endowment fund.
. Identify and pursue grants from organizations that could
fund orienteering and related activities.
Examples could include
·
State and federal government programs
·
Private foundations, including the
Women’s Sports Foundation
·
U.S. Olympic Committee
Summary
Implementing a successful growth strategy for US
orienteering is an extremely important challenge. We face substantial barriers
and we have limited resources. Achieving
national visibility and consistent growth of 15-25% per year will be a
significant accomplishment for USOF, its members, and its member clubs. To achieve success will require us to act
differently and approach problems in new ways.
In particular, there are two key principles we will need to
apply. First, we must build much closer
cooperation between USOF and the member clubs so that national and local
programs are coordinated and implemented more effectively. Second, we must focus our activities on
high-leverage activities most likely to promote growth. This will require both USOF and the clubs to
make bold decisions about which activities to back with resources now and which
to discontinue.