We wish all NorthWest members and their extended families a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season! We look forward to catching up again in 2017!

1. Prizegiving and End of Year Get Together

A huge thank to Judy and Kingsley Ng-Wai Shing for all their work in organising the evening (including the alternate venue at the last minute!) and the management of the trophies.
If you misplaced anything at the evening, please take a look at the photo of lost property below:

Prizewinners

Most Improved Junior Male

Liam Stolberger
Liam has been competing in Orienteering for a number of years. This year it has been noticed that he has consistently placed near the top of his age group. Some notable results include 3rd Intermediate Boys AKSS Individuals, 3rd Intermediate Boys NISS Long and  2nd Akld Champs Long. Liam also competed in the Australian Championships as a member of the Regional Invitation team and had some excellent results.

Most Improved Junior Female

Olivia Collins
In 2015 at the Queen’s Birthday event, which doubles as the NZSS team trial, Olivia competed in the B grade. In 2016 she moved to the A grade and her results at Queen's Birthday won her a place in the NZSS Junior Team that travelled to Queensland.  Olivia impressed there finishing as the 2nd placed NZ girl in the Individual event. Another notable result for 2016 was 1st in the Junior Girls AKSS Individual Champs.

Top Junior Male

Cameron de L'Isle
Selected as a member of the 2016 JWOC team and in his first year at JWOC achieved some very credible results, missing out on the A final for the Middle by only 1 minute!

Top Junior Female  

Alice Tilley
Selected as a member of the 2016 JWOC team and was the best performing woman of the team notably making the A final for the Middle.

North West Shield for Most Improved Senior

Suzanne Stolberger
Another member of the Stolberger family who has been orienteering for a long time. She has achieved some great results in 2016 - working her way up the field in her age group.  - an age group that includes lots of well known, capable women! One notable result was 3rd in the Akld Champs Long.

King Trophy for Most Improved Newcomer

Donated several years ago by the King family in memory of NWOC member, Ralph King, who was one of the founding orienteers in NZ. A prolific mapmaker, he worked tirelessly to foster youth orienteering.

Alex de Beer
As a relatively new junior club member Alex has quickly moved through the grades and now competes at a red level. He won the AOS Orange long at Otakanini then moved on to win Auckland Champs orange long then 2^nd on a Red 3 at Waiuku. On the strength of his form he was selected as a member of the Auckland regional schools team this year.

Stone Trophy for Most Outstanding Performance of the Year

Matt Ogden
For winning the M21E Long event at the Australian Champs in September.

North West Shield For The Most Valuable Service To Club

Lisa Mead
Lisa has been the Club Treasurer since 2012. Lisa ensures our finances are kept in good shape and we are especially grateful for her work in identifying and applying for community grants for various projects (eg mapping, equipment..) with which she has a very good success rate!

Bert Chapman Junior Service Award

This new award was introduced by Bert’s grandaughter, Heidi Stolberger, at the prizegiving:

 “Bert loved his orienteering and always had a story to tell to anyone who would listen. He was always willing to lend a hand and spent a lot of his time helping at school events for both orienteering and athletics. He also volunteered his time to visit schools such as Baradene to assist the students and teachers and improve their orienteering skills. 
Therefore we think that it is appropriate that this trophy is awarded to junior club members who are returning the favour and are giving up their own time in service to the sport and North West Club.”

Max Griffiths and Cameron de L'Isle 
Max and Cameron deserve this award for their initiative in learning about Club's Sport Ident system. They then took over responsibility for this from Greg Flynn when he moved to Rotorua. Max and Cameron spend many hours managing the gear, training others and providing the service at Club events.

2. Profiles of Club Members

We thought we would continue the celebrations from prizegiving by profiling some of the NW members who won special awards this year. If you notice a few gaps, it is because their profile has already featured in an earlier newsletter!

Most Improved Junior Male – Liam Stolberger

Number of years orienteering?
I've been running courses by myself for 8-9 years but prior to that I had been taken out on courses with my mum or my pops.

How was I introduced to orienteering?
Well my pops, Bert, discovered this sport and after going to events for some time thought that he would try and get the rest of his family to do it.

Key orienteering achievements?
3rd in the North Island Secondary Schools 2016 long, 3rd in both the Auckland Secondary Schools Champs Intermediate Grade events, as well as being selected to be part of the New Zealand Invitational Team to go to Australia this year and other various awards over the past years.

