‘Aussie-Jukola’ Relay down under
WORD S & PH OTO PATR ICK JA FF E
Orienteers from across the world usually make a pilgrimage to Finland each June for Jukola, the world’s largest orienteering relay. Normally, many Victorians would join them (or at least tune in to watch it online) but for obvious reasons, the 2020 event was postponed. The planned date for Jukola coincided with the gap between Victorian lockdowns, and local orienteers were keen for any chance to get out in the bush again. So, Coach In Residence, Fredo Tranchand, along with Patrick Jaffe, put on an ‘AussieJukola’ instead. They teamed up with Central Highlands Orienteers to put on a training session on their Balt Camp map, conveniently located in between Melbourne and Bendigo, to make this session attractive to all. Originally conceived as a night orienteering session (to simulate the night-legs that Jukola is famous for), it was decided that the combination of everyone’s rusty postlockdown technical skills, a particularly vague spur-gully map and a cold, dark mid-winter’s night probably wasn’t the best idea. So instead, a mass-start loops course was offered during the day, with ten different variations offered to keep people on their toes. It was most people’s first time out orienteering in proper bush terrain for many months and ended up being a very memorable and enjoyable day out in the forest.
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