The end of 2013 is approaching
very fast and it is with great pleasure that we receive Zoran
Milovanovic, President of South East European Orienteering
Association, for one of the last interviews of the year.
Passionately, he helps us to understand the work that is being
developed in the vast region, looking towards the future with
confidence and optimism.
The Foundation Congress of the
South East European Orienteering Association (SEEOA) took place in
Belgrade last november. Can you tell me something about the
importance of the event?
Zoran Milovanovic (Z. M.) -
After the South East European working group was established, in 2008,
we grew up to twelve country members. At the beginning of 2012, we
started to think about the possibility of organizing a formal
institution - our Association -, which would give us more
possibilities for future development and acting in the different
fields of our sport. This idea came true on 16th November 2013, with
the Foundation Congress, in Belgrade, and Serbia will be the SEEOA’s
seat for the next coming period until 2018.
What are the main goals of a
regional project like SEEOA?
Z. M. - Actually, SEEOA is a
sub-regional project. If you see a regional division according to the
International Orienteering Federation, one region is Europe, so we
have to consider us as a sub-region. It’s something like the COMOF
(Mediterranean Orienteering Confederation) or the Nordic Countries
Association. All of these organisations deal with orienteering from
different perspectives and activities in their own geographical
areas. The most important is that cooperation and work could be for
the benefit of our sport.
So, you wish that SEEOA’s work
can be the unifying element of all this work.
Z. M. - According to the
Statute, the SEEOA is open not only to the countries already
affiliate to the IOF, but for others as well. Furthermore, in our
Association we can affiliate other national organizations which are
recognized and do orienteering. So, this is a kind of recruitment
step towards the IOF. We’ll accept and include them in all
activities and finally we’ll help them in developing, as well as in
a future IOF’s membership role. This is a very important goal. On
the other hand, we would like to raise other potentials for our sport
such as fund raising, marketing and Public Relations, which should result in a
better visibility and options for sponsoring our sport. My dream is
to attract very soon some big international company that operates in
the whole region, and to sell them, for example, the main sponsor’s
title of our future South East European Orienteering Championships.
How do you intend to solve the
asymmetries between the federations, i.e., between the members where
orienteering is well developed, like Italy, and those where our sport
is almost insignificant, like Greece, for example?
Z. M. - It’s not easy to
say. But maybe it won’t be necessary, just to manage how to do our
way together. To listen to the questions and needs from all sides and
then to find solutions, we hope this is the way and this is what we
are trying to do within all our initiatives. In our work, we need to
follow and satisfy all our members, developed and non-developed.
Otherwise, we’ll see some of them leaving us. Sometimes, our needs
are pretty much different one's from the others', so it’s not an
easy task to deal with it. But, let me give you just a few good
examples: We have Bulgaria, where Ski-O is very well developed. In
the last two winters we made Ski-O training camps for our region in
Bulgaria with the help of the Bulgarian Orienteering Federation.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t see those many people attending the
Training camps, but we will continue with these initiatives. We had a
similar example this year, in Croatia, with Trail O. We all know that
Croatia, even though it's a small orienteering nation, has a very
developed and successful Trail-O team. With the great support of the
SEEOA’s Vice President, Damir Gobec, and Ivana Gobec, we had two
very successful Trail-O seminars, in Croatia and Turkey. These
examples of cooperation and share of knowledge in our region raise
our strengths and fasten our development.
In what way does the SEEOA
articulate with the European Working Group and the International
Orienteering Federation?
Z. M. - In this scope, we can
see a lot of our members directly involved in the IOF works: Tatiana
Kalenderoglu, from Turkey, and Maria Silvia Viti, from Italy, as IOF
Council members, and also the Turkish Veysel Gule, in the European
Working Group. Then, within several IOF Commissions and working
groups, we have members and representatives from our region. I think
that all of them, in a different way, are helpful for the IOF and to
the development of our sport not only in the region. Our work
strictly follows the directions and the IOF Rules, but we are also
trying to do our contribution when important issues of our
development are on the table. During the last few years, our work and
some developing projects were also supported and recognized by the
IOF. I would like to remind that some of the latest IOF members came
from our region - Cyprus, Montenegro - and some others are knocking
at the door, like Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and probably some more.
So, we consider ourselves as a strong and active partner with the
same goals: to have orienteering as a truly global sport, visible,
attractive and included in the Olympic Games.
