May 19, 2024

As a club, we have been thinking for a while about putting on an event that is all about the kids, and that makes orienteering fun and accessible for them. After months of planning and hard work, this all came together as the (First Annual?) Missoula All-Schools Orienteering Festival, held at Silver Park on May 31, 2025.

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The Festival was an all-day event consisting of six different activities/stations: a regular orienteering course, a Score-O (choose-your-adventure style course), Animal-O, Maze-O (with a brand-new custom built maze!), a puzzle station, and a map-themed arts and crafts station.

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At registration, each kid received a punch card with six slots. Once they completed an activity, they got a sticker in the corresponding slot on the punch card. When they were done, they could redeem the punch card for prizes: completing two activities entitled a kid to a sticker and a GrizO temporary tattoo; four activities - a GrizO collapsible water bottle (plus the sticker and tattoo); and all six - a full-size candy bar, plus water bottle, sticker, and tattoo.

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A lot of work went into publicizing this event and spreading the word about it across the area, and this work paid off: we ended up with over 60 kids representing 16 different schools around town, and as far away as Stevensville and Kalispell! Over 40 of the kids were brand-new to orienteering. 

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It seemed like the kids were having a blast, with the maze and arts and crafts stations drawing particularly rave reviews. We are hoping that this event is an investment in our club's growth, and results in new sign-ups for memberships and our youth programs. 

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One of the goals for this event was to get kids to bring friends from their schools, and we even commissioned a custom, 3D-printed trophy, for the school with the most participants. The school (or program) with the most participants was... Home School, with a full 11 participants!

Paxson, Hellgate Elementary, and Valley Christian tied for second with 6 participants each. Congratulations to Missoula's Home School program for leading the way in the woods!

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A big key to making the event a success was an amazing team of volunteers who staffed their stations with smiles, patience, and competence over the course of a long and hot day.

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Event directors: Allison Brown, Emily Johnson, Kathleen Dent

School Outreach: Maribeth Rothwell

Registration: Allison Brown, Brady Brown

Puzzles: Kat Franchino, Boris Granovskiy (design)

Arts and Crafts: Kathleen Dent, Claire Croft

Courses: Chris Caldwell, Greg Friedman, Calvin Olson, Boris Granovskiy (design)

Animal-O and Maze-O: Emily Johnson (maze design and construction), Jeff Johnson (maze design and construction), Correena Streets, Loy Koch

Control hanging / collection: Larry Dent, Greg Friedman, Chris Caldwell, Calvin Olson, Boris Granovskiy, Allison Brown., Emily Johnson

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Check out a bunch of photos and videos from the Festival: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CQra5crzrsDLQaGS8

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Results from the 'regular' courses are below.

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​Next up, we start with our summer weeknight series. First up is Milltown State Park on June 10th (6-8pm), followed by the UM Campus (June 24, 6-8pm).​​

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