ONSW life member Dave Lotty has been admitted to the Orienteering Australia Hall of Fame in the General Division.
Dave was the most influential person in the establishment of orienteering in NSW commencing in late 1971. After competing in an event staged in the Blue Mountains for a visiting New Zealand orienteering team, he was involved a few weeks later in restaging that event, followed by the first event in the Sydney area. He helped formed and was Secretary of Sydney’s first orienteering club, Bennelong Occasional Orienteers, and later formed Kareelah Orienteers and Uringa Orienteers as orienteering expanded in Sydney.
He helped to form the Orienteering Association of NSW in March 1972 and was initially a Committee member, then Secretary from 1973, the position that he held for many years before becoming the full time OANSW professional officer. As a professional draftsman, he prepared most of the early NSW orienteering maps, initially in black and white and later in colour, as well as field working many of these maps.
He was responsible for the concept of the Easter Three-days, organising the first of these events with Bjorn Blomstedt and Ian Hassall in 1974, as well as several subsequent Easter Three-days events. He also organised the first QBIII event in NSW.
At the national level, he participated in the OFA Council as a delegate or NSW Councillor from 1973, becoming Secretary in 1981. He remained as Secretary until 2002, when the OFA completed a major review of its governance to become Orienteering Australia. He then held the position of Director (Administration) until 2006, making him the longest serving officer for OFA/Orienteering Australia. In his early years with OFA, he chaired its Mapping Committee and later became Fixture Coordinator. He received the OFA Silva Award for Services to Orienteering in 1991.
Coming from a background in athletics, Dave has always been a successful competitor, being a member of the Australian team to the World Championships in Denmark in 1974 and a team member in several Australia – New Zealand Challenges. He has won several Australian Championships in his age class and numerous State Championships.
Congratulations Dave!