And what about COMOF? Can its
projects also be the SEEOA’s projects or are we talking about two
different realities here?
Z. M. - Yes, I think so. Even
if, in some fields, we must consider very often, for example when we
are talking about the projects for the Youth. But, still, the
Confederation of Mediterranean Orienteering Federations has one very
important strategic task, pretty specific: to involve orienteering
sport into the Mediterranean Games (which will be held in Tarragona,
Spain, in 2017), as well as into the newest Mediterranean Beach
Games, of which the first edition will be held in Pescara, Italy, in
2015. And we all know how the Mediterranean Games and its movement is
very well established into the Olympic movement. So I consider this
step as one big step towards the Olympics as well.
We are talking about projects,
you mentioned earlier the South East European Orienteering
Championships... What kind of event is this one?
Z. M. - We started in 2011
with our first South East European Orienteering Championships, in
Macedonia, and then the second one in 2012, in Turkey, together with
the first South East European Masters Orienteering Championships.
This year, in September, we had in Romania the South East European
Orienteering Championships’ third edition and in 2014 it will be in
Serbia and in Bulgaria, the next year. These events are now well
established and more and more nations and competitors are coming for
it. If you consider that this is not only an event anymore but really
an international competition in our region, where some of our nations
can afford to send national teams, then you see how important this
can be. Not to mention that the format of these events take into
account the control of costs as well, so we are proud to say that our
organizers manage to prepare a four day program where the total costs
for one competitor in a team is around 250-300 euro, including
transport, accommodation, food, as well as entry fees. We have also
adopted our Rules in order to encourage new nations to come and
compete, because no one is returning home without points. We need to
get our network together, looking forward to the results of our work
and cooperation, and to find our space under the orienteering
umbrella, which I think is the IOF. Of course, nobody should be
concerned about their own autonomy, because this is not a question.
The World Cup 2014’s first
round in Turkey, the EYOC 2014 in Macedonia, the WOC/WTOC 2014 in
Italy, these are just three major events that will attract to the
Eastern Europe, next year, the world’s attentions. How do you see
the challenge of such organizations and what may it represent to the
SEEOA and to the region?
Z. M. - And the fourth one is
JWOC 2014, which will be held in the beautiful landscapes of
Borovets, in Bulgaria, also in our region. In 2015, another country
from the SEEOA region will host the EYOC, which will be Romania, in
Cluj, not to forget that Croatia was recently approved as organizer
of the WTOC, to be held in 2015, and the World School Sport
Orienteering Championships will take place in Turkey, also in 2015.
So it's a lot of work for our members in the next two years at the
world orienteering stage. All of them are honored to host these major
events, but they are also stressed out, knowing how important it can
be for their future development and how important it is that
everything goes normaly and at the highest level, like everywhere in
Europe. In our Association, we do cooperate and try to exchange our
best experts in a field of mapping, course planning, etc.
Communication and cooperation, this is what we are trying to improve
within our sub-regional work.
How do you see the level of your
organizations?
Z. M. - A lot of orienteers
from abroad leave us very positive opinions about orienteering in our
countries, based on the participation in our events. They want to
visit new places and try diferent terrains, but we need to provide
good standards in our events, which is very important. I hope that
more new countries from our region will come soon to the stage to be
able to host some other major events. I am sure that orienteers from
all over the world will like it. I already know that our events are
very well known as very friendly, for the hospitality, and people
have enjoyed the time spend in our events, such as for example: Velik
Den and Brown Cup from Bulgaria, Kopaonik Open in Serbia, Istanbul 5
days in Turkey, Transylvania Open in Romania, Croatia Open in
Croatia, as well as some events which recently started in Macedonia,
Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, etc. Of course there are a lot more
than those I have just mentioned, and we are looking forward to meet
you, so you're welcome!
Would you like to share with us,
as the President of the SEEOA, a little bit of your agenda for 2014?
Z. M. - We will start our
work with the next Council Meeting, which will be held in Montenegro, from 14th to 16th March 2014. The
agenda for this Meeting is already at the discussion table and we
will deal with questions such as strategy directions, activity
planning and budgets, the elections of the Secretary General, the
Committee members as well as future meetings and Championships
organizing. Annually we have two meetings, one at the spring time and
another one during our Championships. This practice gave us good
results and we will continue like this. Of course, between Meetings,
there’s a lot of internet communication and work. Each spring
meeting we are changing the host country. Thus, we are also trying to
help different countries.
