Sprint in to Spring series Introduction Established 4 years ago as a participation project Now a regular feature on the OV calendar Run centrally by the OV urban sub-committee Has broad appeal Provides some great racing.

Aim of organisers A series of high quality Sprint orienteering events of the same standard found at top international events. Courses that have broad appeal; from beginners to HP orienteers

Strategy for the series Consistent ‘look and feel’ across the series with distinctive branding Keep it simple with three courses; children & novices, short hard and long hard. Jersey competition across season; Overall winners, sprint and hill climb. Documented course setter & organisation guidelines to maintain consistency High quality ISSOM standard maps with new maps introduced each season Place focus on obtaining and coaching new course setters Incorporate coaching sessions from our overseas coaches Involvement of our clubs as on the day organisers Conclude the series with the Victorian Sprint Championships Provide a pathway for schools competitors – the final weekend following the schools championships

How is it going? The participant numbers continues to grow each year, plus orienteers are now actively volunteering to set courses for the next season. As an outcome of the success of Sprint into Spring, Orienteering Victoria has now established a biennial “Melbourne Sprint Weekend” next to be held 11th – 13th March 2018

Participation Numbers Within the 2016 Sprint into Spring program we achieved 1,024 participations, an average of 146 per event. The Sprint into Spring finale was promoted as part of a ‘Bendigo Sprint Weekend’ which comprised of 4 events, including the PAS event which used the same controls as the Sunday Sprint. The weekend was extensively advertised and achieved 536 participations (310 also counted within SIS figures above). Overall 2016 OV Sprint participations = 1,250