Wotalotigot

Have you ever wondered where all of that Lotto money goes? Well, I can tell you where some of it went this weekend.
Every year the South African Orienteering Federation (SAOF) applies for funding for various programs, which include map making, the annual school league and coaching. This weekend (from Friday to Sunday) a bunch of orienteerers had the fortune of attending the first ever SAOF training camp out in the Belfast forests; a camp that was funded through a grant received from the Lotto Trust.

British team coaches Dave and Jenny Peel were brought out to South Africa specifically to coach us, taking us through many skill training sessions over the 3-days. We have a number of senior and junior orienteerers who will be attending the World Orienteering Champs in August (including our own adventure racers Nicholas Mulder and Jeremy Green) so this camp was well timed and will have greatly aided their preparation.

One of the fundamentals that Dave and Jenny reiterated was, "Do the basics well". Take ol' Tiger Woods. He doesn't go out every day to play 18-holes. He'll spend one day on the driving range. Another putting. Another getting out of sand bunkers. Another hitting from the rough...
He practises the basics regularly so that in a game these techniques are automated. Tiger knows the basics and he does them well. So too with navigation and, in fact, any other discipline. This is a fundamental well worth remembering.

My thanks to Dave & Jenny, the SAOF and the control hangers, food makers and organisers for an enriching weekend of orienteering training.«