Current orienteering projects or goals?
Currently I am training to try and get into the New Zealand Secondary Schools team to go to Australia next year.

Favorite map?
My favorite map that I have run on is Cotswold Bluff, a map from my recent trip to Australia with the Invitational Team. This was a map that I may not have had the best race on but it still had very interesting and fun terrain to run on.

Map I have yet to experience but aspire to run on?
A map in New Zealand that I would most like to go to is Castle Hill down in the South Island

Orienteering hero?
I don't really have one hero as I look up to all the people who have had the chance to go overseas to represent New Zealand in JWOC and in any other event and I aspire to be like them one day.

Day job?
Currently I am a student at Avondale College

Other interests?
My other interest apart from orienteering is football.

Most Improved Junior Female – Olivia Collins

Number of years orienteering?
3

How were you introduced to orienteering?
I went to a NISS rogaine with my friends and loved the sport so much that I decided I would keep going with it.

Key orienteering achievements to date?
Being selected to go to Australia with the New Zealand Secondary Schools team is definitely my proudest achievement. In Australia our junior girls team placed first in the Sprint and then second in the Long. In North Islands I placed 2nd in the Sprint and 3rd in the Relay and at Auckland Secondary Schools Champs I placed 1st in the Long.

Current orienteering project or goal?
At the moment I am working on making the switch between orange and red maps with a particular focus on compass.

Orienteering hero?
Hubbman Brothers by far.

Day job?
In year 10 at Dio in Auckland.

Other interests?
Hockey, Athletics, Adventure Racing and basically any other sports.

North West Shield for Most Improved Senior – Suzanne Stolberger

Number of years orienteering?   
About 12 years

How were you introduced to orienteering?    
Dad invited us along on a couple of trips and entered me in some events. I am an ex cross country runner and learnt basic use of compass and map at Outward Bound so thought I could handle orienteering.  After 12 years I am still learning and improving. 

Key orienteering achievements to date?  
One of my key achievements this year was my performance on the difficult courses at the Australian Champs. While I only placed halfway through the field I navigated quite well because I was forced to take things slowly and be more aware of my surroundings. (Last year I tried to run too fast and went off the map.) Going back a few years I won a Nationals in the W40AS grade but since changing to A grade courses I have found  the competition much harder. 

Current orienteering project or goal?
I have entered the World Masters and Oceania.  My goal for the coming year is to try to focus on improving my orienteering skills and being less distracted by other people..

Favourite map and why?  
I quite like Waioneke. It is a little different from the usual Woodhill but still familiar.  I also enjoyed the Cascades map in Queensland which was very different from what I'm used to.

Day job?  
Nothing interesting. I work in an office in the city.

Other interests? 
I like to read. Also enjoy nature, walking in the park, fishing off the wharf, going camping.  Have been too busy in the past few years to do much of this. 

King Trophy for Most Improved Newcomer – Alex de Beer

Number of years orienteering?
4

How were you introduced to orienteering?
Four years ago, running was my main sport, but when I found out that my school had an orienteering team I decided to join and see what it was like. Ironically I couldn’t find the classroom for the first meeting (I was fairly new to the school!) Then two years later I discovered that forest orienteering existed and so I joined North West so I could try forest events too.

Key orienteering achievements to date?
I have finished in the top ten for my age grade twice in the AKSS Series and this year was selected for the NZSS team that competed in Levin.

Current orienteering project or goal?
I’m relatively new to orienteering so my goals for next year are to improve my map reading/navigational skills by competing in as many events as I can.

Favourite map and why? 
Restall road - it was one of the first maps I ever ran on and whenever I do an event there I can really see how much my skill at orienteering has improved.

Map you have yet to experience but aspire to orienteer on?
I really liked the look of some of the Australian maps I saw at the prizegiving and would definitely like to try some of those someday.

Orienteering hero?
Mike Beveridge - if it wasn’t for Mike’s enthusiasm and patience I may not have become as involved in orienteering as I have. I have really appreciated his approach to encouraging me to further my interest in the sport.

Day job?
Student at Orewa College.

Other interests?
I play the trumpet in several bands that compete in national competitions. I have also played in several show bands this year. My summer sport is tennis and I also do some cross country running. I have nearly completed my silver Duke of Ed award and have been part of a debating team for several years. My favourite interest is definitely orienteering though!

Stone Trophy for Most Outstanding Performance of the Year – Matt Ogden

Number of years orienteering?
Must be 14 or so now.

