Swansea Bay Orienteering Club (SBOC) has been working in partnership with Swansea Council Sport & Health team to work with several Swansea schools to introduce them to competitive orienteering. The council provided funding for all 3 of the comprehensive schools to be professionally mapped by SBOC and planned out 4 comprehensive school events and 3 feeder school events. The comprehensive school events saw one of our junior club members go in to the schools to deliver to the whole of the year 7 group, teaching them how to read the map and how the competition process works, they then got to try the course and compete against the rest of the year.
The feeder school events saw the primary schools attend their comprehensive school and the Sport and Health team delivered a day of activities to them including orienteering, dodgeball, inclusive sports and more.
Over the 8 events that organised, 600+ pupils attended and took part in orienteering, delivering to 3 comprehensive schools and 10 primary schools. All of the secondary schools have been able to keep the maps of the schools that we have provided them so that they are able to use them throughout the year.
The aim of this project was to introduce the pupils of Swansea to competitive orienteering and prepare the pupils for up-and-coming Swansea School Orienteering competition with the hope that the pupils will then go and join Swansea Bay Orienteering Club.
A great initiative that will hopefully in the long run provide benefits for the club in the form of new juniors and their families coming to join in the sport.