2021 is around the corner, and it is time to start the work towards World Orienteering Day 2021. Between the dates 19th to 25th of May next year, any activity held can be registered as a World Orienteering Day event.
WOD has started up the plans for 2021 and we are looking forward to hearing from all of you around the world how you will organise your event next year. You can find the registration here.
During 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic no registrations were made for World Orienteering Day, but a lot of events still took place, but instead in new ways. Due to varying national restrictions, we saw new creative solutions of how to do orienteering. There was a lot of thinking outside the famous box, which also inspired others around the world.
Because of the situation around the world with COVID-19, I encourage all of you to think about how you could arrange a WOD-event in 2021. What should be the goal for WOD 2021? As many events as in previous years but probably with less participants in total? Smaller and more events and the same or more participants in total? The most important thing is that we all together start thinking of how we can arrange events to increase the visibility and accessibility of orienteering to young people, both in the schools’ activities, as well and in the clubs’ activities in all countries. During this situation around the world I think that physical activity is important for everyone, and if it can be arranged outside it is even better. But of course, the most important in all considerations will be the safety and well-being of participants, organisers and in fact the society that we all are a part of.
Here in Sweden there is a mantra that permeates through the whole society and if you translate it to English it would be something like this:
We do not cancel, we adjust!
I hope that all of you around the world can join me in this when we continue our work towards World Orienteering Day 2021. Every event counts!
Be safe.
Jenny Nilsson
Project Leader – World Orienteering Day
More information and inspiration on worldorienteeringday.com