Key orienteering achievements to date?
Junior World Orienteering Champion 2012, 26th World Orienteering Championships 2015.

Current orienteering project or goal?
To keep having fun orienteering and training. To help others with their own orienteering goals.

Favourite map and why?
Lunsen, Sweden. Go run there and you will see why.

Map you have yet to experience but aspire to orienteer on?
Le Caylar, France

Orienteering hero?
Albin Ridefelt 

Day job?
Geotechnical Engineer at Tonkin + Taylor

Other interests?
Football, sleeping followed by a coffee, chilling.

North West Shield For The Most Valuable Service To Club – Lisa Mead

Number of years orienteering?    
Lost count - around 35

How were you introduced to orienteering? 
Geoff discovered orienteering and I followed suit. It combined our existing passions for running, tramping and navigating and being outdoors.  Over the years Rob Garden and his infectious enthusiasm and talent for organizing orienteering events and also trips in NZ and overseas ( Scottish 6 Days in 1987 being the first for me) has kept the interest levels up.

Key orienteering achievements to date? 
Three national Long distance titles to date including W35 when it was a very competitive grade featuring Jean Cory-Wright and Carey Nazzer (and a couple of middle distance). More notably Geoff and I have won a handful of 24 hour rogaine champs including the Mixed veterans world title in Canterbury in 2000 ,  the NZ  mixed veterans and super-veterans 24 hour rogaine in 2014 and a  few Kaweka Challenge and mountain marathon races.

Current orienteering project or goal? 
To make the A finals in the Auckland World Masters Games in 2017
Not a project... but I love the informal competition between my good friend Pip Poole and I - we inspire each other to keep fit and aiming for podium places.

Favourite map and why? 
I always enjoy competing in Woodhill Forest but love the opportunity to discover new corners of New Zealand and overseas.

Orienteering hero? 
Matt Ogden

Day job?  
I took 2 1/2 years out of the workforce to travel overseas, tramping, cycling and volunteering for DOC.  This year I am working in the travel industry.

Other interests?
Tramping, MTB and cycle touring, travel, reading.

Bert Chapman Junior Service Award – Max Griffiths (co-awarded with Cameron de L’Isle  who has already been profiled)

Number of years orienteering?
7 Years competitively, however had been out a few times before this in the 2-3 years prior with family.

How were you introduced to orienteering?
Through my family going out to the forest, initially encouraged by my dad, and later when my brother started competing. Since then I then have come through the schools orienteering initiative both regionally and nationally.

Key orienteering achievements to date?
Qualifying for the NZSS Orienteering Team in 2014 and 2016
NZSS Senior Boys Sprint Orienteering Champion 2016
Australian Orienteering Champs 2016 (5th Sprint, 8th Middle and Long in M20E)

Current orienteering project or goal?
My main goal in the coming few years is JWOC however I am also really excited for Oceania Champs next year on home terrain.

Favourite map and why?
Cascades/Amiens(southern half), as recently run on at Australian Orienteering Champs Middle/Long. The combination of open white (occasionally pine) with green Australian bush and scattered-dense rock detail makes this such an interesting challenge, constantly requiring focus.

Map you have yet to experience but aspire to orienteer on?
Sprint: Venice, who wouldn't want to? Plus Italy is a place I really want to visit.
Forest: There are so many! Following on from places I want to visit, I also would love to go to Scandanavia. Looking at maps of competitions from over there, such as the famous Lunsen map, keep me inspired/determined in orienteering to be able to experience this kind of terrain outside of NZ.

Orienteering hero?
To pick out a single person is near impossible, but I look up to everyone at the top end of the sport competing on the international stage including those from NZ!

Day Job?
Starting Uni next year in a BSc majoring in Computer Science/Maths.

Other interests?
Music and Theatre Lighting as well as spending a lot of time in the outdoors outside of orienteering.

3. NWOC Club Trip to Club National Champs – Labour Weekend 2017

The 2017 National Club Champs will be held in Hawkes Bay over Labour Weekend 2017.*

Dates are Friday 20 to Monday 23 October.

North West has organised group accommodation for up to 70 members at several properties in Havelock North.  These include Cottages on St Andrews & Lodge on St Andrews and Off the Track Cottages plus an adjacent BnB.  There are limited opportunities for camping and motorhomes too.  All properties are within a few minutes’ walk from each other and we plan to book all properties exclusively for North West members.

