VicSport Awards Night Online, Wed Oct 6 – Free Registration; MapLink is a Finalist

Everyone can register for free to attend the VicSport Awards Night online, on Wednesday October 6 – a great excuse to dress up, have some fun, and support Orienteering Victoria as a Finalist.  Seven awards will be made, and the night will also feature the Legends of Victorian Sport Panel, featuring Cathy Freeman, Nicole Livingstone, Steve Moneghetti, Judy Dalton, and David Parkin.

Registrations are open until midday Tuesday 5 October 2021.

OV’s MapLink initiative, introduced in 2020 to provide a means for orienteers to continue with their sport during Covid lockdowns, has been announced as one of four Finalists in the VicSport Awards for 2020.  The category is Sport Initiative of the Year, sponsored by Sports Accounting Australia. Award winners will be announced at Marvel Stadium on October 6 2021 – this event will be online if not able to proceed otherwise.

This award recognises the work of individuals, clubs, teams, groups or organisations who have succeeded in enabling more people to participate in sport activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This new award for 2020 highlights the innovative work that sport has promoted to keep people active and connect with members.

For more information go to https://vicsport.com.au/2020-victorian-sport-award-finalists

This nomination is a fantastic recognition of the many orienteers who contributed maps and courses, designed scoring programs, set everything up in MapRun, and took part in MapLink over many months. There is no doubt that the rapid and successful return of Park Street orienteering events last summer was greatly assisted by MapLink; and we are delighted that a number of MapLink course setters will have their efforts recognised as we use their courses during the current Winter season.

We’ve continued to publish all new Park Street maps for anytime use, as part of our extensive MapLink library.  MapLink remains available for use any time during lockdowns and restrictions. Find out more

Our Bio:

MapLink (DIY Orienteering) – Orienteering Victoria
At the commencement of lockdown, Debbie Dodd put out a call to the Orienteering Victoria community who produced a total of 138 new courses accessible in urban areas under a DIY initiative called MapLink. Available via MapRun (an app that allows users to upload, save and share their completed courses for virtual competitions), Facebook and Google Docs were also utilised to track a virtual scoring system. Between April and September 2020, 2,140 participants were recorded completing a course and the online activity enabled Debbie to ensure enthusiasm, fitness and entertainment levels remained high through lockdown while the use of technology has opened new avenues for the orienteering community.