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The following article was written circa 1994:
The club's origins go back to the beginning of the 70s and the
early days of Orienteering in the Province. At that time Fermanagh
Orienteers weren't yet in existence and the North West club was
tightly grouped around its core of Limavady Grammar School. There
was a body of participants in the Greater Belfast area operating
under the umbrella of the Northern Ireland Orienteering Association
which had been formed to gain access to the organisation of the
sport in Great Britain. At that stage interaction, in competition,
with southern orienteers or with the wider British participants
was minimal.
By the end of the first decade the increase in participants, in
available maps, in frequency of events and in exposure to external
competitions led this group, by now co-operating strongly in their
approach to the Sport, to take a name. This reflected the geographic
spread of the membership from North Down through Lisburn and north
in County Antrim. With the name established the now-familiar logo
came into being while the Organiser waited for entrants to arrive
to an early club event at Cairn Wood!
In the early days the club took over the umbrella role of NIOA
in co-ordinating activity in the east of the Province. The catalyst
which turned it from a mere collection of "weekenders"
with a common interest was the instigation of an organised mid-week
training regime. This, while attended by relatively few of the far-flung
members, provides the focal point that the Sport itself, with its
time-trial format (and thus spread over a considerable period during
competition), can rarely do at an event.
Through the 80s and into the 90s the Club has seen expansion into
South Down and County Armagh, well beyond the geographic area implied
by its name. Along with this spread and the parallel growth in numbers
the consequent increase in events being staged has not led to fragmentation
because of an internal structuring into three event groups. These
are determined by the members home locations, rather than the available
areas (which favour the South Down area) and provide a vehicle for
spreading the load of event organisation.
The spreading of the Club's base has also led to a raising of the
performance pyramid. To assist this there has been, for many years,
a programme of development of its event officials to ensure quality
of competition along with the provision of coaching opportunities
and regular competition external to the Province to aid the members
who wish to climb the pyramid to develop their personal performance.
The Club has now won the accolade of Irish Club Champions on two
occasions and contributes in considerable numbers to Irish international
teams. It has also had members succeed, through their competition
results in GB, in gaining places on the prestigious British Junior
Squad.
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