Cottages on St Andrews & Lodge on St Andrews will accommodate the majority of people (50) and we hope can be used a base for a communal dinner.  Facilities there include heated swimming pool & spa, tennis court, petanque court, communal cooking facilities and BBQs.

Off the Track Cottages consists of 3 separate cottages sleeping 14 people and the BnB  sleeps 6-8 people in 3 bedrooms with 1 shared bathroom.

Nightly rates vary from $45 to $80 per person per night.  It is intended that the Club will use funds from the 2017 Rogaine Series to subsidise the costs for Club members, hopefully up to $50 per person per night but we cannot determine the exact amount of the subsidy until after the Series ends. A big incentive for us all to help make the Series a success!

Bookings will be taken on a first-in first-served basis.  The trip was promoted at the Club Prize-giving and End of Year function held on Sunday 27 November so a number of places have already been reserved.

While the Club intends to use the profits from the 2017 Rogaine Series to subsidise the costs per member there will still be a difference in the amount payable at the respective properties.  Working through this and allocating members to the various properties could get tricky as each property has set rooms with specific bed configurations that need to be matched to all those wanting accommodation.

We propose to deal with this by inviting everyone to indicate their preferred accommodation and then we will allocate people on a 'best-fit' basis i.e it may not be possible for everyone to get their first choice and we trust you will know that we will do our best for everyone.

If you want to be part of this Club adventure please complete the following actions by Monday 12 December:|
To indicate your preference re accommodation please complete the form here:  https://goo.gl/forms/x05109NU3NncIjJ03

Payment of a deposit - as deposits are payable now to secure all properties, we are asking members to pay a deposit now of $80 per person up to a maximum of $200 per family. This deposit will be non-refundable unless we can’t re-sell your bed(s) after you withdraw. At this stage we don’t envisage this will be a problem.

Please note that payment of this deposit also indicates your acceptance to pay the balance of the accommodation costs whatever that amounts to once the Rogaine Series subsidy is known.
Deposits are payable to our North West Account WESTPAC 03-0243-0247251-000.
Please include your name in the reference field and use LW2017 as the code.
If you have any questions about this trip, please contact Club Secretary, Jenny Cade on northwestorienteering@gmail.com

http://www.cottagesonstandrews.nz/ http://www.offthetrack.co.nz/cottages

*Nationals are typically held at Easter but with Oceania and World Masters Games over Easter 2017, Nationals have been deferred to Labour Weekend,

4. New NWOC membership database is up and running

The bulk load of member details to the new membership database is now complete. All members should have received an email with logon details to https://www.revolutionise.com.au/NWOC. If you haven't seen this it might have ended up in your spam folder so check there. Note that the membership link in the email is only valid for 24hrs so will have expired. Just click "Try again" and a new email will be generated. 

Thanks to everyone who has already logged on to check & update their details. The things to change are:

• Updating your password.
• Setting your correct date of birth. We have only recorded year-of-birth in the past.
• Setting the correct email address for all family members. Setting individual email addresses will allow all family members to receive club newsletters direct to their inbox.

Any questions, drop Alan an email on pommie.al@gmail.com

Change to newsletter

With the new membership database up and running, we will be changing the process for sending out newsletters. The email addresses we will be using will be those stored in the membership database (meaning we only need to maintain one list of email addresses!) If you haven't received the logon information from RevolutioniseSport you will stop receiving the newsletter once we so get in touch to ensure your contact details are up to date.

We will be re-sending this newsletter early next week from RevolutioniseSport so look out for that and please get in touch if you don't receive this.

5. NWOC Orienteers Podium at The Goat Adventure Run

Congratulations to Matt Ogden and Gene Beveridge for taking out 1^st (Matt) and 2^nd (Gene) places in last weekend’s “The Goat Adventure Run” http://www.thegoat.co.nz/ .

Awesome achievement!

You can read more on Gene’s blog  http://genebeveridge.co.nz/years-of-goat-progress/

6. College Sport Young Sportsperson of the Year

Congratulations to Heidi Stolberger, Tegan Knightbridge and Max Griffiths who were named as Finalists for the College Sport Auckland Orienteer of the Year. Well done to Heidi and Max who took the awards.

In the Northland College Sport Awards, Callum Hill was named as Northland Orienteer of the Year.