One of the main fields of our work
will be the Youth projects. Lots of young people are going around us
up to now, and we are not using them. We will pay special attention
to this field in a coming period that we can make educational
training camps for youth, each summer, seven days in different
countries, with leaders and experts from our developed countries. I
will be very committed to this in my work. Another important matter
is to continue with our developing activities: seminars, different
kinds of sport education, etc. The SEEOA should be a place for
debating and proposing ideas as well as common initiatives to promote
education, training and employment in the sport. We found this issue
is the key for a future good work with the youngsters, to obtain for
them a better quality of knowledge. These seminars – that were held
the last three years in Montenegro, Cyprus, Bosnia , Moldova,
Croatia, Turkey and Serbia – have brought to us some new countries
and for some of them this was a new step forward. For this work, we
need good sport managers, educated and licensed coaches, and this is
something that we need to improve as well.
But for this you need money (!)
...
Z. M. - For most of our
Federations, to finance orienteering activities are a real big
problem, from different perspectives. Some of them, almost don’t
have budget at all (Moldova, Greece, etc.) and to the rest of them,
money is not enough, now matter how much it is, even for the
strongest nations. But most of them haven't tried to use some other
sources to finance activities yet, and here we will try to learn and
to give some new experiences to all. The European Union has just
opened one more door for us with an Erasmus and a project which, in
the next term, will involve a lot of money. And this is only one
solution, there are hundreds of different more, and not only by the
European Union. Within different ideas, we will develop specially
work projects, because now, as a legal institution, we can apply for
various kinds of EU projects concerning sport. But not only in sport,
but also in health, education and several other youth projects. This
should become an important source of additional financing of our
sport. With the network that we have at the moment, it’s much
easier than if you are going from country to country alone.
In the past, we also had in our
region a lot of help from WWOP and Peo Bengtsson, as well as from the
Host Ost Legendarna organization, and we still do. They have done a
really great job for orienteering development during the very
well-known Autumn South East Tours, visiting our countries and
helping us. Other good examples are organizations like PWT Italy and
PWT Norway, with their activities and concept projects like MOC, MOC
Tour, training camps, etc., which also influences and helps a lot the
development of orienteering within the Mediterranean region. In the
future, we will also try to use other similar initiatives and
activities to help developing orienteering: institutional,
non-governmental and private, especially in the new and non developed
countries. I consider that we all have the same task, sometimes from
different perspectives, but I am sure about a same goal: a better
position for our sport worldwide.
How do you expect to see the
SEEOA in the long term, let’s say within four years?
Z. M. - My primary concern
will be to find somebody who will continue my work after that time
(laughs). But yes, it is like that, because the next four years will
be a hell of a job and a pioneer work in some fields of orienteering
for a lot of our countries. Ideas and projects need to become
reality, and this means a lot of work, but for all of us. The SEEOA
Council members coming from eight countries and I hope that all of
them are really ready to contribute and also to engage a wider
platform for our work involving some other experience experts from
their own countries for a common success. I like to work in a team,
and our friendship in this region helps a lot to overcome the
difficulties. We are working in a territory where at the moment
exists about fifteen orienteering countries, with an orienteering
population of more than 10.000 active orienteers from about 425 clubs
and with more than 360 competitions. This is not the latest data, but
what we have at the moment. So, you can imagine that we are a really
strong orienteering population, ready to cooperate and to work hard
for a better future of orienteering. And not only in our region.
Now that we are close to turn the
page of another year, I ask you to make a wish for 2014.
Z. M. - First of all, I want
to thank you, Joaquim, for your tremendous work as an orienteering
journalist, not only here at the Portuguese Orienteering Blog, but
also in Inside Orienteering and somewhere else. Your contribution,
and the contribution of other photographers and journalists who are
working voluntarily in our sport, are helping a lot our sport to
become really visible. Thank you very much also for the opportunity
to explain here, at your blog, what is happening in the South East
Europe. I know, friends told me that I am crazy with my orienteering
ideas, and I say yes, but lots of them I made come true. So, this
keeps me moving on and with you, my friends, even faster. So let’s
again do this job together as well! I wish a Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year to all readers, followed by a lot of orienteering
activities worldwide. Cheers!
Joaquim Margarido
[Photo: Delegates to the SEEOA's
Congress; courtesy of SEEOA archive]
