Guidelines for the Wellington Orienteering Club Junior Development Fund (June 1999)

INTRODUCTION: Wellington Orienteering Club is in the enviable position of having several promising juniors in its ranks. It is accepted that their attendance at training camps is of positive benefit, both personally and to the club. Such camps help the participants to improve their performance as well as providing an enjoyable experience that keeps them enthusiastic about orienteering. In the past, the club committee has given money on a case-by-case basis with decisions being made with regard to not establishing unworkable precedents rather than with any long-term strategy in mind. To provide a long-term strategy the following is a set of guidelines confirmed by the WOC committee.

NAME: JUNIOR DEVELOPMENT FUND

AIM: To encourage the personal development of Junior Orienteers through financial assistance.

AGE: The scheme is generally limited to "junior" orienteers (i.e. under 21). In practice, recipients are most likely to be college-aged as training camps are rarely organised for younger children.

PURPOSE: Grants are given to subsidise an individual's fee for a training camp. Alternatively, a grant may be made to subsidise the transport requirements of a large group. (Transport is sometimes covered by the NZOF coaching budget.)

International events such as JWOC or ANZ challenges are NOT part of the scheme as they are rare enough to be considered individually.

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA: Before a grant is made some indication of a positive attitude and commitment towards orienteering would be expected: for example, attendance at local training events. The level of commitment necessary for a junior to be considered will not be unduly high for the young and inexperienced, but the level will be slanted upwards for the older and/or more experienced orienteers.

To qualify for a subsequent grant an appropriate level of improvement in all facets of orienteering must be shown. The amount of improvement expected is also slanted towards the older and more experienced orienteers.

FUNDING LEVEL: A maximum amount that any one person would expect is $100 annually.

DECISION PROCESS: A list of "deserving" juniors (who fit the above criteria) will be approved by the committee with any benefit of doubt erring towards inclusion. For given training camps grants will be divided equitably amongst those participating and on the approved list. Where there are so the number of possible recipients is sufficiently large as to make an individual grant too small, it may be decided that a more appropriate use of funds is to provide free transport to an event.

LOGISTICS: Grants will be offered to individuals twice a year. An upcoming "grants round" (i.e. before major camps and events) will be advertised in the WOA newsletter "PUNCH". The same medium will be used to congratulate the recipients.

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