7. NWOC Events 2017

It’s time to put your hand up to fill some of the gaps in this table.

https://cdn.revolutionise.com.au/cups/NWOC/files/mal6fb3htlxpbnwx.xlsx

Rush an email off to Rob rgmg@xtra.co.nz  to be in for your preferred role/date. Remember the Coordinator role requires no expertise – just the ability to make some calls to get some people to help on the day.    

8. A Holiday at Slater Road?

From Rob and Marquita:
We are looking for house sitters for Slater Rd from the 2-8th January, mainly to feed Jessie the dog, plus one cat.
Wonderful chance to do some orienteering training and mountainbike the trails here, with 2 spare bikes. Swimming pool to cool down in as well!!
Contact Rob and Marquita at rgmg@xtra.co.nz  or 021597070

9. Immerse Yourself in Christmas

Club member, Trevor Carswell has a passion for Christmas lights - as anyone who has been to Katoa Po will know! His house at 4 Mistletoe Place, Browns Bay (and with some support from him, most houses in his street!) are shining brightly for the enjoyment of all. Take a drive that way one evening and immerse yourself in Christmas!

10. 2017 Event Calendar

Attached is the “finalized” event calendar for 2017, so you can get those dates on the new calendar. Please note that Waioneke and Woodhill are still to be confirmed.

11. 2016 Presidents Report as tabled at AGM

Acknowledgements

• Exec Committee members for their ongoing positivity and commitment.
• Landowners without whom we would have nowhere to do what we love, including:
  • Nga Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara for access to Woodhill Forest
    • Particular thanks to Tuhi Leef for the positive relationship he built with orienteering. I note with regret that Tuhi has left the role, and wish him well for the future.
  • Otakanini Topu Trust for access to Otakanini Topu
• Funders and donors who have supported our efforts
  • iSport Foundation - travel
  • Auckland Council - mapping
  • David Melrose – junior fund
  • Bigfoot Adventures, Rob Garden & Marquita Gelderman – koha
  • Foundation North - mapping
• Oceania/World Master Games 2017 – OOC members Stephen Reynolds and Philippa Poole. Stephen has displayed great leadership in this group and has done a huge amount of work to make these events a success.
• All our setters and controllers and coordinators – 9 events in 2016 is a big load.

Oceania / Auckland World Masters Games 2017

• Entries are  over 800 for both events with 4 months to go.
• New maps are complete and course-planning is well underway. Thanks to our members who are setting and controlling.
• Very positive progress with wider preparations - most workstreams have teams in place who are sinking their teeth into their work.  A few more roles to fill yet, and when the events are on we’ll need a big effort from everyone.
• Acknowledge Andrew De’Lisle for his work in organising volunteers into teams – his direction has got us moving well.

• Particular thanks to Stephen Reynolds and Philippa Poole for their contribuiton to the Orienteering Oversight Committee. Stephen’s leadership has been exceptional and steered us through some difficult issues.
• My involvement in the Orienteering Oversight Committee has been a drain on my capacity to carry out my role as President of North West, and vice versa.

Leadership

• Governance
  • We have continued to carry out Exec’s legal & strategic roles.  
  • We are awaiting ONZ’s advice on amending our club constitution in response to impending law changes.   
  • We are awaiting ONZ’s advice on health & safety policies in response to law changes which took effect in April 2016. It is executive committee’s view that new requirements do not apply to our club, as long the club is  not an employer. Nevertheless, we will continue with reviewing and updating our health & safety policies and procedures, building on the good work of Trevor Carswell in the search & rescue area.
  • We submitted two remits to the 2016 ONZ AGM, on the “Athlete Contribution Fee” policy, and NZSS grades, both of which have influenced changes which we think are positive.
• Management
  • We have continued to carry out our operational role to a high standard.
  • I am particularly grateful to our Secretary, Jenny Cade and Treasurer, Lisa Mead for their capability & dedication.
  • We have continued to look for ways to make it easier to run the club:
    • Alan Moore has led a project to move our membership management online. We have elected to use www.revolutioniseSPORT.com.au. Existing members will be uploaded to the database in December 2016. Starting in January 2017, members will sign-up or renew  through our website.
    • revolutioniseSPORT also provides a website functiion with content-management-service. We will use this to build a new website which will be easier to operate and will enhance our club’s online presence.
    • Xero is working well for managing club finances.
    • Acknowledge Owen Means for all his work on the EnterO online entry system which is making entries easier for competitors and organisers.
  • Exec’s communication with our membership has worked well in 2016 thanks to Kaye Griffiths management of the club newsletter, and attention of Thomas Stolberger and Jenny Cade to our facebook page. These functions will need to evolve in 2017 to leverage the tools and data offerred by revolutioniseSPORT.
• Skill Sets
  • Current Executive Committee contains a range of expertise and experience.
  • We have have yet to consider our immediate or future skill-set requirements.
  • Lack of succession planning for Exec is an ongoing risk.

