A refrain that is frequently voiced in the orienteering community (and throughout society, for that matter) is that people can’t wait “for things to get back to normal”. There is no question that ‘normal’ took a big hit in 2020, and that we are all waiting to be rescued from the pandemic by the prospect of mass vaccination against the Covid19 virus. It can sometimes feel as though we have lost a year (or more) of our life, but maybe there is another perspective.

Do we necessarily need to go back to the “same old, same old” – i.e. the old ‘normal’? When everything grinds to a halt for an extended period, as it did this year, we actually have a unique opportunity to stand back and ask ourselves whether there could be better ways to successfully reach our personal and organizational goals, both as athletes and as organizers. There is a wealth of experience and ingenuity out there in the orienteering community, much of it available in one mode or another on-line, but under ‘normal circumstances’ we are often too busy simply doing what we have always done, to tap into those resources.

As 2021 unfolds, why don’t we take this opportunity to re-think our goals, to innovate or import fresh ideas, and to build a new, effective version of the orienteering experience for our clubs and all their members?