The 1st Great College O Club Reunion
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Topic created by Orienteer7 on Sat Nov 20, 2010 at 7:35 pmThe 1st Great College Orienteering Club Reunion is being planned for Saturday June 25th, 2011 at Deer Lakes State Park near Pittsburgh PA in conjunction with the Western PA Orienteering Club's "Keystone Capers" National Event weekend.
The Carnegie Mellon Orienteering Club hosted a "B" event at this site October 18, 1975. At that time many of the clubs throughout the U.S. were college based and supported by ROTC units. During those same years there was always a competition as to which event would have the largest turnout...The U.S. Champs or the U.S. Intercollegiates. For those of us who have continued in the sport through the years or who left and returned we appreciated finding this sport and the life long friends we made during our years as members of college orienteering clubs. Many of the clubs dissolved over the years with lack of support from the college/ROTC units but for those that remained and for those that grew from the college origins we probably can consistently say that many of the memories that remain from our college days relate to our orienteering experiences.
Today within almost all U.S. Orienteering club are members who derive their introduction to the sport from college clubs. Some clubs have hosted reunions in the past and the events rekindled old friendships and exposed alumni to the changes in the sport and reminded them that Orienteering is a lifetime activity.
ACTION NEEDED:
To this extent we invite all College Orienteering club alumni to contact their college alumni newsletters and alumni websites and post a notice of this 1st Great College Orienteering Club Reunion. We invite other clubs throughout the U.S. to post a notice on their websites and in their newsletters. It is time to act now so that alumni have a chance to plan for the June 2011 event.
We really want to find those members who wandered into life's forest without an Orienteering map in their hands. You may still have direct contact with some of these individuals so don't hesitate to contact them and let them know - Saturday June 26th is the date when past members will come together to share pictures, results, maps and best of all catch up with each other and the sport of Orienteering.
It does not matter how much you orienteered with your college club or whether you remember how to orient a map....we are looking for you and your family to come and "Discover again the sport and the many friends you made across the country.
Look for more information to come on the Keystone Capers event site as plans become more detailed.
If you have questions you can contact me directly at Orienteer7 at aol.com.
Mark Frank
IUOPC '74 - '78 -
Reply by Orienteeringmom on Sun Nov 21, 2010 at 12:40 pmGreat idea Mark! I hope that it all comes together for you. You might want to think about asking the Senior team if they want to do a wine and cheese social for this. They give you a social and you give them financial support. All we need to get is the meeting room at the Event Center hotel for a couple hours late afternoon early evening saturday and the team will do the rest. The social at Hickory Run Rocks was great and raised a nice will sum for the Senior team.
