Author: HonSec

The Steve McGibbon Trophy is named in memory of a hugely respected orienteer and stalwart of Lagan Valley Orienteers, who unfortunately died in 2006 aged only 51. The trophy is not focused on competition performance, rather the award is considered as recognition of the person or group thought to have provided the most outstanding contribution to the club’s affairs in the previous year. Nominations should be sent to the Secretary, Cecil Armstrong, secretary@lvo.org.uk or 078 1587 2010, in advance of the Annual General Meeting at Tollymore National Outdoor Centre on 23rd March 2020. Voting will take place at the AGM. Read More …

Philip and Helen Baxter have kindly agreed to run this course on the evening of Thursday 19th March. It is primarily designed for WEE Course Planners, but anybody needing an update or revision is welcome. You will get help on installing the Condes course planning software (available to any club member, contact me for the licence info), but the primary aim is to gain an appreciation of what makes a decent course. The venue depends on numbers – ranging from the Baxters’ kitchen table to somewhere larger. If you’d like to join in, either email secretary@lvo.org.uk or leave a comment Read More …

Hello all you WEE competitors. I hope you’ve been taking advantage of the LVO autumn Wednesday evening programme. Next Wednesday September 18th is Sporteering 5, which is like a WEE event on the side streets around Connswater. It will be based around the Tim Hortons café there. Meet at 7pm for a jog out to the start. Afterwards we’re going to have the prizegiving for the WEE Series in Tim Hortons at about 8:30 pm so come along for a coffee and doughnut to congratulate our winners. Once you’ve won a prize in a given WEE Series then you aren’t Read More …

Any tax experts within the club? The club has been asked to submit a tax return as a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) and your Hon Sec is having trouble even finding the right forms to fill … Any pointers much appreciated. Cecil

Venue: GORTALUGHANY, Co. Fermanagh  NIOS Sheet 26 – Grid Ref H168300 54.21889,   -7.743736 Directions: From Enniskillen follow road signs for SLIGO (A4). After approx. 2 miles take a LEFT turn on to the (A32) towards Florencecourt and SWANLINBAR. Continue on the (A32) – past the turn to Florencecourt – then approx. a further 3 miles. Look for a turn to the RIGHT on to a minor road signposted GORTALUGHANY VIEWPOINT (‘O’ signs also). This road winds uphill. It has steep zigzag bends towards the end just before reaching the car parking. This will be at the small viewpoint car park Read More …

A few weeks ago we had a very successful evening where 18 of us plus some guests met to discuss the future direction of the club. Everybody who attended was very positive about the experience, so we very much hope you come along and help us finish the job on Tuesday 18th June 2019 from 6:45 – 9:30 pm. If you weren’t there last time, the two previous blog posts 1. Introduction and 2. Blockers will get you up to speed. Have a look at the second installment 2. Blockers especially. Think where you might want to concentrate your effort Read More …

Blockers ‘Blockers’ are things which get in the way of running a successful club and its development. At the LVO Strategy Workshop, after an introduction and presentation by Mike McClure of SportNI, see here, 3 groups of us identified the top blockers. In alphabetical order they were: Funding: events barely cover their costs. Mapping is expensive and maps have a very limited life span due to initiatives like bike trails and other refurbishments of parks or forests. The club only survives because of volunteer mappers and a small group who are constantly applying for grants. The club currently enjoys rent-free Read More …

1. Introduction and presentation by Mike McClure On 24th April 2019, eighteen LVO members, two guests (Mike McClure of SportNI and Duane Fitzsimons of Belfast City Council) met for a workshop on the future direction of the club, led by guest coordinator Nathalie Foehr. Nathalie opened the evening by inviting everyone present to tell us who they are, what brought them to orienteering and their expectation of the workshop. Some had only been orienteering for a year and wanted to learn more about the sport, but the record was set by Wilbert Hollinger, who has been orienteering for 60 years Read More …

On Thursday April 25th we are going to have a workshop on the future direction of the club. Nathalie  Foehr, who is an expert in change management, has volunteered to help us with this. We are very happy that Mark McClure of SportNI has agreed to open the discussion. Following Mike’s introduction, we will start with your ideas on what are the ‘blockers’ – things that may get in the way of running a successful club in the future. Working in groups, we’ll then collect and prioritize the most promising opportunities to address these challenges. By the end of the Read More …

Fermanagh Orienteers will be welcoming people to the 2019 Irish Orienteering Championships, on the first bank holiday weekend in May. There will be different events happening over the weekend, including non-championship courses, so everyone is welcome to attend, and this also includes children and families. Families will only pay entry fees for the first child. Additional child entries are free. ** Early Bird Entry Fee Deadline is 29th March** The final closing date for entries is 19th April. See https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?elid=Y&event_id=5318 ** Relays can be entered online – just put the teams and names can be added later. See https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?elid=Y&event_id=5331 A Read More …