Fundamentals

• Access to Terrain

• • Harvesting in Woodhill Forest is causing ongoing impacts to access for orienteering and other forest users. This is putting increased pressure on the areas of standing forest. But, access to new areas in the northern end of the forest is coming on-line, and significant new areas have been mapped for Oceania/World Masters Games 2017.
  • Loss of access to Woodhill remains a risk.
  • Our relationship with Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara developed positively with Tuhi Leef at the helm.  Tania has been excellent in the administration role, and the gate security people have been very friendly and welcoming. Whilst it is sad that Tuhi has left, we look forward to ongoing cooperation with Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara.
  • We will need to remain proactive in identifying and opening up new terrain.
• Maps
  • The vast majority of North West maps are of high quality.
  • All our map files are well maintained.
  • Significant mapping has been undertaken for Oceania/World Masters Games 2017.

• • • Lake Rototoa
    • Lake Kereta
    • Auckland University
    • Wynyard Quarter
    • Temu Road
    • Hedley Dunes (name tbc)
  • In the long term ownership of these maps will be distributed between North West & Auckland Orienteering Clubs although details are to be confirmed.
  • Map extensions/updates have occurred at Hedley Rd, White Line and Riverhead.
• Courses
  • Course-setting and controlling is done to a high standard.
  • Dwindling numbers of setters and controllers is a growing a risk, particularly with the burden of Oceania/World Masters Games in 2017. In 2016 we attempted to address this risk by pairing new course setters with an experienced mentor. We need to:
    • review whether this has been successful.
    • follow up with same people next year.
• Equipment
  • Equipment and electronics are of acceptable-to-high quality
  • Equipment and electronics are kept in safe and accessible storage
  • Thanks to Kumeu Storage who are providing North West with a free storage unit.
  • Thanks to Cameron De-Lisle, Max Griffiths, Mike & Kaye Knightbridge for their care of club gear throughout the year.
  • Thanks to Rob Garden & Marquita Gelderman for storing and transporting the gear trailer.
• Competition
  • “Auckland Orienteering Series” has continued in name.  It was not obvious that the actual competition itself was any livelier than before the name-change
  • A thorough review of “AOS” competition structures is on hold until after Oceania/World Masters Games 2017. 

Culture

• Invest in engagement

• • North West continues to invest in activities that promote positive experiences and friendships for our members, because we believe that engaged members are our greatest asset. Thus, we have:

• • • Run events, trainings and Forest Camp
    • Paid team entries for Katoa Po Night Relay
    • Made financial contributions towards the costs of junior camp,  Australian Schools Champs, JWOC, WOC.
    • Communicated through website, facebook and email newsletter.
    • Arranged  a few post-event picnics which have been well received
  • North West is a club that welcomes new ideas and encourages members to progress initiatives that support the club.
• Contributing to NW is fun & rewarding
  • Our volunteer-needs continue to be met in true North West style; our people just get stuff done. Some of it is highly organised; some organic. But the work gets done with smiles and no drama.
  • We haven’t asked members how they feel about helping out, but we always seem to have many willing people, so anecdotally, it must be fun & rewarding to do it.
  • Lack of succession planning for volunteers remains a risk.
• Membership trends
  • While the upward trend has levelled off, membership numbers are holding at a healthy level, over 200.
  • The number of returning members is still trending up, and the percentage of returning memberships is stable over 80%.  “Returning members” data is a proxy-indicator of club culture and value-to-members.

We don’t know for certain why the numbers are trending up – I intend for Exec explore this question once Oceania/World Masters Games 2017 is out of the way. 

Performance

We will continue to focus on the development of junior members, but as the number of adult beginners increases we should be conscious of their coaching needs also. In my opinion you don’t need to be an elite to play a part in the performance culture of our club. 

• I have left it Rob Garden to expand on performance of club members, but I would note the great depth of our juniors – having 7 selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools team to compete in Australia, and a further 3 included in the Regional invitation team.
• Great club performances to produce a third successive win at Katoa Po, and a repeat of 2^nd & 3^rd at Nationals Relay.