Hi LVO friends
I can’t believe it has been a year since I was ‘trusted’ to hold the reins as LVO Chair.
As always it has been a busy 12 months within the club. There are many moments to celebrate but I am especially proud of the speed and the positive way we have managed to bounce back after all the Covid restrictions. This success is down to your support – thank you for participating in and volunteering your services, helping put on a great club programme. Special thanks to all the event officials and the club committee for their dedication and direction. 👏
It is at this time of year that I would like you to reflect and consider who you think should get a hearty pat on the back, on the form of an LVO Club or indeed a British Orienteering National Volunteer award. 🥇
The Club awards will be awarded at our online AGM on Wed 27 April, and the British Orienteering Awards will be awarded on Fri 15 April at the JK Prize Ceremony and announced online on the same day. 📢
AGM – Online Meeting Wednesday 27 April, 7.30pm. The past two AGMs have worked well online and we again aim to keep the meeting as brief as possible. Please put this date in your diary, with Zoom login details to follow. The meeting is open to every member and it is a chance for you to have a look at what is going on and have a say in the direction we take. The committee are a fairly diverse bunch and we aim to cater for all our members. To keep things inclusive, we would be delighted to hear from anyone interested in being involved at committee level – please get in touch with anyone on the committee. 👍
LVO Club Awards 🏆
Steve McGibbon Trophy – this is a beautiful glass and wooden trophy which is awarded to a person/s who has made a significant contribution to the club over the past year. Please email any suggestions to secretary@lvo.org.uk by Wednesday 20 April. All nominations will be announced and voted on at the AGM.
Planner, Novice Planner of the Year and Organiser of the Year Awards – Here is the list of 2021 event planners and organisers, please consider putting someone forward for nomination – again emailing any suggestions to secretary@lvo.org.uk by Wednesday 20 April.
| Date | Event | Novice Planner | Planner | Organiser |
| 05/05/2021 | WEE Ormeau | Daphne Hamond | Fred Hamond | |
| 12/05/2021 | WEE Barnett Demesne | Colin Smith | Cecil Armstrong | |
| 19/05/2021 | WEE Botanic Gardens | Alison Collins | Geoffrey Collins | |
| 26/05/2021 | WEE Lady Dixon | Jenny Lau | Steph Pruzina | |
| 29/05/2021 | NIOA Score Champs, Parkanaur | Michael Burton | Geoffrey Collins | |
| 02/06/2021 | WEE Grove | Peter Reed | Sharon Dickenson | |
| 09/06/2021 | WEE Valley | Simon Gardiner | Colin Smith | |
| 16/06/2021 | WEE ACG | Sarah Gamble | Ric Gamble | |
| 23/06/2021 | WEE Six Mile Water | Matthew Vasey | Richard Vasey | |
| 26/06/2021 | NICS 2 Tollymore | Gregg McCann/ Mark Stephens | Gordon Stephens | |
| 24/07/2021 | NI Sprint UUJ | Conor McKernon | Sharon Dickenson | |
| 24/07/2021 | NI Middle Woodburn | Richard Vasey | Aileen McCarron | |
| 04/08/2021 | WEE 6 Bangor | Alan Brett | Ann Savage | |
| 11/08/2021 | WEE 7 Craigavon Lakes | Meadow McCauley | Kenny Weir | |
| 14/08/2021 | Seven 7s | Gordon Stephens | ||
| 18/08/2021 | WEE 8 Stormont | David Wilson | Shaun Henry | |
| 25/08/2021 | WEE 9 Belvoir | Sophie Pruzina | Stephanie Pruzina | |
| 19/09/2021 | Autumn Trophy, Hillsborough | Philip Baxter | Baxters | |
| 30/10/2021 | NICS 4 Rostrevor | Moire O’Sullivan | Ric Gamble | |
| 13/11/2021 | NI Night Champs, Portglenone | Ric Gamble | Richard McCourt |
British Orienteering Volunteer and Mapping Awards 🏆
Why not nominate someone for a national award. I am sure you can think of many people who go above and beyond to support our sport.
Awards range from Young Volunteer of the Year to Continued Contribution Award, so catering for all ages and lengths of service. A new award this year is the Development & Innovation Award which sets out to celebrate and highlight the ingenuity of volunteers, which I think has been very evident over the past couple of years, with inventive and clever methods being developed to work with Covid measures.
All nominees and everyone who nominates will get a small, British Orienteering branded gift. Further information on all the awards and the simple online nomination form can be found here.
Again, thank you for your continued support and I am excited about seeing you enjoy the programme of events, activities and training which is planned for the next 12 months.
Ric