Take off, blog date November 1
Today we launched Get Out and Stay Out. It has been an enjoyable path bringing the program to this point. In three months I have been speaking with all sectors of the Adventure Activity and Adventure Tourism industries. Its a great industry and I have met a host of fantastic people. Now comes the implementation phase.
One of the things that keep coming home to me is how great adventure activities are for society; they have high calorie burns, good physical movement, generally green and have an exceptional "wow" factor.
Thanks to Hon Michael Wright MP for preceeding at the launch, now I can't wait to see everyone "get Out and Stay Out"
Web day, blog date October 19
As with all jobs, things come in cycles. this week of each month is "meeting week". Meeting week leads to new decisions and new action items. I like meeting week, it brings you back to "core focus" and gets us all moving forward again.
Meeting week also brings frustrations; the things that weren't done, the critical people who cant attend. It brings back home how important each person and group is to a project. It also quickly tells you if you are on time or behind time on a project.
Recreation SA sits in a very unique position as peak state body of recreation groups, but not the peak specialist (e.g. Cycling SA is one of our members and also a member of Cycling Australia. The activity specialisation and expertise flow goes between CSA and CA, whereas the state recreation industry issues and industry activities go between the two of us). As we prepare for the upcoming State Outdoor Conference, I clearly see how important EVERY recreational group is to the task of promoting and developing the whole recreation community.
So web day? time to update the web as a result of our meetings. Time to make sure our web presence is brought back to clear focus with our goals. Time to make sure our web acknowledges the people who make our organisation and recreation in SA.
Fat facts, blog date September 27
What a fantastic weekend! We started Saturday with a walk to the local surf club for coffee on the balcony. Then there was playing at the swings. As the weekend progressed we went for a bushwalk in Morialta which included a visit to the Gruffalo's cave (which Zoe will inform you is incorrectly named as the Giant's Cave). Morialta was great, there were two koalas eating and Zoe pointed out to dad that my terminology is not up to scratch; "its not a teddy bear, its a koala bear". After Morialta it was cycling along the Torrens which lead to watching Zoe's favourite Horse, Sam, being lunged (note; "watching" includes feeding Sam carrots). Then it was on to the community playground for swings and round abouts and finally home.
I grabbed time to browse through the first page of one of the "health" magazines that come with the Sunday paper. It had a headline that was designed to catch you. It suggested exercise may not help you in weight loss. As the Executive Officer of a group whose role is to get people active, I read on.
In fact the article didn't have any "new" news at all. It simply reiterated that good food and exercise is necessary for good health. It did play on the fact that you can eat calories at a far faster rate than you can use them; thus good eating is more important than exercise in losing weight. But it didn't even start to go into all of the biological factors that effect weight loss.
There are whole industries based around providing "over information" on every topic under the sun. For me it is important to keep things simple and in perspective. In a mis-quote of Dickens
- Calories in > Calories used = increase in weight
- Calories in < Calories used = decrease in weight
Be Active! Eat well! - oh and stop reading this blog and go for a walk
Women's opportunities, blog date September 20
Back in 2003 I met a lady in the car park at the Wentworth Park Sports Complex. She was trying to move a lot of equipment for a presentation; laptop, data projector, whiteboard, box of stuff, pamphlets, etc. Wandering in with just my car keys, I offered a set of hands. As we headed up to the meeting room she chatted about the great work of Womensport and Recreation; providing women with support to achieve in various recreational and sporting pursuits. She spoke passionately about the need for networking and events specifically for women. She informed me of the lack of opportunity for women outside of "designated" women's activities. She was the late Sue Fear.
Over the years I have worked in Adelaide, Sydney, Newcastle and Regional NSW. I have also completed contract projects in a number of other locations in various states. I have witnessed first hand the lack of opportunity for women in recreational pursuits. In general the opportunity and support appears to decrease as you move toward smaller centres.
As the father of a young lady, opportunities for her to grow, experience and excel are very important to me. It is my aim for Recreation SA to provide "Womensreceation" programs.
Orienteering, blog date September 13
Zoe and I "did" the Tintookies Pewsey Vale Orienteering course on the weekend. I should note, Zoe is 2 and a half.
We started and in no time had made it to check point 8. Well, we didn't bother about check points 1 to 7; the sheep were all over near check point 8 and Zoe wanted to see if Shaun was there. Hoping to get Zoe to at least record one checkpoint, I tried to deviate our path toward the check point marker. The red and white flag was only just enough to distract us from the sheep for 1 minute. So over we wandered and inserted our recorder. The recorder "beeped". Suddenly finding check points took on a whole new meaning. In fact we had to record check point 8 some 7 times.
Once we had found the checkpoint, it was time to wander back, after all we had seen the sheep and it was time for a "hot doggy". Wandering back involved attempting to climb every likely tree or rock. At one point we found a fresh burrow. We discussed what could be inside. I suggested maybe a small marsupial like a bandicoot. Zoe though it was more likely to be a "scary tiger" and she ran around for a few minutes making "scary tiger" noises and paw movements.
As we left the finish point Zoe waved and proudly shouted "thank you tutukis" (close). Totally exhausted from wandering around with sheep and climbing trees and rocks; she slept in the car the whole way back home. That night as she went to bed she said "Zoe good day". Dad smiled
As a parent I am worried about the nation's obesity problem. Recreation SA's primary aim is to increase active participation. I hope as a parent I can provide the example and experiences that will help Zoe through life. An activity like the orienteering event was perfect, I just hope she (and as many other kids as possible) make a lifelong path of "getting out and doing stuff". Be Active!
Adventurers, blog date September 10
"We don't really know Sandy Robson in SA". The comment highlights an area I am determined to work on. Adventurers are in general poorly known. Within kayaking, few people knew about Andrew McAuley before he made headline news due to being "lost" 80km from the NZ coast line. Few people knew about the incredible feats of Sue Fear until again she was lost in the Himalaya.
Very rarely do adventurers have a media system around them. You can't buy seats at a "game" this weekend and due to the cost and risk of having a film crew around; many feats go completely or poorly recorded. They certainly rarely end up in documentaries.
Yet we need adventurers. We need the people who continually push the known limits. They inspire us and as a society we are better because of them.
The largest fight I have ever had in a job was to get Andrew McAuley formally recognised back in 2004. At that stage he had achieved a number of mountaineering achievements and was the first person to "straight line" Bass Straight and the Gulf of Carpentaria in a kayak. The relevant committees of Australian Canoeing fought me right to the wire and it was only the support of Jon Bisset (the CEO) that it got over the line and his achievements were formally recognised.
At Recreation SA it is important that we acknowledge our adventurers, our achievers. Provide me with details of your acheivers and Recreation SA will champion them.
Walktober, blog date September 3
Walktober brought back a fantastic memory of a walk Jill and I took some years past. It was up to Herod's Gate in Tasmania. To me it exemplifies much of why we go walking off the beaten track. From the car park you climb a bush slope which is not remarkably different to other bush slopes. After what seems like forever you get to an old hut. The hut is well used, drafty and dirty. We stopped there for a late lunch. Given it had been a late start we were tempted to stay the night there and just explore the local dense bush.
We decided not to stay and set out again for a further walk. Within minutes the thick bush changed to generally open land with incredible distant views, numerous lakes and amazing cliff lines. It is a memory I will hold forever. We were pressed for time during the trip and had we stopped it is quite possible that we would have never made it to Herod's Gate.
Walktober is one of those projects with the potential to change many people's lives forever. It sounds like a ridiculous over the top comment, but the more I think about it the more I believe it. Walking can take you places that you cant get to any other way and it is packed with health benefits.
Recreation, blog date September 1
Recreation SA is the peak body for recreation, "recreation", a hard word to define. When I took over the EO's role it was explained to me by the Office for Recreation and Sport as activities that are non-competitive yet require physical effort.
My favourite pastimes involve bushwalking, rockclimbing and sea kayaking. There are competitive sections of each activity, however on the whole the participants are not looking to win, they are there for the journey.
Much of my employment background has been in the various canoeing bodies. Over 600,000 people canoe or kayak in Australia (Aust govt report), however less than 5,000 are in competition based clubs. This is probably a good snapshot of outdoor activity participation in general across Australia.
For those who don't wish to compete there are endless ways you can play or journey in a canoe or kayak. Of those who would be considered non-competitors it has always been interesting to me that many seek "mastery of craft"; technical excellence that does not involve being the fastest. A common example is that of rolling competitions (variations in how you bring a kayak back upright after capsize without exiting the cockpit). The Inuits developed a myriad of ways to roll a kayak, the mastery of which takes dedication. Competitions exist where people demonstrate their mastery of the roll. Again this variation in participation exists across most outdoor activities
The role of Recreation SA was also explained to me by ORS as the support at the state level for all of the groups who provide recreational activities to South Australians. I look forward with working with you all in your chosen activities.
